COVID-19 outbreak that has started in China – has now captured the entire globe under its impact. Today, all the major economic hubs like the US, Italy, Spain, and even India are dealing with the biggest pandemic of the decade and practicing the social distancing at full speed. When a quarter half of the world’s population is under lockdown, then the impact of COVID-19 in the software development industry can be guessed.

In the fight of saving lives, IT, web development, software development, and other related industries are also struggling to survive. The early analysis shows that the tech goods and services sector growth in 2020 is limited to two percent only and that’s a pessimistic opinion, it can even go further down. So, the impact of coronavirus in the IT industry is going to be drastic and some of the software development sector data show that –

• The shipment of notebooks for 2020 is expected to reduce by 10.4m.
• Overall smartphone manufacturing industry to impact by -63.8 million units.
• Home broadband consumption is increased by 43% in the US from January to March.
• Microsoft’s daily active users have been increased by 12 million in 2020.
• Zoom share price has increased from 20 January to 3 April by 75.6%.

Overall, the data curve shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced all the sectors of the development and IT industry. And, developers and programmers should fully prepare themselves to deal with some adverse and new situations in the upcoming days.

How Coronavirus Impact on Web Development?

Coronavirus pandemic is a threat to web developers in many ways. With the increase in work from home setup, there’s a deep impact on the web, and software creators around the globe can be seen. The impact of COVID-19 on the software development industry has been already giving sleepless nights to the developers and creators. So, today, we are going to address a few areas where coronavirus has been impacting the development industry.

Range of Impact

When we foresee short term impact of COVID-19 on different IT industries, then it’s indeed hefty. Canceled flights, dismissed business conference, and roll of the stock market are the few short term impacts that we are already experiencing.

However, the long term effects of COVID-19 aren’t much threatening. The initial prediction of the IT experts showed that COVID-19 poses a major financial threat over small and medium-sized businesses. The prominent case here is of Italian vineyards and cheese factories as their sale has declined swiftly.

As per the new survey presented by Voom, 27% of businesses will be expected to have a moderate impact on their revenue. And, 30% will be expected to have a moderate impact on the supply chain. However, a good thing is that 52% of businesses have already prepared themselves for an economic slowdown.

Job Status of Developers

This is the most concerning area for website development service providers whether they will have work in upcoming days or not. There’s a piece of good news for developers as they are already equipped to work from home so they are pretty ready to deal with the situation. All the tech companies employees like Google and Amazon have advised their employees to work from home and freelancers are already fully equipped to work from home so you guys are all set to work.

However, this benefit is only at the first look. As people are quarantining at their homes, thus the bricks and motor businesses are shutting down due to the low demand because the spending habits of the consumers are reduced. And, this fact is likely to create the following situations –

• Less Business will Start – Due to the uncertain market conditions fewer businesses are likely to launch. So, when fewer new businesses are launching, then demand for new websites and apps will automatically go down.
• Cost Cuts – To cover up the losses, businesses are likely to cut down some costs such as website maintenance, SEO work, social media marketing, and similar services. And, the reduction in these services means less work for developers and creators.
• Permanent Shut Down – If the corona virus keeps on spreading at the present rate, then some of the startups and unprofitable businesses are going to close down permanently. This will indirectly impact the IT industry.

The impact of the corona virus in the IT industry is going to be drastic as most of the SMBs are the main source of the work. But, it’s going to be a short term impact until the situation comes under control. So, IT experts and software developers need to be prepared for the future.

How Developers are Fighting with Coronavirus in Software Development?

 

Developers are very optimistic and innovative people, thus they are trying on different levels to mobilize the COVID-19 outbreak to create new technologies to deal with the crisis. Most of the tools and technologies are currently focused on tracking and controlling the spread of coronavirus. However, the projects are vivid in different areas like chatbots and data visualization software. These projects have two benefits – first, it can help in controlling the virus and provide some financial relief to developers. 

 

Moreover, some UK researchers have already created the COVID Symptoms Trackers to access the viruses spreading patterns and people who are at high risk. Some of the developers are collaborating with the hospitals to compile the health data of the citizens. They are asking all the citizens to fill a range of data including their age, sex, postcodes along with their previous medical and travel histories. And, some researchers are using tracking apps to track coronavirus patients instantly through mobile apps.

 

So, now if you are wondering how developers are fighting with coronavirus in software development, then the answer is clear as the daylight that developers are doing so much. And, developers have so much more potential to help medical and law enforcement professionals. To be honest, today, this coronavirus war can’t be fought without the proper technical and software support from the developers.

How Developers Should Prepare Themselves in the COVID-19 Crisis?

Apart from developing tools and technologies to fight with coronavirus, developers can prepare themselves for the change. They need to measure the present market conditions and create a plan of action to grow their business. If you are familiar with coronavirus risks, then you can take up following preventive measures –

Reduce your Expenses

If SMBs are reducing their expenses, then you should also find a way to reduce your costs. The basic steps that you can take are – don’t go or invite new clients for meetings, just conduct video chat, and reduce travel expenses. If a few expenses aren’t too important, then immediately cut them off.

Look at the stock of hosting plans, software licenses, subscriptions,, and other tools you have right now. If you can free up some of the expenses, then do it immediately. So, when you aren’t making money, then budget cutting on your level is the best solution for you.

Reshuffle your Work

COVID-19 pandemic is going to leave varied effects on different businesses. Like, the travel industry is touching the ground and hand sanitizer business is touching the sky. So, today, you need to sort your priorities. You should organize your projects based on industry demand.

 

Suppose, if you have a couple of travel projects, then stop them for a movement and focus on other industries that are growing like video conferencing. By prioritizing your work, you will be got to know where you can drive more profits. So, take some time to sort your work priorities and find work in the industries that are thriving currently. With a coronavirus situation, you have to revamp your priorities as well. 

Invest in your Past Clients

Today, if you go and search for new clients, then it’s going to be way harder than retaining your past clients. To acquire a new client, you have to spend five times more time as compared to retaining your existing clients. On the top, the success rate of selling your services to your past customers is 50% to 70% more. Thus, keeping in touch with your past clients is good today as they already know your worth.

However, developers can’t follow the traditional method of meeting clients in the present situation. So, you can organize video calls or phone calls with your past clients. Or, you can just send email or text to your clients to check whether they require your services or not.

 

Improve your Knowledge

 

As the workflow is low nowadays, then this will free up a large amount of your schedule. So, you should use this free time to learn new skills and improve your knowledge. You should focus on the relevant skills that can help you in growing your skills. Some of the common skills that you can learn along with your web development skills are SEO, eCommerce development, and conversion rate optimization.

 

There are plenty of different free and premium websites available online that you can use to learn during your quarantine period and grow your knowledge. However, you should try to learn courses that are relevant to your software development services so that you can land more clients.

 

Collaborate with Others

 

This is a universal situation and we all sailing on the same boat. So, if you want to launch a project to help in coronavirus fight or anything personal, then you can collaborate with other developers and programmers. You can brainstorm ideas with your colleagues and associates using the digital modes of communication and develop a new project to maintain a regular flow of income.

It is the right time to use your connections to launch your own business. If you are self competent, then you can survive any downfall easily. It’s just a matter of creating a proper plan for your future.

 

Explore New Opportunities

Some might call it exploiting the situation, but software developers can seek new business opportunities without harming anyone’s interest. There are plenty of different ways in which you can use this situation to find new business opportunities such as you can create a website to sell face masks or hand sanitizers online. You can create a portal to help employees to work from home. Just use your skills to find solutions for people’s needs and you will automatically find a new business opportunity.

It Will Pass

Software developers need to always stay optimistic and remember that it is a small crisis and it will pass soon. You just need to stay focused and work hard to grow your career and meanwhile try to help others to cope with the crisis. And, always remember that developers are one of the important parts of the essential service providers and using their skills they can medical staff to win the fight against coronavirus.