Article originally published in Dinheiro Vivo.

Over the last 20 years the world has evolved abruptly through technological innovations that benefit people and businesses daily. Behaviors and patterns have been changing through the constant release of applications, solutions, and concepts rooted in what's called the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

If we look at previous "revolutions," each one has particular characteristics that defined those milestones over the preceding centuries. Steam became a powerful tool that drove the First Industrial Revolution, electricity transformed industry significantly resulting in the Second Revolution, and the evolution of computers and the internet marked the Third. This evolution has brought us to where we are today: the age of Intelligence, the foundation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Machine 2 Machine, Big Data, Augmented Reality, and Blockchain are already realities around us and tend to intensify in the coming years, directly affecting people's way of life and the business world.

Technology to increase business effectiveness

The pursuit of competitive differentiation has become a daily necessity, the essential fuel for business success. The Fourth Industrial Revolution pushes us to break down certain paradigms and change our way of working. While it's true we're living through intense transformation, we must also be clear that intensity does not mean effectiveness.

The technologies of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution allow us to be increasingly assertive, to anticipate behaviors and trends. This doesn't mean working harder in terms of quantity, but rather producing more intelligently. The great challenge for companies will be to take advantage of this process by driving human resource engagement, who will be the great drivers of these transformations. Regardless of the segment, every company needs to place innovation as its main strategic business element. It's essential to know how to choose the technological proposal that will provide the scalability needed to achieve results.

Corporate intelligence, competitiveness, and the rise of the "Churn" indicator

The age of corporate intelligence is definitely here to stay, with all people and objects increasingly connected. In a scenario of ever-increasing competitiveness, business strategies to reduce "Churn" and keep customers engaged become the nerve center of decision-making. These, in turn, must be supported by flexible, agile, intelligent, and easy-to-use technology solutions.

The "Churn Rate," or simply "Churn," represents your business's cancellation rate - that is, the number of customers who stopped using your service or buying your product. To control "Churn," it's crucial to have efficient controls for managing customers; using an effective CRM solution and top management tools that are easy to use and interpret is essential for making fast, intelligent decisions.

We are living through a new era, where changes happen daily, and the ability of each company and individual to adapt will definitely be the determining factor for survival.