A better way to access data and increase productivity

If you had the choice between asking someone to give you the information you need or digging through websites, intranets, or company databases to find it, what option would you pick? Admittedly some of the more introverted amongst us would probably choose the hardest option, just to avoid talking to another human, but most of us are likely to pick the easier option.

In fact, if we could ask a machine for the information and do so using normal human language, we would probably eliminate the need to search for information entirely. Senior executives in large companies have long had access to something similar thanks to their (human) assistants that fulfill a similar role.

Why we need assistants

The reason why senior executives tend to have assistants that help them find information is that their time is very valuable and using it for these tasks would be a waste of money. Other managers could also use help but in their case, the cost of a human assistant is greater than productivity loss.

From this it follows that if we could lower the cost of an assistant we would increase the number of people in an organization that can benefit from it, freeing up their time to perform more valuable tasks. On a smaller scale, in our private lives, some of this work is already being performed by the likes of Google and Siri. If we need to find out what time it is somewhere or what the weather will be like, all we have to do is type in the question and the answer will be given to us, without the need to open a website or navigate or go anywhere else.

Unmatched speed

The virtual assistants in our phones understand human language, translate it into a set of information that a search algorithm can understand, scour the internet for information and present it back to us in a fraction of a second. It is an incredible superpower that most of us can only access for things that can be found online.

Inside a corporation, there are often intranets, databases, and other systems that can help us find information but will, at most, provide an old-fashioned search engine-like experience that delivers a bunch of links that might contain some of the information. It helps but is a far cry from a human assistant that actually gives us the information we actually need.

Thankfully a better solution is available and comes in the form of chatbots. Chatbots are essentially computer programs that can have conversations with human beings and, at the same time, easy interface with other computer systems. As a result, they can be used to create a perfect data access system where the user simply types in a question and the chatbot finds and presents the answer.

If designed well they can be invaluable, especially for companies whose workforce is often on the move or needs to consult technical information and updated data on a regular basis. Their distribution to the workforce is easy and seamless since they can be programmed to use messaging apps like WeChat, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger that people already have on their phones.

If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to our team using the contact link below.