CIOReviewIndia Team | Sunday, 23 May 2021, 12:02 IST
The current times have made it imperative for businesses to go digital. However, digital transformation involves a leap of faith hoping for the disruption to yield expected result. So, how can businesses be assured that their digital initiatives will pay off in the long run? To find the answer, we organized a webinar in partnership with Freshworks Inc., one of the leaders in customer and employee engagement, to delve deep into the challenges in digital transformation and see how we can address them to make it synonymous with business transformation.
To share their views on the topic, we had some illustrious guests on the panel.
Excerpts:
Digital transformation of healthcare
Kicking off the proceedings, Veneeth Purushotaman, Group Chief Information Officer at Aster DM Healthcare shared his views from the healthcare industry perspective. “Digital transformation has improved the healthcare industry by leaps and bounds. The way I see it, the best definition of digital transformation in healthcare is the positive impact of technology on healthcare. It is not about when and where, it is about whether you are ready to handle the disruption. According to Gartner, only 22 per cent of healthcare organizations are actually prepared.”
“In healthcare, the whole ecosystem is now being driven by consumers. The consumers are deciding how, when, and where they want their services to be delivered. They are choosing the time, place and the channel for delivery of healthcare services. Another shift that is happening is from illness to wellness which is evident in the focus towards preventive healthcare and post hospital care. New business models in healthcare ecosystem are developing to support this transition. Then there is a need to integrate all services on a single platform. There is a lot data being generated from various devices which is being leveraged by healthcare providers. AI/ML, robotics, predictive analytics, and blockchain are no longer just a part of science fiction but have become a reality. And all these are leading to digital therapeutics wherein technology is helping the practitioners.”
How Tourism sector is digitally transforming
Amit Madhan, President & Group Head - Technology & eBusiness, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd explained how the tourism sector is embracing digital technologies. “I would suggest every CIO to start wearing a business hat. The focus should be on solving business challenges that can lead to better conversions, better delivery, and better customer experience. The first step towards such a transformation is to go virtual. From brick and mortar, all the businesses need to transform themselves into virtual mode. In the tourism sector, it means virtualization of the entire process and making it touch-less. Virtual CRM and virtual agency are some of the examples. Hence, it is a time to challenge the status quo and reimagine the business. Going forward, it would not be surprising if the major chunk of sales is done virtually.”
“An important aspect today is self-service wherein we can empower the customer to do what they expect us to do. For example, it can be a tool for the customer to customize his/her own package. The entire service delivery chain, right from booking to departure can be reimagined. Yet another way in which technology has enhanced collaboration is by democratizing interactive tools using which anyone irrespective of their location can be a part of brainstorming sessions. Last but not the least, any technology enablement must be undertaken by considering information security in mind.”
Digital transformation of customer and employee engagement
Rajiv Ramanan, Director - Technology Partnerships, Freshworks Inc. explained how it all comes down to customer and employee engagement. “The greater good is in building a digital native culture and digital transformation is the first step to get there. It is not just about technology implementation but about making digital attribute native to the culture. Today, customer engagement and customer experience is everybody’s business; it is not restricted to one segment. When we bring in customer centricity to the core of the business operation, that’s when you can reap the benefits of digital transformation.”
“Times have changed and we are adapting to the new normal. But what has changed exactly? There are three dimensions of this change. First one is the omni-channel, a testament to which is the fact that 61 per cent of consumers start a journey on one device but finish it on a different one. The number of channels through which customers interact with a business has actually tripled over the last year. Secondly, any company that has performed well in this pandemic has focused on personalization. It has become important for companies to hyper-personalize the conversations with the customer. Third one is the speed at which the customer concern is addressed.”
“Digital transformation and digital front-door initiatives are today being moved from the back burner to urgent mode. The transition from offline to online is the key pillar in this journey. Another important aspect is to enable asynchronous interaction which applies to both customers and employees. You must have the requisite technology tools to leverage the asynchronous interactions and have a better view of your customer.”
“You have to lead with AI and automation. 35 per cent of the customer support held desk tickets can be automated. Secondly, enable customers to self-help. Moreover, with remote work becoming a new normal, you must have technology that can enable your employees to provide seamless support. So, choose technology that will augment your talent pool.”
“Freshworks has got you covered to achieve these objectives. We enable companies to acquire customers for life, accelerate digital transformation, and extend their employee and customer experience. Our products are classified into two main buckets – customer experience and employee experience. In customer experience space, we are able to provide omni-channel helpdesk that can be deployed right away. It has 1000+ integrations across all the tools that your company might be using and has a developer platform on which you can build your own customer implementations quickly. It is the part of a CX suite where you can set up your own call center on the cloud. You can set up your own digital journeys across platforms. It all comes with a single user interface; enhancing the CX experience in just a few weeks. Similarly, on the EX front, we provide strong ITSM and HR software, and more wherein ease of adoption is prioritized.”
With these insights, the audience was better informed to embark judiciously on their digital transformation journey.
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