Consumer needs are changing all the time, and the challenge for many businesses is knowing how to keep pace. This is certainly the case when it comes to technology, especially as a growing number of people expect the companies they deal with to be up to date with the latest systems and products.
This trend was recently identified by Gartner, which emphasised the need for companies to meet the needs of the so-called information citizen. These are defined as casual consumers, who want to access information as easily and quickly as possible.
The group stated that most businesses simply don’t address these requirements. How they choose to deliver new technologies depends on a range of factors, but it might be that they want to invest in desktop card printers, or perhaps develop new ways of interacting with internal systems.
“Information citizens will subscribe to a consumption platform and ecosystem which will develop and deliver these applications spanning a diversity of information structures and sources,” explained Joao Tapadinhas, research director at Gartner.
Research showed that people want better access to transactional data sources and systems, but only if they are easy to use. This is where printed cards can really come into their own, as they offer a simple means of storing and accessing data without the need for complex systems.
Security is another area that many businesses are concerned with at the moment. Gartner revealed last month that the security software market grew 5.3 per cent in 2014, up slightly from the 4.9 per cent recorded the previous year.
Companies can no longer afford to take a lax approach to security, especially as they need to meet data protection obligations. This is why it is so important to invest in systems that have a proven track record and that are as immune to breaches as possible.
