APRIL 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 17
PRESS BUSINESS
With kids home from school amid the coronarivus pandemic, many parents are telecommuting. (Getty Images)
BRAVE NEW WORLD CORONAVIRUS CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR BOOST SOME BIZ
BY CLAUDE SOLNIK
Ever since the coronavirus outbreak disrupted daily life, New Era Technology’s phones
began ringing off the hook as companies sought them out for improved telecom and video
conferencing so workers could telecommute to avoid contagion.
Disney closed parks, major league sports seasons were suspended, the stock market
crashed, schools were shuttered, and states of emergency were declared in local
municipalities and nationally. But if this has been the worst of times from Wall Street to Main
Street, certain businesses have seen, if not the best of times, surges in revenue. Telecom,
delivery, sanitizers, drive-throughs, cleaning, and healthcare providers are all experiencing,
for better or worse, rising demand.
“We’re busy,” says Zig Fekete, New Era Technology executive client manager in Islandia.
“People are getting nervous and want to keep their employees safe, keeping them at home
— and not letting employees who might be infected bring that infection back to the office.”
The coronavirus is leading to infections as well as seismic changes in behavior, as technology
and remote access sometimes replace being there.
“You can do anything you can at the office other than stand around the water cooler and talk
to everybody,” Fekete says. “We’re doing a lot more videoconferencing, instead of hand-tohand
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