We live in unprecedented times where we are all experiencing massive disruption to our personal lives, be that access to services, restrictions on travel or simply limiting our freedoms and choices.
Few people welcome disruption, yet for businesses, being disruptive in the marketplace can be the very catalyst that success is built upon.
Netflix, Uber and Tesla are three great examples of businesses who through disruptive innovation radically and rapidly changed the landscape of their marketplace.
As a specialist in the lifecycle of care and nursing homes, I can see where disruptive innovation is set to positively impact social care.
The most valued element of social care is the human contact between carer and client. However, there are many activities that do not rely on personal contact and it is here that disruptive innovation can have a significant impact. These indirect activities can be enhanced and developed via (hyper)-automation which will increase efficiency and decrease human error. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can also be used in some of the direct solutions for clients providing the scope for enormous improvements in delivering social care.
The second area which can benefit from disruptive innovation is the collection and effective use of data. In truth, it would be hard to imagine Artificial Intelligence (AI) working without robust and well-organised data. Therefore, Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), together with intelligent database management and next-generation management processes is another area set to positively disrupt the current ‘status-quo’.
These first two areas enable innovation to meet and improve the evidencing of compliance. More automation, increased involvement of artificial intelligence, development of intelligent databases, and use of next-generation processes will all be underpinned by strong regulations designed to protect our privacy and our rights. Meeting the standards of Government legislation will raise public trust across the social care sector enabling individual businesses to position themselves as a “‘trusted or compliant company”. Society and social care is already heading in this direction but watch this space for further innovative solutions for handling and meeting compliance expectations.
The last area I want to mention is sustainability. I am aware that sustainability can include everything from the business strategy to the environment but those companies who embed sustainability into every aspect of their business will be the biggest disruptor of our age in any industry in any country.
Let us hope that all the disruptive innovations, whatever they might be, will lead to the enhancement of quality client-focused care and in turn improve all of our lives.