Technology is a tool that is invading all parts of our lives. We have personal internet machines in our pockets everywhere we go. The wide acceptance of technology allows companies and entrepreneurs to create easier access to goods and services that weren’t always available. At the same time, there are still miles to go before we reach an equitable society. It is also making difficult tasks such as insurance or mortgages incredibly simple, taking the daunting aspects away from smart financial decisions.
Technological innovations are keeping companies on their toes. Industry giants who aren’t allocating resources to R&D or software development might need to start counting their days as entrepreneurs. Top tech disruptors build apps and software services that offer a better product than the incumbent industries. Complacency in today’s economy will spell disaster down the road.
Insurance
Insurance has been around for an incredibly long time, and up until recently, we still had to talk to a sales representative to qualify and receive services. Now the process can be completed without talking to another human being. Many insurance providers have AI chatbots to guide you through the process. These chatbots take out the confusion, relieve us of the embarrassment of not knowing the jargon, and permit us to take our time looking at documents before signing our name. Lemonade—not the Beyonce album or the drink, but the online-based home owner’s insurance company—is stealing large pieces of the market in an industry that has seen little innovation in the past fifty years. The company’s mobile app developers create such a streamlined process a cave dweller could do it.
Finding Qualified Candidates from Old Applications
Every day thousands of jobs are posted by HR reps only for them to receive hundreds of applications. A hiring manager at a large company will see hundreds of applications a week. Restless Bandit believes that companies can save time by revisiting old applications. Even candidates not selected for one role might be a good fit for a new position or still be interested in the original position if it becomes available again. Restless Bandit uses machine learning algorithms to analyze resumes and job descriptions to produce candidates who are well qualified to fill empty roles. Leaving this search to an algorithm is a cost-saving measure for HR departments.
The company’s machine learning algorithms have scanned over 100 million job descriptions and 300 million resumes to help global companies such as Adidas and Gannett. Their algorithms are altered by data scientists to improve outcomes and remove bias. You can become a data scientist by attending a top data science bootcamp.
Taking Control of Our Health
Health experts have argued that technology is a detriment to our health by reducing our physical activity, looking at screens all day, and decreasing in-person social interactions. The combination of health sciences and computer science might help reverse the negative trends technology has caused. Mental health advocates are taking advantage of technologies to help us improve our overall wellbeing. The healthcare sector is growing and tech companies are riding that wave by offering ways to collect data on bodily responses and implementing better habits based on the results. There are hundreds of types of wearable tech that focus on heart rate, tone of voice, and blood pressure.
The Covid-19 pandemic has elevated the use of teladoc appointments. The feature increases the number of patients a doctor can see and reduces travel as well as the risk of infection from other sick patients. It also takes less time than visiting the doctor’s office in person. We can take the doctor with us everywhere, using our mobile apps.
Business Intelligence
More data is generated today than ever before, giving businesses and professionals more access to the drivers of their success. Proper analytics of datasets can help businesses leverage high impact decisions to increase revenue, cut costs, and set applicable goals. Seekify is helping companies and their clients align efforts to build successful relationships that benefit both parties. Seekify uses an algorithm to collect and organize data into useful data sets. Using these data sets to find trends helps companies build better business practices.
You Can Be A Disruptor Too
We are only experiencing the tip of the iceberg of tech innovation. As technologies become less expensive and more readily available, innovation will reach more industries. You can be a part of the next wave disruption by learning the required skills to be a software engineer at a top coding bootcamp.
The author, Artur Meyster, is the CTO of Career Karma (YC W19), an online marketplace that matches career switchers with coding bootcamps. He is also the host of the Breaking Into Startups podcast, which features people with non-traditional backgrounds who broke into tech.