by Putri Dwi Sofira
The 21st year of the 21st century has been the year of crisis, since multiple crises have occurred ranging from the climate crisis to the energy crisis. Above all is the most horrific plague, known as the global pandemic. At the time Covid-19 pandemic occurred, most of the worldwide bustles moved online, accelerating the global digital transformation that has been underway for decades. The life order of the global community has changed drastically as a result of the unavoidable impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Changes occur quickly and fundamentally in various aspects of our lives in a very broad scope of impact, ranging from economics, business, social society, health, to education. The pattern of the old order that had been established for decades became a mess amid the miserable circumstances due to the pandemic that did not end even until now, thus causing the creation of a new pattern of life order centered on technology. This era requires performers in various fields, including the business and economic sectors, to immediately adapt toward global digitalization in order to correspond with current conditions.
As the well-known fact revealed, this global pandemic crisis has brought significant impact on our lives, be it social, political, ecological, and economical. Moreover, it is an undeniable fact that this pandemic crisis has also had a critical impact on recession and economic crises throughout the world. Whilst it can turn out to be a golden opportunity in order to accelerate global digital transformation. As commonly known, to realize an inclusive and progressive economic transformation, of course, a massive digital transformation must first be carried out. From this point of view, the pandemic crisis, which is often seen as a limitation, in fact can become an opportunity to accelerate global digital transformation. Concrete examples can be seen around us, during this pandemic all activities carried out online and involved digital technology, ranging from online lectures, online shopping, to work from home which of course also involves digital technology.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies due to the social distancing norms and nationwide lockdowns. Economists and experts in other fields also spoke about the urgency for adaptation and acceleration towards the transformation of global digitalization amid this crisis. This is reinforced by the statement of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, Sri Mulyani, S.E., M.Sc., Ph.D. In her presentation, Sri Mulyani stated that digital transformation is a step that must be taken to realize an inclusive and sustainable economic transformation. According to her, the current crisis caused by the pandemic is an opportunity that creates momentum for an acceleration of the digital transformation, so that a more advanced economic transformation can be realized. Other experts and economists also confirmed Sri Mulyani’s statement regarding the importance of digital transformation as an essential factor to realize an inclusive and progressive economic transformation. In line with the statement of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, the International Monetary Fund also stated that the accelerated digitization during the Covid-19 pandemic was a golden opportunity that must be responded to wisely and appropriately. By encouraging the industrial revolution 4.0 where almost all of the economic bustles involved digital technology, it can be observed that the internet and technology nowadays become an essential human need, hence digital transformation needs to be carried out. At the time of this pandemic crisis, it is an undeniable fact that there is a correlation between health policies and economic policies that influence each other and how the urgency of digitalization during this current pandemic crisis is an important thing to be intensified sustainably.
There is a lot of uncertainty amidst this current crisis, but one thing is certain: Digital acceleration is the critical factor in this crisis at the time of the 21st year of the 21st century. Nowadays, almost all aspects of our lives have been reached by digital technology, be it social, political, ecological, or economical aspects. In order to realize an inclusive and progressive economic transformation, digital transformation needs to be carried out. This pandemic crisis is an unprecedented and challenging circumstance. By taking advantage of this crisis, instead of using this pandemic as a limitation and an excuse, we can take advantage of this pandemic crisis as a golden opportunity to accelerate the worldwide digital transformation, so as to encourage economic transformation for more advanced levels. This economic transformation will also have a positive impact on the global’s post-pandemic economic recovery. No less important, there must be collaboration from all parties and levels of society. Strengthening coordination between the central, provincial, district, and city governments, even sub-districts to villages, all these coordinations need to be continuously evaluated so that future implementation and execution can be conducted better. In other words, the role of the community plays a significant impact, hence cooperation from all parties is needed. By doing so, the transformation of an inclusive global digitalization and post-crisis economic recovery will be able to run optimally.