TECH

Technological giants grow at the pace of confinement amid uncertainty

The world economy is paralyzed by the coronavirus, the recession is lurking and the advertising revenue is shrinking, but the technology giants, with Amazon, Google and Facebook in the lead, are breaking usage records, promising for the future.
As Apple and Microsoft already did, these companies published their financial results in the first three months of the year, already marked by the paralysis of the world and the economic crisis.
However, for social networking apps every day for a month it's been like Christmas: the level of calls made by WhatsApp and Messenger has doubled, reaching New Year's Eve volumes daily, usually the annual peak.
The number of video calls made through "Teams", Microsoft's video conferencing solution, increased by 1,000% in March.
As unemployment explodes, Amazon is recruiting nonstop - 175,000 additional jobs in the United States - to deal with the growing flow of online orders since the beginning of the confinement.
Meanwhile, Google and Apple are launching new products, both physical and digital, and intend to become even more essential with new human contact tracking tools to combat the new coronavirus.

- Prudence -
The most reluctant of online commerce made their first purchase on Amazon. The elderly started playing video games. Those who are against social networks have no other option to keep in touch with their friends. Children imitate their parents, each on their telework screen. Families have re-signed up for Netflix.
Not everything, however, is a flower for these tech giants. Advertising, the crux of the war for Google and Facebook, was one of the first budgets cut by struggling companies.
Digital signatures must provide a service that has become essential, with limited resources. Its employees work from garages, living rooms or worse, in warehouses that are difficult to protect against the coronavirus.
The production of electronic devices (such as smartphones) and the content of streaming platforms (series, video games) is delayed.
One by one, the groups lowered their forecasts for 2020.
"The first quarter numbers will not reflect what is really going on," said Bob O'Donnell of Technalysis Research. "The problems started only in March. The real problem will be the demand in the second quarter."
As a sign that even good numbers should not be celebrated, Netflix was cautious in announcing its new subscriber records, emphasizing the uncertainty that looms over the rest of the year.
Confinement winners do not want to appear to benefit from the health crisis. And, above all, it is difficult to know which habits will be established forever and which uses will disappear in a distant and vague "after".

- Influence -
"At the moment, these platforms, like Zoom, provide a service. But when we can have dinner with friends, we will no longer have a drink by videoconference. And it will no longer be free," said Carolina Milanesi, Creative Strategies.
However, no one cares about the future of tech stars. "The entire advertising-related industry will suffer, but they have enough reserves to resist," said David Sidebottom, an analyst at Futuresource.
With or without a crisis, they are always on the offensive. Apple Music was launched to conquer 52 new countries, with six months free for new subscribers. Google made Stadia, its cloud video game service, free for two months. Facebook launched its video game streaming application a few days ago, in direct competition with Twitch (Amazon) and Mixer (Microsoft), and a new video call interface, Messenger Rooms, threatening Zoom.
The groups also compete in terms of social responsibility, publicizing measures to protect their employees, their efforts to combat disinformation linked to COVID-19 or their donations to charities.
Google and Apple, whose operating systems are the most used on smartphones in the world, have proposed an unprecedented alliance to track people who are close to infected people.
"It's fascinating. They can have a decisive impact on the entire planet," says Bob O'Donnell. "It shows its power and influence: no government can reach so many people at the same time."

AFP