Businesses continue to seek digital transformation tools to achieve their most important objectives, like revenue growth, lower operating costs, and building customer loyalty. They invest heavily in new infrastructure and services to help streamline workflows and improve productivity.
Pursuing these goals is commendable, however I’ve long believed that true digital transformation does not rely solely on innovation. A technology framework that gives businesses the comfort and confidence to embrace these features requires a completely different mindset.
Users are quickly finding out that while the applications themselves offer similar functionalities, interfaces can vary wildly between desktop and mobile platforms, with each having their distinct characteristics.
Even Microsoft Teams, considered one of the leading unified communications and collaboration services on the planet, can cause some frustration when experiences vary depending on systems and devices.
While many vendors focus on improving the underlying infrastructure and adding features and functionalities into their offerings, I feel there should be an equal emphasis on the user experience.
Since this is the point where most dissatisfaction occurs, it is imperative for technology providers to create a more consistent UX across all enterprise networks and endpoints, which will translate into greater productivity, efficiency, and employee satisfaction.
The wave of consumer applications certainly impacts how we as developers should create business tools, especially for the next generation entering the workforce.
These individuals have already been exposed to interfaces and features that are intuitive, responsive and easy to navigate. They will not tolerate any application that does not simplify and streamline important tasks, or adds unnecessary complexities to their work.
In the conversations I’ve had with both customers and partners, I have learned that the most critical factors for ensuring that applications meet user and organisational expectations revolve around their consistency and extensibility.
By ensuring that apps work similarly across the business, and workers can use the same tools regardless of physical location or network topology, productivity and efficiency skyrocket, employee engagement escalates, and business practices become transformed.
Consistency
Many businesses rely on a hybrid workforce, comprised of in-office and work-from-home employees, and external staff that can include sales agents, field service personnel, and other roles.
Regardless of their location, most employees rely on a common set of communications tools, like voice and email, video, SMS, document sharing, and other capabilities.
In a hybrid environment that consists of mobile and fixed networks, and a range of endpoints and operating systems, not all applications behave equally. For example, some apps have limitations when installed on smartphones, while others that are optimised for the mobile world are clunky and cumbersome when installed on desktops.
As an industry, we should build applications and services that provide similar user experiences across any network and on every device.
There are always nuances that can come into play—particularly with the smaller screen of a smartphone—but by and large, applications should have a near-identical user experience on both desktop and mobile endpoints.
Extending experiences
Organisations use a broad range of business applications outside of unified communications or contact center capabilities—such as collaboration and CRM tools.
Integrating these services with communications platforms provides significant value to a business, such as streamlining processes and increasing productivity. But just like maintaining consistent experiences is critical, the same concept holds true for integrations.
Employees should expect to have the same features on the Microsoft Teams mobile app as the desktop version. Sales personnel that need to retrieve data from a CRM platform like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics should have the same seamless access regardless if they are in the office or out in the field.
Extending access to business productivity tools throughout the enterprise is a crucial element of digital transformation. Any shortcoming limits efficiency, and reduces overall productivity. The push for digital transformation continues to accelerate, driven by both business ambition and evolving technology.
As organisations evaluate the number of advanced communications and productivity applications available, they should pay careful attention to how these services perform across different networks, platforms, and devices.
By leveraging business tools that mirror the functionality of consumer applications, work consistently in all environments and can easily be extended to any employee on the network, the business will become far more effective, and take another step closer to true digital transformation.