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Is Uber Moving Too Fast, or Are We Moving Too Slow in a Digital Age?

Is Uber Moving Too Fast, or Are We Moving Too Slow in a Digital Age? Image Credit: Uber

Uber continues to be in the limelight with the recent demand by Florida Taxicab Association (FTA) for the ride-sharing company to cease operations in the state and also across the country. Uber has come under fire in a number of countries recently admist reports that Uber's screening of its drivers is not sufficient to ensure the safety of passengers using its service. Uber's ride-sharing service enables any approved driver to join the Uber service and connects the availability of the 'driver service' to millions of Uber App users, enabling both parties to connect and transact seamlessly. Since its inception 5 years ago, Uber has expanded its service to more than 260 cities worldwide and has raised about USD2.7 billion in funding.  

Leveraging the availability of mobile data, mobile applications and smartphones, Uber is an example of up-and-coming service companies that are rapidly innovating the delivery of traditional services and creating value for today's data subscribers. For mobile operators, applications such as Uber are key in driving home the point on how mobile connectivity is powering an infinite number of critical services that people are becoming increasingly dependent on. Uber's people transportation business could very well pave way for similar transport arrangements for delivery of all other things - from groceries to online purchases - leveraging on data connectivity, cloud services and mobile applications. 

Some parties were quick to conclude that Uber's super fast expansion has resulted in the company overlooking its driver screening processes citing that the company that does the screening for Uber apparently promises a '36 hours turnaround' time on its services. The question however is, given the level of connectivity we have today and the promise of increased efficiency it brings for a wide range of services we need on a daily basis, is Uber moving too fast or is the rest of the world moving too slow?  Mobile connectivity has been touted to deliver real-time communications and information transfer which is turn will support commercial transactions, business processes and industrial applications. Infact, all the hype on the internet-of-everything has been about creating new value to end users by having everything connecting to every other thing.

What we have now in the case of Uber is not an issue about how rigourous the screening process should be, but it is about the lack of real-time information on people who can be hired to provide on-demand services. On-demand services are becoming increasingly popular - more and more retail and business customers need just-in-time resources - people, venues, supplies, materials and machinery to support events such as catering for a major luncheon, a product launch in the city centre, in-store sales support during peak sales season, online teams to man customer queries and orders during a major sale event, transport services during a sporting event, accommodation during an annual fiesta and delivery support for peak order seasons etc.

The growth of these services has been catalyzed by a host of factors - smart mobile devices, mobile internet, mobile applications, mobile payments and real-time rich communications where customers are able to learn about a service quickly, get in touch with people providing these service via online 'meetings' regardless of wherever they are and book and pay for these services using internet payment methods. On the suppliers' end, services are assembled in similar fashion where the workforce is sourced online, payments made via the internet, project coordination implemented via virtual meet-ups before the team delivers the final product/service to the customer. In the digital era we are all in, the problem is not how fast services are put together, it is the lack of real-time credible sources of information that digital service providers can leverage not only in assembling their teams but also in sourcing the materials and support they require to deliver the end service.

Reliable real-time information on people offering their services, professional or otherwise is what clients, including the likes of Uber require for screening and selecting its drivers. The dilemma faced by Uber today will be the same issue which will be faced by many other companies who have boldly transformed traditional services to new age on-demand digital services leveraging connectivity, communications and the capabilities of smart devices and mobile applications.

Infact, with 140 million rides this year alone,  Uber has revolutionized the delivery of public transport services, which we must say, resonates with how today's younger generation purchase and consume services they need. Uber via its App, provides information on driver's photo, license plate number and vehicle type before the user decides on which driver to call - something that no one has offered on traditional taxi services. It boasts a two-way rating system and every ride by Uber is traced by GPS, enabling public safety officials to keep tab of the safety of communities. With all the information, Uber's users are able to make very informed decisions. Unfortunately, the same level of information is not available on people who offer to be hired as drivers, and it is hardly Uber's fault that we all continue to operate on-demand services using teams assembled on an ad-hoc basis.

Meanwhile, Uber made an announcement just before the holidays that it will be beefing up safety on its service which includes research and development on biometrics and voice verification to build custom tools for driver screening, further training for their safety and support teams and the set up of Safety Incident Response teams around the world with the goal of providing 24/7, immediate support in the event of a safety incident. More recently, Uber has hired Tim Collins who spent 15 years at Amazon's Europe Operations with more than 18,000 employees to lead its Global Support. And more importantly, the company is investing in ways to provide riders the instant ability to communicate with Uber and their loved ones in the event of an emergency, building on their ShareMyETA technology.

Author

Executive Editor and Telecoms Strategist at The Fast Mode | 5G | IoT/M2M | Telecom Strategy | Mobile Service Innovations 

Tara Neal heads the strategy & editorial unit at The Fast Mode, focusing on latest technologies such as gigabit broadband, 5G, cloud-native networking, edge computing, virtualization, software-defined networking and network automation as well as broader telco segments such as IoT/M2M, CX, OTT services and network security. Tara holds a First Class Honours in BSc Accounting and Finance from The London School of Economics, UK and is a CFA charterholder from the CFA Institute, United States. Tara has over 22 years of experience in technology and business strategy, and has earlier served as project director for technology and economic development projects in various management consulting firms.

Follow Tara Neal on Twitter @taraneal11, LinkedIn @taraneal11, Facebook or email her at tara.neal@thefastmode.com.

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