While schools across the country have been experiencing a growing shift towards technology in the classroom for a while now, the sudden onset of Covid-19 has rapidly accelerated this hi-tech adoption.

While the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the loss of jobs for a number of Americans, employers are now suffering from a lack of qualified candidates. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are over 9.8 million open positions across the U.S. while only 8.7 million Americans are searching for jobs. Unlike typical employment cycles, the downturn brought about by the pandemic has affected both job seekers and employers in very unusual ways.

A hot topic for years, the much-anticipated transition to 5G is finally beginning to come to fruition. While the Covid-19 pandemic certainly interrupted the large 5G rollout planned for 2020, the need for faster connectivity actually increased with the rise of a remote workforce. Unfortunately for those already privy to 5G-enabled devices—such as the iPhone 12 or Samsung Galaxy S20—promised connectivity has been disappointing to say the least. This is due in part to the network-specificities involved.

With school safety and security being a major concern in all schools, the ability to maximize accuracy and detection for potential dangerous situations with oftentimes limited manpower is crucial. As such, the implementation of smart sensor technologies in the school setting can relieve much of this burden from the shoulders of staff members, allowing them to focus more on classroom instruction rather than security concerns.

The constant development of technological advances in healthcare is creating a completely new approach to nursing practices that are proving beneficial to both employees and patients. While the Covid-19 pandemic has served as a catalyst for much of the sudden technological changes in healthcare practices, these advances have been continuously improving throughout the last few decades. As we move into the next phase of industry development, the following technologies are predicted to have a lasting impact on the healthcare industry as a whole.

As we move further into the digital age, the importance of technology in the workplace is becoming more and more critical to doing business. While already a hot topic, the need for the smart building has skyrocketed as businesses around the world have made the instantaneous switch to remote working and are trying to determine how to reopen their doors in a safe and efficient manner.

With the widespread shift towards remote learning brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, many schools across the country are now facing a problem when it comes to equal access to education. While students with internet access are able to easily access these new online resources, those with less economically-fortunate situations are unable to receive the same quality of education due to a growing disparity in access to virtual learning technologies. Unfortunately, this disproportionately affects students in low-income neighborhoods, those with disabilities, and those in households with limited English comprehension, widening the already growing gap in access to education.

As with many industries throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare has gone digital. While telehealth services are nothing new, the sudden urgency for contactless medical care has caused their popularity to skyrocket in recent months.

Since 1976, Communication Company of South Bend has specialized in low-voltage systems for Education, Health Care, Government, Corrections and Industrial single-point to service and maintenance for all building technology needs including: communications, life-safety, security, telephone and voice mail, meeting conferencing, and fire alarm inspection and testing services.

As companies around the world have been making the switch to remote work, having reliable video conferencing technology has become more critical than ever in maintaining day-to-day business operations. While companies are beginning to transition back into the workplace, many have realized the feasibility of remote working options and have decided to take a more relaxed approach to on-site operations well past the Covid-19 shutdowns.

With the rise in both technological advancements and increase in school-place violence over the years, security and surveillance technologies have been at the forefront in school-place reformation plans. As Covid-19 has reshaped the future of the education system, further emphasis has been placed on pre-emptive screening measures of both staff and students as a means of preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus. The need to combat both medical and security-based threats has led to an increased focus on surveillance systems within the realm of education.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitals and other health care facilities have been forced to reevaluate their IT protocols in order to ensure the safety of patients, visitors and staff. According to the University of Washington Medicine, several critical steps should be taken in healthcare IT departments to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, particularly Covid-19.

As companies around the world have been making the switch to remote work, having reliable video conferencing technology has become more critical than ever in maintaining day-to-day business operations. While companies are beginning to transition back into the workplace, many have realized the feasibility of remote working options and have decided to take a more relaxed approach to on-site operations well past the Covid-19 shutdowns.

With the rise in both technological advancements and increase in school-place violence over the years, security and surveillance technologies have been at the forefront in school-place reformation plans. As Covid-19 has reshaped the future of the education system, further emphasis has been placed on pre-emptive screening measures of both staff and students as a means of preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus

As part of this heightened information technology protocol, existing technologies such as the Rauland Responder system, are becoming an increasingly popular non-contact method of communicating with patients. Unlike traditional close-contact communication where nurses and other medical personnel have to do PPE each time they enter the patient’s room, the nurse call system allows medical personnel to attend to every non-urgent patient need without utilizing precious personal protective equipment.

Ultraviolet light has been around for years and is widely used for its antiviral and antibacterial properties. However, the major concern with UV light has always been the inherent danger it poses to humans, particularly to the skin and eyes. While not a new technology, UV light has shot to the top of the list for potential COVID-19 solutions, particularly when it comes to air circulation and filtration.

In today’s corporate world, ensuring life safety and business continuity is just as important as being able to react quickly and flexibility to changing market requirements, customer needs and emerging risk. Thinking ahead is particularly important for fire safety. Expansions in your business, drops in system performance or increased operational costs due to increased maintenance or false alarms can call for more modern protective measures.

One of the key technologies in Coronavirus detection is temperature scanning. The widespread dissemination of this technology allows elevated body temperature to be detected at the early stages of infection. The temperature scanning technology itself involves the use of thermal imaging cameras that can detect elevated temperatures from one to two meters away, allowing an easy non-contact solution to taking temperatures in particularly high-traffic areas.

Perhaps one of the most talked about methods of combating the novel coronavirus, contact tracing is gaining traction as a key component in the push to reopen the economy. Whether traditionally via public health officials contacting infected and potentially infected individuals or virtually via widespread smartphone technologies, there’s no question that contact tracing is critical in the identification and spread of Covid-19.

In order to help businesses understand how to successfully reopen their doors, the WHO has shared information concerning how to prevent the spread of the virus at work, how to deal with high-contact situations such as meetings and events, business travel considerations and workplace readiness in case infections (re)surface within their communities.