Lenovo's priorities in product development: connectivity and inclusivity

Source: HW Upgrade added 18th Jan 2021

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Lenovo is increasingly focusing on inclusiveness and connectivity and to make technology easier for everyone to use, starting with people with disabilities. To achieve this, he created the Lenovo Diversity Office

of Alberto Falchi , Vittorio Manti published on , at 14: 11 in the Innovation channel

Smart Working Lenovo

During CES 2021 Lenovo did not just present devices and solutions, but wanted to focus on the impact of technology on people and on the philosophy that inspires its products. A philosophy centered around two fundamental themes: connectivity and inclusivity . Technology, according to the company, must unite people, help them stay in touch wherever they are (and the pandemic has shown how important this aspect is), and above all, meet the needs of disabled people, breaking down the barriers that could curb its adoption.

Connectivity: the New Realities project with filmmaker Ava DuVernay

“ When I think of technology, I think of connectivity. Amplify the rumors and spread them around the world “, states Ava DuVernay , filmmaker who worked with Lenovo on the New Realities project, a series of 10 short films in 360 ° which aims to show how technology is helping to solve a series of social problems, making people more empathetic, showing the various points of view of different communities.

The project is divided into 10 videos in 360 ° which have as many protagonists young women from all over the world who have supported important social causes through art and technology. An example is that of Aisha Coulibaly , who immigrated to Italy with her family when she was still very young, who grew up in the Foggia area – where the hiring and exploitation of migrants are sad realities. Grown up in the midst of different languages, cultures and religions, Aisha founded Mygrants , an app that sets the goal of making immigration an opportunity, both for those forced to migrate and for the communities that will host these people. A sort of social network that highlights skills, talents, potentials, and aims to facilitate the meeting between the demand and supply of work, but not only: the platform also aims to offer migrants fundamental information on rights and duties, and also offers training and support, to help everyone be independent and take their lives in hand.

Lenovo and inclusivity: using technology to break down the barriers imposed by disability

One one of the aspects Lenovo is working hard on is making technology increasingly accessible to people with disabilities. In fact, technological innovations do not always go in this direction. An example is that of lifts on which touch screens are installed, which, while offering a series of new opportunities, can represent an obstacle for some people, as in the case of the blind: traditional panels are in fact equipped with keys with written in braille, which obviously cannot be present on a touch sensitive display. In short, it is an example of technology that is not designed to be usable by anyone.

Lenovo has made a commitment to develop devices designed to be used by everyone, including those with disabilities, from the outset. To achieve the goal, last year the company set up the Product Diversity Office , a division where people with disabilities also work, helping Lenovo to develop solutions that also take their needs into account. As points out Haben Girma , the first person afflicted with deafblindness who obtained a degree from Harvard Law School, to ensure that the world of work can also welcome those afflicted with severe disabilities, it is essential that technology gives support, so as to break down barriers. And to develop these technologies, the advice of those directly involved is essential, the only ones who can really understand what is necessary to make products truly “inclusive”.

Lenovo is working hard in this regard, focusing on an iterative approach, aimed at constantly improving the usability of its products. As explained by Bridgett Rogers , Director of the Lenovo Product Diversity Office, one of the first tasks of the division she is in chief was to analyze not only the products, but the development processes, which have been modified in order to take into account inclusiveness right away. Each quarter, then, a product is identified on which to focus attention, starting from the fundamental question: “how can we improve it to make it easier for a disabled person to use?”.

One of the first examples of these efforts is the Lenovo Voice Assistant , which offers functions as real-time translations. It has been integrated into the ThinkPad X1 Fold , but will also be available on the Microsoft Store, so as to make this technology available to all.

User Experience: trends for the future according to Lenovo

Lenovo is not limited to making hardware, but is investing heavily also on the interfaces with which people interact with devices. On the occasion of the CES 2021, some of the managers of UX development in the company indicated those who for them they will be the dominant trends in the sector over the next few years.

The first of these is the relationship of people with work: with the fact that today we work from home, we no longer speak of a balance between work-private life, but of a real mix of the two . The same technology must satisfy both professional and private needs, which is why Lenovo introduced the Show Mode , which turns a computer into an Alexa-style voice assistant.

Second trend is the fact that workers will give more and more importance to “health” of your PC . Not having an IT team available, they will need to be more independent in this respect and learn to manage some aspects independently, starting with updates. To meet these needs, Lenovo has made a series of changes to the Vantage app, installed on every computer: provides easy-to-understand information about the PC’s status, such as the need for OS or driver updates, warranty, disk status only.

The third trend is the increase in cyber attacks to the remote workforce, and again Lenovo’s solution relates to Vantage updates, including new diagnostic features to identify potential security issues.

The fourth emerging trend is the hybrid working model . If today we are focused on working from home, this situation is bound to change. We will return to the office, of course, but in a different way: it will no longer be the center of the work activity, but only one of the spaces where people will work. In short, we can speak of true smart working , with an alternation between home and office, and not work remotely, which is what most people are experiencing today. This requires rethinking technology to facilitate collaboration, improving the cameras integrated into the devices, which will have to offer better quality to “bring” people who work remotely together.

Fifth and last trend is that of the distributed workforce, to which Lenovo wants to give new tools, starting from ThinkReality A3 , smart glasses that the company indicates as one of the most versatile on the market.