In the wake of the pandemic, previously common products have seen complete changes to their functions. In much of these cases, leading brands have undertaken successful initiatives to support employees, customers, and stakeholders alike.
Despite the difficulties of navigating such an environment, there are glimmers of hope and inspiration for other companies wishing to make their mark. Here are some distinguished examples.
Continuity of Business: In/Out of Office
Proptech applications, such as Zonifero have previously hosted a suite of smart office features designed to heighten productivity, through digitising of office spaces. These functions take advantage of IoT connectivity, to help users book conference rooms, hot desks, access and reserve parking facilities, and locate one-another on office floors.
The effects of Covid-19 have brought about the onset of new demands for social distancing, and sanitary efforts. For Zonifero, the product functions have segued easily into new customer demands. Many features have already been perfectly suited for this new environment, albeit with additional solutions made available in the post-pandemic world.
The technology currently services a landmark office development, Carbon Tower, in Wroclaw, one of the region’s largest cities. The rollout, spanning the 19,000 square metre office development, will also see the deployment of the VirusAlert module.
Such technologies, dubbed ‘smart office tech’ includes a wide net of safety features designed specifically with the age of hygiene protocol in-mind. Added support such as the VirusAlert function notifies users when they book a hot desk adjacent to an employee. The functions also allow management to monitor employees’ health and location statuses, ensuring a safe and steady return of teams to the office.
Many companies remain cautious about resuming a physical presence within bureaus. For this reason, enterprises are increasingly turning towards digital workplace solutions. By using efficient and secure systems, firms can maintain their ‘continuity of business.
Other business tools have already been geared towards potential remote work collaboration. Through the likes of Microsoft 365, affordable subscriptions, and a host of solutions ensure users can safely collaborate and coordinate with unprecedented ease. Aside from many popular features, such as MS Office and cloud solution OneDrive, users can take advantage of Microsoft Teams, an integrated messaging and conference call platform. High-performance software is helping enterprises reorganise and thrive.
Remote Work Capabilities
Holo4Labs are Laboratory Mixed-Reality smart glasses, whose functioning is geared towards boosting laboratory environments. By working in-concert with LIMS platforms, and digital instruments, the glasses have ensured optimised, and productive labs.
As a response to the challenges of COVID, Holo4Labs offers the bulk of at-risk lab teams the ability to collaborate remotely. The wearable device allows users to view data, procedures, and alerts overlaid on its transparent visor. Remote support teams can view these live video feeds from a device-mounted camera.
Outside the lab, high-performance Virtual Desktop Infrastructure by Hewlett Packard Enterprise also helps to ensure effective remote collaboration. VDI platforms help power modern graphic-heavy applications. This software is designed to work from any location, and combine high-functioning HPE servers as well as systems, with NVIDIA GPU technology. These programmes enable a quality UX for all stakeholders within the organisation.
Medical Assistance
In many cases, the nature of travelling to medical centres has always been logistically burdensome. This has proven particularly challenging for expectant mothers. That hurdle has exacerbated with the onset of the COVID pandemic, for patients most at-risk to potential infection. No matter the case, some technologies now further justify their usefulness.
Nestmedic provides a fresh perspective to social distancing, with remote digital obstetrics. The Pregnabit CTG telemedicine system provides expectant mothers with an array of user-friendly diagnostic instruments, which securely relay critical data to medical professionals. In times of need, pregnant women can perform remote examinations, and seek expert advice, without leaving their home. This prevents them from exposure to potential contamination in hospitals.
For medical personnel, on the other hand, there now exists a bridge between social distancing protocol, and carrying out one’s job. Using many ‘backbone’ technologies present in Holo4Labs, the device can be retooled to aid medical professionals working on the frontline.
By using Holo4Triage mixed reality smart glasses, staffs can register patients, provide referrals, and share vital information hands-free. This ensures complete protection from contamination, and organisation at frontline medical facilities.
Globally, medical staffs now operate under increased strain, often in unsafe environments. To ensure organisation, concise patient registration, and protocol adherence, medical professionals must take every measure possible to avoid exposure to viral contamination.
Empowering Pupil, Employee and Customer
Grow Uperion is doing its part in re-energising motivation amongst primary, and secondary school students. While the tool initially served company employees – young students who seek motivation have become a key growth area for GrowUperion.
The main product has been virtually unchanged. Daily responsibilities become transformed through integral gamification in this application. In essence: complete an assignment – you boost your ranking.
As was the case with employees, GrowUperion now provides vital support to schools, by providing students with intrinsic rewards and status updates through the achievement of tasks. Users can now enjoy motivation boosts through simple mobile device interaction. This program has added benefits, as it operates within the post-pandemic environment, serving as a much-needed counterbalance to symptoms of stress and isolation for students across the world.
Next-Gen Conversational AI, on the other hand, ensures contact is maintained with customers. This is particularly important in times of increased burden on customer-service lines, and staff shortages at call centers.
Using artificially intelligent voice bots, companies can leverage the sophistication of voice feedback, powered by speech algorithms. Unlike traditional text-based chatbots, this technology provides high-quality interactions in customer service helplines. This provides a cost-effective, and systematic alternative to conventional customer helplines, and is already spearheaded by leading European telecommunications providers.
Redistributing Surplus Goods and Talent
Luxury goods retailer Louis Vuitton has repurposed its perfume production towards the provision of sanitary gels. These essential materials are produced pro-bono for social and healthcare services throughout France.
The reason for this transformation in manufacturing is partly due to faltering demand for cosmetic products, and partly due to the necessary production facilities already in place. The gels, adorned with eponymous ‘LV’ markings, has proven a boon to the brand, with production quantities numbering in the masses.
With regards to the workforce, many individuals have found themselves unable to return to their place of employment. Many companies are facing staff shortages of their own, due to social movement restrictions of varying degrees, around the world. A digital service hopes to alleviate these burdens and reinventing the outsourcing model by providing temporary staffs to willing firms.
Share Force One is a workforce sharing platform connecting businesses within both sides of the hiring relationship, through innovative delivery of temporary staff. As many companies consider changes to their workforce sizes, this provider fills a market need for competent staff and verification, in an age of social distancing, and economic transformation.
I started coding when I was 19 years old, continually exploring new frameworks and programming languages to expand his knowledge. After seven years of being a freelancer developer, I decided to join the team at Softwarehut to expand and bring the programming services for startups and tech companies in Northern America.
