Bloomfire, a provider of online training software, introduced a new CEO in April and is not just changing its staff, but aiding in the march of interdependence.  The company strives to help people share and capture knowledge—making information and learning available to all. 

Bob Zukis, Bloomfire’s newly named CEO, brought with him extensive experience and interesting perspective on the customer experience.  Zukis is taking his vision and expertise to the Rio in Las Vegas for ITEXPO August 12-14. At the business technology event, he will be speaking during two sessions, offering thought leaders an opportunity to participate in, as Bloomfire’s Declaration of Interdependence says, learning as “a shared journey.”  Leading up to the ITEXPO (News - Alert), Zukis was kind enough to sit down with TMC for a few minutes and share some thoughts.

A major factor in the market today more so than ever before is mobility.  It has forced business to change the way they work and consequently the way teams work.  Zukis feels mobility has, “increased the need to have the right tools in place so that employees can leverage the knowledge and information they need to do their jobs when out of the office.”

He continued, “We want employees to be connected not just through email and text and other communications tools, but we want them connected to the people and information they need to get things done in the field.  We want them to be able to collaborate as easily with their peers and the information they need to do their jobs, as when they are in the office, we do this with our own technology at Bloomfire.”

An offshoot of mobile technology is wearable technology. And it seems like everyone, Zukis included, is eagerly waiting to see what bells and whistles are on the upcoming iWatch.  But, when asked if the enterprise or consumer markets would see a greater effect from wearables, his response was unequivocally business.

Zukis proclaimed, “When we bridge that last mile of connectivity with pervasive engagement, it changes how companies run and how they deliver value to their markets.”  The entire experience a company delivers changes—offering economic advantages or insights to gain competitive ground.

‘Gamification’ is also growing in its use as a tool in the employer toolbox.  It engages and motivates employees by applying ‘games’ to the workplace - like offering bonuses for who handles the greatest number of calls for the day or who handles the highest average number of calls per hour.

Though he can’t stand the term, Zukis says,” It’s about the incentives and mechanisms that can be put in place to drive engagement and interaction with customers or with employees.”  It can offer higher levels of engagement when done properly, increasing employee performance as well as revenue.    

Only time will what the future will hold, but with all the focus on technology, Zukis believes that while businesses are excelling at increasing productivity, the “untapped brainpower” of the workforce is being greatly underutilized and should see more attention in the coming years. 

Don’t forget to book your trip for the ITEXPO, from August 12-14 at the Rio in Las Vegas.  You can hear from Zukis himself on, “how and why the future of business will be much better than its past thanks to all of the amazing technology coming on line.”  After all, collaboration and sharing are Bloomfire’s building blocks, so who better to learn from than the CEO himself?