By Sandie Overtveld, SVP of Freshworks APAC and MEA
The Arab Gulf’s relationship with technology has always been one of willingness and ambition. To build sustainable communities and stronger economies, governments and businesses have embraced the tools of the time and used them to great effect. The region’s spending on public cloud alone is projected to be US$2.5 billion by the end of next year – an impressive progression given that the market was worth US$956 million in 2020.
As far back as 2008, countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have used the digital toolbox to do more with less. International crises – financial, health, supply chain – were weathered one by one through innovative use of technology. One of the latest challenges is how private enterprise goes about pleasing consumers. With each passing day, it seems, there is more pressure to design, build, and release top-notch digital experiences. This has a knock-on effect. When looking at the cloud services to which they subscribe, organisations must now focus on people-first tools that empower the workforce and put them in control of customer engagement.
This Great Software Reset pervades the whole enterprise. Convenience now dominates functionality, particularly when it comes to IT service management (ITSM). We see this across industries. And Freshworks saw it again as we compiled our global 2023 Freshservice Service Management Benchmark Report. Here, we share five truths that are shaping the Great Software Reset as businesses rethink how they transform customer and employee experiences in the 2020s.
1. Automation saves time and money
If you want to start empowering employees, start with their daily routine. Start with eliminating burnout. AI-powered automation can be used for many things. It can take humdrum tasks away from humans and allow them to innovate more. Or it can, in real time, guide and focus the human potential for improvisation as agents advise customers. Or it can bring that guidance directly to customers in self-service options, so that digital natives can do what they prefer – resolve their own issues on their own terms. All these use cases would reduce workloads on IT support teams, thereby boosting morale and productivity. Freshworks’ research shows organisations that automate can resolve 80% of their tickets in the first contact session and shorten average resolution time by around 23%.
2. Bots are critical
The region has already learned by example that bots can invigorate employee and customer experiences. From Dubai Electricity and Water Authority to Kuwait Finance House, bots are assisting customers throughout the region while alleviating the daily labour burdens of employees. As of January, DEWA’s “virtual employee” Rammas had addressed 6.8 million enquiries since its 2017 launch. And Freshworks’ report notes that help desks that have access to bot tech can reduce first response times by 47% and resolution times by 57%.
3. Virtual agents (not to be confused with bots), likewise
Bots automate more straightforward, Q&A interactions. Virtual agents are more sophisticated. While both use AI for understanding and responding to human input, the virtual agent uses AI in the search for an answer, which puts it on a different level than the rules-based chatbot. Virtual agents can leverage integrated knowledge-management systems to overhaul troubleshooting in game-changing ways. Agents can help users overcome technical issues by providing historical context. IT teams can receive a quick rundown of examples of similar issues in the past along with the steps taken to address them. Freshworks found that the resolution of 46% of support tickets relied on this technology. This opens the door to so many efficiencies. It not only makes IT staff more effective and quicker in their addressing of issues, but with the right governance, end users could perform their own basic troubleshooting. This is, potentially, a significant step forward for the employee experience.
4. Banks do it best
It should not surprise anyone to learn that when it comes to ITSM, the FSI sector is out in front. Freshworks figures showed the industry to have the top response time average (9.45 hours). We found that finance entities were prolific adopters of bots, automation, and machine learning – technologies that organisations deployed to extraordinary effect in mitigating the tradition of lengthy interactions between IT and end users. Financial services enterprises saw their dedication pay off, with customer satisfaction rates soaring to an average 98.4%.
5. User experience is about more than speed
It may appear that speed is everything in issue resolution, but that would be an incorrect interpretation of Freshworks’ findings. Rapid responses and swift fixes are certainly desirable, but they do not, on their own, add up to exceptional customer experience. Our data showed us that lower customer satisfaction scores could accompany faster resolution times and vice versa. The explanation for this apparent contradiction lies in the expectations of the customer, as well as in their unique requirements. If a Gulf company were looking to expand regionally or internationally, each market should be researched to uncover its cultural proclivities. Durable relationships are built on deep understanding and individualization. In new surroundings, employees must continue to tailor services as they have always done, but the ability to move and shake in other markets will rest upon a company’s ability to always deliver a great experience. And that experience need not necessarily rely on the same metrics in each territory.
Tuned in and agile The Great Software Reset is yet another example of doing more with less. To be more precise, the Reset is about providing more for less. Growth does not come easily, and recent events have taught businesses that shifting and pivoting are now a way of life. Success now requires the ability to change gear, lane, or even vehicle, mid-journey. We must all be tuned in to emerging opportunities to improve upon processes and methods, optimise our technology stacks for the sake of our IT teams, and enhance our offerings to distinguish ourselves in the marketplace.
