In March of 2020, every member of Team Praescient’s lives were upturned when the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, forcing the world to go into lockdown. Not  only has the pandemic affected the livelihood of citizens in every country, but it has also shattered the global economy. This has caused bankruptcies in an abundance of businesses, and many nations have gone into 

a recession. Every facet of our government was detrimentally impacted, and even though new vaccines are coming out, there is no end in sight for this brutal pandemic. The question remains: how has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the defense industry, and what are the implications for Praescient’s business? 

The defense industry as a whole was not forced to shut down like other industries were. Instead, the Pentagon urged defense agencies and contracting companies to continue work as much as possible. Regardless of a pandemic, the country will still need to defend itself and have the appropriate equipment and software to do so. Although their work was not halted, the defense industry has still suffered. The largest issue facing the industry is supply chain problems, such as a lack of PPE for hospitals. Defense contractors have been deemed “critical infrastructure” by the Department of Homeland Security, offering a ray of sunshine for these firms to prevail and aid their parent industry. Luckily for Praescient, a transition to a virtual work environment was not as difficult for other contracting firms, such as those that rely on factories to create and administer their products.

Praescient Analytics performs contracts involving data science and intelligence services. Technology and data science are crucial elements for an effective emergency response, thus multiplying the importance of Praescient’s work tenfold. The need for accurate, reliable, and clean datasets is higher than it ever has been; even President Joe Biden has endorsed this belief with his newly implemented COVID-19 relief plan. This plan places a major emphasis on data collection and dissemination, as the main goal of this plan is to improve data-based efforts, release more data on the pandemic, bolster data systems, and increase transparency for vaccinations. The urgency of this plan has created a newfound reliance on data science, which bodes well for Praescient’s future.

Data science is helping to combat the pandemic in numerous ways. It can offer comprehensive and reliable estimates of health system demand, which is paramount for any future reopening plans, as well as insights into areas of the nation where the virus has hit the hardest. Predictive analytics is also playing a huge role; these predictions show virus trends and allow for the brainstorming of preventative action. With accurate monitoring and performance analysis in place, we can quantify the incidence of infection and the steady growth and transmission rates. In order for our data science efforts to truly save this country, a flexible approach to research, interpretation, and prediction to inform real-time policy decisions and refine public health guidelines for re-opening recursively is necessary. It is imperative that governmental policy-makers are able to make informed evidence-based decisions.  Another use of data science is the concentration of efforts to predict and control local health system resource requirements depending on specific virus activity measures and community distancing effects. Contact tracing, which needs tremendous human effort, can also help monitor possible cases if it can be successfully applied utilizing technology under development by major American technology firms.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has crippled our nation and destroyed our previous way of life, there is ample opportunity for Praescient’s business to thrive. Contracts involving the collection, cleaning, and analysis of pandemic and defense industry infrastructure datasets have been pouring out on a daily basis. This opens a wide window of business development opportunities for Praescient that require the skills and intellect that our analysts possess. Data is saving lives and enabling the growth of collaborative counterattacks. The world is facing a dire need for data science solutions, and Team Praescient is here to help and carve the way to a better future.