How Tech And The Focused Service Model Are Transforming The Service Sector

Indian philanthropist, cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya, Devi Prasad Shetty pioneered the running of hospitals like a mix of Wal-Mart and a low-cost airline that resulted in the chain of'no-frills' Narayana Hrudayalaya clinics in southern India. Rapid advances in technology are promising to transform the service sector in much the same way as the industrial revolution in the 18th century reshaped manufacturing. As technologies become smarter, smaller, cheaper and more sophisticated there are few services that will not be affected. Developments in areas such as mobile technology, wearables, robotics, virtual reality, speech recognition and artificial intelligence will bring opportunities for a wide range of service innovations that have the potential to dramatically improve the customer experience, service quality and productivity all at the same time. Self-driving cars, drone-delivery and largely robot-staffed hotels and restaurants are only the beginning of this revolution, with new technologies creating opportunities for firms to become both cost-leaders and service-leaders in their respective industries.