With companies pursuing various digital transformations today, it is even more urgent for jobseekers to add value to their abilities in this new generation. What kind of digital ability can make oneself a popular candidate for enterprises to actively pursue? How does that digital ability help you to stand out in the new generation of the information software industry during the fiercely competitive wave of transformation? In this article, Jasper, CTO at Cloud Interactive, will share his observations on the digital software industry.
Current Digital Product
Post-Pandemic Non-Touch Business Opportunities
In the past two years, due to the pandemic, many non-touch business opportunities have arisen. Starting with scanning barcodes when entering brick and mortar stores, many people have gradually become more accustomed to picking up mobile phones more frequently. Last year, during the level 3 lockdown, e-commerce and delivery business opportunities had risen dramatically. The daily necessities that used to be bought at physical stores were unavailable. However, now they can be bought at much cheaper prices through e-commerce, and even better, they can be delivered directly to your doorstep, with no effort on the part of the buyer.
When it comes to delivery business opportunities, two major delivery apps cover almost all the needs of food delivery. Whether it’s seeking endorsements from well-known artists or shooting interesting advertisements, delivery starts to become a habit for people. Asking the question “Tonight, I’d like to order…?” has become a national trend. This can also be observed by seeing more and more scooters with a delivery box on the back.
When B2C software is highly competitive, it focuses more on the user experience through its design. The reason is simple, in this generation filled with Apps, users have limited patience. As long as the app doesn't function well, they will immediately get rid of it. In the meantime, if you look back at the software used in many enterprises which still retains the same UI design from ten years ago, you'll notice the monotonous use of the screen, and the lengthy process to use it. These show that there is obviously a lot of room for optimization in these areas.
Low Code Or No Code
In recent years, many No-Code or Low-Code platforms have emerged, such as Low-Code's Robotic Process Automation (RPA), or chatbots (Chatbot). They all have flourished. RPA is mainly like a virtual robot, which can be automated by simulating the behavior of humans using a computer, in which they click the button of the mouse to send an E-mail.
A chatbot can be seem as the options of a voice call in the past. Each option will correspond to a specific service. Now, everyone is used to looking at communication application on their phone, such as Line or Messenger. The average stores are unlikely to hire real customer service staff that works 24/7. Therefore, providing basic sales information through a chatbot can naturally satisfy basic customer needs.
In fact, the emergence of Low-code and No-code is mainly due to the demand of the software market. The development of 5G networks has brought a significant growth. Therefore, the need of software engineers has never been fulfilled, and many Apps are developed too slow to keep up. With the simpler software process tools, management and marketing personnel with non-software backgrounds can quickly get started.
Must Haves and Tools for the New Generation
As aforementioned, many software tools have made them easier for business management talents, who were not originally from an engineering background. As a result, it can be seen that cross-field thinking is a necessity for every digital talent in the future. For example, since accountants know the entire company's accounting process the best, implementing RPA can help them reduce manual repetitive operations and verify complex Excel forms and data formats, etc. Another example is that, because customer service staff understand the needs of customers the most, they can co-design the content of the conversation content in the chatbot, and integrate the feeling of contacting a real person into the dialogue.
From the above two examples, digital talents who are most familiar with the job could add value to the enterprise through knowing how to use the software application tools. However, being familiar with their own job is far from enough. I think digital talents in this era also need the following four, foundational abilities in the workplace—- “Logical Thinking,” “Communication,” “Troubleshooting,” and “Product Thinking.”
Logical Thinking is important regardless of industry. As far as I can see, many sales representatives are pretty articulate. They describe many complex problems clearly with simple and easy-to-understand key points. People with poor logic may fall into the trap of insignificant details and cannot get rid of them by themselves. If they can take a step back, rethink and reorganize the process of their job, I believe they will benefit a lot.
In software development, people gradually clarify their demands in the process of cooperation. At this time, the “communication skill” of digital talents becomes crucial. By thinking in the users' shoes, it will better help the team to find the root cause of the problem. Questions such as “Which step in the entire workflow takes the most time?,” or “What kind of automation has been implemented in the past?,” or “What is the reason of stop using it?” are helpful to converge the problems into a specific scope.
Besides the subjects of science and engineering, many subjects need to rely on memorization to get higher scores in standardized exams. However, resources are readily available online. Ranging from simple English vocabulary to complex scientific and technological knowledge or instructional videos can all be found instantly through YouTube or Google. At this point, the “troubleshooting” becomes especially valuable to find the right keywords which solve almost half of the problems for amateurs.
We often see news reports that there are many white elephants in our society. The rulers need political achievements, and physical venues can be seen and used when they are newly opened, which will help to convince supporters. Over time, there may be a lack of a complete operational plan, and there will be no funds to continue the operation in the future. So eventually, those white elephants will be idle and ignored. To avoid such a situation in the software world, "product thinking" is needed. Carrying out a project is not just about completing the current product, but also about how to maintain it, and continue to optimize and improve it in the future.
The Entry Point to Realize Digital Transformation
Recently, we have participated and cooperated with several international companies. We start from the professional perspective of user experience design, and conduct interviews to understand the project content. We limit the questions to specific areas so that owners can picture the application tool they want quickly.
Sometimes, owners understand that "digital transformation" is imminent, but don't know where to start. To solve this problem, we use workshops to understand better the owner's operation process or technical needs. From past experience, we have found that if the two parties keep talking about the requirements or the scope of work, it is easy to get each other stuck at a certain point and stagnate. Through the different cases or technical demonstrations, it can speed up the process of finding each other's common ground, so that the software can smoothly enter the development stage.
Professional Team and Talent Supply Chain
Compared with other software product companies, Cloud Interactive provides complete solutions, such as development, design, and consultations. The biggest difference is the integrity of the team. In order to meet the demands from different types and sizes of industries, Cloud Interactive has compiled a complete team, fully equipped with Sales (business), PM (project manager), SA (System Analyst), front-end and back-end development engineers, QA engineers, DevOps engineers, and MIS personnel. The advantage of meticulous division of labor is that it can quickly respond to different needs, and allow workers in each position to focus on their own work. This brings the highest overall value to the company.
Understanding the scarcity of “digital talents,” Cloud Interactive is currently working on a complete “talents training program.” This program provides a complete set of training courses connectedwith the industry, allowing jobseekers who are interested in software development, and those who want a career change, to learn both hard and soft skills for free. I hope that after completing the training, Cloud Interactive can help these jobseekers find jobs and become sought-after "digital talents" in the workplace.
Cloud Interactive is a user-centered software design company. We advocate design thinking to provide every business solution. To do this, we utilize User Interviews, Concept Design, Competitor Analysis, and Usability Testing, etc. We build information architecture that is suitable for the target audience of those research studies. Furthermore, we believe that good product design comes from a human-centered focus and methodology. Likewise, we consider user needs, user behaviors and habits, technical feasibility and commercial purpose as the goal of our design. Want to know more about how design can affect business competitiveness? Contact us now!
About Cloud Interactive
Cloud Interactive is an AI, Software Engineering, and Design consulting company founded in 2010.
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