Transforming and optimizing businesses are just two of the many goals that processes and technologies are successfully grinding.
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Take the quote “Notorious Failure,” for example. This is one of the descriptions of what was a new invention of the late nineteenth century. What was crazy ingenuity? Ironically, it was something that would end up changing the world of work: the humble light bulb.
At that time, few people could conceive of the advantage of having access to bright lights 24 hours a day. However, the light bulb helped make businesses work more efficiently before sunrise and after sunset.
In essence, that single “obvious flaw” of an innovation became the springboard for massive efficiency.
More than 100 years have passed since the invention of the light bulb, but it remains a relevant example of how innovations, once accepted, quickly become normal aspects of the business. The same thing happened with the tablets. When they first came out, the professionals weren’t sure how to use them effectively. But tablet makers had an idea of its value and continued to do so. Now, it’s hard to find a sales representative on the move who doesn’t use one on a daily basis.
The point is, while some of today’s emerging business innovations are geared toward the fashion drawer, others have a great deal of resilience. The five listed here are already earning more than a foot in corporate circles.
1. Grouped financial services
Packaging is a large-scale process that is optimizing companies in many industries, such as with entertainment providers (OTTs). However, bundled services are not limited to Netflix or Hulu. Financial players are also looking for ways to group payment options.
Take the leader in fintech FIS technology as an example. FIS recently announced a joint payments initiative with The Washington Nationals. Attendees can pay for anything from hot dogs to sports betting from BetMGM through their own app. This experiment of making paying for consumption really simple and immediate has widespread implications for other businesses, including those in B2B circles. The FIS is also supporting the Nationals’ cashless strategy by issuing branded daily prepaid cards for its MLB and Minor League ball players, as well as other employees and seasonal workers.
In fact, B2B companies have long faced the friction of payment. Financial services, such as allowing B2B customers to pay bills by text, can help make money move more easily between parties. As a result, all stakeholders can benefit from enhanced cash flow features and more positive transactional experiences.
2. Cleaner and hyper-fed data
Modern businesses run on data. However, not all data is usable or easily interpretable. As a result, gross data is estimated to cost companies more than $ 3 trillion a year. It’s an impressive amount of money to lose. Recapturing only part of it could have a huge impact on any organization.
In response to the need for cleaner data, many startup companies are engineering systems to address complex data challenges. Think of Dotmatics, a $ 200 million brand new ARR cloud software company already working in the $ 19 billion Life Science R&D software market with 2 million scientists and 10,000 customers as BAS -F, Merck and Novartis, and research universities such as MIT and Oxford. The company focuses on helping research and development (R&D) teams get more of their data. The ultimate goal is to reduce the common pitfalls associated with R&D data and potentially bring life-changing drugs and therapies to the public more quickly.
Finding out how to use data more effectively is not limited to the healthcare industry either. Almost every industry, from manufacturing to tourism, can benefit from being able to extract more juice from their data sets.
3. Streamlined skills improvement programs
It usually takes two years to get an associate’s degree, four years for a bachelor’s degree, and so on. In a robust job market full of eager candidates, this time period is not problematic. Unfortunately, the Great Resignation and other contributing factors have made it difficult for employers to find talent. And these entrepreneurs cannot afford to wait years to fill open positions.
Innovators like Google are fulfilling this call by offering fast-track programs designed to disrupt college. For example, the national health training platform Carrus works with sites such as CVS and 3M to offer tailor-made educational programs. The designers of these programs designed them to help job seekers catch up quickly on a menu of specialized skills. Already, more than 150 health systems have joined Carrus in hopes of attracting promising new interpreters to medicine.
Certainly, accelerated learning is not a new phenomenon. However, it is something that many have not tried in their career so far. If all goes well, companies that work hard to improve applicants may come across a well-trained cadre of leaders.
4. VR / AR applications in bold
People have been associating virtual and augmented reality (VR / AR) with games for a long time. Now, they are also making their way into corporate circles. In fact, some advanced brands are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition by using VR / AR technology.
A company-based VR / AR case study in action includes ExxonMobile. The global oil and gas corporation announced its intentions to train new hires at its Louisiana facilities using virtual reality scenarios. Using this approach allows ExxonMobile to educate staff more efficiently and consistently without the need for real-world spaces. This not only optimizes business training budgets, but allows the corporation to train anyone immediately.
Other uses of VR / AR in business include sales and marketing. A virtual headset experience could show a potential buyer how a product works. Or it could allow a customer to walk essentially through a “store” and pick up desired items. While not as popular as some other innovations, it seems that VR / AR is catching up with a projected value of three-quarters of a billion by 2025.
5. Blockchain supported solutions
The average person usually associates the blockchain with Ethereum and other types of cryptocurrencies. What they don’t realize is that the blockchain also has business applications. The reason lies in the most basic attribute of the blockchain: once created, a blockchain block, for all intents and purposes, cannot be modified or edited. In essence, it is a “forever” transaction.
This opens the door for the blockchain to become a reliable source of information for past transactions. Ford and IBM have tested the blockchain as a way to track cobalt, a commodity used by automakers. Because it can verify the true “imprint” of its cobalt, Ford hopes to make sure that the cobalt it buys is obtained responsibly.
To date, corporate-scale blockchain experiments have been limited to the largest companies in the world. However, blogging books have the ability to shake up corporate processes thanks to their immutability.
What innovations will come next?
The past is usually a good predictor of the future. As a result, it is very likely that the aforementioned innovations, which now seem a bit new, will soon become established technologies, tools and systems. At this point, innovations that are only hurting business margins, such as metavers, will replace them.
While not yet a high-impact innovation in the corporate realm, the metavers is an attractive environment with promising hints. The Harvard Business Review recently noted that Nvidia, a technology company, is promoting metavers as the ideal ground for realistic simulations. The same piece noted that Nike has begun filing patents focused on the metavers.
These are all exciting developments, not to mention those that deserve to be followed. But the question remains: will metavers help companies be lighter or optimized? The jury, as they say, is still waiting for the answer. However, if the metavers seizes, companies will want to explore its full potential.
From packaging to the blockchain, the innovations that companies optimize today are extensive and exciting. Who knows? Time will tell whether or not metavers or some other innovation becomes a definite “light bulb” moment for the next generation of work.
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The publication 5 Innovative Processes and Technologies That Transform and Optimize Businesses first appeared in Calendar.