Technology Record - Issue 22: Autumn 2021

AUTOMOT I V E , MOB I L I T Y & T RANS POR TAT I ON 119 “We are responding to the changes that we can see coming to the industry” S AN J AY RAV I , M I C ROSOF T remaining extremely limited. Worldwide, almost 50 million travel jobs are at risk during the cri- sis, according to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council, while research by the US Travel Association has found that there has been an estimated economic loss of $809 billion. “As the public and private sectors race to con- tain Covid-19, we are hearing from our travel and transport customers about the unique chal- lenges they are facing and steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of this crisis,” says Julie Shainock, senior director, automotive, mobil- ity & transportation industry at Microsoft. “Industry leaders are taking quick and decisive action to prepare their organisations and work- force for a new normal. This includes adjusting staffing levels, closing properties and shifting to remote work. Perhaps no industry will face more pressure from this crisis, but there is a deep history of resiliency and recovery across previous downturns.” The near future, therefore, will see travel and transportation companies looking to rebound and rebuild. To do so, they will need to begin leveraging technologies and solutions that they might previously have been neglecting to help give them a competitive edge in challenging times. “The travel industry has historically been behind in the cloud journey, so its ability to accelerate its infrastructure and applications to the cloud is critical,” says Shainock. “This will help drive an increase in automation in their operations and improve efficiencies with front- line staff, who will have information more read- ily at their fingertips.” Shainock also predicts that the way in which businesses engage with their customers will be important in encouraging them to return to travel. “The need for personalisation will be more important as new types of customer segment