Even as recently as the beginning of the year, we couldn\u2019t have predicted the 2020 Enterprise Connect playing out the way it did. But it does seem fitting that one of the country\u2019s longest-running annual conferences for enterprise communications and collaboration would take place even in the middle of a global pandemic\u2014and that the show\u2019s organizers would make it work as an all virtual conference. RingCentral is proud to have played a thought-leadership role in #EC20.<\/p>\n
In one of our speaking sessions, RingCentral assembled a panel of CIOs\u2014David Baker of Pacific Dental Services, PM Pediatrics\u2019 Steven Xenos, and RingCentral\u2019s own CIO Trevor Schulze\u2014to discuss what the enterprise will look like in a post-pandemic world. Their insights were illuminating.<\/p>\n
New tools and strategies for the post-pandemic enterprise
\nHaving just experienced a forced transition to remote work with little notice, these seasoned tech executives came away with strong thoughts about the types of tools and practices that will play key roles in business as the world emerges from the COVID-19 lockdowns.<\/p>\n
Video sessions<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s definitely the next-best thing, next to being there in person,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it helps build culture. There\u2019s nothing like that face-to-face interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n Communication apps<\/strong> \u201cWe can easily find people, instead of having to maintain cell phone lists and home-number lists,\u201d Steven explains.<\/p>\n Steven believes this anywhere communication will also help maintain team cohesion and productivity. \u201cWhen a corporate location goes home, everyone loses that high touch. People are used to dropping by and chatting for a few minutes. Being able to spin up a video session or a quick chat is huge in keeping that corporate continuity together.\u201d<\/p>\n Changing tech-investment focus<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019re going to embrace more agile development cycles,\u201d David says. \u201cSpeed to market and embracing innovation will be important.\u201d He believes a major priority of enterprises going forward will be removing friction points created by legacy tools and processes. \u201cPatients don\u2019t want to pick up pens anymore. So it\u2019s going to be about continually streamlining to create a more seamless experience for patients and staff.\u201d He notes that in healthcare, this will mean patients spend more time with their caregiver, and less time filling out forms.<\/p>\n Steven sees omnichannel digital communication becoming a priority for businesses going forward. \u201cThis generation doesn\u2019t want to pick up the phone,\u201d he says. \u201cThey want chat and other ways of getting information and interacting. I think omnichannel is going to be huge in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n How to improve the patient experience?<\/strong> Communicating on patients\u2019 terms<\/strong> Streamlining patient support, scheduling, and care<\/strong> Leveraging telemedicine<\/strong> It was a fascinating and insight-packed conversation, and you can view it here<\/a> or watch below.
\nDavid Baker, CIO at Pacific Dental Services, a dental support organization that provides business and administrative services for more than 850 owner-operated dental practices, sees video conferencing as a permanent fixture in the new corporate culture.<\/p>\n
\nSteven Xenos, CIO at PM Pediatrics, the nation\u2019s largest pediatric urgent-care provider, notes that because his organization has such a distributed workforce around the country, he experienced firsthand how important it is that everyone has an app they can use to communicate from anywhere using their business identity.<\/p>\n
\nBoth David and Steven believe the lockdowns will also speed up the migrations in communication technologies businesses across many industries\u2014but particularly in healthcare\u2014were already undergoing or at least considering.<\/p>\n
\nFor healthcare, the lockdowns accelerated the industry\u2019s move to digital, cloud, and other modern technologies. But as our healthcare CIO panelists explained, these moves were aligned with the direction that providers were already heading\u2014albeit relatively slowly\u2014to improve the patient experience. They had several ideas about where things are heading.<\/p>\n
\nDavid said he sees the trend continuing toward digitally enabling all aspects of the medical practice, including communications: \u201cIt\u2019s patients being able to communicate on their terms, on the channel of their choice, and when they want to, 24\/7 essentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAs David notes, a key benefit of the move to digital communication channels for any healthcare provider is to improve every patient encounter\u2014both for the patient and the company\u2019s staff. In practical terms, he explains, that includes \u201ctaking out all of the laborious, manual steps\u201d in every patient encounter, so the practice\u2019s front-office staff don\u2019t need to ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s your name? What\u2019s your date of birth?\u201d on every call.<\/p>\n
\nAs Steven says, \u201cTelemedicine and urgent care were made for each other. We can do most of what we need to over a telemedicine session with a camera.\u201d The massive adoption of the telehealth solution PM Pediatrics offered during the pandemic\u2014they handled nearly 200,000 telehealth appointments in the first few months\u2014convinced Steven that this technology will play a major role in medicine going forward. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge need for telehealth in this country, and I think we\u2019re just in the beginning of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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