
When respiratory health risks like Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) or pandemics strike, they always force societal changes around the globe. The recent rise of HMPV, particularly in 2025, has again driven increased attention to infection management technologies.
Nearly overnight, governments can issue orders that limit large gatherings of people. This in-turn restricted in-person business operations and encourage people to work from home (WFH) as much as possible. In response to COVID-19 in the past, businesses and schools alike began to search for ways to continue their operations remotely, thanks to the Internet. They turned to various collaboration platforms and remote technology management. Ways were devised to remain engaged with their colleagues, clients and students while operating from personal spaces.
Even prior to the pandemic or lockdown, technology had become an increasingly important part of the workforce. Businesses were looking at technology as a helpful means of engaging with customers. The aim was to allow some workplace flexibility and find a way to introduce automation and faster processes. However, the spread of the novel coronavirus and the shutdown of in-person meetings for non-essential businesses accelerated these adoptions immensely. It forced companies to look into creative digital solutions. This was so that the organizations could continue to function remotely and continue to serve their client base. Similarly, the rise of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) and other respiratory infections in 2025 has emphasized the need for businesses to adapt their operations. Time has come to prioritize health and safety while maintaining productivity through innovative digital strategies.


This shift towards digital operations took both a customer-facing and a behind-the-scenes role within many businesses. The lack of ability to gather in groups required all organizations to find new ways for people to collaborate. During the same time, customers expressed their interest in receiving services with little to no contact with people. This called for remote or at least contact-limited operations from a customer-facing direction as well.
Together, this helped to drive a digital transformation that has impacted businesses across industries. Exploring how these changes have impacted businesses can help people understand how organizations can embrace their digital transformation. This will also help to learn what parts of these changes will likely be here to last.
A Forced Prioritization to Adapt Digital Tools
The urgency brought by COVID-19 and, now, the surges in HMPV have changed the tech implementation and dependency dynamic. Businesses acknowledge out of compulsion, that introducing technology into their working systems does not require perfection. Organizations across different industries have been able to adapt to these changes significantly faster than expected.
According to research conducted by McKinsey, respondents indicated that their companies were able to adopt digital changes 20-25 times faster than they would have expected.
Specifically, in work-from-home scenarios, these respondents thought that their businesses were able to implement solutions 40 times faster. This was in comparison to what they would have expected in the pre-pandemic conditions. What employees would have expected to take a year to implement at their organizations took an average of 11 days. The brands were able to create a workable solution to allow employees to continue their jobs at home.
This has to do with businesses realizing that operations did not have to work perfectly before adoption. Simply having a solution that functioned adequately allowed businesses to keep running while obeying local ordinances that kept people home. Businesses’ priority to the adoption of this technology came out of compulsion. Prior to the pandemic and lockdown, over half of the businesses believed that they were not adopting digital transformation due to a lack of prioritization. When COVID-19 forced organizations to make these changes a top priority, they were able to do so at lightning speed.
Focusing on the Technology Needs of Employees and Customers
With the local shutdown forcing employees to work nearly entirely at home, companies had to carefully consider using digital capabilities. They could not expect employees to simply ‘make do’ with what was available. Previously, employees might have had a grateful attitude for any benefits that offered increased workplace flexibility resulting from digital capabilities. However, with companies across industries adapting to virtual work, the experience of employees online started to impact their job satisfaction.
Businesses have been struggling to navigate the challenging environment that HMPV and previously the pandemic created. In addition to it, no one wants to bear the results of low employee satisfaction and the costs that come with hiring regular new employees. Instead, creating a positive digital experience for employees has shown to have an immense benefit for businesses.
Similarly, brands have prioritized the ease with which their customers can engage with them digitally. With customers interacting mainly with brands digitally, businesses prioritize that their customers do not have problems shopping and converting.
A Fresh Start for Technology to Streamline Systems
This push towards digital transformation has also resulted in many organizations to go through a ‘spring cleaning’ process. This includes organizing and evaluating their technology investments. In the pre-COVID world, businesses might have only occasionally used their digital capabilities. At that time, both employees and business leaders could easily overlook redundancies or gaps in services. The reliance on technology caused by the pandemic and from then on with many more infections on the rise, however, has forced people to look carefully at the technology investments they have and how they line up with what they need to effectively run a digitally-focused business.
Brands have now got accustomed to carefully examining first which software and capabilities they have invested in. This includes seeing if there are many overlapping costs and investments or redundancies in capabilities. Evaluating why the businesses have invested in multiple technologies to see if there might be a justification for the different services is also essential. Looking for ways to reduce investments while fulfilling the priorities of the different departments is the key motive.
How to Streamline Business Operations
At the same time, businesses should also look for gaps in the services. This can be achieved by looking at how organizations are running through their digital services and what difficulties they encounter. Trying to understand what technology can help to fill in these gaps so that the brand can operate seamlessly online, creating a smooth, straightforward experience for employees and customers.
The goal here should be to create streamlined services across the organization. Selecting conferencing software, platforms for hosting projects, tracking tools to monitor customer experiences and personnel efficiency and other important forms of software by basing their ability to create a unified experience helps the brand operate with as little confusion and as few interruptions as possible.
Organizations leveraging Mapsted’s multi-layered indoor mapping solutions can better manage their digital transformation. Mapsted’s solutions help eliminate redundancies, streamline workflows and provide data-driven insights to optimize operational efficiency, especially during respiratory infection surges in closed indoor environments.
Customers Demand Automation and a Better Experience
As customers have increasingly called for contactless services, brands have also experienced a tremendous push towards automation, which has enhanced their ability to create this experience for customers. The fewer processes that need direct handling by employees, the easier it is for brands to create positive, safe experiences for their customers.
Mapsted’s indoor navigation and real-time location intelligence enable organizations to manage large-scale operations efficiently, even in restricted indoor environments. For instance, Mapsted can monitor visitor flow, manage contactless navigation and send real-time alerts about high-risk zones, helping to reduce the spread of infections like HMPV in indoor spaces.
Automation through Mapsted’s Content Management System holds tremendous potential for brands, helping to manage everything from inventory to indoor navigation and push notifications; and beyond. While many organizations have already been leaning towards automation to run their operations, the pandemic has forced a growing number of companies to change their perspective and understand the power that this technology can offer.
This trend has become particularly prevalent in the retail industry, as the benefits of automation to reduce humans working in close quarters have been tremendous.
View Technology as a Means to Innovate and Thrive
Prior to the pandemic, many businesses viewed technology as a means to save money and reduce unnecessary spending. When data can be analyzed and emails automatically sent when triggered, for example, it frees up the sales team and marketing team to focus on other tasks that cannot be handled through automation and technology. However, a digital transformation also offers businesses tremendous opportunities to innovate and find their way to the front of their industry.
Before the pandemic hit, nearly half of businesses reported that they saw technology as a means of reducing company costs as one of their top three digital priorities. However, with the pandemic spreading and businesses beginning to discover the other values of technology, only 10 percent reported this as a top reason after the beginning of the shutdowns. Instead, more businesses reported that modernizing their capabilities, gaining a competitive advantage and creating a business culture that was focused on digital technologies all outpaced concerns about reducing costs.
When technology is used well, it offers brands tremendous opportunities to innovate and mature in their ability to engage customers, answer their needs and move forward in a new way. As brands have begun to embrace the capabilities offered by technology, they have also begun to understand and adopt this mentality.
The Digital Transformation After the Pandemic
As the world adapts to ongoing HMPV surges and post-pandemic conditions, many wonder about the future of business operations in response to the ever-changing dynamics in health-related technology adaption. Especially when it is likely that many of these changes are here to stay. The current HMPV surges highlight the importance of location-based solutions in ensuring health and safety while maintaining operational continuity.
Since the infections and pandemic forced brands to eliminate many of the barriers that once stood in the way of digital adoption, such as network security to allow employees to work remotely, it is significantly easier for companies to operate on a remote basis today. Companies have already made key investments to help them protect their digital security while also building a technology stack that allows employees to work from their home offices or get back to office with necessary measures in place.
Are the Changes Here to Stay?
It is likely that many of these changes will last, with capabilities such as flexible scheduling to allow people to work from home (WFH) when needed. Businesses have also begun to see the power and potential of digital adoption. Particularly as it comes to business innovation, adopting technology is not only about saving money but also gaining an edge over competitors and seizing new opportunities in the industry. As businesses realize these advantages, they will be positioned to keep employing technology and taking advantage of what it has to offer.
Even in schools, where students have turned to remote classes in many school systems and universities, teachers have become increasingly adept at creating virtual lesson plans. The potential this holds for education, including opening doors for people who might have previously struggled to attend particular schools because of distance, will not likely be given up quickly.
Mapsted continues to lead the way in post-pandemic digital transformation. From indoor positioning systems to customized alert systems, Mapsted provides businesses with the tools they need to thrive in a health-conscious, digitally driven world. These capabilities help maintain operational continuity during HMPV and other health risk surges, enabling businesses to stay agile and innovative.
The Pandemic Accelerated the Global Digital Transformation
Technology offers businesses across industries incredible potential to engage with people around the world at a moment’s notice. Prior to the pandemic, many organizations were just beginning to see the potential that many of these capabilities offered their businesses. However, when in-person meetings and work were limited in response to COVID-19 and now respiratory infections, organizations have realized just how powerful technology can be.
The pandemic helped to accelerate digital transformation and created a landscape that will continue to encourage innovation and technological adoption moving forward. As businesses begin to better understand the capabilities of these types of modern technology, they will also begin to understand the opportunities that lie before them, even after the pandemic is over. Now that you know how to leverage location-based solutions to grow your business, would you want one to take your business to new heights? If yes, get in touch with Mapsted today. Contact us today and discover how our cutting-edge technology can keep your business safe, efficient, and ready to tackle the challenges of HMPV and beyond. Our team will cater to your specific needs through the most cutting-edge location solution that will not need changes made to your building interiors or the technology you use on-site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the post-COVID condition?
Ans. A patient on the path of recovery after enduring COVID-19 infection is known to be in post-COVID condition. Their COVID symptoms may have subsided but not completely eliminated. They are also medically termed as ‘long COVID’.
Q2. What accelerates the COVID-19 and other respiratory infection spread rate?
Ans. COVID-19 and other infections are prone to spread faster if an area is crowded. Lack of social distancing and non-use of protective masks covering nose and mouth and lack of ventilation and recirculation of air in closed space can also result in a faster spread.
Q3. How can location-based solutions help contain infections?
Ans. A robust location-based solution can do the following to cope with post-COVID and other rising infections. Alert users to maintain social distancing. Alert users about infection hotspot areas. Notify hygiene practices to avoid the infection spread. Guide users through indoor areas with effective navigation.
Q4. How can location-based solutions help in a pandemic situation?
Ans. Location-based solutions can:
- Alert users about social distancing guidelines
- Notify users of infection-hotspot areas
- Provide hygiene tips to prevent the spread
- Guide users through sanitized indoor spaces
Q5. How can businesses use location-based solutions to address HMPV and similar infections? Location-based solutions can:
Ans.
- Provide real-time updates on infection hotspots
- Implement targeted sanitization strategies
- Offer indoor navigation for safer movement within facilities
- Enhance communication for health and safety measures
Q6. How can Mapsted help businesses stay safe during health surges like HMPV?
Ans. How can Mapsted help businesses stay safe during health surges like HMPV?
During health surges like HMPV, keeping people safe is a priority. Mapsted offers real-time tracking and indoor navigation to help guide individuals to safer, less crowded areas. By monitoring crowd density and providing immediate notifications, businesses can reduce risks and ensure a safer environment for both employees and customers.
Q7. Does Mapsted require additional infrastructure during health crises like HMPV?
Ans. Does Mapsted require additional infrastructure during health crises like HMPV?
No, Mapsted can work with your existing infrastructure. There’s no need for major changes or costly upgrades. It easily integrates into your current systems, enhancing your ability to manage health risks without overhauling your operations.
Q8. How does Mapsted help with crowd management during health surges?
Ans. How does Mapsted help with crowd management during health surges?
Mapsted uses real-time location tracking to monitor crowd sizes and movement. If certain areas become crowded or high-risk, the system can send alerts or provide navigation assistance to redirect people, helping to maintain social distancing and reduce exposure during surges like HMPV.
Q9. How does Mapsted ensure safe navigation for employees and customers?
Ans. Mapsted ensures safe navigation by providing clear, real-time indoor directions. This helps individuals avoid congested or risky areas, ensuring safe movement throughout the premises. This is especially important during health crises when maintaining distance and limiting exposure are crucial.