< PreviousGUEST EXPERIENCE 20KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE this aspect of said experience needs to be done well. A simple example could be seen in the guest checkout scenario. When checking out, some guests may forget to log out of hotel smart TVs. They may also inadvertently leave behind their viewing history and other personal data, leaving hotel IT staff to rectify the situation. However, manually performing these tasks for hundreds or thousands of devices can be daunting. Not to mention, this type of service requires considerable time. After one party leaves, hotel employees usually only have one or two hours to prepare the room for the next. That’s why most hospitality companies prefer to take care of this and other smart TV maintenance tasks remotely. Thankfully, the right device management software can perform this job admirably. The Need for Device Management Software A typical luxury hotel has an average of 300 rooms, each containing at least one smart TV. Plus, there are dozens of additional sets scattered all over the hotel that function as digital lobby displays and information boards. Like any other smart device, hotel TVs require a working operating system. These commercial smart devices often run on Android TV OS. This operating system offers great flexibility and allows devices to install popular apps, like streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, etc), social media apps, productivity and media players. Managing these devices requires equally smart device management software that is up to the task. Hotel smart TVs need constant monitoring, regular maintenance, and occasional security assistance. Having a system that performs remote management—compared to onsite technicians— can save the company time and money. Remote management also reduces support calls, as it eliminates the need for human intervention when diagnosing and repairing software. Monitoring and Maintenance Developers of the operating system and the apps will regularly release updates or patches, which users need to install. Performing these installations and updates is especially cumbersome when done manually. Having device management software that can remotely connect to each device and perform the updates is a far more efficient solution. Management and Security Smart TVs also require management to protect the device and its private data from being accessed by unscrupulous users. Usually, system administrators will limit hotel guests’ access to selected apps. They will implement device security measures in case some guests attempt to install additional apps, tweak system settings, or launch unauthorised programs. They can choose to disable the device. In the extreme case of theft, they can also wipe any data from the device entirely. Access for Different Stakeholders Another key feature of device management software is its ability to assign different access levels for different stakeholders. Not everybody needs complete access to the smart TV’s operating system, applications and user data. IT Administrator As the primary managers of these smart devices, IT administrators are in charge of centrally monitoring and managing the fleet. They also have the task of assigning individual user access levels. Technical Support Technical support members are the service team that performs the regular maintenance and upkeep of all devices in the fleet. They perform updates on the system and all applications, install new programs, and check device health— completely remotely. Device management software generates savings on administrative and technical support costs by reducing or outright eliminating the need for field visits and technical support calls. GUEST EXPERIENCE 21 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE Executives Executives are given administrative access to each device’s recorded user data. They can collect device information to generate insights and make decisions. Finance Finance employees receive monitoring access that allows them to view the account status of current users. Once they discover users with delinquent accounts or expired access, they can recommend disabling or freezing the assigned devices. They can also help with the tracking of stolen or lost devices and then make similar recommendations. Project Managers Project managers also have data access so that they can perform deep-dive analyses of each device’s usage. Based on the generated insights, they can make evidence-based recommendations to management on what programs are popular among users and which ones need additional support or promotions. Marketing Marketing specialists have communication access to broadcast push messages or special announcements to all or some smart TVs. They can use the network’s broadcast features to schedule the delivery of curated messages and offers to target audiences that can generate additional revenue for the hotel. Developers Aiding the system administrator, developers have system access to look into the current system and diagnose problems. Using the software’s API and SDK, they can formulate solutions and features that can further improve the guest experience. Deliver the Ultimate Guest Experience by Remotely Managing Your Entire Smart TV Fleet In order to unlock the full potential of each hotel’s smart TV, consider investing in reliable device management software. This integrated solution performs remote maintenance and management of the entire device fleet. On top of having fuller control over your smart TV fleet, the company also saves valuable resources. Device management software generates savings on administrative and technical support costs by reducing or outright eliminating the need for field visits and technical support calls. Protect your hotel’s smart TV investment, your guests, and your reputation by ensuring you have reliable device management software servicing your fleet 24/7. C ompanies have been more trusting of their employees since the pandemic forced everyone to work at home. In much the same way that employers realised their staff could be trusted to get on with the job despite being unsupervised, they are also realising that they can trust them to use their phone for work without opening Candy Crush. Technology is encouraging employee autonomy, and the advantages of convenience, efficiency and productivity are being recognised by forward-thinking businesses. What phone is that? When meeting managers in the retail space, I often find myself wondering how they ended up with such a high-end, company phone for work. Invariably, it is their personal phone, as they either don’t want to use the “crappy work phone”, or it’s simply too difficult to use. Too often, they end up sitting in a drawer in the office, uncharged and unloved; this is simply a waste of company money. Usually, the hardware isn’t up to scratch because companies choose something functional and inexpensive, or the devices are so locked-down by company device management policy (written by people that don’t work in a store), that they are unusable. Wherever possible, colleagues are opting to use their own devices to carry out their digital daily tasks. Of course, there are certain risks inherent to a BYOD policy. After all, we are facing more BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE Most employers now trust their staff to work from home; so why should company devices be any different? With some communication, BYOD can improve morale and productivity, argues Sam Roberts, Sector Director at mpro5. SAM ROBERTS SECTOR DIRECTOR MPRO5 22KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE CAN EMPOWER YOUR EMPLOYEES, AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY TOOBRING YOUR OWN DEVICE 23 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEcybercrime than before: In 2021, the average number of cyberattacks and data breaches increased by 15.1% from the previous year. • More potential for malicious apps to take data. • Higher potential for accidental data loss eg work data being shared in device backups, personal devices being shared with family. • Higher likelihood of devices being unsupported or out of date. • Users are less willing to report security incidents because they are worried that their personal data will be intruded upon. Many of these risks are inevitable. What sets BYOD apart is that the head office can no longer install updates or monitor usage. Here, as with any work from home (WFH) or hybrid policy, trust and communication is key; if your staff know the risks, and know how best to combat them, then you stand a fighting chance. After all, the cybersecurity resilience of devices is often enterprise grade, and you could even incentivise staff to download extra security. The benefits of BYOD Smoother adoption Using a device you’re not familiar with, especially one that has been bought cheaply, is frustrating for the end user and adds an additional layer of complexity when learning to use a new app. BYOD solves both these issues at a stroke. BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE The overall savings are significant, and you won’t have to pay for as many replacements, repairs or upgrades either. 24KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEBRING YOUR OWN DEVICE 25 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE The burden of device management is greatly reduced, and your employees will likely appreciate the time-saving of not having to get their device out of lock-up, sign in multiple times in one day, or waste time on hardware issues. Personal devices have built-in security that is comparable to enterprise devices in most terms these days, and asking your employees to install a slim security app that manages this is not a big ask. Cost Savings The immediate and most obvious advantage is economic: the head office will not have to buy a large number of new, expensive phones. However, firms will still need to offer some sort of subsidy to colleagues to help towards the costs of their own device and contract. The overall savings are significant, and you won’t have to pay for as many replacements, repairs or upgrades either. Empowering employees Arguably, the most significant benefit of the BYOD policy is that it empowers your employees. Works management software should be there to back them up, show the hard work they are doing and encourage them. The same goes for the hardware it’s delivered on. Perception matters here: do you want your ground teams to feel forced into using a rubbish device that slows them down, or validated by trusting them to use their own? The need for dialogue After all those positives, it’s time for a word of caution: BYOD has to be employee-led. It’s not really fair or reasonable to make it mandatory to install something on a personal device, so if you do decide to adopt BYOD it should be in conjunction with close dialogue with employees and the option to choose a company device if they wish to. Adoption of a digital solution is always a fluid process, what works for one business might not work for another. But I think this case study of BYOD demonstrates that the key to making any software rollout a success is a dialogue with the end users – because they are the ones that need the software to work for them in order to make it work for your wider business.BUSINESS INSIGHTS 26KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINET he ‘management versus employee’ battle on WFH continues – but have managers recognised why hybrid working has become such a problem? Without face-to-face interaction, remote workers have far less trust in the information provided by distant colleagues – or distant business partners/suppliers/ customers. And that is leading to a breakdown in relationships across the board. Furthermore, the pandemic has exacerbated differences in working attitudes: for every ambitious individual wanting to make a fast impact on the business before moving onto the next challenge, there is another taking the quiet- quitting approach, coasting along doing just enough to get by. How do the former engage the latter or monitor their progress to ensure key tasks are done – especially when they have zero trust in the business information currently available? The stand-off will be both inevitable and painful – especially given the continued challenge to recruit talent. Lost Trust Hybrid working has thrown up many operational challenges for businesses but one of the biggest issues - and one that is radically undermining business performance - is an endemic lack of trust associated with remote employees. Without face-to-face contact, companies are discovering that individuals simply do not have the same level of faith in the information presented. Untrusted information has zero value to any business. Individuals instinctively trust information more when colleagues are physically present to support and field questions about it, but not so much when those same colleagues are remote. Information shared in a meeting room has far more credibility than screen shares on Zoom. And that is creating real problems – undermining relationships between colleagues and raising questions of trust between business partners. How can businesses monitor and manage business relationships if they cannot trust the BUSINESS INSIGHTS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE TO SUPPORT A POST- PANDEMIC MINDSET Peter Ruffley, CEO of Zizo, discusses how fast analytics projects that deliver rapid business insight are now urgently required to rebuild trust – and not just in data. PETER RUFFLEY CEO ZIZO 27 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEtypically outdated, performance information being provided? How can managers inspire less engaged colleagues to perform if most of the discussion is an argument about data accuracy? Resentment is building – and the hybrid working problem is far deeper than debates about the number of mandated days in the office. Given the escalating economic challenges faced globally and the associated need to be far more agile and responsive, no company can afford to be hamstrung by this lack of trust, the business implications could be devastating. Information Frustration This issue is particularly painful for those organisations still struggling with weekly and monthly reporting cycles. The less they trust the information presented, the more individuals are demanding it. They want more information, with greater frequency and significantly improved business relevance. The need for data they can use, rapidly, to achieve measurable improvements, is clear. Individuals are also frustrated that businesses cannot provide the same level of information available as standard within the online consumer market. If an eCommerce provider can show complete order history at any time, with the option to drill down for all the detail, why should the working environment be any different? Why are managers compelled to wait weeks for summary information that, more often than not, fails to provide the insight they require? Of course, the demand for fast access to trusted information is nothing new. What has changed is the attitude and expectation. Ambitious individuals want to make their mark quickly. They don’t want to be constrained by limited access to untrusted data that will inevitably delay the essential improvements in process or customer experience: how would that look on the CV? Plus, of course, every business needs quick wins and a way to achieve incremental digital transformation – and that means taking a very different approach to data analytics projects. Instant Analytics The new mantra is not just fast change and confidence in tangible deliverables but: can this be done now? ‘Is the data in place to support this objective?’ is the most important question to ask – and answer. This model is nothing like the ‘build it and they will come’ approach of data BUSINESS INSIGHTS 28KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEBUSINESS INSIGHTS 29 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE warehouse projects that spent years collating data resources before the business even had a chance to verify the relevance of what was being collected, let alone determine whether the information could support business change. Instant data analytics projects must be able to answer the data question within days, assessing whether the data is of high enough quality and completeness to answer the business question. Any instant analytics project starts with the first step in the data lifecycle (collect, combine, context, change) to determine what information is in place today, what valuable insight can be immediately leveraged and whether that supports the outlined priority business goal. If not – the project can be immediately reviewed, and steps put in place to collect the right data. Cost and time have been minimal and essential knowledge has been gained about the existing data. On paper, a fast fail is also a success, because it is a win to identify the business processes not in place to achieve the outlined goals, as the business can now begin to collect the required information resources. If the data is already collected it can be the foundation to rapidly achieve the desired goal, combining sources and adding context to unlock essential insight. Critically, this is an iterative process that builds incremental value: a project should deliver within three months and provide a platform for the next iteration. Business Driven The other fundamental change is that instant data analytics projects are business, not IT-driven. A business user understands the relevant data – and how it can drive change. A successful instant analytics project is about identifying a process that can be digitally transformed very quickly to deliver quantifiable value to the business, or utilising data to win more customers – and engaging with individuals across the business to ensure this is a fixable problem. For example, a traditional project would have focused on improving the performance of the entire production line – taking years to achieve any change. An instant data analytics project, in contrast, looks for a very quick win – for example by moving a test process from the end of the production line to immediately after the stage when the failure could happen. This highlights any problems as they occur, allowing immediate remediation and response. The result is a small, fast win that builds confidence in data and encourages further incremental development at other stages of the process. Plus of course, the process transforms trust – trust in data, colleagues and business partners. Whether it is providing a supplier with on- demand access to a KPI dashboard, allowing the company to click through for detailed information, or giving managers immediate access to sales information, rather than waiting for the weekly spreadsheet debate - small, business-driven information wins create a step change in data perception and trust. Conclusion Businesses are rapidly recognising the implications of the loss of trust. The breakdown in relationships between colleagues and business partners is not just due to the lack of face- to-face interaction but the implicit concerns regarding the information they are sharing. Without immediate, accurate data insights that are trusted by everybody, how will any business respond with the speed and confidence required to succeed in the current economic environment?Next >