COVID-19: A 'blessing in disguise' for online technology

The current COVID-19 pandemic is considered a blessing in disguise in terms of the impact of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) to online technology especially in learning process and academic activities.

Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah said online technologies such as video conferencing and webinar were not readily accepted and implemented by the people before the pandemic occurred.

"But when COVID-19 happened, these options of technology have been utilised in a big way and I strongly believe that it actually drove practitioners and users of these technologies to appreciate what IR4.0 can do.

"People have started to appreciate and are starting to get familiar with this technology. In years to come, it would be something that should be widely used, appreciated and implemented globally," he said, adding that the concern would be on the cost and budget available to utilise this frontier technology.

He said this during University Malaysia of Computer Science and Engineering (UNIMY) Facebook Live conversation entitled 'Towards a Digital Society' moderated by lecturer Prof Akbar Ali Mohamed Noordin, yesterday.

Moving forward, he said, the IR4.0 frontier technologies would be an option and is the way forward that should be widely utilised regardless of the fields involved.

"Whether it's because of COVID-19 or not, this technology is coming to play an important role and this is a futuristic tech that nobody can stop from gaining further popularity," he added.

-- BERNAMA