During the pandemic, many Internet technologies became very popular. It’s hard to imagine how people used to live without messengers and streaming platforms. But what will happen to them when the pandemic is over. We asked about this expert. How do they see the life of instant messengers and chat platforms in the normal life of people, without coronavirus? What streaming technologies will evolve next? What streaming platforms are not there but may come in the future?

Heinrich Long, Restore Privacy

How streaming will continue to change far beyond the pandemic! It’s easy to assume that once the pandemic is gone, streaming platforms will lack an audience, but I don’t think that’s the case. Platforms like Twitch have grown substantially during the pandemic, and I see that evolution continuing lost past the COVID days.

Our lives changed when we recognized we could use Zoom for all of our live-video meetings, and I’d like to see that technology get better and better as time goes on. I think there is still lots of room to grow when it comes to VR and its ability to allow its users to interact on a digital yet physical level.

After working in tech for more than 20 years, I am excited about what’s to come in this industry, but I also know the security risks presented to the general public when we take big steps like AI and VR.

Christian Velitchkov, Co-Founder Twiz LLC

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant change in media outlets. Most theaters, concert halls, and cinema houses were closed for any event this year and TV and film creation stopped for quite a long time, prompting countless cutbacks and huge amounts of cash lost.

Streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime saw a huge hike in daily users. After Pandemic these new streaming platforms will dominate film businesses as they are at the comfort of home and can be cheaper than going to movies. Theatres will become a place for the elites and purists of cinema. These post-pandemic changes can be seen in the film business.

Daria Bogretsova, Marketing Director of Leobit

Absolutely, streaming platforms will become much more available and accessible far after the pandemic wanes out. We have already seen the rise of video messengers like Zoom or Microsoft Teams gain steam for both personal and business use, and chat platforms like Slack and Discord as well, especially since they also offer voice messaging and calling too. Not only will they develop to better support businesses as a communication tool, but as a marketing and community outreach tool as well. You already see some businesses trying to adapt to these various platforms to reach a new audience they may not have been able to before through traditional media like paper or digital ads alone. These technologies are here to stay as organizations and people seek to explore using these programs to market themselves and cultivate their digital presence. While some will undoubtedly remain the same and settle as simply communication tools, some will take cues from platforms like Twitch and Clubhouse to develop into something they can use to reach more people.

Streaming technology

Jay Akin, Mushroom Networks, Inc.

With the pandemic when in-person meetings were eliminated or reduced to an absolute minimum, people rediscovered the power of video conferencing and video streaming. Even though not a hundred percent replacement, video conferencing can preserve eye-to-eye contact and non-verbal communication that happens face to face. The non-verbal part of the communication, which can be as high as 90% of the whole communication, heavily relies on high quality and error-free video stream that has minimal latency. Broadband bonding of two or more Internet lines into a faster-optimized Internet connection enables boosted video streaming quality and is used in scenarios where a single Internet connection can be problematic. With the improvements in Internet connectivity, both in terms of wireless and wired, as well as network technologies such as broadband bonding, streaming technologies have a significant role in our daily lives well beyond this pandemic.

Miranda Young, Winpit

Streaming technologies have taken an irreplaceable place in our lives and will undoubtedly persist even after the pandemic. It was active before the pandemic and gained immense popularity due to isolation and served as the single best and most efficient way to access the media and communicate with others.

Well, chats and instant messengers are an integral part of our life and became widespread as soon as we introduced them. These platforms are relatively unaffected by the coronavirus and will continue to exist as always.

Streaming media, both audio and video, is one area that continues to evolve and is expected to grow further in the coming years. The goal is to provide users with a living experience and make all kinds of multimedia available to them at any time.

Let’s try to look into the future. Winamp is something that will never leave our hearts. It was king in the pre-iTune era and allowed streaming video and audio while supporting a wide variety of formats. While there will undoubtedly be more fantastic and advanced streaming technologies in the future, Winamp will continue to be remembered dearly.

Eden Cheng, WeInvoice

The live streaming technology has prospered during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, such an instant surge in streaming prospects will continue after the pandemic too!

The necessity of the chat platforms will remain the same without COVID-19 and its social distancing period. This is because social channels are the gateways of overseas communication. So, people will still use these messengers for communicating with their friends, loved ones, or clients.

The most effective streamline technologies that continue to evolve are AI and ML, telehealth, user-generated content, remote online and personal fitness growth, and cloud gaming.

Dacast, Brightcove, StreamShark, JW Player, and Kaltura are some of the premium streaming solutions that will soon roll out in the future.

Dan Bailey, President, WikiLawn 

The apps that made the biggest impact over the last year aren’t going anywhere. Apps like Slack, Trello, and Zoom have become a part of many companies’ workflow. They’re definitely a part of ours, and I can’t imagine going back to using anything else or just abandoning them. We’ll be staying remote, so of course, that makes sense for us. But even if we weren’t those tools just help us operate at peak efficiency.

Leobit develops advanced technologies and solutions for customers in Europe and the USA. We create solutions for the automation of processes in various areas of business. If you are interested in how to make your business better, write to us.

I know many people speculate that Zoom will lose market share as more people return to the office, but I don’t believe that’s the case. Zoom will still be useful for employees who are out of the office, and there’s no reason it can’t be used in-office so employees can continue multi-tasking at their desks or avoid the hazards of a crowded meeting room.

Rex Freiberger, CEO, Gadget Review

Streaming technology will absolutely live on post-pandemic. Most of the popular apps and services were available beforehand and will continue to see use after. Zoom and Slack, for example, were already being used by businesses the world over. And it’s not as if people just suddenly started subscribing to Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc during the pandemic. It’s also not as if they’re going to unsubscribe once they can leave the house more frequently.

I think some of the niche products that popped up will probably fold if they haven’t already. Most haven’t been able to compete with the big names in the market. I don’t foresee those big names going anywhere anytime soon, as many companies are pursuing a hybrid model for the future.

I do think someone could capitalize on this and create an app or service that is specifically built for hybrid teams. While most collaboration apps support this, it would potentially be very lucrative for a tech startup to create an app that specifically caters to that group.

Daivat Dholakia, Director of Operations at Force by Mojio 

As COVID keeps dying down, we should expect a dip in the use of streaming services. I’m already seeing the fervor around Clubhouse start to fade now that people can spend time with each other in real life. However, I don’t think that streaming is going anywhere in the long run. We’ve all gotten accustomed to it now and learned about what it can do. I think it’ll become a permanent (if not primary) form of communication in everyday social and business life.

We are surely going to see a continued evolution of video streaming. Zoom and Microsoft Teams have grown into substantially better platforms just over the last year. With live closed captioning, breakout rooms, and hi-def images, I think video streaming is going to remain a useful and accessible way to communicate, do business, and learn. I think that VR technology will eventually bring us to the point where we can sit down at a meeting that feels and looks real while alone in our individual homes or offices.

Jeff Goodwin, Sr. Director, Performance Marketing & e-Commerce of Orgain

Post-pandemic streaming would initially be thought of to take a decline, as people are spending more time out with friends and family doing other activities. However, since Hollywood would also be back at work, more content would be pushed out more than ever, with new ideas being produced and production that was pushed back coming back to finish projects. While there may be an initial dip in streaming activity, we may see an increase in the long run.