As organizations move toward digital transformation, they are embracing the benefits of delivering timely, personalized information to customers, citizens, and patients. Connecting people with information and services when, where, and how they want, is a pivotal point in the way organizations process, apply data and deliver that information.

Given my busy schedule, I appreciate a shopping experience that is hassle-free and fast. I also want the information I need about a product or service to be easy to find.  And for that matter, I expect that a retailer knows what I am looking for and provides relevant promotions and discounts. These rising expectations have been born out of leading digital retailers and now that the bar has been set -anything that falls short feels like a disappointment.

Customer Experience

Today's shoppers are looking for efficiency,  ease in problem-solving, and faster time to purchase. They want to take advantage of savings through discounts and promotional offers and they want to be engaged when learning about new items, entertainment, and product options.  To address these growing expectations, Cisco and Panasonic are partnering to transform the shopping experience through their Powershelf solution. The solution enables brick and mortar retailers to automate inventory tracking and pricing data, helping them optimize their supply chain and better manage demand.  In addition, real-time product information can be delivered to a customer's mobile device.

Citizen Experience

The future involves much more than improving customer engagement. Cities are challenged with delivering enhanced citizen services and information on a limited budget.  In the face of inclement weather and emergencies, it is critical that cities link dispatch, first responders and the community with timely, accurate information. For example, the City of Mississauga is leveraging sensors and wireless connectivity to make these connections, analyze trends and share information between citizen services, public communications, and operations.

As more and more citizens prefer to receive information and updates via their mobile devices, this integrated public service system will allow cities to put a request into action quickly and efficiently and provide real-time updates.  Now, the City of Mississauga can deploy operations teams and emergency services faster, enable new services without recognizing an increase in IT budget and improve public safety with immediate, actionable information.

Patient Experience

Healthcare has made a big shift to patient-centric care -where the secure delivery of reliable information to patients and their families is top of mind. From wayfinding information accessed through kiosks, to interactive media that delivers medical information and entertainment, critical information can be sent and consumed in seconds.   Now, the integration of personal device apps based on Cisco's application platforms is leading to faster coordination of healthcare logistics, access to patient information and collaboration with healthcare providers.

Interactive Experience

From digital signs to kiosks and mobile devices, users have come to expect an interactive experience that anticipates needs and takes into consideration many factors about their environment, location, and preferences. Cisco's software application platforms are helping combine existing information on an individual with new insights gained from the network to deliver personalized and value-added services-enabling engaging and timely interactions and experiences that are critical to digital transformation.

It's an exciting time for organizations to apply critical thinking to their digital business plans. What digital experiences would you like organizations to consider creating?