How Digitization Has Had a Positive Impact on the Gig Economy
In this era of digitization, diverse social and economic sectors are either transformed or reimagined. Digital transformation has had a far-reaching and profound impact on the way businesses operate and deliver value to their target audience.
Global spending on digital transformation across all industries has crossed $1.6 trillion – a 10.4% growth over 2019.
The impact of digitization on the gig economy has been extensive, leading them to contribute significantly to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. That’s because professionals across the globe favor flexible engagement models and the tide of digitization is supporting this trend. The gig economy has thus germinated following the path of digital transformation with an increasing number of businesses outsourcing work to freelancers and independent experts.
In this article, we will share how digitization has changed the field for gigs for good, opening a world of opportunities for them.
Table of Contents
1. Technology Is an Enabler
Though the gig model has existed for years, several factors have propelled its adoption and amplification over the past decade. Technology has allowed broader opportunities to competent individuals across the globe, empowering them to become the frontline for innovation.
Digital transformation has been an enabler for the gig economy by simplifying operations and improving productivity and compliance. Technology has allowed gig platforms to optimize operations by breaking down complex enterprise work requirements into simple tasks while taking complete ownership of end-to-end operations.
Further, for businesses, technology has streamlined the process of discovering gig partners and managing them. Be it deploying them or managing their payroll, technologies like AI and machine learning are enabling companies to improve efficiency and agility.
As a result, startups are not the only ones adopting on-demand work fulfillment platforms. Today, large-scale enterprises also are opting for the on-demand gig model.
This is a promising trend for freelancers and contractual professionals. As the modern workspace continues to invest in technology and improvements in digital platforms, there’ll be more emphasis on flexibility and adaptability. Nimble companies and professionals capable of leveraging these technologies will thrive in the dynamic environment.
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2. The Emergence of Distributed Teams
When the pandemic hit, the concept of remote work and distributed teams was seen as a temporary solution to manage operations. However, today, because of digitization companies have built integrated remote work environments that create a productive work environment.
This change has supported freelancers and gig workers as businesses are open to leveraging freelance help. This is especially true for companies looking to scale up but risk having their profits eaten up by hefty expenses like unnecessary full-time wages.
Digitization has created a productive remote work environment through the adoption of:
- Cloud-based collaboration tools
- AI and ML-based employee support tools
- Automation that allows teams to focus on strategic initiatives
Digital tools offer remote workers the flexibility to work from anywhere and use any device or network. Digital transformation has allowed firms and gig workers to build remote working capabilities that ensure flexibility while reducing security risks.
By automating routine tasks centered around analytics and project management gig workers can effortlessly store, manage, and integrate the necessary data to power their clients’ business functions.
3. Growing Spotlight on the Human Cloud
As organizations leverage and explore contingent work, there’s increasing emphasis on the Human Cloud that encompasses all online platforms helping workers find work typically with limited human intervention. It is one of the fastest-growing segments in this tech-fueled gig economy.
The Human Cloud is an emerging online labor marketplace for talent or those looking for talent. It is a fast-emerging segment of the gig economy, making a huge impact on the way organizations work on engaging freelance professionals.
With digital transformation disrupting industries the entire freelance workforce solutions ecosystem is looking for innovative ways to connect with businesses. In the years to come, the human cloud solutions along with the increased awareness and adoption from stakeholders will help meet the demands of the proliferating gig economy and the talent marketplace.
4. Increasing Importance of Cybersecurity
Accelerated digitization has made it imperative for the business world to tighten its digital security. With the growth in gig work, it was critical to develop a solid endpoint security ecosystem to protect freelance professionals and their clients from data breaches.
Thus, with digitization, there’s an increased emphasis on and awareness of security hygiene and endpoint security ecosystem to secure users, devices, networks, and data.
This gave rise to cybersecurity technologies that built an encrypted connection on the Internet between a device and network, thus allowing the safe transmission of sensitive data. Technologies like deep learning, behavioral analytics, embedded hardware authentication, zero-trust model, and blockchain cybersecurity are helping in establishing a robust verification system to curb potential cyber threats.
For instance, behavioral analytics is being increasingly applied to determine patterns in network or system activities. This helps in spotting potential and real-time cyber-attacks. Say, an administrator spots an abnormal increase in data transmission from a certain user or system. This could be a red flag for a possible cybersecurity issue.
Similarly, embedded hardware authentication (authentication chips) helps in verifying user identity. These powerful chips are embedded in the hardware and employ multiple levels/ methods of authentication to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks.
The result of this increased cybersecurity awareness is that gig workers and their clients are protected against external and internal threats. The robust cybersecurity posture has built a secure work environment for freelancers who often use their laptops and devices.
Summing Up
In this era of digital transformation, the gig economy will continue to transform and enhance traditional work models and infrastructure. Digitization empowers the gig economy through advanced digital platforms like app-based models that connect freelancers with their clients for short-term services. It has created fresh avenues for freelancers and gig workers as they adapt to and reap maximum benefits from the technological leap.
We are sure by now you are convinced that digitization has had a huge positive impact on the gig economy. Going forward, the application of advanced technological tools will continue to shape the future of work and create more opportunities for freelancers and independent professionals.
