Cognizant’s recent ‘From Eyes to Ears: Getting Your Brand Heard in the New Age of Voice’ report says that brands not paying attention to voice could already be losing out on millions yearly. And while the vast majority of companies agree that voice will become essential to their success, only 20 percent have a formal voice strategy in place.

When we look back at the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the unsung victims of the devastating virus is the touchscreen. While the virus made us wary of unhygienic surfaces, the lockdown and social isolation revived our interest in interacting with a human-sounding voice, catalysing the large-scale shift towards the voice interface.

For some years now, drone technology has been billed as the next big thing. For many, the associations that spring to mind when thinking about the technology are their uses in military defense, surveillance, awe-inspiring landscape photography, and wedding videos.

Businesses are bullish on the future of voice technology like Amazon, Apple and Google's digital assistants, with consumers relying on the contactless tools more than ever during the pandemic, according to a study by professional services company Cognizant. Exclusive local data shared with Which-50 from Cognizant’s Centre for the Future of Work shows Australian brands lead the region in voice strategy but still face privacy and skills challenges.

In the current reality, taking a step back and looking at the big picture can be daunting. The way we work has fundamentally changed and digital transformation efforts have been supercharged out of necessity.

This spending is fuelled by high expectations since they aim to drive six per cent of their revenue through voice during this period, it added.

With consumers prioritising safety, brands should focus on creating a diverse landscape of online and offline touchpoints.

Mohit Mehta, Vice President and Commercial Leader: Cloud, Infrastructure and Security – Global Growth Markets, at the digital and cloud company Cognizant discusses how IoT devices can balance security requirements with cost and complexity.

Earlier on in the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations faced myriad challenges as they sought to reopen office buildings. Temperatures would need to be scanned, density monitored, personnel distances measured, and contacts tracked. In some cases, hand-washing procedures would need enforcing, too.

With the NSW Government releasing its first-ever Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy and COVID-19 dramatically increasing the pace of digital transformation and the need for AI to enable that change, many businesses are wondering how to navigate the rapidly evolving technology landscape. Moreover, with AI a clear C-suite imperative, businesses must apply AI solutions in smart, economical, and ethical ways. Most importantly, they need to be human-centric.