Big Tech Grew During the Pandemic as Reliance on Their Products and Services Grew

From the tools that we use to work, study, and play to how we interact and communicate, shop and entertain ourselves, we’re using more technology in an increase that is expected to outlast Covid-19

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, digital commerce is experiencing a boom at unprecedented levels, taking existing tech giants from Alphabet (Google’s parent) to Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Apple to soaring valuations. This is in large part due to increased user adoption swiftly at scale for products and services for daily work, study and play.

Digital avenues have existed for over two decades in these areas, but the level of adoption today is considerably higher than before. Tech titans that already benefited from such use, are reaping in the benefits as people rapidly adopt technology in almost every aspect of life. Despite a painful economic downturn, demand for computers, online retail, cloud computing, video games, digital marketing and advertising and online services have soared. The shift to remote work has also accelerated purchasing of computers and associated technology and use of platforms, products and services for work.

This has resulted in monumental growth for technology giants, while traditional brick and mortar retailers struggle to survive. The combined revenue of five of the largest tech companies in the United States (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook) grew past $1 trillion while profit surged lsat 24%, raising market capitalization to $8 trillion. This success has also resulted in large hiring. Amazon for example, added half a million workers - 500,000 people - in just one year, which is roughly the size of the entire population of the city of Atlanta, GA, according to data pulled by the Wall Street Journal.

While regulators seek to rein in the power and colossal wealth of these tech giants, the demand for big tech continues to rise and will outlast the pandemic in all likelihood.

When Should Offices Reopen?

A Wait & See Year: Return to the workplace is unclear as more employees push reopening dates to the fall, waiting on vaccine rollouts

While many nationwide employers initially had high hopes of a quick vaccine rollout in early 2021, those hopes were dashed seeing the large scale effort required, the limited number of vaccines and other factors that have slowed down vaccine distribution. Therefore, employers have also halted plans to have millions of workers return back to their jobs in offices for the near future, with many companies refusing to set specific dates. It has become more of a “wait and see” plan with remote work continuing from 2020 for businesses all over the country, including large employers in Silicon Valley, New York, large metropolitan areas and more.

Some employers are pushing return dates back to September. Google had already planned for a delay last year, pushing return to offices in the summer of 2021.

As workers are able to do their jobs remotely, many have moved from expensive apartments and homes close to their jobs to less expensive areas. Two popular destinations include Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas.

These delays go across industries. For example, Qurate Retail Inc., the parent company to Ballard Designs, QVC and HSN, changed its initial May return to offices to September for all locations in Philadelphia, Atlanta and other metropolitan cities. Others like TechnologyAdvice, a marketing firm in Nashville, Tennessee, have revamped plans from a return to office to a hybrid schedule for either remote or in-office work.

Large companies such as United Parcel Service Inc., based in Atlanta, and financial-services firm Fidelity Investments Inc., based in Boston, have not yet set return dates, allowing many employees to continue to work from home remotely and are using a “wait and see” approach.

Salesforce, a San Francisco Giant, Leads the Exodus as More Companies Switch to Remote and Flex Work Options

The cloud computing technology software giant, Salesforce, has announced that most of its employees will work remotely part or full time after the pandemic

Covid-19 has had some lasting impact on how business is done as large companies like Salesforce are adopting a permanent shift away from office work to either flex (part time in the office and part time at home) and remote work options. Another effect of this change is also a reduction in real estate used by the company, decreasing its overall footprint.

Famous for occupying the tallest building in San Francisco called the Salesforce Tower and as the largest private employer in the city, Salesforce occupies similar buildings in large cities such as Chicago, New York and Indianapolis.

Salesforce is giving its 9,000 Bay Area workers three options to choose from: flex, remote or in office work. Flex work, which applies to most workers, involves coming into the office two to three days a week and working remotely the rest of the time; remote work involves working remotely full time and never coming into the office; and finally in office work is coming into the office every business day.

In an ever-connected world, Salesforce advocates for adjusting to employee needs such as childcare and the ability to work eight-hour daily schedules in a more flexible manner.

“We’re not going back to the way things were. I don’t believe that we’ll keep every space in every city that we’re in, including San Francisco.”

— Brent Hyder, Chief People Officer

With over 54,000 employees worldwide, Salesforce is making a change that is bound to influence other companies as well. This change affects existing workspaces that are being redesigned from being a “sea of desks” to more collaborative spaces, according to Brent Hyder. Employees can do a lot of work independently and remotely. New company office mock ups include more of cafe-style seating, open air conference spaces and private areas, with social distancing and clean spaces taking a priority.

The new plan entails 65% of employees coming in only one to three days a week — an increase from 40% before the pandemic. Additional employees would be working completely remotely.

While some companies have resisted the change to remote work such as Netflix, citing it affects company culture, work morale and productivity, others have embraced it. Being a cloud computing software technology company, Salesforce is able to transition to employing a more remote workforce more easily than most. More and more Americans are also adopting digital commerce swiftly from ordering groceries online to buying cars and getting services for a variety of needs, showing a permanent shift to e-commerce and digital platforms for many everyday activities.