Tichavanashe Mupeti
From children as young as four years old (and younger!), to grandfathers and grandmothers well over 80, almost everyone is taking advantage of the wonderful technology we call smart devices.
These devices come in all sorts of shapes sizes, colours, and with a wide array of features to meet everyone’s various peculiarities. From those with very little to spare, to those with very deep pockets, most have a smart device within their price range.
For most users of smartphones and tablets, common usage of these applications lies in social networking, games, music, videos, taking photos, and exchanging phone calls. However, with these increasingly capable mini-computers in our hands, are we truly making the best use of them?
To understand just how powerful our devices are, we must know where the power lies. This power is in connection. As one looks at the enhancements of technology, one can see how almost all of them are in line with better communication.
Devices are jam-packed with technology, helping them to connect faster and stay connected longer. Cellular networks have been upgraded from basic analogue signals to 4G, with 5G technology already being demonstrated, all for faster information upload and download.
Aside from Cellular networks, devices are also making use of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, Mobile Payment, UMA (Wi-Fi calling), and various other communication technology. Bigger batteries and more efficient hardware are permitting these devices to keep users connected for longer and longer! With all this power, the question is what are we all connecting to?
The call today, is for society to take advantage of the devices they have invested in, and use them to not just to enhance their own lives, but the lives of others. If we, as a nation, embrace various services that are accessible to us thanks to these devices, we could become the difference we wish to see.
An example of these services is the Connect App, by Green Enterprise Solutions. This mobile application was designed to facilitate efficient communication between municipalities and communities. It simplifies processes such as reporting faults and monitoring the fault status from beginning to end (and give feedback!), sharing news and managing various municipal accounts.
Via the Connect App, one can submit fault details such as images, descriptions, and even GPS locations. Various progress statuses of faults can be monitored in real time, so accurately in fact, that the application would let one know when someone is on site fixing the fault. If the service is dissatisfactory, or the problem is not fixed properly, one can notify the municipality immediately.
Users of the app can track their balance statements at any time of the month for multiple accounts, and never again be surprised by a high bill, as they can monitor their own usage. One would never complain about lack of communication, as the municipality can inform citizens ahead of time, about issues such as power cuts, closed roads, water cuts or any other municipal matters.
Overall, such an app has the potential to improve response times to issues, make faults much easier to report, and overall, reduce expenses for the community, which includes you. Inconveniences such as waiting in queues or wondering whether anything is being done about any faults go straight out of the window, and thanks to powerful back-end systems (Business Solutions offered by Green Enterprise Solutions), various analytics can be done on data, and used to have better maintenance plans, and allow municipalities to make wiser and wiser investments for the future.
The power to make a difference, in the palm of your hands.
The Connect App is just one of many ways we as a nation could take greater advantage of the power in our hands. Developers, both young and old, are creating various small solutions to meet everyday challenges, and make your world better. In reality, the ability to make a difference is available to you, right at your fingertips.
The choice is yours, the power is in your hands.
* Tichavanashe Mupeti is a designer and mobile applications developer for Software Services at Green Enterprise Solutions.