Dear Subscriber,
We have just closed 2020. Many of us thought ‘finally!’ as it’s been a tough time in crucial aspects of our lives. But at the same time, it was a very interesting year in the digital and technology areas. It forced many of us to make a leapfrog towards digitalization as a lot of the things we used to do physically suddenly became unavailable or could be considered an unnecessary health risk. The digitalization work is far from being done, though. Yes, we did reach a new level, where nearly all companies have reached ‘digital hygiene,’ but people’s digital experience readiness and expectations also evolved. Let’s have a closer look at a few areas:
- Online shopping – many of us won’t come back to shopping malls once we’ve tasted fully home deliveries. At the same time, grocery delivery or even click-and-collect solutions have not yet gone mainstream in many countries. Many of them due to the low availability and convenience of these services.
- Remote education – this is one of the ‘forced areas.’ Schools have been closed for physical lectures in many countries. Even though before the pandemic it seemed that 100% remoteness was not possible for many schools/education systems – it was fine! That being said, there is still a lot of work to be done on the software tools side.
- Telemedicine – on one hand this space got a big push and now nearly all the visits can be done remotely. On the other hand, the software readiness for this is in a terrible state, and that destroys the experience. Many providers are lacking basics like an ability to have a video call or share documents and photos with a doctor, instead of relying on a voice call.
2021 is going to be (again) a digitalization focused year – buckle up for new digital experiences.