How COVID-19 is affecting Big Tech

COVID-19 is going to affect most parts of our lives for some time to come. Those of us in and around tech have been noticing this for months now. First through the impact on our friends in Asia, who have been facing fallout from the pandemic for some time, and then through the domino effect on tech conferences – including Google’s much anticipated I/O developer conference.

First, there was MWC Barcelona, then WWDC. The list goes on and on. It is the right thing to do, and increasingly urgent, as more and more cities have banned large gatherings.

 MWC – (formally known as Mobile World Congress, now GSMA MWC series) is the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry, and incorporates a thought-leadership conference featuring prominent executives representing global mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors, and content owners.

WWDC – the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is a conference annually held by Apple Inc. to showcase its new software and technologies for software developers

Tech has been well aware of COVID-19’s impact for a while now, however, the virus’s threat has come to nearly everyone’s back door – with schools and social gatherings suspended indefinitely.

Big Changes

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma today released a statement noting plans to donate 500,000 test kits and one million face masks. The donation follows similar ones to Japan and Europe, following the devastating impact on his own country.

“Drawing from my own country’s experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus,” Ma said in a statement. “We hope that our donation can help Americans fight against the pandemic!”

Yesterday, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan announced that his video conferencing platform would be available for free to K-12 schools in Japan, Italy and the U.S. The move comes as the service is seeing a massive spike in downloads as many businesses and schools are attempting to adapt to working and learning remotely.

Earlier this week, Bill Gates, who recently left his position on Microsoft’s board, announced the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was teaming up with Wellcome and Mastercard to fund treatments to the tune of $125 million. Yesterday, Facebook announced it was committing $20 million in donations to support relief efforts. Apple announced a similar $15 million in donations, along with letting customers skip the March payment on their Apple Cards without risking interest payments. ISPs like AT&T, Charter, CenturyLink, Comcast, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint and Cox, meanwhile, have promised not to overcharge, charge late fees or terminate service, in an attempt to keep people connected.

Likely we’ll continue to see more such announcements in the coming weeks and months as companies struggle with the impact on their workforce.

What do you think tech companies should adjust in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? Leave a comment. Let’s talk!

This post features Brian Heater