In this article, we dive deep into MX as an innovative approach to digital transformation and overview its benefits for business.
MX is a seamless fusion of applications, technologies, digital touchpoints, and traditional sensory experiences like sight, touch, and hearing that can connect a user to the services of a business. MX is device-agnostic and aims to take customer service to the next level by providing advanced technology that can think like a person.
How does all this manifest in the real world?
Consider an eCommerce business. With MX, their customers can browse for products on various apps and devices, talk to chatbots for information, review products with augmented reality (AR), purchase through a voice-activated internet-of-things device, and receive live tracking and updates on their delivery.
The above is a simple, everyday example and something a regular online shopper can relate to. However, MX can be applied in numerous ways, across industries, at various scales, and for various B2B and B2C businesses. There are plenty of MX options to explore for different budget levels. The potential of MX is unlimited. It’s the key to unlocking digital transformation.
The future of the global MX development platforms market looks incredibly promising. Between now and 2027, the revenue forecast sees a figure of $24.64 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 18.2%.
While North America dominated the MX development platforms market in 2019 with a 45.7% representation of overall figures, Canada, European countries like England, France, and Germany, as well as massive Asian markets in China, India, and Japan, have begun to see rising numbers and a strong future in MX. MX is gearing up to be a significant global phenomenon.
Before we delve into the key benefits of MX and how transformative it can be, let us quickly differentiate it from omnichannel, which many businesses have employed in the past.
In simple terms, omnichannel refers to communication between business and user across channels. Those channels include websites and apps that can be accessed on various devices.
Omnichannel strategy, primarily used in retail, may appear similar to MX in concept, but it’s radically different in philosophy. Omnichannel is about having services across all channels that a customer might use. It’s about having representation and a checkout option on multiple devices that a customer might have.
MX doesn’t have a channel-first approach. MX involves creating a network between all the channels. It’s about crafting an experiential narrative for a customer.
With MX, customers don't have to log in or out of different channels to use a service. They're all interconnected and ensure a customer's experience, convenience and comfort are paramount.
According to Jason Wong, a distinguished research analyst at the technology research firm Gartner, there are four steps in a successful MX.
During a 2019 symposium, in a presentation titled “Omnichannel is Dead – How to Deliver a Multiexperience Strategy for the Digital Era,” he explained the steps:
Since MX is all about interconnected experiences and not just a series of isolated incidents, business operations are likely to be streamlined with its integration. This is because MX results in multiple functions and processes being conducted under the same roof. Operations would likely suffer from various hurdles if these processes were isolated and disjointed.
The obvious benefit for businesses having streamlined operations is that products and services can be designed, developed, and deployed faster, at a higher quality, and more economically. MX is about putting the customer on the throne, and streamlined operations are the foundation of doing so.
Why does MX help businesses have more robust security to protect against cyber threats like hacks and data breaches? It’s because a business’s most valuable digital entities, including components and data of various applications, would be housed by a single system. This makes it easier to surveil, fortify, and remediate in the case of a security incident.
The more fragmented a digital architecture is, the more challenging and thorough cybersecurity becomes. Fragmented architecture may call for third-party apps and other outsourced IT components to support the functioning of a service. These various branches become difficult for IT teams and cybersecurity tools to guard against malicious attackers. MX solves that problem.
Since all operations would be managed out of a single control panel, MX empowers businesses to become bolder with their innovations. New offerings can be integrated into various applications across platforms from a single console. Therefore, innovation teams can trial and test faster. The gap between the design and deployment of innovations will narrow.
Digital transformation is all about keeping up with the pace of today’s ultra-competitive landscape. AI-driven automation gives certain businesses a substantial competitive advantage gap that is difficult to catch up with beyond a certain point. MX adoption can help give businesses that competitive boost. The faster a company can innovate, the faster it can succeed.
The exact nature of the adoption of XR technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) is uncertain. Different experts have their own theories on how that particular technology will unravel. What is certain, though, is that XR technologies will play a significant role in digital businesses. MX can help enterprises to set themselves up for an XR future.
MX already creates interconnected experiences on nontraditional devices other than phones and computers. That will simply extend into XR hardware like VR headsets, AR/MR devices, and smart glasses. This hardware is becoming increasingly affordable to some segments. MX allows businesses to future-proof themselves and be ready for XR touchpoints of the future.
It can’t be overstated that MX begins and ends with the customer. The inherent emphasis that MX puts on a customer’s needs gives businesses all the green flags to retain more significant segments of their customers. MX allows businesses to evolve as fast, if not quicker, than the speed of modern trends and technologies. Therefore, with MX, businesses can be one step ahead of customers.
Combining the above points, including streamlined operations, better security, agile innovations, and readiness for future devices, also helps businesses with customer acquisition. MX is so versatile that a company can go beyond its typical customer base to explore new markets and segments and add new chapters to its story.
MX is a technology that can catalyze the digital transformation of a business, create profound change, and unravel new opportunities and successes. However, it’s important to remember that MX is not a magic solution that will fix the problems of a business. Like any suitable technology, MX is only as good as its application.
However, the potential for gains and positive outcomes from MX adoption is high and worth the commitment and dedication of businesses. While there is a lot of talk about no-code and low-code MX, it’s intricately customized MX solutions and innovations that will take businesses to the next level. Companies need to take advantage of the versatility that MX offers.
Technologies like MX shift the spotlight back on what matters. The fundamentals have not changed. For most businesses, what matters is their customers. The questions companies need to focus on are “what are the needs of their customers?” and “what value can they offer them to meet those needs?”
That’s what MX brings to the center. The customer and their needs.
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