Bespoke human experiences call for increased trust in a post COVID environment in 2021 and beyond

As industries continue to adapt to the ‘new normal’, bespoke blended experiences are just one trend that will become necessary to successfully engage customers who require personalised interactions combined with the convenience of digital

When the pandemic first hit, industries around the world found themselves needing to rely on technology more than was ever required before – quite simply, embracing innovative technology became crucial for business survival. But as we have made the necessary changes on how we interact daily, the growing reliance on technology, quite often a one size fits all experience, has left many customers pining for more personalised experiences.

A recent report released by Deloitte looking at ‘Tech Trends for 2021’ and beyond describes this trend as critical and urgent due to the inherently impatient nature of customers. In 2021 and going forward – many organisations have begun to experiment with existing and emerging technologies – utilising them innovatively to design and ultimately scale human experiences and outcomes that are increasingly personalised on a bespoke level. As such, ‘mass customisation’ will be left behind and bespoke experiences that are tailored specifically addressing and speaking to the preferences, beliefs, and behaviours of the individual customer – what the report terms ‘designing an audience of one’.

Let’s look at some other trends that have been staking claim to the future of technology and human interaction in a post COVID environment.

Trust will become secondary to verification.

While security strategies in organisations have changed to include education from top-down and ultimately achieve organisational buy in to cultivate safer environments, the increasingly sophisticated nature of cyber-attacks and move to personalised home office spaces have meant that more is needed than just educating and trusting every employee in the organisation to practice adequate ‘cyber-hygiene and safety measures’ in their personal capacity. Coined ‘Zero Trust in the report – this trend calls for remote and modern enterprise environments adopting a different approach to security.

The clarion call here requires every request for access to be validated based on all available data points. These include user identity, location, device and other variables that provide context to each connection. This allows for more nuanced, risk-based decisions. Data, applications, workloads, and other resources are treated as individual, manageable units in this approach to contain breaches, and access is provided based on the principle of least privilege. Microsoft's Zero Trust solution does exactly this – assuming breach and verifying each request as though it originates from an open network. Regardless of where the request originates from or what resource it accesses, Zero Trust teaches us to “never trust, always verify.

Measuring the remote workplace for advantageous insights

Adopting a hybrid working environment or going completely remote are realities that are now permanent fixtures in how business in conducted. And while collaboration tools have taken centre stage in helping organisations successfully keep it ‘business as usual’, taking it one step future – leveraging data generated by employee tools and platforms will go a long way in assisting organisations in fine-tuning individual productivity, team performance and delivering customised employee experiences. This data can be leveraged to help remote and onsite teams work in concert and ensure the parity of remote and in-office employee experiences.

 Engineering strategy beyond the boardroom

The C-suite has already begun to recognise the importance of corporate and technology strategies informing each other. However, as with the other trends mentioned, as we continue to dig deeper and cultivate an acutely aware and insightful environment, we will start to see strategists turning their attention to platforms equipped with advanced analytics, automation, and AI. With these insights, businesses are able to leverage tools such as Microsoft's Power BI to continually identify internal and external strategic forces, inform strategic decisions, and monitor outcomes. As a result, taking the task of developing strategies from a sporadic, time-consuming process to one that is continuous and dynamic encompassing a wide range of possibilities.

It's clear that technology trends emerging during and post the global pandemic are focused on not only ensuring ‘business as usual’ but also providing everyone involved with personalised, tailor made and immersive experiences where trust in crucial. As we move forward, we are confident that organisations will continue to give in to the curiosity to push boundaries – and innovative technologies will be right there to assist.