Business transformation goes beyond unified communications and instant messenger
In our latest contribution Scott Brothers, Group COO for ONVU Technologies discusses why business transformation is much more than improving your business communication
Business transformation goes beyond unified communications and instant messenger. In fact, it may mean reconsidering every way the business currently makes decisions and carries out business operations with a scientific lens.
Being able to use the right lens is an apt metaphor here since smart video promises to be the next step for digital transformation. This began with a move to the cloud, then stalled at instant communications. But there is so much more beyond these technologies and smart video can offer a new way of observing the physical area, resulting in the better use of assets, people, and space.
However, doing this means relearning attitudes, rethinking behaviours, and understanding how people go about their daily decisions and actions. It involves ‘technofying’ – but with empathy to human dignity.
Analysing the workplace by keeping empathy at heart
The first step of digital transformation is to review the way the business works – who is doing what and why. There is a need to digitalise but we must care about the independence and emotional intelligence of your teams, as well as their intellectual powers.
This change can only be effective if you take the correct approach. By using data to identify efficiencies, boost individual and team efforts then you can keep both employees motivated and the one thing which can never be overtaken by technology – strong people motivation.
Incorporate data analytics into business
Deploying smart video into your business can help you and your teams to be data-led in its analysis. All too often, businesses can fall for that gut feeling and important company decisions can even be hijacked by personal preferences or biases.
Adopting diligent processes and attitudes need to come from the top of the business so they can filter all the way to the bottom. A promise to make decisions ‘data-based’ adds a level of transparency which provides the staff with the reassurance that outcomes will be honest, fair and reasonable.
Smart video offers businesses a great way to bring data to the conversation. 360-degree cameras and artificial intelligence can work together to monitor and analyse customers, assets and space. This can feed into the overall business decision making strategy.
Read More: How can unified communications drive business productivity?
Time and effort can be saved by smart video as it understands so many elements of a business including a retail floor, public space, transport hub and industrial and logistics site. From head office, teams can learn where people, assets and space interact, which allows for a deeper and better understanding of the inner workings of the business. Staffing, timing, layout and use can all be optimised. For example, smart video could solve basic spatial issues within a warehouses, where it could discover what the most efficient route around the space is and advise where to place any racks or storage to optimise the space based on usage.
For smart video to be effective there needs to be a level of trust between the employers and employees which relates back to the earlier point of empathy. Teams working within the workspace need to understand that the purpose of 360-degree video is not to surveil them but to benefit both them and the business.
Visibility powers optimisation
With internet of things (IoT) devices making their way into every aspect of the business, leaders can have visibility over the entire organisation in real-time. Everything from how many customers are present to what they’re looking at and if they’re being served can be monitored. You can even check if safety protocols are being followed to the correct standard. This is all made possible through sensor technology which can automate counting, measuring and capturing visual data for review.
The weight can even be taken off of the management team’s shoulders as some smart solutions have decision-making built-in. A good example to use is within the retail sector where queues can easily become unmanageable in a matter of minutes. Sensory technology can recognise when the tills will need another member of the sales staff to come and assist – making the experience for staff and customers seamless.
Stepping out of instant messenger and into the future
Transforming a business and digitally advancing its capabilities can appear to be an overwhelming task which leads businesses to select more communication tools.
Organisations can make a real impact by implementing smart 360-degree video as it allows space, staff and processes to be fairly evaluated without sending team members out to each branch or department.
By relying on the data collected by this technology, businesses can be confident that they are making the right changes for the right reasons.
