The Contactless Enterprise
The Contactless Enterprise? Let's hope the pendulum doesn't swing too far. Having lived under the COVID measures for far too long, I welcome the day when I can return to a restaurant, do some in-store shopping, or take a much-needed getaway. While most businesses have already gone through digital transformation, improving everyone's safety and convenience, we can't ignore the majority of the population will still need social interaction and in-person experiences when we return from COVID measures.
My prediction: the next boom will be increased spending to digitally transform brick-and-mortar retail, travel, and small-scale leisure and recreation destinations that deliver the best possible in-person experience and improve safety. Examples include the creative use of integrated augmented reality, reservation and queuing systems, check-in, and contact tracing. However, all of these technology investments depend on improved connectivity and cybersecurity.
My recommendation: businesses need to start with connectivity and cybersecurity, or risk becoming a truly contactless (and customerless) enterprise.