With the global concern and spread of the Coronavirus, the tech industry has noticed disruptions already. Many of the tech companies have ties to China. For instance, Apple uses and relies heavily on factories in Shenzen, China for the production of Apple's biggest seller, the iPhone. Not only does Apple rely on China for production, but they are also one of the largest consumers of iPhones. Apple is not alone in this struggle. Many other companies like Microsoft, rely on Chinese customers to download Windows software onto their laptops and tablets. Microsoft has had a decline in revenue resulting from the spread of the virus throughout China.
Coronavirus does not discriminate, it has hit all the tech industries across the board. Companies like IBM, At&T, and Verizon have pulled out of a large industry trade show in Spain. Facebook even cancelled its annual conference where they showcase the latest products and plans to software developers. Even companies like Amazon are asking its employees not to travel domestically or internationally in hopes of keeping the virus at bay. Will all these precautions be enough? Or will the potentially deadly virus still creep its way into tech-reliant industries?
Interestingly enough, the article points out that some tech companies may actually see an increase in business as people potentially can be confined to their homes. Services like Netflix may see a large influx of people streaming television while delivery services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Amazon delivery might see an increase as well.
It is hard to predict how this will all play out, but experts all agree the potential is there to have devasting effects on not just the tech industry, but the global economy as a whole.
We are all bracing ourselves and hoping the Coronavirus goes away as quickly as it has come.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/technology/coronavirus-disrupts-industry.html
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