Since the outbreak of the pandemic, more and more companies have been forced to develop their Web-presence and to increase digitisation.
Fortunately, there are already many solutions that make these tasks easier. Where have modern technologies helped most? And how can they be used effectively?
Modern technology in a new reality
As long as the world situation is stable, most of us are not thinking about change. The virus we are facing in 2020 has not only stopped global economies from developing, deprived people of jobs or prevented them from travelling, but also forced companies to adapt quickly in order to survive. Modern technologies in the form of artificial intelligence, extensive online shops and video conferencing applications have allowed many businesses to find themselves in a new reality. Those who have not yet managed to do so successfully are helped by numerous software houses, such as Binarapps which create dedicated solutions allowing for an efficient transformation. Introducing innovative technologies into your company allows you to secure yourself for the future. You can now take advantage of, among others, augmented reality for technical assistance, drones for monitoring warehouses and moving light packages or computer vision.
Where have the changes been most visible?
E-commerce
If you run a shop, you should consider moving part of your sales to the Internet. During the pandemic which forced governments of many countries to introduce a lockdown and close down shopping malls, Internet sales platforms have seen increased traffic. Such a move not only made it possible to generate more profits, but also allowed those businesses to attract new customers with promotions and discount codes for newly created accounts. In order to increase the volume of sales, such solutions are being introduced as e.g. extended payment time for the order, extended time for the return of goods or reduced shipping costs. Activities in the e-commerce sector enabled modern companies to take over some business from competitors who kept to traditional operation. Moreover, due to the transfer of almost the entire business into the Internet, companies have decided to increase the number of contact channels also for m-commerce, focusing on customers using mainly mobile devices.
Contact and communication with Customers
Pandemic times have shown that contact with customer service is still extremely important. There has been a proliferation of chatbots, social network profiles and e-shops. In the case of telephone calls, it was decided to develop voicebots that enable Customers to perform simple enquiries without human intervention on the part of the company. Such solutions were applied for example for checking shipping status.
Education and business meetings
Classes that have so far taken place in school classrooms or university halls have also been moved into the virtual world. Businesses that started to improve and promote their videoconferencing solutions just in time, benefited most. Rapid development of these applications, as well as the associated pursuit to become the best, provided us with numerous tools that can successfully accommodate groups of several dozen people, providing the ability to split them into rooms, enabling sharing files on a secure file server and desktop-sharing. From the students’ point of view, it is also useful to be able to record lectures in order to listen to them later on.
Not only school lessons, but also business meetings have been transferred to the virtual world. It turns out that most companies are very good at being able to keep in touch with their business partners and customers at all times and places. Applications used for video calls allow for encrypted calls, access to which is protected by a password or PIN code.
Documentation
The times when mobility is difficult popularised the notion of electronic signature. Many formal matters relating to banking, fees or periodic contracts can already be successfully signed remotely by verifying their identity by comparing an image on an ID card with face recording.
Cloud computing
The necessary transition into home office conditions forced many people to take a tonne of documents with them from the office. The solution here is to move business into the cloud, where access to systems, databases and specialist tools is possible from anywhere. Through a remote connection to the company database, it is much easier and safer to control the operation of the warehouse, solve possible technical problems or respond to customers’ messages.
