How Dakar products help businesses in times of pandemic

This week, the European Commission granted Malta €5.3m in R&D funds to combat COVID-19. Given that technology has made life easier – imagine an outbreak 20 years ago! – could it step up in future pandemics?

The internet has come to the rescue in many ways. LinkedIn has seen remote work posts increase by 13% since March and many companies, like Dakar Software, have incorporated remote working as standard. The internet has also enabled online shopping delivery, remote medical consultation and even Skype socialising, all of which have featured heavily in today’s pandemic environment

We still have a lot to learn about this virus, but one thing we are certain of is its ability to transfer via surfaces, which it can remain on for hours or even days. Crueller still is its ability to remain hidden for up to a fortnight, duping unsuspecting carriers into spreading it further.

Armed with the information that we do have, do innovators have a part to play in preventing future viral spread?
At Dakar Software, researchers monitor trends, looking at ways that technology could help society to manage impending risk in the workplace and, by extension, the economy.

One solution is Dakar’s GeoPunch™ app that allows employees to punch in and out of work using their own mobile phone. By avoiding the sharing of surfaces, the app enables containment; anyone carrying a spreadable pathogen has one less way of transferring it to others. It is highly secure, easy to use and prevents employee attendance fraud. It works using geofences, pre-determined areas around the entrance and exit points of a company property, so that employees can punch in without having to queue or, more importantly, amass in groups.

It is hard to see beyond the current climate with the financial uncertainty it has brought with it, but as the EC’s funds roll in, it is evident that humanity needs to be better prepared. While Malta has been hailed as a success story in Europe for keeping infection rates under control this time, authorities would be unwise to rest on their laurels. We know there is danger ahead, but we cannot know exactly what it is. Technological preparation, testing and adoption are all key to being ready because Covid-19 could just be the first outbreak of many.