The story of travel – and particularly business travel – has always been one of creating smarter tools to get from Point A to Point B. But it’s also a story of people, because after all, it’s people in motion that create the opportunities. For much of the history of travel, the developments have been around hardware – planes, trains and automobiles – that would get us wherever we’re going faster or cheaper or closer to on time.
However in the past couple of decades, the focus of technology in a digital age has shifted to a subtler and more ephemeral commodity: Information. But merely gathering all this data without context is just ones and zeros. And while knowing the when and how much is valuable, for a while it looked like the who and why would get crushed under the avalanche.
Today however, it seems the two paths are converging as the influence of a new wave of technology – machine learning, blockchain, and chatbots – appear poised to provide corporate travel managers powerful communication tools for driving travel program compliance. According to a recent report, entitled Communications, Emerging Technology and Travel Management, part of an Inform series published by BCD Travel, these emerging technologies can deliver effective, personalized messages to travelers, engaging them at the right moment to encourage compliance.
The report points out plenty of practical examples: Chatbots that suggest better in-policy booking options, smart contracts stored on blockchain that monitor out-of-policy behavior, a virtual assistant reminding the traveler to submit an expense report, pre-populated by a machine learning algorithm. All these capabilities are reality today, or will soon be within the reach of many travel managers.
After the Revolution, What Next?
But these developments are only the beginning of convergence. In the next few years, merely adopting today’s solutions will no longer be the differentiator, according to the Technology Vision 2019 study from global management consultants Accenture. The research published in The Post-Digital Era Already in Front of You – Are You Ready for Next? concluded that companies face a new challenge in what the report called the Post-Digital era.
“A post-digital world doesn’t mean that digital is over,” said Indra Permana, managing director, technology for Accenture in Indonesia. “On the contrary – we’re posing a new question: As all organizations develop their digital competency, what will set you apart? In this era, simply doing digital isn’t enough.”
In fact, the survey found over three-quarters (79 percent) of the more than 6,600 business and IT executives surveyed worldwide believe that digital technologies – specifically social, mobile, analytics and cloud – have moved beyond adoption to become part of the core technology for their organization.
Digital technology enables companies to understand in greater detail how their communications are being perceived and acted on by the target audience. The Accenture report highlights the trends that will allow organizations to use powerful new technologies to innovate their business models and personalize experiences across the entire spectrum of recipients, whether external or internal.
Among the trends cited in the report: Distributed ledgers, artificial intelligence, extended reality and quantum computing are all catalysts for change. When asked to rank which of these will have the greatest impact on their organization over the next three years, 41 percent of those surveyed ranked AI number one.
Another important development: Technology-driven interactions are creating an expanding technology identity for every customer, internal or external. The poll found 83 percent felt digital demographics give their organizations a new way to identify communication opportunities. This specialized knowledge will be key to delivering rich, individualized, experience-based relationships.
According to the report, innovation for organizations in the post-digital era involves figuring out how to shape the world around people and pick the right time to present their message. They’re taking their first steps in a world that tailors itself to fit every moment.
“Nowadays, enterprises are making significant progress in their digital journey, while new technologies are rapidly developing people’s expectations and behavior,” notes Leonard Nugroho, managing director and technology consulting lead for Accenture in Indonesia. “Success in this post-digital era is based on the organization’s ability to provide customized approach for customers, employees and business partners.”
