< PreviousTouch screens and cameras make displays interactive, and we can have meetings with people on every continent at the same time and best of all, in real time. OLED and MicroLED mean lighter and brighter displays with crisp, highly detailed images that make work and leisure a much better experience. New tech frontiers Only a few years ago, LED screens were primarily used for outdoor advertising and scoreboards. The developments in mobile phone and smart device technologies have converged with larger display technologies. Now, with sub-millimetre pixel pitch displays and the miniaturisation of the technology, we see 4K and larger MicroLED TV’s that incorporate gesture and touch control. This, combined with sound, voice control and cameras give a fully interactive and immersive experience. Everyone from home users to CEOs in conference rooms, can take control of their screens and their communications. And then take them on the road. Looking ahead It’s hard to predict what’s next on the horizon. Science fiction has shown us thousands of ideas NEW FRONTIERS FOR DIGITAL DISPLAYS 20KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE Science fiction has shown us thousands of ideas that have spawned hundreds of real life products.NEW FRONTIERS FOR DIGITAL DISPLAYS 21 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE that have spawned hundreds of real life products. Digital technology is developing almost every day so we should be asking “what do we really want and need” to make life better. Technology has changed the language. Today, a display is more than just a screen. Perhaps the next step will be virtual screens, holograms that pop up from our smartphones or a watch that we can manipulate in mid-air with the wave of a hand. Wayfinding would be so much easier if we could follow a virtual tour guide without having to carry a map. VR glasses are here today. Perhaps the next generation might be VR contact lenses or implants we control with a blink. “Spray-on” organic displays are currently being researched and we can only imagine how graffiti will look when it comes to life. Even after 30 years of working in entertainment, events and digital technology, I’m still looking forward to what the future can deliver. Bring on the warp drive!SMART APPOINTMENTS 22KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINET here are different types of appointment solutions on the market. With the more basic systems, you enable appointment scheduling for your visitors while the more complex system automates the entire appointment management process, from the booking, the arrival and service, to the feedback process. This article explains smart appointment scheduling solutions that collect and analyse data, and fall into the latter category of appointment solutions. How to use appointment data to improve your organisation Having access to customer journey data is important and can bring insights to improve your operations and organisations. Some examples of what you can do with the data you collect from booked appointments follow. Spot gaps in the operations and areas for improvement By keeping track of the average waiting time and service time, you get a clear picture of how efficient your organisation is and what customer value you deliver. If you have a longer time than the industry standard, there are many measures you can take that can improve your waiting time and service time. Having the data allows you to compare your level of service and operations to the standard, so that you can better identify how many improvements you need to make. Additionally, by keeping track of how many visitors don’t appear at the appointed time, you can draw conclusions from the data, such as you might need to increase reminders shortly before each appointment. SMART APPOINTMENTS SMART APPOINTMENTS: COLLECTING DATA TO IMPROVE APPOINTMENT MANAGEMENT With a smart appointment scheduling system, you can collect data from each touchpoint in the customer journey and process it to get insights for continuous improvement. This article aims to explain which data to collect and how to improve your organisation with insights from the customer journey. JOHN WORDINGHAM QMATIC PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BY QMATIC 23 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEExtend your capacity As you can get a clear overview of your appointments, you can identify and prioritise the time slots you want the new visitors to schedule. For example, if your staff are fully booked in the morning and afternoon but don’t have any appointments booked mid-day, you can use this data to suggest the available time slots for new visitors and thus maximise your resources. Identify busy periods When you have collected data for a while, you’ll often see a pattern in the appointments. Maybe some of the weekdays are busier than others, or certain months and time periods show more booked appointments. By analysing this data, you can decide on the steps to take to anticipate these busy periods to optimise your operations while delivering excellent customer service. Plan resources in advance With a smart appointment scheduling system, you can get a complete overview of your current and future workload, giving you the opportunity to plan and organise staff distribution in advance. Having clear information about the customers’ needs early in their journeys, also helps to allocate your resources in the most efficient manner, so that you can match the skillsets with the demands accordingly. Identify specific demand for your services You may offer several different types of services. By collecting data and evaluating the demand of different types of services, you can decide whether you want to increase the availability of the services with the greatest demand. SMART APPOINTMENTS 24KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINESMART APPOINTMENTS 25 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE How to get started on collecting data A standard appointment scheduling system can give you insights into the number of appointments booked or which services are in high demand, but don’t consider what happens after the booking. How would you get insights into the length of service time, arrival process, and other parts of the customer journey? A smart appointment scheduling system that covers the whole customer journey can help you get the data and insights from every touchpoint in the journey, from the booking, arrival/check-in and service, to post-service (feedback). Here are a few examples of data that can be collected from each touchpoint in the customer journey: Pre-service (booking): data about the type of services that are in high demand, peak periods, the number of appointments booked in a day, the number of expected visitors during a period of time. Check-in/arrival: show rates and arrival time (is it early, late, or on- time? This data can be used to set up booking conditions to deal with different scenarios). Service: average length of time for a service (if it’s too long, what causes it? If it’s a complex problem, maybe a more senior staff member is required for the next time the service is required). Post-service: feedback from customers, a valuable insight for improvements. This article was previously published by Qmatic at: https://www.qmatic.com/blog/smart-appointments-collecting-data- to-improve-appointment-management Getting detailed insights into your customer journey is the key to drive improvements to provide excellent services in an efficient way.S mart cities use the power of connected technology to increase efficiencies, maximise resources and improve the quality of services and general quality of life for their residents. A smart city represents a space in which humans and technology interact in a more intelligent, connected and automated way, thanks to trends such as Big Data, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). Cities around the world are already a lot smarter than they were a few short years ago. Initiatives can cover a range of applications, from power distribution, transport systems, street lights, and even rubbish collection. The truth is that these changes can’t come soon enough. By 2050, the UN predicts that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. With more and more people living in cities, we can expect an increase in associated environmental, societal and economic challenges. But by making cities smarter, we have a better chance of overcoming these challenges as well as improving key quality of life indicators for city- dwellers. What are the benefits of smart cities? From conserving resources to making cities safer places to live, the benefits of smart cities are limitless. Here are some examples of some of the most common applications and advantages today: Traffic control Navigating and negotiating traffic is one of the greatest challenges faced by those who live in cities. Fortunately, smart technology offers some promising solutions, such as: • Adjusting public transport routes in real-time according to demand • Intelligent traffic light systems to improve congestion Resource efficiency By automating functions that were previously carried out manually, cities are able to make better use of human resources. Rather than the somewhat archaic notion of AI and automation replacing human jobs, technology works hand- in-hand to boost process efficiency. Examples include using smart meters for utilities, read and reviewed by humans back at base, instead of relying on doorstop manual readings, or sensors attached to refuse containers to report which ones actually need to be emptied, determining a more logistically, environmentally efficient use of transport routes. Smart technology removes the guesswork, allowing resources to be deployed where they are needed most. Energy efficiency By monitoring energy consumption in real-time, cities are better positioned to identify wastage and energy efficiency opportunities. Smart lighting also forms part of an energy efficiency SMART CITIES Today’s smart cities are transforming the way we live, work and play. But far from being just a 21st-century gimmick, there are significant — even life-changing — advantages to the implementation of smart technology in cities around the world. So what is a smart city? MATTHEW MARGETTS DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING SMARTER TECHNOLOGIES 26KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE MEET THE TECHNOLOGY BUILDING THE SMART CITIES OF THE FUTURESMART CITIES 27 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEstrategy, allowing lights to be adjusted or dimmed based on real-time data. Safety Thanks to the proliferation of connected technologies, cities are able to use real- time data to improve safety and boost incident response times. In times of a global pandemic, smart technology can also be deployed for access control and occupancy monitoring. Greater collaboration Smart city technology encourages city residents to become active participants in the running of their cities. For example, apps allow citizens to report local issues, connect and share resources. By understanding just how beneficial a smart city can be, we only have to look to real-life examples. London In 2020, London was once again declared the smartest city in the world, according to the seventh edition of the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2020. This annual index analyses the level of development of 174 world cities across nine dimensions that are considered key to truly smart and sustainable cities: 1. Economy 2. Environment 3. Governance 4. Human capital 5. International projection 6. Mobility and transportation 7. Social cohesion 8. Technology 9. Urban planning London has held the number 1 ranking since 2017. It’s also interesting to note that the city houses more start-ups and programmers than almost any other city in the world. London is well-placed in almost all of the nine dimensions, except for social cohesion and the environment. According to the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2020, a further six cities in the UK make the top 100 list of the world’s smartest cities: • Edinburgh - position 47 • Glasgow - position 65 • Manchester - position 71 • Birmingham - position 73 • Leeds - position 79 • Nottingham - position 91 • Liverpool - position 94 Here are some of their key initiatives and focus areas: Edinburgh The Scottish capital city has a smart city vision for the year 2050 addressing four themes: 1. Carbon neutrality 2. Eradicating poverty 3. Re-imagining public space 4. Making the city more caring The city has already piloted many smart city related schemes, including a Business Process Change pilot. This initiative focuses on lean thinking and customer journey mapping data to improve customer service within the city. Glasgow The Glasgow City Council has created a host of smart developments, such as: SMART CITIES 28KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINESMART CITIES 29 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE • Glasgow Operations Centre • MyGlasgow app • Active Travel Demonstrator apps for cycling and walking Manchester Manchester Smarter City‘s vision is based around six key themes: Live, Work, Play, Move, Learn and Organise. The City Council is working with organisations such as the University of Manchester, Cisco, BT and Siemens on the IoT-focused demonstrator “CityVerve”, which laid the groundwork for long-term smart city planning and development. Birmingham In November 2012, Birmingham City Council released the Smart City Commission Vision to address challenges related to healthcare, employment, mobility, data access and environmental issues. Realising this vision has resulted in plans for a new tech sector, a new hospital, new university research centres as wells as a new station and surrounds to accommodate the HS2 railway. Leeds Leeds City Council’s Smart Leeds programme identifies three priorities: health and wellbeing, housing and travel and transport. Contributing to these focus areas are initiatives such as electric vehicle fleets, Clean Air Zones, affordable Internet access in all homes and a new technology testing ground. Nottingham The Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham oversees a key smart city development in Nottingham titled ‘Smart Campus – Smart Cities’. Researchers are focusing on using open data and digital technologies to enhance safety and responsiveness on the streets. Nottingham was also named the smartest city in the UK for energy in 2017. Liverpool Liverpool hosted the Global Smart City Summit as part of the 2018 International Business Festival. This event saw software solutions firm Sigma Systems announce a partnership with Liverpool City Council to help the city improve its smart city status. What about those cities that fear getting left behind? Creating a smart city may seem like a daunting prospect, but the truth is that it’s happening all around us already by default. Just think how ride-sharing apps have already transformed the transportation industry around the world. Smart technologies have become more accessible and more affordable, helping councils to reinvigorate their towns. A smart city doesn’t become a smart city overnight; rather, it becomes smart over time via the implementation of technology as and where it makes sense for that particular location. Partnering with a technology provider can help councils and cities navigate their transformation in an effective and sustainable way.Next >