Technology is enabling our fight against the pandemic today; but the effects of COVID-19 on technology innovation will last well into the years ahead.

As global citizens unite, following self-isolation and social distancing policies to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the impact on the world’s data centers and communication networks is profound. Our homes are now our offices, classrooms, shopping centers and entertainment venues.  Through all of this change and uncertainty, one thing has become clear: we cannot deny our humanity.  We are social beings, seeking connection online by the masses, through video calls, social media and connected gaming that is driving unprecedented demand on our networks and datacenters as internet bandwidth usage surges.  This has prompted a recognition that technology – both seen and unseen – is essential to our daily lives.

For years, technological innovation has caused disruption in datacenter and networking markets. Long before the pandemic struck, technology companies were devoting their R&D budgets and resources towards making advancements in a number of cutting-edge technologies that rocked the status quo, like edge computing, 5G, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

But today we can say unequivocally that disruption is a driving force for innovation, not just its effect. These two forces have long had a symbiotic relationship, but it’s important to recognize the shift that is happening now, if we are to stay ahead of the change that is to come.

It is an abiding truth that adversity is a catalyst for innovation. Existing datacenter and network architectures will be forced to evolve and will emerge stronger, smarter and more efficient than ever before. We know this is true; the difficulty however, is in pulling ourselves away from the familiar – during a time of crisis – to take a risk on something new. This is a daunting prospect, but leading change is never easy, and innovation takes courage.

So it remains to be seen the degree to which COVID-19 will accelerate the digital transformation of industries and companies, and how it will impact the adoption of new technologies.And beyond just the technological innovation, there is also the question of how companies can evolve to get more out of their existing R&D budgets. How can they quickly ramp new solutions to stay ahead of a steep technology curve in the future, when their focus must be on meeting their commitments to their customers today? As the Brookings Institute’s Blair Levin points out, “companies might be hesitant to make these leaps, because each step requires significant up-front capital expenditures which take years to recoup.”