'COVID-19 helping accelerate investments in cloud, AI and cybersecurity'

With the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting businesses globally, technology will play a "stronger role than ever before", enabling economic recovery, Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari said on Friday.

Speaking at the Microsoft Envision Forum 2020, Maheshwari noted that the coronavirus pandemic has changed businesses, communities, industries and the world, forever.

"No one company is going to solve a challenge like this alone, and it is going to take the private and public sectors working together to turn the tide on COVID-19. As we continue to work through the current situation and plan for the future, it's clear that the change required is significant - as is the potential opportunity across industries," he said.

He added that technology will play a key role in management of social sector programs across education, health and public distribution, helping to strengthen the economy.

"Technology will play a stronger role than ever before - enabling economic recovery and helping each one of us achieve more," he emphasised.

The event, which was organised digitally, saw industry leaders across banking, financial services and insurance, manufacturing and retail sectors deliberate on the need for innovation and real-world digital transformation.

Aarthi Subramanian, group chief digital officer of Tata Sons, said COVID-19 will accelerate the scaling of digital across industries and investments in cloud, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

"Digital transformation in companies will focus on new end-to-end customer journeys and we will see an increase in adoption of automation in manufacturing industries. They will also invest in enhancing employee engagement given the remote working model," she added.