Due to the coronavirus containment measures, a series of events in the technology industry have been canceled by large technology companies, some of them highly anticipated by the community.
The industry production chain has also been affected, as a large part of the production of components is concentrated in China.
Not all sectors have been equally affected, as well as not all companies. Some components have a reasonably automated production, so they had no problem other than shipping. Instead, other companies suffered even on the stock market.
E3: Game over
Perhaps the most famous case so far is the cancellation of E3, the largest video game event in the world where brands present their new games to the public.
The event would take place in Los Angeles between June 9-11. In a statement, the Entertainment Software Association announced its decision after consulting with the event’s organizing members.
Instead of the classic E3 presentations, the companies will make a live broadcast to announce the releases and news they will have for gamers in 2020.
E3 will reimburse all participants who had already paid for the event.
Facebook also cancels the F8
The company has also canceled the F8, the main Facebook developer event. The conference was to take place at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center between May 5-6.
On the cancellation of the event, the director of the Facebook development platforms Konstantinos Papamiltiadis announced that to prioritize the health and safety of its developer partners, employees and other people who help with the event, the company decided to cancel it.
In addition to the cancellation of the event, the company has given the World Health Organization (WHO) free advertising to communicate to the world the measures it must take to prevent the spread of the virus.
Mobile World Congress 2020 outside the coverage area
In Barcelona, they also canceled the most critical event for the Mobile subsector. From February, the organizers announced that it would be impossible for them to proceed with the exhibition, which brings together several of the most critical players in the mobile device industry in the world.
Among the companies that had already confirmed their participation in the event are Nokia, Vodafone, BT, Deutsche Telekom, HMD, AT&T, Sprint, Cisco, Facebook, Intel, Royole, Sony, Amazon, LG, Vivo, Ericsson, and Nvidia. Meanwhile, ZTE and TCL.
Apple also falls into quarantine
The apple company also had to cancel its most significant developer event, which would take place on March 13.
Furthermore, as much of the company’s production chain is located in China, the company had to find alternatives for its plants in Wuhan, which had to be closed in the face of a health emergency.
The worst part of it was on the New York Stock Exchange, where its share price fell dramatically.
Google closes the curtain
Google, which has offices in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, announced that it would temporarily close these sites, as the health emergency passed. He asked his workers in Korea and Japan to work at home in the coming days, a recommendation he extended to workers in the United States in the past week.
Also, the campaign asked its employees, who have immediate family members who were in China recently, to work at home for fourteen days to avoid infection.
Google also canceled events, such as its Cloud Conference, that last year brought together more than 30,000 people. Instead, this conference will be digital-only.
The IT industry production chain is affected
With a large number of components made in China, the production chain of the technology industry has been affected, according to an analysis by the consulting firm TrendForce.
Some components present more problems than others for the industry. For example, most semiconductors are produced automatically, so their impact is less. However, shipments of this product may be reduced.
Memory device companies won’t have too much trouble with this product, either, as the companies had warehouses full in anticipation of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The Internet of Things industry does not present significant problems. However, the situation could cause the research and development of this item to stop.
In contrast, the production of panels and optical communications presents serious problems. Production and prices of these products remain uncertain due to cuts in workers due to quarantine. In the case of optical communications, 25 percent of the production of optical fibers is located in Wuhan, which has caused the production chain to have problems.
Other products that may have problems are wearables that will be affected by a lack of materials and labor, in addition to laptops and LCD monitors, which are expected to drop in shipments. Smartphone production is also expected to hit its lowest point in the last fifteen years.