New-age technologies are ushering in a digital-first attitude among companies and users, says Dr. V Kumar, as he lists the prominent ones that are making a strong impact on business and society
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic upended businesses and daily lives, a radically different family of technologies had been set in motion. These technologies, then nascent, showed much promise in changing how things can be done and how lives can be led. Now, fast-forward into the pandemic world, these technologies are ushering in a digital-first attitude among companies and users.
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, robots, drones, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are a few of the founding members of the family of new-age technologies (NATs). These NATs are located at the intersection of business and human lives thereby transforming our world right in front of us in ways, in which we cannot entirely foresee. Yet, we can see them in action in many spheres of our lives. Let us meet two of these technologies making an impact on business and society.
AI: Predicting the Future
Sample this. When searching for information, our first stop inevitably is Google. And in most cases, the search results yield us what we are looking for, or at least point us in the right direction. What if, Google knew exactly what we want, the form in which we want it, and give it to us as we need it? Better still, what if Google can learn over time, our changing needs, and preferences, and customise the search results accordingly. Essentially, it would be a ‘personal Google’ that delivers results entirely applicable to you, and only you. Well, while we are not there yet, that is what Google aims to become, according to its co-founder Larry Page. Currently, all the text, image, and map searches from Google are powered by AI, and we must understand that. And beyond Google, many other companies possess such capabilities. The host of digital voice assistants such as Alexa (by Amazon), Siri (by Apple), Cortana (by Microsoft), and Google Assistant (by Google) that have befriended us and helping us solve real-world challenges are another example of AI.
The AI technology draws from multiple disciplines such as information systems, knowledge management, statistics, decision sciences, advanced computing systems, motion studies, and so on to deliver everyday solutions that meet our needs. Further, by analysing vast sets of personal information, AI can suggest personalised offerings, which generally include advertisements and strategic discounts to influence the consumers directly. Does this sound familiar? Yes, Netflix, Amazon, Pandora, and eBay, and many more companies use AI to provide the “recommended for you” listing as we spend time online. Such features are important, now more than ever, as our needs and preferences are constantly changing.
Today, AI allows businesses to examine these instant changes and adapt to the fast-paced environment by quickly determining the right product configuration and pricing strategy, thereby presenting companies with a competitive edge. AI is also used by firms such as L’Oréal, UK to monitor customer sentiments on social media by personalising their social media interactions with consumers based on tracked consumer preferences and develop tailored offerings. AI has also been used in language management (e.g., Grammarly can assist with content recommendations), advertising content development (e.g., McCann’s AI tool aids the creative team in scripting commercials), ensuring service consistency (e.g., Uber Eats uses AI to optimize delivery times), driverless vehicles (e.g., Tesla’s self-driving features), and so on. In the knowledge economy that we are in, data appears to the currency. Companies are now able to collect, store, process, and (re)use information through AI. This has thrust us further into new frontiers, and AI is part of that new frontier.
IoT: The Bedrock to Connect Physical-Virtual
Picture this. You are ready to leave for home after a long day at work. You look around your work desk, many of your coworkers have already left for the day with their workstation lights turned out. As you walk down the office corridor, the lights turn back on automatically (powered by motion sensors) to help you navigate your way to the parking garage. On your way home, you decide to stop at the grocery store to pick up a few essential items. As you shop, you are not sure if you have milk in the refrigerator. No problem — using your smartphone you look into your smart refrigerator to check on what you have. As you turn into your street, using your car Bluetooth, you activate the lights at the front of the home. Even before you get off from your car, you unlock your front door using your smartphone. Not just that, with the press of a few more buttons, you turn on the air conditioning in your room, turn on the water heater for your hot shower, thaw some frozen food in your refrigerator for your dinner, and activate the coffeemaker to end your dinner with a nice, hot coffee. After you enter your home, with a press of a few more buttons, you lock your entrance door and turn back on the home security system and surveillance cameras, turn on your music system that playing your favorite radio station, and look forward to a nice relaxing evening. Sound like bliss, right?
Through our daily lives, we see devices controlled through sensors and remotely located software such as connected streetlights, self-driving vehicles, smart home security systems, connected wearable devices, and much more. These devices collect, communicate and process information in real-time through the Internet to perform or aid in performing certain defined tasks. This elaborate and growing network of devices connected through the Internet is referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT).
Where can we see IoT at work, you may ask. Just look around you. In our personal lives, IoT devices can be working in the background of many routine chores, while constantly enhancing the performance of devices and eliminating human involvement such as wearable devices (e.g., Apple Watch), automated driving (e.g., Tesla), home automation (e.g., Samsung Smart Refrigerator), and so on. In companies, IoT allows large-scale data capture possible that can be further utilised to influence the devices and objects in the real world such as asset monitoring (e.g., Bosch’s smart tires), location-based marketing (e.g., beacons used by Kenneth Cole and Heathrow International Airport providing localized content), preventive maintenance (e.g., monitoring sensor health and optimizing production adopted by ABB and Hitachi), smart energy systems (e.g., Honeywell and Verizon), and so on.
Looking even further, IoT serves whole industries in instituting best practices. IoT allows firms to monitor devices, control usage, and proactively initiating maintenance requests, thereby leading to increased productivity, improved efficiency, and reduced operating costs. Such implementations include supply chain operations (e.g., companies like DHL and Cargotec use IoT for overall logistics management), inventory management (companies like Amazon and Walmart use self-driving vehicles for efficient floor operations), fleet management (e.g., shipping companies like Maersk monitors its entire fleet of ships and containers in real-time using sensors), and so on. Finally, at the national level, IoT allows countries to actively manage national resources such as energy sources (e.g., cities like Miami and Paris installing connected streetlights), urban city planning (e.g., India’s Smart Cities initiative), and governmental services to citizens (e.g., Los Angeles’ ‘Quake Alert’ system for earthquake and tremor detection, and Barcelona’s smart devices for water, lighting, and parking services).
AI and IoT are just two NATs that are making our lives better and enabling companies to perform faster and better. The other NATs of prominence include robots (e.g., ElliQ, the elder care assistant robot; Dash, Walmart’s autonomous shopping cart; and ROAR, Volvo’s robotic refuse collector, to name a few), machine learning capabilities (e.g., Shopify uses ML solutions to determine the closest and most efficient fulfilment centers for the businesses, Hitachi uses ML/AI solutions to monitor and combat food waste in hospitals, and FICO uses ML to develop its credit rating and to assess risks for individual customers, and so on), drones (e.g., used in aerial photography, surveillance systems, flora/fauna management, crop estimation, yield assessment, irrigation leak detection in agriculture, aerial surveys and progress tracking in construction sites, delivery, and so on), and blockchain (e.g., cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and Peercoin; data management activities such as contract management and planning network infrastructure; data authentication activities such as document verification and notary services; financial services such as online payments and currency exchange; business processes such as supply chain management and digital content management; and so on).
While the varied uses and applications of NATs seem exciting for companies and users, are they necessary? That is, why do we need NATs, and why now? There are three main reasons for this.
Embracing the Digital Frontier
NATs help us embrace the digital frontier which is markedly different from conventional business practices. That is, companies have dabbled with individual implementations of NATs from early on such as online chatbots, recommendation engines, and so on. But what has changed now is an integrated implementation of NATs wherein multiple technologies such as AI, ML, robots, etc. are used in a unified manner and within a specific area of operation. Amazon, for instance, uses a confluence of AI, robots, ML, drones, IoT, and blockchain to offer, deliver and develop solutions that are already changing the business landscape. Such a concerted effort in implementing technology opens several possibilities for data-driven business and marketing strategies.
Promoting Meaningful Connections
NATs enable us to promote meaningful connections between people and between people and companies. It must be noted that each of the NATs while maintaining their uniqueness, also portrays a high degree of interconnectivity. That is, unlike other technologies in the past, the NATs cannot be neatly compartmentalised into organisational silos. Put differently, while each of the NATs is impressive and effective individually, they also lend themselves easily to be paired with other NATs. For instance, consider Google. YouTube uses AI for understanding and suggesting recommended videos based on viewer preferences and history while using ML techniques to ensure that brands are not listed next to offensive content. Further, Google uses AI and IoT in tandem to reduce the colling costs of its data center; and has developed Google Wing, a drone, that has been used to deliver essential supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. So, one company can gainfully incorporate all NATs for delivering value to users and themselves. Such a scenario represents an exciting time for users and marketers where new technology solutions overlap, even blurring the lines where one technology platform ends and the other begins. And this feature is what drives the establishment of meaningful connections.
NATs influence on Marketing
The age of technological transformation has well and truly begun, with recent developments in marketing that have embraced technology and firmly placed it at the center of business operations. With the introduction of NATs, companies can now interact with users through various touchpoints and often at several points in a day. Further, these NATs also enables firms to facilitate and monitor interactions among users, thereby securing themselves an opportunity to collect real-time data about users and their needs. Subsequently, this knowledge is being used to develop personalised offerings and implementing customer-centric marketing strategies that result in the creation of customer engagement. Such a transformed marketplace signifies the true convergence of marketing and NATs, thereby kickstarting an age of exciting and breathtaking technology experiences.
The NATs are shifting the business schema at a rapid pace leading us to a world of tomorrow, one month from now, next year, five years from now. This age of reckoning will be revisited by all in the future, as we do now when considering other evolutionary periods in our history. What we do know is that the NATs and their future advancements are poised to alter the very fabric of our lives, and it’s going to be a whole new world!
The writer is an author and has recently published Intelligent Marketing: Employing New-Age Technologies with SAGE Publications India
