The tech industry was ahead of the Covid curve from the beginning.
Faster than the public and even governments, tech companies were among the first to understand the coronavirus threat back in early 2020 and respond with short-term measures. As the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down into 2021, tech companies are also quickest to make long-term changes to employee policies and priorities.
That may be no surprise, though, since they will benefit most from the post-pandemic digital world.
First to respond to the threat
Back in January, February and even early March, many were were still minimizing the coronavirus’ threat to the U.S. — at times comparing it to the flu — and White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci was saying there was “no reason” to wear a mask.
But the tech industry was spooked.
In mid-February venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz put up a sign outside its office telling visitors not to shake hands, according a widely shared Recode article titled “The tech industry is terrified of the coronavirus.” There were 13 Covid cases in the U.S. at the time, Recode reported, but Silicon Valley professionals were already wearing high-quality masks and ordering hazmat suits.
In March, Sequoia Capital released a memo that called coronavirus the “Black Swan of 2020” and warned companies to “question every assumption about your business.”
“In some ways, business mirrors biology. As Darwin surmised, those who survive ‘are not the strongest or the most intelligent, but the most adaptable to change,'” the memo stated.
The memo recalled Sequoia’s famous “RIP Good Times” presentation about how to prepare for the 2008 recession. A year later, the comparison seems even more apt.
Tech companies were among the first to act by restricting travel to China, cancelling major live events and sending employees home. Businesses with more exposure to China, such as Apple, may have been more aware of how the threat would soon come to the U.S.
Live events started falling like dominoes. Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest trade show for the mobile phone industry, was canceled on Feb. 12 after several major tech companies voluntarily pulled out due to Covid-19. By early March Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Adobe all shifted major annual conferences to virtual platforms or cancelled the live portions.
Several days later on March 6, the city of Austin, Texas canceled South by Southwest, the annual tech, film and music conference that brings in hundreds of millions in revenue for the city, as coronavirus concerns went mainstream.
Tech also drove the shift to remote work. Over the span of a few days in early March, Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Amazon encouraged employees in certain regions to work from home if possible. Twitter made work from home mandatory on March 11.
The Bay Area announced a “shelter in place” order on March 16, but New York, which…
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