Living in New York City you become programmed to optimize your fastest route from one location to another choosing in real-time between taking a cab, the subway, or walking. It always takes me by surprise and frustrates me when I travel for business to other cities and that ability to optimize for fastest path gets short circuited by having only one choice.
Technology today has everything moving faster than it did even a few years ago as we have tools that allow us to multitask and accomplish more. We see this in every aspect of our lives and the successful companies in this evolving high-tech landscape are outthinking, outmaneuvering, and outrunning traditional businesses by leveraging new communications applications that enhance and improve workflow results.
Despite decades of improvements to the way we connect with each other at work - internally with our colleagues, externally with our customers and partners - there are still companies who are hanging onto the old fragmented ways of doing things on separate application platforms and even the aging and expensive voice and IT infrastructure that is costing them time and money.
The way we communicate has changed from the choice between a telephone call and walking down the hall to an omni-channel collaborative capability.
What is exciting to me now is the even bigger transformation underway, and the opportunity to create billions of dollars more in value by making it easier for people to communicate "from within".
What does that mean?
The new way to work is in app, and in all workflow applications. It's no longer necessary to toggle between another chat application or "pick up the phone" to reach somebody by dialing nine or more numbers. Instead, you can simply connect within the application you are using to enable a conversation in chat, voice or video.
But it gets even better than that.
After you start that voice conversation if you need to look at a report together to solve a problem, to answer a question, to get something done - you can touch an icon and open up screen sharing.
You still haven't dialed a phone number or sent out an invite to a separate webinar bridge to enable a collaborative conversation. You've simply connected.
Now, on the back end, there is a lot of processing going on - including processing to ensure that the multimedia interaction you've just had with a colleague is:
Sound familiar? Some things never change, and as human beings and colleagues we will always want things to work really well. Companies like Apple made simple an ante, and make simple possible through a lot of complex work behind the scenes.
This is why a global software company like SAP has partnered with us to enable the SAP Real-Time Communicator,” which is powered by the Kandy platform. But these are not the commodity discrete services of the past, they’re today’s embedded services. SAP can now enhance their workflow solutions, already at work inside thousands of companies, by adding instant collaborative communications within and across CEC front end application suite.
For example, SAP is rolling out field service solutions, making it possible for a professional in the field heading to a customer site to repair or maintain equipment to be connected to experts back in the office who can help with troubleshooting. The field service rep conduct his or her entire workday using a single SAP application in the office or mobile. Work orders, directions, equipment location are all delivered within the app. Additional support in the form of videos and instructional guides or expert mentoring, are available at the technician’s touch, as needed.
The benefits of this embedded communications ecosystem are obvious. Customers get faster resolution and immediate status notification. The company enjoys happier customers, who are more loyal, as well as increased productivity from its employees. It also has a record of each visit, which can be captured and analyzed for patterns that help them improve support efficiencies, their products and to grow their revenues.
SAP is clearly establishing a new industry standard by embedding contextual Real-Time Communications capabilities into their customer’s workflow applications.
Click here for information more about our recent announcement with SAP.
Want to learn more about the many work applications we've been building at Kandy - and building with our ecosystem partners? Visit our Kandy Showcase and get in touch.
Jon
