| | August 20218IN MY OPINIONBy Yogendra Singh, Head IT, BaristaTECHNOLOGY INTEGRATIONFOR BUSINESSESCOVID-19 effected everything and everywhere. The pandemic disrupted business operations and made field service dangerous. Companies had to restrict and sometimes even cease field visits and maintenance. It is very much true that in future, businesses and field services will have to live with the coronavirus. They need to tweak their business processes and infrastructure to adjust to the new normal. So accordingly 2021 will see widespread adoption of cloud technology in small businesses from large enterprises. It also goes in line with the employee engagement with real-time communication and collaboration. From cloud storage, Software as Service (SaaS), and web-based software, your force field workers can benefit from its flexibility and mobility. It gives them easy and instant access to the tools and data instead of going back to the office for it.Adoption of IOT will change the way of future meetings, communications and business engagements. This allows them to work effectively and efficiently at anytime and anywhere.Businesses nowadays recognize the importance of field force workers in boosting customer experience. Hence, one of the workforce trends 2021 is training field employees to improve their interactions with customers. it might also need SAAS that can streamline communications with customers and boost visibility. These tools will allow your field workers to collaborate with your customers in resolving issues and improving your customer service.Remote service is now a viable business model. Two factors contributed to the same over the years ­ first, the spread of the high-speed internet. The roll-out of 5G networks will make remote service easier. Second, the maturity in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of remote service and self-service options to the point of making it the norm in some cases. It also triggered a change in mind-set. Many customers who considered self-service as a waste of time now swear by it.Remote service and self-service is a win-win proposition for both the customer and the business. It eliminates the hassles and delays of an agent traveling to the client's location, reduces downtime, and cuts costs. In times of the pandemic, remote working enables contactless service.For most enterprises, profit depends on customer satisfaction. One of the significant determinants of customer satisfaction is personalized experience delivery
< Page 7 | Page 9 >