As technology advancements continue to affect the way in which numerous markets operate, it is safe to say that nothing can stand in the way of automation. Just consider, for instance, how some of the current inventions compare to the way in which companies used to operate a few decades ago. Businesses had to rely on outsourcing customer call centers to have superior customer service efficiency, marketing was handled through paper-based outlets, companies had to do unorthodox things to reach the untapped demand, and so on.
After many years, however, most of these ventures have changed to the point where they are completely based on the use of modern resources. For example, those call centers have slowly been replaced by chatbots, marketing is now handled online, and demand can be increased with simple tricks that employ technology. Although there are many common denominators to these types of changes, the most obvious one is automation. So, what are the five key trends in this field and how will they dictate the direction in which the technology grows?
Robotic Upgrades
By now, almost everyone who interacts with some type of smart device has been introduced to robots. These smart tools were created to help people with their daily engagements by simplifying complex projects and handling low-skill, repetitive tasks. For instance, think about the huge spike in the drone industry that facilitated the creation of low-cost drone devices often purchased by regular people. In the past, getting a hold of such highly specialized items would require a unique purpose and a substantial amount of capital.
Nowadays, however, practically every YouTuber or video lover can buy a drone to automate their landscape recording processes, per se. Nevertheless, according the Vice President of Strategy, Enterprise Architecture and Digital Innovation at Constellation Brands, Anushil Kumar, this is just one of the many examples that are worthy of mention. In reality, thousands of devices that were created with specific purposes have now flooded the market and allowed everyone to experience robotics on a daily basis.
Chatbots Upgrades
Arguably, one of the most common things that people think about whenever robotics are brought up would have to be chatbots. That said, this is a common misnomer, as chatbots do not actually feature robotic components. For those unfamiliar, chatbots are computer-based programs that operate on complex algorithms and are capable of human-like interactions. For example, whenever you go to a website of some successful corporation, you might see a tiny prompt asking you if you need any help. Although the prompt could make it seem that there is a service agent waiting to help you, it is actually a chatbot that was created to answer a set of predetermined questions that people are most likely to ask.
Financial Controls
From the corporate side of things, Anushil Kumar stresses the importance of automation in financial controls. For instance, the preparation of daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly budgets has progressed to a point where programs can rapidly analyze long-term revenues and expenses to derive realistic spending expectations. That way, enterprises are more likely to stay on track and reach their goals. Not to mention the fact that audit controls pertaining to financial reporting are so sophisticated that nearly all unintentional errors, as well as most instances of fraud, can be easily detected.
New Buying Options
Of course, these financial controls barely even scratch the surface of corporate automation. In fact, one of the most notable areas in which we witness automation is through e-commerce and the resulting streamlined modern purchasing experience. For example, customers can quite literally purchase everything from their groceries and small appliances to cars and houses via the internet. More importantly, doing so is about as easy as spending a few minutes online and filling out a couple of forms that these businesses use to complete your purchase. So, the need to spend hours in stores or dealerships no longer exists.
Data Storage and Biometrics
Finally, Anushil Kumar mentions that everyone should take note of how automation has integrated into our daily lives. Think about the way in which you might be unlocking your smartphone. If you use things like the fingerprint scanner or facial recognition software, you are bypassing the need to type a password. So, the password-based verification process has been automated by faster alternatives. And although these alternatives only save a couple of seconds, they are an epitome of where the market is moving!
So, from this point on, it would be fair to expect the unexpected in the spheres of automation as anything could be reinvented at any point. For example, opening your house door with a key may no longer be an acceptable way to enter your residence in a couple of years. After all, the boundaries are only as existent as the lack of resources to overcome them.
