Archangel is empowering telecare service provider organisations to act strategically – and act today – to make the most of the exciting opportunities afforded by digital technology
The PSTN switch-off programme, scheduled for completion in 2025 but already well underway, is a major catalyst in driving change within infrastructure critical to the future of telecare services.
Analogue to digital transition is now an urgent issue across sectors that rely on monitoring data from, responding to, or communicating with service users over whom an organisation has a duty of care, such as TEC (technology-enabled care), assisted living and housing.
Digital telephony networks are here and expanding faster than ever. Decisions need to be made to safeguard service users.
What challenges have telecare service providers come up against?
Telecare service providers have faced challenges in prioritising a transformation project, implementing digital solutions, or integrating new hardware. These range from budgetary pressures amid competing priorities to insufficient staff bandwidth to initiate such a project.
A further roadblock is the lack of clear and authoritative insight to help guide organisations in an effective, efficient digital transformation strategy properly aligned with their needs. This is despite (or because of) the sea of often conflicting, confusing information.
Suppose true digital transition is to be prioritised, with investment into technologies that will support significant evolution in business models, service capabilities and capacities. In that case, providers must be confident that such an investment of resources is the wisest one and will not only reap benefits for stakeholders in both the short and long term but allow the organisation the flexibility to evolve further as needs shift, ‘future proofing’ their setup.
Analogue social alarms are increasingly obsolete
“Analogue social alarms are increasingly obsolete. It’s tempting to take a simple replacement – but is that the best investment case?” posits Tom Morton, founder of Archangel.
Information, clarity, and openness are key to ensuring that the relevant departments and decision-makers feel equipped to make a decision around their digital strategy, allocate sufficient budget as a priority, and move forward with implementation.
As a society, we need providers of vital services on which we rely to protect citizens’ well-being, to feel empowered to undertake this – and to begin it now.
People’s lives are under threat
People’s quality of life, and in some extreme cases people’s lives, are under threat because the optimal solutions are still not yet in place in many areas. We have reached a point where inaction, more than action, is a safety risk.
Urgency can be fostered not by simply labouring this point but by stressing the advantages and payoffs of action. Investment in newer technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things) devices alongside fully-integrated data monitoring and other intelligent data-driven systems should be viewed as an exciting, richly rewarding, opportunity to explore – rather than a simple cost to bear or a box-ticking exercise.
The sooner a system is implemented, the better for telecare service providers and users
The sooner such a system is implemented, the sooner telecare service providers and users can benefit from more efficient, effective, innovative services with better outcomes.
“Our governments are all agreed, strategy is aligned and technology is required to assist in the delivery of future care services. The sooner we begin the investment/implementation of these strategies, the better it will be for all” says Tom.
Some suppliers are still asking for time because they need to upgrade their systems, despite having known about the need for change since 2016, and the Cloud being around since 2010.
They reference a ‘future’ when they will bring customers benefits through the integration of ‘emerging’ technology. At the same time, some warn customers of the risks of choosing the ‘wrong’ alternative supplier or technological mix, urging caution.
Alongside uncertainty, mixed messages, and a bamboozling information overload, this can lead to paralysis. Rather than breaking down informational barriers for organisations who could otherwise begin making impactful changes, barriers are raised.
‘Tomorrow’s’ technology is already here
The truth is that ‘tomorrow’s’ technology is already here. Consider consumer-level IoT technology such as smart home devices. Organisations CAN start leveraging such functionality today.
“The demand for a fresh alternative approach to traditional systems exists from end users, throughout the service provider industry, and now from within our governments. The country has already trialled newer, more agile, digital technology. It is available and accessible today. The evidence already exists today, so there is no need to wait for “tomorrow”, benefits at scale can begin to be realised today”, offers Tom.
“Service providers should be considering suppliers based on their suitability for delivering flexibility and choice, with outcomes based on the service provider’s own vision, not that of technology providers”. Suppliers should be considered partners who can equip an organisation with holistic optimal solutions compatible with the widest selection of new technologies.
The supplier’s role is to empower customers in making their choice confidently, helping them select the best option that is bespoke to current needs and resources but ensures built-in flexibility, allowing efficient integration of further new products as conditions evolve.
A supplier-agnostic software solution, with cross-supplier collaboration to widen compatibility across new and emerging hardware, facilitated by best in class connectivity, would maximise choice and flexibility for customers.
Implementing, for example, a single interoperable, central command centre capable of integrating multiple systems and device types, aggregating data and un-siloing information across an organisation, would maximise the host of value-adding benefits accessible through the latest available devices.
What can the right digital transformation achieve?
Strategic digital transformation can unlock significant added value by enhancing enhance providers’ abilities to:
Connect
- Advanced remote monitoring
- Improved data collection, storage and management
- Cross-stakeholder collaboration
Assess
- Improved, more predictive, data analysis & smart analytics
- Minimised wasted costs
- Operational and organisational efficiency
- Resource allocation (“squeezing the assets”)
Respond
- Timely, appropriate response to alerts and events
- More preventative care service
- Better care outcomes
- Enhanced stakeholder safety and security
Evolve
- Streamlining service delivery model
- Expand or scale-up service offer
Ultimately, the technology’s most important function is to support the delivery of innovative services to help more citizens live independently for longer whilst remaining safe, healthy, connected and happy.
Many of the above benefits impact not just the implementing organisation and their multiple stakeholders but society as a whole. For example, thousands of inefficiently allocated care hours per day could be saved and diverted to where needed.
This is why Archangel has been happy to lead the fully-digital charge and make longstanding commitments to this vision for the telecare service provider industry. That future is now.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
