2020 saw the surge of COVID-19 pandemic, which is continuing into 2021. 2021 would continue to see traditional industries like fitness, retail and entertainment disrupted. Healthcare, education and newer remote workforce solutions would impact our everyday lives.

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Swathi Young
CTO, Integrity Management Services, Inc.
Forbes Technology Council Member
Women in AI, Washington DC Ambassador

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2020 turned out to be a Black Swan event with respect with the spread of the
COVID-19 pandemic and almost the entire year was focused on healthcare
predominantly. Remote workforce solutions came a close second in terms of
creative technology solutions. Education, that is ripe for disruption, has still a
long way to go in terms of new technology solutions.
2021 would continue to see newer tech solutions in both these sectors –
healthcare and education apart from figuring out how to create better
platforms for people to interact virtually – online conferences, 3D avatars and
augmented reality exchanges. We would also be witnessing increased
adoption of robots (especially in healthcare), streaming wars in entertainment,
and digital first responses from traditional industries like restaurants and fitness.

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Here are some high level mega Tech
trends of 2021:
There is no doubt that Healthcare was on top of everyone’s
mind in 2020 and will continue in 2021 as well.
2021 would continue to see major disruption in traditional
primary care physician visits to use of telemedicine and
direct-to-consumer lab tests.

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As per CBInsights, this is the state of primary care
technology solutions:
Some examples include virtual platforms like Doctor on
Demand that allow individuals to have live video visits with
licensed physicians anywhere, anytime. Startups like
Healthy.io, LetsGetChecked, Everlywell, and Base offer direct-
to-consumer lab tests that can be performed at home.

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While some companies have announced work from home
indefinitely, others are waiting for 75% of the population to be
immunized. Hence, 2021 will continue the trend of remote
workforce, virtual conferences and remote collaboration.
While collaboration tools have gone beyond Slack to Miro, Mural
and Monday.com, there is an increased emphasis on culture
building using newer generation of virtual solutions such as
Assembly, Bonusly, Weekdone etc.

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Since virtual platforms and video conference tools offer
asynchronous conversations, there is room for adopting 3D/
virtual reality and augmented reality solution.
Earlier this fall, I gave a keynote presentation using a virtual
platform VirBELA. It was so cool to see my virtual avatar take
a seat, walk up to the virtual stage and present the keynote.
Other startups like Mootup, Breakroom etc. are also paving
the way for an enhanced virtual reality and 3D experience.
Source: Virbela.com

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Education, especially university/college, is ripe for disruption and
the 2020 pandemic increased the need for distance and online
learning solutions. Most teachers/ professors used online tools like
zoom but others experimented with e-books, chatrooms and even
podcasts. In 2021, this trend would continue as schools would either
perform in a hybrid or fully remote learning.
With in-person learning being interrupted, this year would see
continued technology and remote learning solutions including
micro learning platforms.

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Technology Platforms
For example, a Florida based startup Nearpod helped K-12 teachers
create lessons through pop quizzes and virtual reality field trips —
offered its services free of cost to schools across the US.
Other technology platforms like Top Hat offers teachers an
instruction/class management platform where they can share
interactive media, virtual classes, and targeted online lessons.

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Technology Platforms
For more hands on lab experiences, technology solutions using
AR/VR are on the rise. Osso VR, Oxford Medical Simulation and
zSpace provide VR training for medical education, surgery or
science lab classes.

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Industries such as food and beverage are going digital with many of
them having QR-code based menus, online platforms for ordering
food as well as restaurants that do not offer any physical space but
only food delivery called ghost-kitchens.
One movie theater, EVO entertainment, from closed physical
theaters to open air drive-in theaters. It established grocery delivery
services to expand its revenue streams at this time.

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Fitness Goes Online
Fitness goes online : While the pandemic brought about closure of
gyms, yoga studios and boutique fitness locations, some organizations
quickly brought the fitness studio experiences to people’s living rooms.
Barry’s, Mindbody and Orangetheory quickly went digital with not just
providing online classes via zoom but providing custom digital
experiences using instructors as well as offering an outdoor activity
option.
This trend would continue especially with online fitness products like
Peloton and Mirror making it easy for consumers to get into a fitness
regime from the comfort of their homes.

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We have seen quite a few recurring revenue based subscription
services whether it is for beauty products (eg, Madison Reed or
Birchbox), meal kits (HelloFresh, BlueApron etc.) or even pet food
via BarkBox.
As the pandemic has taken off the online shopping trends, many
existing retail stores have gone the subscription route. For
example, Ann Taylor, Nordstrom and Express have started the
clothing subscription boxes similar to StitchFix.

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As people’s schedules are unpredictable and are juggling
between kids and home offices, subscription boxes provide
relief and reduce grocery store runs while retail stores have
new revenue models.
Pret a Manger, for example, launched a coffee subscription
scheme to lure customers back into spending.
Source: pret.com
People’s Schedules Are Unpredictable

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The streaming wars already began with Disney launching Disney+
in the fall of 2019 but COVID-19 accelerated the shutdown of
movie theatres and launch of other streaming platforms like Apple
TV+ and HBO Max.
It seems like the end of an era for traditional Hollywood
production houses and we saw major productions like “1984:
WonderWoman” and “Mulan” release directly to streaming.
2021 would see this trend continue as entertainment is completely
shifting to streaming and streaming services produce more
original content with diverse voices.
Source: onezero.medium.com

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Digital bank adoption has been on the rise but 2020 saw the
acceleration of digital money management, digital currency, and
cashless payments.
2021 would continue with this trend especially outside the US.
Latin American countries are increasingly adopting neo banks –
digital banks with no physical branches.
Another example is the introduction of digital first debit card by
MasterCard that is backed by a cash management account called
Samsung Money by SoFi.
2021 will continue to see consumers moving away from cash and
opting for contact-free and digital payments.