Adoption of Digital Technology
22 July, 2020: By Ajoy Maitra
Digital transformation is imperative for all businesses, from the small to the enterprise. However, Technology is an enabler & not a driver, thereby utilization of technology would ensure fast and secure solutions to every issues of a business. A recent Forrester survey confirms what we already knew from our clients: COVID-19 has had a significant impact on Asia Pacific firms' business and technology priorities.

With the companies at a survival mode, it has become the need to maintain sustainability through adaptive reduction of costs to increase the revenue of growth. Such emerges the priority on accelerating the shift to a digital business within a highly volatile and uncertain environment, dawned upon by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Work from home has become normal for most of the businesses in which, according to Technographics survey, 48% of all respondents in the Asia Pacific indicated that their firm would permanently maintain a higher rate of full-time remote employees; this increased to 68% of respondents at companies in growth mode. Enhancement to the security as well as the adoption of technology ensures ease of business.
In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, consumers in India have reported major increase in the use of digital and low-touch activities across categories like delivery services, at-home entertainment, education, food, staples, shopping, communications, health, and fitness. According to Rajat Dhawan, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company, a "sober, pragmatic outlook" emerges from discussions with dozens of CEOs and senior executives in recent weeks.
"Executives are planning for a prolonged economic downturn and for an uncertain next normal that could follow an eventual recovery," he noted.

"The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the weaknesses and the strengths of India's large businesses. Now executives have an opportunity to make changes that will see their companies through the downturn and position them for long-term success,"

Customers use self-service as a first point of contact with a company and turn to digital agent-assisted service to resolve issues and get answers to questions. The pandemic has accelerated these trends as companies look to move phone inquiries to more automated and digital channels. Since the first days of the pandemic, companies continue to report very long wait times for customers to connect with an agent. This friction only amplifies the emotional state of customers who are often anxious or angry.


Contniued friction on providing smooth digital services to the customers, AI and machine learning became functional through the increased use of FAQs and Chatbots, to resolve the most common issues. However, due to the unavailability of workforce at office to attend the service calls, the need for such automation has increased efficiently.
Digital-first customer service solutions support automated and agent-assisted customer interactions over a range of digital channels. Some vendors specialize in customer service over a few channels; for example, social customer service, or asynchronous messaging. Others specialize in offering a range of synchronous digital channels like chat, video, and co-browsing. Yet others offer a broad footprint of digital channels, including digital voice.

In a new McKinsey Global Survey on digital transformations, change takes place at all levels during a digital transformation, especially when it comes to talent and capabilities. Nearly 70 percent of all respondents say their organizations' top teams changed during the transformation, most commonly when new leaders familiar with digital technologies joined the management team. People in these roles help foster stronger internal capabilities among colleagues. Integrators are employees who translate and integrate new digital methods and processes into existing ways of working. Because they typically have experience on the business side and also understand the technical aspects and business potential of digital technologies, integrators are well equipped to connect the traditional and digital parts of the business. For their part, technology-innovation managers possess specialized technical skills and lead work on a company's digital innovations. Success is also more likely when organizations scale up their workforce planning and talent development along with the Technology Adoptions.