The outbreak has moved quickly and the collapse in commercial activity is far more severe than in previous recessions. The exit path from lockdowns has been precarious; businesses that have continued to survive are learning to master a new environment as the crisis and the response to it continues to accelerate new trends.

With businesses asking for rent holidays hurting the property market and supply chains linking many countries now stalled because of factory closures and border controls, the new normal in business is now taking shape. We are moving from globalisation to regionalisation, redefining production and consumption, and of course, the acceleration towards digital transformation has never been more critical in every sector.

A quicker adoption of new technologies, crash courses in e-commerce, automation, digital payments and remote work-from-anywhere are now embedded in the future of all business. At its centre will be where capable humans sit, those who can ensure that the technology and innovation meet genuine needs, driving both short-term and long-term value for all participants.

Like all crises the COVID-19 calamity will pass and in time a fresh wave of business energy will be unleashed.