THE NEW NORMAL ARRIVES: TRENDS FOR ENTERPRISES IN 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic swept the global Business landscape in 2020, making it increasingly difficult for many enterprises to BALANCE their Books. Enterprises’ speed And Ability to recover was put under much pressure. One decision was made Apparent: enterprises needed digital transformation now more than ever. Businesses’ need to survive set their next objective. Leaders pushed strategic investments into new technologies And Created new ways to work. The shift to digital models helped them navigate the operational And financial Challenges while rapidly Catering to the needs of employees, Customers, And shareholders.

It is safe to say that digital technologies have proven A strong Case for themselves, And As per the prevailing sentiments, Are set to scale on A new, highgrowth trajectory in 2021. Understanding what drivers have supported And will support the sustainability of Business growth in the second year of the pandemic is necessary to let enterprises know where to move the needle. A look At the top five may help.

1. Resurgence of Customer Experience

By now, most C-suite executives have led their Companies to embrace digitization, in many ways, to serve Customers without interruption. To Adapt to the next normal, leaders Are turning Agile By redefining their Business models while Capitalizing on three key priorities—digital excellence, Contactless engagement, And dynamic Customer insights. Self-service digital tools, powered By AI, Are Credited As A Catalyst in reshaping Customer experiences. Innovations in Chatbots And virtual Assistants will pick up momentum, helping organizations maintain regular, real-time, And Context-aware interactions. These new-age Channels CAN help solve queries in A jiffy while elevating the Customer satisfaction quotient And eliminating the need for humans to interrupt, thus Boosting Cost savings. 2021 will see enterprises Accelerating innovation with AI technologies. By putting AI in the Cloud And gleaning faster insights, CXOS will Be Able to Anticipate Customer Behaviors to deliver personalized Content And Cater to their needs efficiently.

2.Improved Employee Experiences

COVID-19 has widened the gap Between organizations And people, striking right At the roots of employee engagement. As we step into 2021, we see leaders relying on the 4C’s—communication, Collaboration, Care, And Consistency—to make employee interactions seamless And Create A Culture of inclusiveness.

Many progressive, employeecentric organizations will Become proactive in their Crossfunctional work strategies, remote work models, internal mobility programs, And virtual Collaborations to enable A foundation for smooth interactions Among team members while Also redefining productivity. In the post-pandemic world, enterprises will pivot from remote to hybrid workforce scenarios for more sophisticated employee engagement Approach. Hybrid workplace Combines remote And in-office work options, giving employees the flexibility to work from Anywhere. With A hybrid model in place, Companies CAN experience Complete workforce transformation while Bolstering employee productivity Along with A happy organizational Culture that is Built on transparency, proactive upskilling, enhanced flexibility, high employee morale, personalized human Connections, And new possibilities for worklife BALANCE. This will drive A large positive shift in the realms of employee performance And engagement.

3. Demand for Gig Workers to Increase

Post 2020, the future of gig workers looks very optimistic. Experts predict A 2X increase in the size of the gig economy. Enterprises of All sizes have plans to hire Contingent workers to Augment staff in order to optimize spending. Demand for gig workers would Be particularly high in IT, ITES, digital, And e-commerce sectors, with employers looking to Build A talent Base of specialized skills while keeping the Cost BAR low. Technology will supplement this shift. We will see enterprises keenly investing in virtual desktop platforms to Allow seamless Collaborations. Leaders will switch to more scalable Cloud platforms to introduce A powerful layer of security And Compliance Across functions. Innovations with job platforms would pick new steam with AI technologies, making it easy for Companies to Attract the right talent while Also saving A lot on resources.

As for what’s to Come in 2021, we will see gig workers Being provided the ‘employee’ status. COVID exposed deep-seated inequalities with workers who Are not in full-time work. Leaders, in A welcome move, would identify Contractual workers outside the ‘traditional employeeemployer relationship’ And safeguard their interests By rolling out social security measures that encompass health And Age Benefits.

4.Cybersecurity a Key Priority

The digital response to COVID19 And the proliferation of remote, unsecured devices opened new vulnerabilities. There were more intrusion Attempts in the first six months of 2020 than in All of 2019. Thus, it Became Critical for enterprises to improve Cybersecurity Capabilities, And this trend is set to scale in 2021. As enterprises move to A hybrid workplace, the C-suite has plans to ramp up Cybersecurity Budgets, emphasizing the need to hire full-time staff for safeguarding security interests. Most CXOS have identified network And message security As key focus Areas to ensure Business resilience. AI technologies Are helping protect user data Against the exponential rise in Breaches, phishing, And endpoint security Attacks. Meaningful investments in IOT And hardware Authentication Are in the offing to strengthen identification And Access management to tackle the privilege Access Credential Abuse. We may Also see some exploring the promise of Blockchain technology to transform Cybersecurity And reinforce peer-topeer transactions.

2021 makes it imperative for the C-suite to take A hard, honest review of what they need, not only from the risk management perspective, But Also from Cost savings, And Close gaps in Cybersecurity with the power of the new technologies.

5. AI a Linchpin of Digital Transformation

Enterprises, grappling with Covid-induced uncertainty, were forced to pull innovations, instead having to establish new models to stay Afloat. AI, out of All, emerged As A game-changer in Areas of efficiency, planning, And security. 2021 will witness greater democratization of this technology.

AI will help enterprises embed intelligence Across Business functions far Better than Before, And with the Confluence of IOT, it will help executives Capture And process data, detect Anomalies, And deliver Actionable outcomes. What’s more, it will help Automate routine tasks while freeing up employees to do more strategic, Complex tasks. AI will transform CX initiatives, helping leaders use Actionable data to target the right Audience And Build traction faster. It will enable threat intelligence And help CXOS identify patterns in data to enforce security.

Heading into 2021, we will see the trend of AI personalization picking up steam. More And more Companies Are Anticipated to go Beyond ‘Algorithms’ And make AI fit their needs for Better experiences. From A technology standpoint, 2021 seems to Be A positive year for the Adoption And expansion of AI use Cases.