Like with any other man-made tool, computers started their way being machines that required skill. They were big, clunky, you had to learn complex programming languages in order to achieve simple goals, and the learning curve was pretty steep.

 

1990’s

 

Then Personal Computers came in the 90’s with the first big interface revolution: the mouse. Instead of programming and typing obscure commands to navigate the interface of your computer, you had now a small mouse shaped object that helped you moving around pages, windows and programs. The “era of clicking” started.

 

2000’s

 

This paradigm (which is still widely used in personal computers, laptops and workstations) continues nowadays, but in the 2000’s another revolution started: the smartphones. A blend of miniature computer and cellphone that brought another innovation in the field of user experience: touchscreens operated with your fingers. The tools were simplified again: with smartphones, we discovered a new way of interacting with machines, without having to use any other device. No keyboard, no mouse, no bulky CPU. Smartphones became ubiquitous, gaining more and more power, and capabilities that were possible before only on desktop computers.

 

And something happened: the smartphones started being really smart. The old programs of computers – now turned apps – stopped being passive pieces of software made to be used by humans upon direct command – but more like partners in the journey of the user.

 

2010’s

 

But near the second half of 2010’s, another revolution started with a completely new type of device: the smart speakers. Following the same trend of simplification, why should we interact with computers as pure machines, when we could interact in the same natural way we do with other humans? The most intuitive and “freeing” interface for us is not a peripheral (mouse) or touching things (fingers, tapping), but our voice.

 

Smart speakers allow us to communicate with machines in a way that was completely impossible before. Instead of learning complex sequences or navigate through menus and buttons – here you just talk.

 

Sure, this is new territory and the adoption is still not massive (compared to smartphones), but we are already moving to a new revolution.

 

The era of the Digital assistant

 

Instead of thinking in software in terms of “apps” or “programs”, we should start thinking on it as “helpers”. These new digital assistants can work as “digital concierges”.

On this basis of observation and technological evolutions, Tapptic will share its vision of how to adopt today the revolution of digital assistants.

There’s still time to book your ticket to the eCom fair and attend to our conference on april, 24th at Palexpo Geneva.