Communication has evolved. There’s everything from collaboration, to video conferencing, and web-based conversations to consider these days. The average phone call is just one part of a huge and growing landscape. This new era of work communications is collaborative, it’s anywhere, it’s remote and it’s intelligent. Business user, team, and customer expectations have changed, and we all expect more than ever before from the way that we connect. It’s time for a brand-new decade of disruption.
In the last couple of years, we’ve seen brands and vendors everywhere beginning to better-understand the different generations and personas in the workplace. Companies know how to serve a broader audience of people who want to communicate in a host of new and exciting ways. Processes, people, and technology now need to work together seamlessly, giving businesses more chances to offer that perfect end experience.
Here are my insights into what the next decade holds for work communications.
1. Artificial Intelligence Continues to Evolve
Artificial intelligence is sure to be one of the biggest hot topics of the new decade. In recent years, we’ve already seen an astronomical transformation in the digital space, driven by the new possibilities of machine learning and natural language processing. Voice AI has become a commonplace part of every household, helping us to control everything from our televisions to our lighting.
We’re starting to see that same technology creeping into the business landscape, helping team members to control their meeting room technology and access virtual assistants on the go. On top of that, AI gives us access to analytics and intelligence that we never could have accessed before. We’re finally switching on the lights in the caverns of dark data that went unrecognised for years. Companies are seeing the real practical applications of AI within business meetings and contact centre analytics. That impact isn’t just on historical data either – but real-time information.
With the right technology, you can dive down into the layers of the technology in your landscape and see which processes are driving your business forward, and which are holding you back. Going forward, we’re going to continue building on the benefits of AI.
2. Video Enabled Devices
Another major trend that we’ve seen evolving in the last few years is the rise of video as the ultimate form of communication. We’re living in a landscape where more employees are working on a remote and mobile basis than ever before. In this space, where employees are so widely distributed around the world, voice calls and messaging aren’t always enough. Video gives a much more immersive way to bring people together. As such, video conferencing vendors have experienced an astronomical level of growth lately.
The good news for everyone is that video conferencing tools are also leading the way to a more accessible era of video. We don’t have the complexity that used to make video impossible to use before. Today, anyone can access simple and convenient tools like super-fast connections, video recording, and even blurred backgrounds. This means that we can all enjoy better collaborative experiences.
Whether you’re using video to connect with remote workers and teams, or to help gain context from front-line and first-line workers, we’ll continue to see the benefits going forward. Video will continue to grow even further with the rise of things like 5G and IoT technology too.
3. APIs and CPaaS
APIs have emerged as a fantastic differentiator for communications service providers in the modern landscape. While we’ve had APIs and SDKs for a while now, we haven’t had anything nearly as simple and accessible as what we have today. We’ve got the low-code build-it-yourself solutions in the modern landscape that smaller businesses and legacy companies have always craved. You don’t need to be an innovator to tap into APIs today – anyone can get started.
This new age of APIs is being driven by the rise of leaders like Twilio, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, and Vonage. These companies are showing us that CPaaS and low-code solutions are available, and they’re here to stay. Companies can carve out amazing solutions in vertical marketplaces with these solutions too.
APIs are giving everyone the opportunity to innovate and evolve without having to worry about being restricted by proprietary code.
4. Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants have a significant link to the trend of artificial intelligence that I mentioned above. However, this trend is powerful enough that I think it deserves its own section. Virtual assistants are paving the way to a new world of opportunity for businesses and consumers alike. If today’s customers want to communicate with a business, they want to be able to communicate across all channels, and I believe that chatbots and assistants will help with facilitating the switching between those channels.
Machines are learning and becoming more intelligent, and I think that going forward, we’ll continue to see vendors innovating in this category. This is particularly likely as platforms from Google and Amazon continue to make it easy to tap into AI on a modular level. We’ll be able to bring more virtual assistants and innovation into the desk, the meeting room, and the contact centre.
