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EDITOR’S QUESTION
HANNES VAN DER MERWE, SENIOR
PRODUCT MANAGER, ITEC
D
igital Transformation is one of the
buzzwords of our time. But it’s eye-
wateringly shocking how few people
actually know what it means, let alone apply
it in their businesses. transforming the industry, they’re disrupting
it. For a start, they allow demanding,
tech-savvy consumers to engage with your
company at any time of day or night, on the
platform of their choice.
Part of the problem is that many business
owners and CEOs are put off by the hype
and conjecture around the topic. It’s
important to take away the big words, break
through the white noise and make sense
of Digital Transformation in a way that
business people can understand and act on
right now. Modern customers are done being put
on hold and hearing endless recorded
messages. They want to engage on
Whatsapp, Snapchat or Messenger at 1am.
They want to feel as though they’re talking
to a real human. This is what omnichannel
communications is all about, and it has
the potential to transform the customer
experience. I can think of several big South
African companies – no names, no pack drill
– who can learn from this.
The first thing to understand is that it’s
not a product that I can sell you. It’s an
ethos, or an approach, that says you’re
going to use the tools enabled by modern
technology and connectivity to make a real
difference to your people, your customers
and your company.
So, a practical example of transforming the
way you work could be that your people
would be able to work from wherever
they are, but still be fully contactable
and working as if they are physically in
the office – attending virtual meetings,
accessing their mail and corporate systems,
and collaborating with their colleagues on
documents and issues.
With modern cloud-based systems, this isn’t
some distant fantasy. It’s available here
and now as a managed service, in a cost-
effective, secure, and always-available way.
A critical focus point for Digital
Transformation is the contact centre. Here,
modern communications systems aren’t just
www.intelligentcio.com
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When you digitally transform your contact
centre, you create a new generation of
‘super-agents’. Freed from mundane admin
tasks that can be automated, the super-
agent is now able to be more personal with
your customers than ever – they can even
have quick video chats with them.
More importantly, they can do this from their
own homes. That’s the beauty of Digital
Transformation; it changes the way the
business works and creates opportunities for
better customer service, improved growth
and cost savings. Some of our clients have
large numbers of home-based agents, and
the early indications are that those agents
are up to 60% more productive than office-
based agents.
So where do you start? For us, it’s all about
identifying the problem areas in your
business first. That could be anything from
slow turnaround times to lower customer
satisfaction. Then we can decide on the
options and objectives and start implementing
technology solutions that disrupt your
business as little as possible.
And it’s not only reserved for big enterprises,
either – thanks to technology and
connectivity, even smaller businesses are
accessing these new-generation digital
solutions, with huge benefits.
Transformation is not a one-day, one-
activity kind of thing. It’s an ongoing
journey, that’s constantly changing. It’s a
life-changing journey – and if you’re not on
it, you should be.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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