Despite the fact that tech is driving such massive and disruptive changes, somehow companies are still hesitant about adopting new technologies. This puts not only their data but also their customer experience at risk. Your organization cannot afford to adopt technology slowly.
When I joined Zendesk nearly two years ago after multiple decades in traditional businesses, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we’re an all-in SaaS company. We have no on-premise software of any kind. The speed at which we can make decisions and try new things not only astounds me, but it frees all of us up to efficiently complete in day-to-day tasks.
As Zendesk enters its 10th year of operation, I’m reflecting on just how much IT has changed over the years and what we can expect for the future.
Below are some of my predictions for what businesses will adopt in 2018 and beyond.
Machine Learning
I’m sure you’ve heard of Alexa and self-driving cars. But what about the rise of machine learning in business operations? It can help with paying invoices, developing complex marketing strategies and fulfilling orders. It has numerous applications in IT, including security threat detection and can allow for self-service and real-time analytics of massive data streams. Machine learning helps IT teams focus on mission-critical tasks and scale.
At Zendesk, we are investing heavily in big data analytics and machine learning capabilities so that our customers are able to provide relevant, fast and meaningful customer service experiences. Zendesk’s Answer Bot, powered by machine learning, has reduced average customer service ticket resolution time. On average, 10% of attempted tickets are automatically resolved with Answer Bot, amounting to serious cost savings for our customers. Machine learning in customer service is directly correlated with efficiency.
Cloud (And Edge) Computing For Speed And Flexibility
Startup software companies for niche customer and digital services are cropping up left and right and are built on some of the most modern technologies available. As a result, these startups are giving longstanding enterprises built on antiquated technology a major run for their money, Every industry has been disrupted by their expediency, scale and use-case flexibility.
For this reason, I expect that CEOs -- not just CIOs and CTOs -- will begin to prioritize speed and operating model flexibility from their supporting technology, which really requires a full commitment to move to the cloud. No longer can companies wait 12 or even 18 months to make technology enhancements.
For those already in the cloud, a new way of doing IT will crop up in 2018: edge computing. Edge computing is real-time data gathering, analysis and processing at the source of that data rather than all the way in the cloud. This is a direct response to the influx of data that companies across all industries are gathering via their AI-powered internet-of-things devices.
Augmented Reality
Most of our experience with augmented reality (AR) is purely for entertainment value via fun smartphone apps. But AR has its place in IT and the workplace.
For example, wearable devices equipped with augmented reality can give a manufacturing floor manager the ability to look at a machine and see statistics such as machine health, personnel or unit locations, production volumes and bottlenecks in real time. It gives teams the ability to proactively identify problems while interacting with their environments and review the pertinent data while doing so.
When you combine the power of virtual reality (VR) and AR, the possibilities are endless. For instance, geographically dispersed teams will be able to meet together instantly in virtual environments to co-solve issues that require a combination of a realistic sense of physical dimensions and rich data. VR provides the space, and AR provides the overlays of rich data and tracking of real-time decision making.
Organizations that take advantage of these capabilities have an opportunity to improve decision making, teamwork and operational efficiency. Moreover, those who are early in experimenting with and fine-tuning the practical applications of these technologies stand to achieve strategic differentiation from their competition.
The Big Innovation?
The past decade started with a bang with the introduction of the iPhone, but many have said we are long overdue for another major innovation that will change the world. Now is the time. As we begin to realize the true potential of the cloud, machine learning and virtual and augmented reality, the organizations that embrace these new technologies will not only find themselves ahead of the innovation curve but also reap the rewards of efficiency, collaboration, growth and success.
