Apr 28, 2016

Being More Digital Means Being More Human, by Steve Burden

On April 28th, Cognizant announced a 49% stake in Red Associates as part of an exciting strategic partnership between Cognizant Digital Works and ReD Associates. It’s a logical step in developing human-based digital solutions.

Two questions.

One: What is digital transformation? Pretty straightforward, I think (although others might not agree). It’s an ongoing wave of technologically inspired improvements in how we interact with our homes and our cars, our banks and our hospitals, our food systems, even our cities. And digital transformation is driving new services and products for companies and governments.

Two: Why do people act the way they do, and how do they prefer to interact with technology?

This is a tougher question, and I think it’s more important. It relates to how we live, make decisions, and choose products and brands and experiences in our increasingly technical age. This is a question that ReD Associates helps companies answer.

We’ve all had less than pleasant experiences with technology (and not just corporate expense systems). The reason is simple, but hard to fix. Too often, technology solutions and interfaces are developed without consideration for what we as people might want, need, and like. They’re not designed to fit how we actually live our lives. Often, companies claim to be “customer-focused,” adopting that phrase as a mantra, without making informed, relevant, and fundamental changes to their products, services, and experiences based on deep insight into what we want and need from physical products and digital interactions.

I’m a human- a person, not a “user”!

Many people think becoming digital means starting with the technology to be “used” by customers, but that’s a mistake. Creating an engaging, memorable, successful digital experience — think of your favorite app for payment or travel, for example — does not happen without a commitment to becoming more human-focused.

Human-focused technology fits seamlessly into our lives and can make it better. While it may sound counter-intuitive, being more digital also means being more human. The most successful digital solutions and transformations are those informed by deep insights into human behavior and our underlying — often hidden — motivations.

Undertaking a digital transformation entails far more than simply identifying and trying to adopt technologies. Costs and risks are high when companies make big strategic bets without a fundamental understanding of why their customers want or need to engage with them in physical space or through technology.

We are all familiar with fantastic digital experiences in our personal lives, but now the same technologies, design, level of insight, and commercial models are migrating rapidly into front, middle, and back offices of every enterprise.

Consider a medical device that a person may wear or use on a daily basis. Doctors know what it does. A focus group might offer guidance on what it should look like and what supporting digital services they want. But without gathering insight in the field, from actual people experiencing the device, the picture is incomplete. Without observing how the device makes people feel and how it fits into their lives, we’re seeing a mirage, one created in the artificial environment of a lab or focus group.

Many companies are building complex and expensive digital strategies and solutions based on what could well be a false perception. This is bad for the customer and for the company. Putting us — you, me, your customers — really at the center of technology-enabled digital experiences is perhaps the best way to lower risk, lower costs, and make wise strategic bets.

Linking human sciences and technology

To help make that vision a reality for more companies, Cognizant has announced a 49% stake in ReD Associates as part of an exciting strategic partnership between Cognizant Digital Works and ReD Associates.

Cognizant Digital Works helps enterprises prepare for and lead in the digital era. Our clients are seeking to innovate and create new and better services and business models for customers, partners, and employees.

ReD Associates, arguably the world’s most effective human science consultancy, uses rigorous social science research and analysis methods to understand how people experience the world and applies that insight to strategic business opportunities. This helps ReD create data-driven strategic recommendations based on insights into why people interact with the digital and physical world the way they do. Their work offers businesses a “reality check” on what is meaningful to people. Importantly, it helps lower the risks of investments in technology and new services.

This partnership between Cognizant and ReD is a natural fit. Understanding the human side of technology is a critical component of successful business strategy. The partnership gives us another way to help our clients make informed, proactive decisions about how their business can stay relevant in the digital economy. And with ReD, we can provide clients a fresh perspective on strategy when the stakes are high and the outlook uncertain. ReD insights provide the “why” of transformation, while Cognizant Digital Works provides the “what” and “how”: we can design new experiences, services and products, quickly prototype them, then implement them at scale. Our partnership truly connects the human and the digital realms.

We’re all more than customers or employees. First and always, we’re humans making our way in the world. I’m energized when tackling issues where digital design and technology implementation intersect with how people behave at work and at play, as they live the lives they choose. A human sciences approach can uncover subtle and seldom stated motivations for consumer behavior that can’t be discovered from survey results, focus groups, or even huge data sets. Rich insight into human behavior provides a beacon to help pilot strategy and businesses. This is how the digital future will work.

Linking human sciences and technology expertise will improve our experiences in banking, healthcare, retail, and every other industry. We’re thrilled to start this journey together.

Learn more about Cognizant and ReD.

Steve Burden

Steve Burden is head of strategic partnerships for Cognizant Digital Works, where he works on partnerships that help accelerate clients’ digital transformations…