2021 Digital Transformation Trends
Nobody could’ve predicted what 2020 held regarding the impact of the pandemic on the world. Despite the global coronavirus pandemic having a significant negative impact on businesses financially in 2020, we’ve seen many industries transition to digital alternatives.
This is likely to continue into 2021 with organisations finding ways to adapt to the new way of working, until a vaccine is widely distributed around the world.
While it’s difficult to predict trends when the global situation is so uncertain, discussed below are some of the digital transformation trends we’re likely to see over the next 12 months.
Working from Home
With most offices shut for at least the next few months, working from home continues to be the only option for many businesses.
Even after the pandemic has ended, we’re likely to see employers continue to offer work from home opportunities to staff.
Major tech companies such as Google and Facebook have indicated that they’re planning on allowing staff to work from home permanently. Smaller companies might follow suit and offer similar flexibility in the future.
With working from home becoming the norm in the post-Covid world, it could have a major impact on cities, housing and ISP investment.
AI Digital Assistants
From chatbots to mobile phone assistant platforms, artificial intelligence assistants are slowly becoming a bigger part of our lives.
Customer service departments across many industries have had an incredibly busy year with the constant uncertainty present. AI has alleviated some of the pressure in helping answer customer service inquiries.
We’re expecting to see much more of this over the next year with AI technological advancements pushing capabilities to the next level.
5G Becoming the norm
5G has been a hot topic over the past few years, however 2020 is the first year we’ve seen it properly in action in Ireland. More mobile telecommunications networks have switched on the 5G capabilities in the later half of 2020 and this is likely to continue into 2021.
The issue of 5G capable devices not being widely available on the market is slowly disappearing. With the latest iPhone capable of receiving a 5G connection, we’re likely to see many manufacturers to follow.
Signal strength does continue to be a challenge for mobile networks as 5G requires more masts than 4G. This will continue to result in a slower rollout and less comprehensive network (especially in rural areas).
Not only will 5G vastly improve speeds for the mobile workforce to improve productivity and efficiency, it also provides better data security than 4G / 3G.
Improved Contactless Interaction
Organisations around the world are constantly coming up with new ways to sell to customers during the pandemic with minimal interaction face-to-face interaction. The demand for high quality e-commerce, online video conferencing platforms and home delivery services has never been higher.
This demand will only increase as time goes on until we’re out of the woods regarding the virus. Companies need to quickly adapt to government-imposed restrictions with the switch to digital platforms.
These contactless solutions are unlikely to go away in the post-pandemic world. We’re likely to see contactless shopping to stick around and greatly improve over the next few years.
Greater Investment in Cloud Technology
Cloud technology isn’t by any means new, but with almost a year of working from home many organisations are going to start heavily investing in better cloud technology.
This not only helps organisations move away from legacy applications, it also allows for agility and scalability. Technology that can grow alongside a company ultimately saves headaches down the line.
More investment in cloud technology means your organisation can react quicker to future opportunities and challenges.
Has your organisation embarked on a challenging digital transformation project? Be sure to get in contact with us today on +353 1 8041298!
