Sharad is an IT leader with over 18 years of experience. His expertise includes core solution implementation, system integration projects, IT operations, and BFSI domain.

Digital is ubiquitous and superfast. Transformation through digital is buzzword leading to huge benefits in productivity and disrupting the way organisations have been conducting their businesses. SMAC,IoT, AI, RPA and AR are in demand tools for digital transformation. Organisations have left with very limited choice but to adopt. Though adoption is the key to success, most companies are failing to change. Company culture has been observed as second largest hurdle for the success of digital transformation as per Futurum research during a study in 2018. First hurdle observed was external to organisations and it was largely influenced by ‘availability of good technology companies’ to support transformation initiatives. These two hurdles would be crucial and important worries for CIOs to ponder upon.

As there are many trends emerging to transform business and revenue models,technology tools focusing on people has been very interesting to get enlightened with. In this context, if one is forced to choose a path breaking and revolutionary application or trend then, "Chat Tool" on smartphone would be my first choice.

Chat Tools have changed the way of human communication and we aren’t communicating only with words anymore. This has been the largest and single disruptor in digital transformation. During 2016, I had presented to a small group of IT professionals on disruptive technologies where I spoke on chat tool and its impacts on future enterprise and it has been quite a trend to follow for all the CIOs.

In country such as India, approximately more than 15 million sales people are engaged in retail sales activities including feet on street, worksite and walk in counters across various industries such as retail, financial services (BFSI), automobile, real estate, information technology, logistics and education. Chat Tool which has been a personal use has now become Chat 2.0. This chat 2.0 has the potential to transform future sales organisations and may save up to $10 billion over three years altogether for all Indian Corporates.

Future Digital Enterprise for Sales Function - A Possible Case
Here is an organisation with 25,000 employees that is engaged in banking business. Most communication takes place between front end and back end staff to fulfil various services to the customer. Sales being the major thrust for any such organisation, it has up to 20,000 employees engaged in sales process and acquiring new business.

With strong focus on profitability and productivity, technology team implemented chat 2.0 solution for all sales employees. Sales person now need not go to office and simply start his/her day from home and probably earliest of the day. Day starts by logging in company chat messenger and all the tasks for the day including prospect appointments, target achieved versus planned, competition news and product information is available. As and when existing appointments are completed, minutes are captured in chat along with geo location. Target sales vs actual sales are available at beginning and end of the day as chat message.

One of the privileged sales people, James was very happy and shared “It has been wonderful way of doing sales. I was so much burdened with laptop and mails and dragging on my sales appointments. My sales conversions are proportional to my prospect visits and I was faltering on the same. With emails out and new chat solution, everything is at my fingertips. Product trainings are available on video. I can easily capture prospect leads and meeting notes while I converse with customer and while travelling. I can even record my meetings and what customer has to say”.

This could happen in your organisation and certainly in near future. Are you ready for the change?

Next sections will provide you what is required to accomplish such an experience and merits and demerits of adopting chat as a disruptor.

Assumptions
Sales process and sales job description is standard across organisation.

All human resource administration privileges such as salary management leave management travel management and expense management are enabled through single mobile application and that is Chat 2.0

Bring your own device policy is in place and being implemented with mutual satisfaction of employer and employees.

Merits of Chat 2.0
1. Faster Communication
2. Ergonomic Design bringing convenience of usage
3. Improved productivity through online communication
4. Enhanced communication with facility of sharing Media and real time inputs from the field
5. Choice to users for selecting their convenience and communication device
6. Validated data inputs for specific business process made possible
7. Integration of Chat 2.0 with Core Systems to enable real time processing of the business
8.Cost Savings
9. No License cost for emails and exchange
10.No need of desktop and savings in hardware cost
11.Elimination of Paper and hassle free and convenient business experience
12.No need of attending office as long as targets are achieved
13.Automatic location capture to substantiate the proof of desired work

Demerits of Chat 2.0
• Small Form factor on smartphone inconvenience for typing the longer text. However, recorded message can be considered instead.
• Authentication of personalised communication- digital signature would be required for mobile user identification. eKYC may be a solution.
• All business functions may not be migrated to chat 2.0 solution.

Good News is that Great Technology Companies are around
Though availability of great technology company has been observed as number one hurdle for digital transformation, today there are many players and giants in ecommerce that has developed comprehensive Chat 2.0 offerings and have been gaining momentum. Chat 2.0 platform is used by millions of enterprises and organizations across world. By using latest mobile and cloud technology, such Chat 2.0 provides message, voice and video communication, workflow management and office automation functions to teams and enterprises of various sizes.

It’s high time that culture in your organisation adopts Chat 2.0.