Simone Reed 
Almost all businesses around the world have so far been digitalized and made accessible to online customers. An active and user-friendly website or an app, in many ways, determines the success of a business, and its triumph (or fiasco) shapes the upcoming trends.
Through what we have witnessed in the recent period of the digital business era, predictions can be quite confidently made about what comes next technology-wise.
Here are technological tools that will most likely bring change to the business we know today and set new standards in the field of customer care and user experience.
Machine Learning
The notion of and the real-life examples of AI (Artificial Intelligence) have been around for quite a while now. Moreover,
With the change of dominant industries, the tasks we wish to assign the AI machines have also changed. Apart from performing only mechanical tasks, nowadays, machines are being programmed to be able to acquire knowledge and solve problems in more delicate ways. Many marketing and sales companies have already made a step forward in that direction by introducing virtual assistants, self-service machines, and real-time chat boxes. These tools provide customer service by mimicking human cognitive functions and behavior. Moreover, they can perform the service at a much greater speed as they can simultaneously answer several customer inquiries at once.
The ability of AI machines to learn and expand their capabilities, including data collection from various sources, data processing, and understanding algorithms too complex for the human mind, can produce excellent results as it allows for faster collection of leads, high-quality customer journey mapping, targeting the audience more accurately, etc.
Although certain AI technology may be costly at first, some AI tools are already available and are quite affordable. In addition, the businesses that own and utilize them are said to have decreased their work and training costs and increased their efficiency. If you are interested in finding out if your business should employ AI technology, a San Diego IT company is there to help.
VR and AR
Virtual and augmented realities present a fresh and creative step in enhancing the user experience by making it interactive and highly engaging.
Its use will see a rise in the areas of retail, marketing, the video gaming industry, as well as tourism. Imagine a customer being able to experience a preview of vacation in Bali first-hand or take a tour of the hotel you are looking to book before actually going there. A traveling agency offering such an immersive promo experience would definitely be both helpful and attractive to potential customers. What this type of service creates is the ultimate user experience, as it lowers the customer’s risk of buying something they will only get to experience after the purchase.
Companies such as Apple, Sephora, Ikea, etc., have already introduced VR options for their clients, so the future is now. What we may expect in the following years is the polishing and the delicate updates adding to the virtual reality experience becoming more real and pleasurable.
Blockchain
Blockchain technology has become a strong technological influence in the business world through the introduction of the first-ever digital currency — cryptocurrency.
Just like AI, the purpose of blockchain is to create error-free transaction processes which used to be (and still mostly are) completed by lawyers, banks, courts, etc. Blockchain prides itself on any data modifications being transparent and permanently recorded transactions.
At the moment, cryptocurrencies are still not as widely spread and used as they could be due to not receiving enough media attention and visibility.
Blockchain has a high chance of being more widely used as it provides us with information on somewhat static data we would like to transmit experiencing any changes. In other words, blockchain allows an insight into your digital currency money being tampered with. Of course, this does not pertain only to money but to any type of document, including health records, gambling data, passports, etc.
Conclusion
AI, VR, AR, and Blockchain technologies all contribute to the global state of business and user experience related to different types of industries in the future. They are already impacting our lives and will most certainly continue to do so.
To stay up to date with how to position your business and connect to your customers in the upcoming years, consider implementing some of the smart tools which will enhance your business in so many different ways, from long-term cost reductions to building strong customer relationships.
Steven Schuster 
Maynard Coffman 
