Digital transformation was the theme at this year’s ITEXPO2020 show that took place in Miami, Florida from February 9 – 12, 2020. Flowroute exhibited at the event and was excited to discuss how enhanced domestic communications services on an international scale can boost the success of global enterprises’ digital transformation strategies.
Flowroute is proud to have a handle on the largest geographically expansive number of international DIDs, which help our clients select telephone numbers that are optimal for their business and extend the reach of their network rapidly, at competitive rates, without incurring network expansion costs.
The ability to easily connect and collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers on an international level is imperative to the success of global enterprises eager to compete in the global economy.
In addition to global expansion of cloud-based communication tools, below is a list of three other trends discussed at ITEXPO this year.
- Digital transformation is influenced by more than just technology
According to keynote speaker Aruna Ravichandran, chief marketing officer of WebEx at Cisco, the emerging workforce of younger generations and the culture they inspire is just as much a driver of innovation as technology. For example, Millennials have been the largest single generation in the workforce for several years, and according to Ravichandran, “they will comprise 75 percent of the workforce within the next five years – and they will bring with them a new set of workplace ideals.”
One outcome of this workforce reshaping the culture of business is the increase in the remote-global workers with employees valuing the flexibility to work any time and from any location. Millennials have shared that the technology and collaboration tools a business offers influences their decisions around where to work, which then results in more organizations ensuring they are equipped with the right tech tools to entice and retain top talent. Some of these collaboration tools include Slack, SharePoint and cloud sharing, Microsoft Teams and many others. The values and beliefs of this large demographic of the workforce are changing corporate cultures and are advancing preferred technologies.
- Younger generations will drive seamless, multi-modal communications
In a panel track at ITEXPO titled, “Future of Work” experts in enterprise communications shared their insights and predictions associated with the impact of next generation technologies and the emerging Millennial workforce on collaboration and productivity.
According to panel members, Millennials have grown up with multi-modal communications, where messaging, chat, and video is just as important as voice communication, while also using a wide variety of channels (i.e. FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, etc.). The panel forecasted that communication in silos – e.g. using a cell phone to send a text, or a laptop to join a video conference call – will transition into a more dispersed and accessible model. They highlight that this paradigm is slowly fading away and in time, we will see a model where communications of all types are available on multiple devices, platforms and tools, largely driven by younger generations.
- AI should be used with care
The third trend focuses on how to approach the increased adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) around the industry. According to Allison Smith, CEO of Telephone Voice Talent, organizations are looking to integrate AI to increase productivity; however, Smith shared that although AI can be a useful tool to boost efficiency, it is not a one-stop solution to solve productivity pain points.
According to Smith, chatbots and virtual assistants should not be a substitute for a service. Instead, customer service chatbots and virtual assistants should be a gateway to transition users to representatives and as a tool to solve quicker or more streamlined issues. When used responsibly, AI can enhance the customer experience, but it needs to be offered in an environment where real-time support from a representative is still an option if needed.
There are a multitude of ways to advance an organization’s digital transformation efforts. This year’s ITEXPO show encouraged industry leaders to be thoughtful and think outside of the box when evaluating how new technologies can help move their companies and customers forward. Taking time to understand what your workforce needs and how new tools will impact current operations and services is critical. We enjoyed our time at the show and are looking forward to ITEXPO2021.
