Trends 2016:  Digital transformation redefines customer experience 

By Jatinder Ahuja

The year 2016 will accelerate ‘Digital Transformation’ in true sense, with our lives and our surroundings becoming digitally integrated and multi-dimensional. From communication, to shopping, to banking, to entertainment, to healthcare, and education—everything will witness a digital transformation and this will be key for enabling massive efficiencies and delivering superior customer experience across industries. Customer experience will be defined by:

• Connectivity, virtualization and cloud continue to reshape industries with continued shift from physical to virtual: networks, new combinations of physical and virtual (retail), resulting in new streamlined services.

• The continued evolution and rise of ecosystems will enable the interoperability required by digital world.

• Who’s looking after us? Security emphasis to address increased data vulnerability.

• Finally connecting the dots and ending consumer frustration: 2016 will finally be the year of successful omni-channel.

• Customer would start getting consistent experience across devices/channels and location.

• 2016 will be an important year for virtual reality community with enough opportunities for consumers to use them.

• Building better products for the next generation of customers (Millennials)

Continuing race to nail new services: Who will reach the most consumers first, existing players or new ones?

(The author, Jatinder Ahuja, is Head of India and South West Asia Business, Amdocs)