Communication is
the base of business. One of the most fundamental elements encompassing
customers, partners, employees - both on site and remote, and any number of
others that a business must stay in touch with - 24/7. add to that the way the
modern world works. Not just communicating with their clients or customers
base, being able to support efficient remote team collaboration will enable
businesses to increase scale of operations, open up functional new branches,
tap into new client demographics, and expand their sphere of activity globally.
A few years ago,
the introduction of IP telephony was seen as a huge leap in the field of
business communications. Today, technologies have moved so far ahead that
people located hundreds of thousands of kilometers from each other can feel
like they are sitting in the same room. There has been a massive growth in
software as a service (SaaS) including SD-WAN, Unified Communications, etc, and
it seems like a growing tide. While the past was about picking up a phone to
make and receive calls, the current technology even behind that has changed
enormously. In the case of business communications, as in any other field,
there has been enormous transformation as more and more organizations have
become heavily reliant on their internet connections to talk to customers,
suppliers, partners, and employees.
Keeping up with
current industry trends has always been important in order to stay relevant. As
technology evolves at an exponential rate, businesses and professionals need to
prepare in order to maintain their competitive edge. It appears, year after
year, as if newer and better technologies are being introduced continuously.
Each new technology promises more efficient communication than ever before.
So, what corporate
and business communication trends are likely to be useful for brands and
employees who wish to remain relevant in an evolving global market and
workspace? What are the technologies and trends that will ensure that
communicators are able to reach new audiences, can improve their customer
service levels and efficiently engage with the next generation of employees and
colleagues?
Augmented reality
(AR) and Virtual reality (VR): Companies may use AR
experiences to give higher caliber candidates a real taste of what it's like to
work in the organisation. Or they can use VR to transport customers to new
destinations to discover new facets of a company's product or operations. Now,
and in the future, these two technologies are sure to grow in significance.
They are not merely limited to creating games or novelty experiences. AR and VR
can be used as invaluable tools in many business applications. For example, one
could organize a virtual 3D tour for potential customers of an under
construction or to-be-constructed facility, or a facility located far away. One
could walk them through every step of a manufacturing and quality assurance process.
And these are far from the only possible options for AR and VR, the imagination
is the king, the sky is the limit.
Live Video
Streaming: Consumers crave connection and brand authenticity. They need to see,
feel, believe, in order to be brand loyal these days. The rise of live video
streaming technology already allows companies to give people a taste of what
they want. Studies show that Facebook Live videos are viewed more often, and
for much longer than other content. Moving on to and enhancing live streaming
and 360° videos will only cause a growth in this customer connectivity.
WebRTC: Web-based
communication in real time (WebRTC) is a breakthrough concept allowing one to
run a two way conversation or a video conference and collaborate from within the
internet browser without having to install any other program, special plugins,
modules or accompanying programs. This gives users an incredibly simple and non
fuss tool to support all the needed types of remote communication: chat, screen
sharing, content sharing, audio and video communication.
Social
Intranets: while these are not a total novelty, innovation and advanced
functionality are making them the trends of the moment. For example, intranets
are increasingly providing support for video communication, allowing the
merging of several chat rooms, and providing advanced opportunities for content
exchange - all without compromising the basic quality of communication.
Artificial
Intelligence (AI): AI based assistants, like Siri, function based on
the voice requests of the users. They operate on the Chabot principle, and search
through browsers and implement various kinds of processes within the
functionality of a mobile device. Increasingly, software solutions based on AI
are achieving qualitatively new levels and becoming capable of performing quite
complex tasks. In 2017 the number of successful mobile applications which are
based on machine learning and virtual neural networks have gone up
significantly. In the future, apps such as these will increasingly be used for
business purposes including remote communication. It is likely that users will
be able to acquire full-fledged virtual assistants, who will take over some
part of the duties of the real employees of today.
Increased Adoption
of Hosted VoIP: There are currently almost one billion VoIP users around the world. The
landline connections of the past are disappearing rapidly. VoIP in today's
business world introduces many advantages including greater flexibility,
enhanced control, and higher scalability. Digitizing telecommunications enables
companies to host and maintain infrastructure in the cloud. The number of VoIP
users is poised to increase exponentially. This is especially true of
businesses leveraging Hosted VoIP which becomes an effective way to manage
cost, improve flexibility, and gain far better control of communication
systems. Offering cost savings and reduced maintenance needs hosted VoIP is set
to become a popular trend of the future.
Increasing Shift
Towards Mobility: Today's workforce is more mobile than ever. More
and more employees are demanding flexible working conditions. From a business's
perspective, workforce mobility is a major enabler of productivity. It allows
companies to seek out talent without geographical limitations. Some studies
seem to suggest that mobile or remote employees will make up as much as 75% of
the US workforce by 2020. it is no surprise, then, that mobile VoIP is becoming
entrenched in the modern digital culture. Smartphones and mobile and personal
computing devices are set to play a very important role in the transition from
an "office based" to a "web based" model of business. The
need for tools that ensure productivity - no matter the location - demands that
businesses make sure their employees are able to work using any personal device
from any location.
Need for Seamless
Communication and Collaboration Tools: The rise of cloud computing has
become one of the key trends and drivers in modern communication. With
web-based applications being the new norm in enterprise computing, employees
are better able to collaborate -- working well together on the same projects,
no matter where they may be located. Apart from platforms streamlining
communication in the workplace, there is a need to support better collaboration
within the office as well as remotely. To ensure this, more and more businesses
are turning to newer web-based applications offering seamless communication.
This is the reason why VoIP and related tools are increasingly coming to be
integrated with key business processes. Office 365 for Business, for example,
now provides complete integration with Skype.
Promotion of BYOD
Strategy: The implementation of the IP telephony process had one significant drawback
it did not allow employees or other people receiving communication to take the
communication devices with them. To fix this in an increasingly mobile world,
leading vendors of network equipment offer the integration of IP phones with
the already owned mobile devices of users. It allows the phonebook to be
transferred, automatically, to the user's smartphone, and to redirect calls and
corporate email as well. This kind of integration is convenient and necessary
for business organizations who have branches that operate in different time
zones, for example. Networks based on this Bring Your Own Device technology
allow companies to rent fewer offices and support personal user devices,
instead, enabling employees to work remotely.
Integrating and
Simplifying Communication Tools: Seamless integration between business
applications streamline the business's coordination and collaborative needs.
This can range from merging cloud-based functionality into computers, to
installing apps that enable talk, chat, text, conferencing on mobile devices.
Advancements in technology allow users to simplify mobile tools and streamline
multiple communication platforms. In future, digital workspaces are only going
to become more sophisticated, with greater focus on workplace flexibility as
well as remote work options. A combination of cloud-based tools, along with
unified communications, combined with web-based collaboration apps to integrate
data and facilitate communication are all coming together. This will ensure
productivity in the future, and encourage better teamwork.
Greater Adoption of
Visual Communication: People learn and retain better when they can
"see" the facts. Business leaders are realizing that visual
communication must become one of the tools for business success in the future.
Whether it is closing a deal, negating geographic boundaries and cultural
differences, or holding conferences with far flung team members, businesses
need to shift to a more visual mode. This can enable conferences to occur
without the need for extended travel times and eliminate high travel and
lodging expenses. This also allows for a faster and more retainable intake of
impressions and facts - whether it is a client, a customer, or an employee.
Enhanced VoIP
Security and Cyber-Security Spending: 2017 saw a lot of
headline-grabbing news of cyber-attacks. Companies and individuals had their
private information stolen, and destroyed, or held for ransom. Business owners
must realise that it isn't just enterprise companies being targeted. More than
20% of cyber attack victims spent at least $50,000, and took longer than six
months to recover from the attack, according to Nationwide's third annual
survey of business owners. Gartner (NYSE: IT) projects that Cyber-Security
spending is likely to increase to $93 Billion dollars in 2018 and increase steadily
for the next 5 years. Security will continue to be a major issue, in the age of
digital data where data is the most sought-after commodity globally. The
increasing shift toward VoIP also presents unique security challenges. After
all, internet-based communications are easier to breach than traditional
landline conversations. Organizations will need to ensure additional security
measures, including data encryption and 24/7 monitoring, by hosted VoIP
vendors.
However, what do
these Business Communication Trends mean for You as an employee, a future
employee, a job seeker or a decision maker? It means you need to be aware and
competent with the technologies behind these trends. Explore how a cloud-based
tool can simplify communications for your prospective organization, if one is
not already in use. Make sure you are abe to work efficiently from any device.
Consider how available tools can be used optimally for more than one job -
bring that to the interview table. Make sure - as a decision maker - that your
office is equipped with dedicated spaces for in-person and virtual meetings,
and brush up on the technology and the etiquette of being in one - as an
employee. Learn how to use WebRTC and bring it to your organization - if not
already present - so that employees can communicate more easily in real time.
Make sure you learn how to find interoperable communications technologies and
learn to connect endpoints to other devices and services. Consider how these
business communication trends will affect your employability, retainability,
and productivity, and plan how you will adjust and adapt.
