Navigating through the disruptions of 2020 with Salesforce

DXC Technology’s ‘Beyond Disruption 2020 Study’ found an overwhelming number of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) organisations are re-thinking their business strategy and turning to technology to help navigate the disruptions of 2020. Michael Sharp, National Practice Partner, System Partners explores the role CRM platform, Salesforce, has played in helping organisations respond and adapt to the challenges of 2020.

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There is no doubt 2020 has caused disruption which has touched almost every industry and organisation. However, it is really in the changing nature of human behaviour where a huge impact on business has been observed. From customers changing their buying behaviours to employees adapting to a virtual working environment, organisations have had to quickly adapt their processes to navigate the changing nature of human behaviour during the last year.

For example, some DXC customers observed a significant rise in inbound queries - from parents calling schools for updates on closures, to patients calling healthcare organisations for health and safety information - the strain on contact centres has become apparent.

As a result, organisations have had to turn to digitised business processes to effectively manage and automate in order to maintain positive customer and citizen relations.

To help relieve this pressure, we’ve seen a trend of organisations turning to cloud-based contact centre solutions such as the new Salesforce Service Cloud Voice, to unify voice calls, digital channels and CRM data in one place and in real time, remotely.

Whilst these automated business processes will lower costs in the long run, they will boost agent productivity by freeing up an agent’s time from manual work, allowing more focus on higher value tasks. This in turn will result in better support for customers and a better user experience all around.

The way in which customers engage, behave and experience things has had a knock-on effect in how organisations re-prioritise and accelerate different projects which may have once been on a much longer-term trajectory. Now is the time to optimise technology investments, build flexible platforms, and focus on resilience through application modernisation.

Turning data into actionable, valuable insights

In order to successfully move into the realms of the ‘new normal’, a critical part of this will be using the tools at disposal to back-up and validate decision making, as well as predict future scenarios as much as possible.

For customers, organisations can leverage data and analytics from platforms like Salesforce to make the overall experience more personalised and streamlined through analysing and predicting customer preferences, behaviours and future needs.

To achieve this sophisticated use of real-time data and analytics to drive decisions, it’s not just a flick of the switch. Business leaders need to spend time embedding this into their organisations, and the study shows 46% of ANZ business leaders are focusing on improving their team's analytics capability and data literacy skills.

Often this sophisticated use and access to real-time data can get stuck in the realms of the IT or finance teams. However, the beauty of platforms like Salesforce, is that it can provide real-time data to anyone – regardless of their IT skills and capability – in turn, offering a democratisation of data in the workplace.

Ultimately, as many organisations shift to a remote working set up which may become the ‘new normal’, current, reliable and accessible data is critical. However, this doesn’t come without a need for integrated applications and a connected workforce. Fortunately, MuleSoft offers organisations the technology and guidance to build your own application network and the ability to connect your applications, data, and devices, both on-premises and in the cloud.

To learn more about how Salesforce and System Partners can help overcome your challenges of 2020, contact us today.

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About the report:

DXC and emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte, conducted more than 600 interviews over an eight-week period to form a four-pulse business study, Beyond Disruption 2020. The study tapped into the learnings and insights of business and technology leaders to give you an up-to-date snapshot, uncovering how Australian and New Zealand organisations are adapting, innovating, investing and transforming in this challenging climate to survive, and prepare for growth.

The report expands on the findings of our Beyond Disruption business study and provides practical and effective recommendations to help your organisation weather the storm of 2020 and emerge from disruption with clear skies ahead.

Read the Beyond Disruption 2020 Report here

System Partners, a DXC Technology company

One of the largest and most experienced platinum Salesforce Partners in Australia, System Partners has been transforming how organisations communicate and engage with their stakeholders since 2008.