No one could have predicted the series of events that unfolded in 2020. The global coronavirus pandemic perpetuated an upheaval of everything we knew as usual almost overnight. A decade of digital transformation happened within six months, pressuring businesses to adapt by creating a secure and reliable remote working environment.
The pandemic accelerated digital transformation and almost everything else about how technology drives a business forward. Let us see how this innovation will continue to carry us as we move into 2021.
What is Next for Business Technology
A question that everyone is asking relative to the pandemic, the media, and technology is, “What is next?” When it comes to business technology, experts predict the best is yet to come. In 2021, remote work may rise approximately 300 percent, digital customer service interactions will increase by 40 percent, and almost all companies are prioritizing technology in their business compared to only 15 percent of companies in the past. To better illustrate the role of digital transformation in business technology in the coming year, we share the top four transformation trends for 2021 below.
Contactless Solutions
It is no surprise that amidst a global pandemic, the technology that reduces face-to-face interactions would become increasingly popular. Activities traditionally known to be customer-facing interactions such as grocery and clothing shopping are transitioning to a contactless approach, utilizing video conferencing facilities and B2B eCommerce services.
Interactions that once required a person to perform a task, such as taking someone’s temperature, can now be done with a stand-alone thermal scanner. Even with the vaccine in the beginning stages of distribution, transmission concerns remain at a high-level, and they will stay that way for some time. Experts predict contactless solutions to continue to grow and evolve in 2021 and beyond.
Hybrid Cloud Environments
Hybrid cloud computing technology is not only for large enterprises, but we have seen it play a significant role in helping small to medium-sized businesses scale processes and increase profitability. Even without the pandemic, hybrid cloud environments would be high on the tech trends list for 2021. Still, with the widespread disruption of the virus, the value of having an agile and adaptable cloud infrastructure has never been more apparent.
Work from Home Beyond the Pandemic
The idea of having increased work flexibility has been a topic at large for a long time. When a company decided to go fully remote in the past, it was taboo, but that is entirely different today when the only viable option for many businesses is to be fully remote. Many companies were not ready for this change, causing the pandemic to catch them off-guard.
Still, the transition proved that work could happen effectively with a remote office, and in many cases, remote offices experience improved productivity and lower operational costs. Among many others, these two reasons are why experts predict remote work to be around through 2021.
Igniting CDP
Due to the continuing acceleration of data collection across almost all business ecosystems, CDPs will catch fire in 2021, becoming especially relevant. There has been an explosion of Customer Data Platforms (CDP) over the last few months, which experts predict will continue to gain momentum. Fragmented data from various sources can be quite challenging to organize and is not ideal for businesses that rely on well-curated data to operate efficiently. CDPs help solve this problem by gathering data from all available sources, organizing, labeling it, and making it accessible.
Taking on 2021 Together
If 2020 has taught us anything, having a flexible and innovative technology infrastructure is crucial to being a resilient and sustainable enterprise. Digital transformation is not just for large businesses. It has proven to be a priceless tool in helping small to medium-sized companies survive and thrive during these challenging times.
Bauen Solutions knows how difficult digital transformation can be for small to medium-sized businesses, but it does not have to be. As an independent technology firm firmly focused on innovation, Bauen feels immense privilege and gratitude to work side-by-side with small and medium-sized throughout 2020, through a global pandemic, and into the new year.
With more businesses than ever focused on harnessing the power of digital transformation, it is the opportune time to transform your company’s technology infrastructure or start the innovation project you have been placing on the back burner. No matter what you decide to do within your business in 2021, Bauen Solutions is on stand-by to help you along the way.
