Who benefits from

COVID-19 lockdown

Upper-Intermediate level
Task 1 - Warm-up
Discuss the questions.
● Some countries have opened their
borders. Are you planning to travel
anywhere this summer/year?
● Where do you work/study? Did the
lockdown influence your
company/educational institution somehow?
● Are there companies in your city that
have gone bankrupt?
● What companies benefited from lockdown?
Why?

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020 © Pictures

 Task 1 - Warm-up
taken from unsplash.com
Task 2 - Vocabulary
Read the sentences, guess the meaning of the words in bold.

1. The outbreak of an unknown virus wasn’t expected to take place all over the world.
2. The riots were later seen as the catalyst for the new political developments.
3. Can you find someone to substitute for you at the meeting?
4. They're doing a gig in Boston tonight.
5. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.
6. Please note the change of venue for this event.
7. Skill isn’t enough — you need savvy too.
8. They had a seamless flow of talk for two hours.
9. The report is underpinned by extensive research.
10. When his parents died, he found himself $100.000 better off.

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020 ©

Match the words with their definitions.
1. an outbreak a. performance by a comedian
2. a catalyst b. a place where people meet for an organized event to substitute
3. a gig c. the sudden start of something unpleasant, especially violence or a disease
4. immensely d. to use smth/smb instead of smth/smb else
5. a venue e. a person or thing that causes a change
6. savvy f. with no spaces or breaks between one part and the next
7 . seamless g. practical knowledge or understanding of something
8. to underpin h. to have more money than you had in the past better off
9. better off i. to support or form the basis of an argument, a claim
10. to substitute j. extremely, very much

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020 ©

Task 3 - Reading
Read the article and answer the
questions.
1. Why is cloud computing developing fast?
2. Why has Microsoft become the
main beneficiary in video
conferencing?
3. What is the prediction for cash usage?
4. How did lockdown influence e-
commerce and video gaming?
5. What is the situation like with
online shopping?

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020 ©

Pictures taken from unsplash.com
Task - Speaking
4

Discuss the questions.

1. How would you comment on the recent trends
described in the article? Do you agree or
disagree with them?
2. Which of the above-mentioned areas did you
use while being on quarantine?
3. Can you say that now you use more
computer service than used to?
4. Do you prefer to pay in cash or by credit
card? Why?
5. Can we say that trends involved will keep
on evolving?
Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©
Pictures taken from unsplash..com
Task - Video
5

Watch the video and choose spheres not mentioned in the video.

Delivery service Donline education

physical Gaming
exercising online blogging
drug manufacturing sanitizer production
cycling holding scientific conferences
online shopping video communication
finding a partner

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©

Pictures taken from freepik..com
 Task - Video
6

Watch the video again. Are these sentences true

or false?
1.COVID-19 had a slight impact on the global economy.
2.Many companies keep on working in a normal regime.
3.Video gaming doesn’t require much communication.
4.People are coming back to old habits in cooking.
5.It is impossible to go in for sports being on
quarantine.
6.Health companies got huge revenue due to COVID-19

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©

Pictures taken from unsplash.com
Task - Speaking
7

Discuss the questions.

1. Do you think the global recession will
last long? Why?/why not?
2. What does your city/country do to overcome
economic problems?
3. What e-tools does your company use
to function better?
4. Does your city have any problems with
medical supplies?
5. Did you go in for sports being on quarantine?

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©

Pictures taken from unsplash.com
 Hometask
For additional information read the following articles:
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/the-companies-that-stand-to-profit-from-the-coronav irus.html

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/05/08/companies-benefit-coronavirus-amazon-netflix-micr osoft/

https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/914223/profiting-from-coronavirus-whi ch-
companies-are-benefiting-how-investors-should-act-914223.html

https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/profiting-from-coronavirus

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©

Keys
Task 2
1c, 2e, 3a, 4j, 5b, 6g, 7f, 8i, 9h, 10d

Task 5
Cycling, finding a partner, online education, holding scientific conferences

Task 6
1F, 2F, 3T, 4T, 5F, 6T

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©

 Task 3 - Article

For millions of individuals and businesses, the threat of COVID-19 is financial ruin, but there are parts of the
technology industry that are benefiting from the considerable changes forced on society.
The FTSE 100 Index is likely to close below 5,000 today, a 27% decline in a month, while the Dow Jones is currently down (at the time
of writing) 31% over the same period. Economies around the world are being hit disastrously hard, but some will see gains out of this
pandemic at least temporarily, if not permanently.
Cloud Computing
The cloud computing segment has been on the rise for years, though as more employees find themselves restricted to their homes more
workloads will have to be migrated to the cloud to ensure the business can function as usual.
For the cloud companies, the coronavirus outbreak is effectively forcing some organisations through a very rapid digital
transformation project, to embrace the cloud and mobility trends. From an IaaS perspective it means more money, from SaaS it means
more engagement and PaaS more opportunity.
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are the obvious beneficiaries as market leaders, though for companies like
Oracle, who might be working with more traditional industries that have resisted evolution to date, new conversations about enabling
the workforce will have to occur.
Interestingly enough, once these businesses have begun their journey towards a cloud-based business model and environment, it is
highly unlikely they will go into reverse. This could be a catalyst for accelerating the already fast-blossoming cloud segments.

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©

Video conferencing and collaboration
Although there is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting to progress and complete complicated projects, alternatives have to be
sought today. Many businesses are encouraging more meetings to be conducted via video links rather than email to not only ensure
effective communication but ensure well-being of employees. Contact with colleagues via video link is not perfect by any stretch, but it
might assist some who are feeling the loneliness of remote working.
Microsoft is an obvious beneficiary here, it announced last week the number of daily active users for its Teams collaboration suite
increased by 12 million, though there are many others who are financially better off also.
Zoom Video Communications, a remote conferencing services company headquartered in San Jose, has seen share price increase 130%
since the beginning of the year, while more marketers are turning to companies like ON24 to purchase webcasting and webinar
services to ensure lead generation projects can continue.
As mentioned above, some companies are being forced into a digital transformation project meaning some of the remote working
capabilities might be retained in the long-term, but virtual alternatives are never going to be a complete replacement for face-to-face
meetings, where we can subconsciously pick up non-verbal communication cues so easily.
Electronic payments
The likes of Visa, Mastercard and AMEX are already benefitting from long-standing trends where physical cash is quickly becoming a
thing of the past, though the COVID-19 outbreak could accelerate this.
In the short-term, some shops are now only accepting digital payments, though as the total number of transactions are decreasing, so
will revenues. That said, in the long-term it could force customers into adopting digital payments.
Although cash is quickly becoming a thing of the past, some from the traditional generations still resist the use of digital currency. The
chequebook took years to fall out of common usage as banks and shops were still compelled to accept such payment when offered. The
same could be said of physical cash; as long as some still want to use it, it will persist. But in refusing to accept physical payments,
shops are forcing some individuals to adopt digital payments.
This is not a likely to be a permanent change for all, but it might be for some, both in terms of consumers who adopt digital payments
and the shops who will now only accept digital currency.

Created by Yevgeny Ryabinin for Skyteach, 2020©

Ecommerce
The more people are at home bored, the more likely fingers are going to venture towards the eCommerce apps to spend the money
which has been saved from not going to the pub. Your correspondent’s household has turned into a satellite Amazon storeroom
thanks to certain individuals in the flat.
Streaming, gaming and video content platforms
This is perhaps the most obvious example of a beneficial segment. In terms of video streaming, parents will need to occupy children,
while adults will also need entertaining as pubs, clubs, theatres, parks, beaches, holidays and gigs all disappear. Netflix is already
immensely popular, but with more people stuck at home in the evenings, it may well become more so, but this benefit is not limited to
the content king. All streaming platforms could benefit, while Disney+ is launching at a good time to capture the attention of
European consumers. In terms of video platforms outside of streaming, YouTube is enjoying particular success. Not only are there
those who are trying to entertain themselves, but there is also millions of hours of information (some much more accurate than
others) on the pandemic itself.
From a gaming perspective, this is back to the boredom conundrum. With the usual entertainment venues shut down, consumers
will need to be entertained. The likes of Microsoft Xbox, Google Stadia and PlayStation are likely securing additional subscriptions as
well as in-game purchases.
Savvy corporates
For those corporations who in a more fortunate cash position than others, the shock to the financial markets could be viewed as an
opportunity. Softbank is a perfect example. Today (March 23), Softbank announced it was selling off certain unnamed assets to fund a
second share buyback programme. Combined with the first announced on March 13, Softbank will be able to retire 45% of Softbank
shares which are currently on the open market.
Generally speaking, the fewer shares which are on the open market, the less exposed a company is to external influences. All you have
to do is look at the conflict between Elliott Management and Twitter/AT&T/Telecom Italia to see what influence an activist investor
can have on a business where share price has taken a decline. Share buyback programmes could be viewed as a way to protect a
corporate strategy from short-term influences and aggressive investors.
Online grocery delivery
With the rush on supermarkets persisting as the days turn into weeks, online grocery delivery companies are seeing a surge in
popularity.
Online shopping delivery service Ocado suspended its website last week, telling customers demand exceeded its capacity to deliver.
The firm has said it would fulfil its orders and will soon reopen, with rations placed on certain food items. Share price for Ocado has
surged this month, though it did decline once it announced it would temporarily stop taking orders.
The telecommunications industry
The telecommunications industry is critical to today’s society functioning seamlessly, though it has traditionally been ignored.
Consumers have simply expected the internet to work without appreciating the importance of the telecommunications industry.
Telcos are viewed as boring companies, paid little attention in everyday life.
Thanks to the number of people attempting to entertain themselves, work from home or access educational resources the telco
industry has been thrust into the limelight. Authorities are putting in measures to protect these valuable assets, not only to ensure
consumers are able to continue their daily lives but so emergency services can continue to function, or research labs can collaborate
to create a vaccine.
The telco industry underpins the success of almost every element and facet of society, and now the networks are under pressure,
everyone realises it.