Bill Gates: ‘A.I. can be our friend’ | CNBC
“AI can be our friend,” says Gates, speaking with “Hamilton” composer Lin-Manuel Miranda and his wife, Melinda, at Hunter College in New York City on Tuesday.

5 Things CEOs Should Start (and Stop) Doing in 2018 | Inc.
With the new year comes a new set of business trends leaders need to be monitoring. What will deliver the biggest impact this year?

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How will management be changed by the most impactful information technology of our time: cloud computing. What does it allow us to do differently, and how will that change the way we do things in the future?

Innovation shapes the future of transportation technologies | Bloomberg
Together with new software and hardware technologies, including machine learning, blockchain, and the Internet-of-Things, today’s emerging mobility innovations and technologies could allow consumers to move more seamlessly between different modes of transport, as well as improve how the system is managed and controlled, with significant benefits to those who live and work in cities.

Google’s Vision for Mainstreaming Machine Learning | The Next Platform
Google has been a vocal proponent of the idea of democratizing AI by making it easier for mainstream businesses to use.

Automation in the retail space improves efficiency, enhances the quality of service, and reduces the cost for all stakeholders. Retailers who realize this fact strive to offer innovative products and solutions, based on automation technology, to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Here are some of the ways in which retailers leverage automated solutions to optimize their operations and cut costs.

Digitalization of Tasks

Digitalization boosts the efficiency of manual and tedious, time-consuming internal tasks. While most progressive retailers have already applied IT applications and solutions in a big way, the emergence of IoT has given rise to newer solutions that take efficiency and quality improvements to a whole new level.

IoT based solutions like leveraging components such as RFID tags, NFC, sensors, and smart devices are primed up to disrupt the retail space in a big way. Retailers apply such solutions in almost all retail functionalities, including product search, checkout, analytics, inventory management, security, PoS, and vending machines.

NFC based payments systems, for instance, facilitate contactless payment systems, speeding up the process considerably, and doing away with queues.

Amazon GO, the checkout free, fully automated grocery store in Seattle offers a prototype of the future store. The store uses cameras and sensors to track what shoppers remove from and place back on the shelves. Amazon bills the customer automatically when they leave the store, using the credit card stored on file. Check out lines, often the major pain point in a retail store, become superfluous.

Starbucks’s “Order & Pay App”, allows customers to pre-order items when on the move. The order is ready when customers enter the store, sparing them the hassles of having to stand in a line. The app, in essence, replaces the POS terminal.

Retailers who invest in such solutions reap huge savings as a result of reduced employee and infrastructure costs. They also gain through increased sales resulting from increased customer satisfaction.

Automation of Key Processes

Automation of critical processes such as inventory control, filling out employee timesheets, invoicing, entering information from various PoS terminals to the accounting platform, financial management, point of sale transactions, etc., can improve efficiency and bring about big cost savings. An integrated point-of-sale system, for instance, spares the need to manually key in transaction information into the card reader or other systems.

Many retailers have identified robots as a key tool to automate their processes. Evidence on hand suggests big efficiency gains and cost savings through the implementation of such innovative automation solutions.

A case in point is Walmart that has patented the use of robots in retail stores. Robots offer an effective and reliable solution to key issues such as insufficient staffing during peak hours, cleaning messy aisles instantly, and identifying theft with precision. Robots are excellent workers, and an HR department’s dream-come-true; they do not need a vacation, never get sick, arrive at work 100% trained, and do not slack. The deployment of such robots has saved millions of dollars for Walmart, in the form of reduced HR costs.

Another success story that retailers can set as a benchmark is that of Amazon’s Kiva robots. Amazon deployed these robots across its warehouses, in 2014, to automate the retrieving and packaging process. Amazon has already saved about $22 million per fulfillment center by deploying these robots, according to Deutsche Bank.

There is the added benefit of automated technologies attracting youth. A recent study by Fisch Restaurant estimates nearly one out of three customers in the 18 to 24 age group prefer ordering from the drive-thru at restaurants because “they don’t feel like dealing with people.” Likewise, McDonald’s automated ordering kiosks are a rage across Europe, relegating manual ordering to the second spot.

Personalize Customer Experiences

A major objective of applying automation technology is to enhance customer experience. Customers are the lifeblood of any business. In today’s age where choice is plenty, customers who feel dissatisfied or have to put up with difficulties to complete the transaction will leave. As such, retailers strive to create high-value, personalized interactions with customers.

The first step towards facilitating the customer is to understand their preferences and requirements. Today’s customers demand highly personalized services. Research by TimeTrade reveals 36% of shoppers do not like to wait for items to ship,  30% of shoppers prefer advice on what products to buy, and 90% of customers will make a purchase when they receive assistance from a knowledgeable store associate.

Retailers may personalize each customer’s experience by harvesting the growing volumes of customer data available across social and other channels.

Retailers could use such data to offer location sensitive offers. In the past, retailers strove to deliver contextual product recommendations. Today, they strive to rationalize the shopping opportunity. 7-Eleven, the global convenience brand targets customers based on location and weather and delivers customized and time-sensitive offers. For instance, if it has started raining in the city or a specific area, the company may offer discounts on umbrellas to customers who are outside their homes, and in the vicinity of the stores.

Lowe is all set to introduce LoweBots – multilingual, autonomous customer assistance robots. The pilot program has been announced in 11 locations across the San Francisco Bay area.

Personalizing customer experience goes far beyond creating brand loyalty and increasing sales. By understanding the customer, the retailer can target and optimize the effort and investment on the customer, without wastage. For instance, if a customer is known to prefer shopping alone without the aid of a salesperson, the retailer can spare the time and cost associated with deploying the salesperson to serve the customer.

Integrate the digital ecosystem with the real-world shop

The most common manifestation of integration of the digital ecosystem with brick and mortar shops are customer apps which aid the shopper as they shop in the physical store. Such apps make shopping easier by listing detailed product features, offering demo videos, and providing customized geolocation-based offers. Such apps also facilitate omnichannel sales. The shopper, may, for instance, opt to shop at the store and get the product delivered through an e-commerce channel.

Retailers need to complement such apps by installing beacons to identify customers who enter the store premises. They could then personalize the experience based on the customer’s preference and demographics. For instance, leading brands such as Sephora and American Eagle identifies each customer to deliver discounts on their birthdays.

Retailers would also do well to take the transaction to the customer without them having to wait in a long, slow-moving checkout queue. Even if red-hot IoT based technologies such as “Amazon’s Go cashless store” is beyond a small retailer’s budget, they can still adopt the Tablet PoS system that allows their staff to check out customers in aisles, doing away with the cumbersome check-out queues. There could also be a facility for online app-based checkout.

Examples of retailers who have applied innovative new automation-based products to enhance customer experience are many. Westfield London, for instance, applied an RFID technology driven smart card system, enabling customers to park their cars without needing a ticket. This is a big improvement over the manual process of refunding parking tickets, sparing the hassle of customers having to present the parking tickets and claim a refund from the store.

Likewise, augmented reality chat bots not just enliven the customer service experience, but also offer greater insights into the customer, reducing the effort and time for the customer service agent.

Audit and Redesign Internal Procedures

A sure shot way to boost internal efficiency and reduce costs is by reducing internal processes by adopting Lean methodologies.

The prerequisite is to conduct a thorough audit to identify supply chain strengths and weaknesses and identify and quantify waste. Retailers can optimize inventory, and pinpoint other areas of improvements.

Constructing an end-to-end lean value stream flow, focused on minimalistic procedures, improves transparency, and makes it easier to review and eliminate avoidable procedures. It creates a standardized workflow with all glitches and kinks ironed out, while co-opting abnormal workflows, catering to all contingencies such as a power failure which results in many POS terminals going down.

Automated retail workflows come integrated with analytics and a CRM suite, creating a highly powerful system, and facilitating further cost-saving methods such as just-in-time inventory, and real-time stocking.

Optimize the Workforce

Automated algorithmic-based labor scheduling tools calculate store workload and optimize staffing, with a high level of accuracy. Custom made algorithms consider factors such as store format, operating hours, backroom configurations, labor regulations, ergonomic considerations, and all other factors, to schedule shifts seamlessly. Such automated systems optimize staff at peak hours and ensure they remain at their productive best. It also reduces absenteeism. The investment is such a solution also delivers a big motivation boost for the workers, reducing turnover rates and decreasing HR costs considerably.

An advanced workforce optimization software, powered by advanced analytics, integrates the customer journey with the employee’s schedule. For instance, if an employee has already struck up a relationship or a rapport with a customer, the employee is assigned to the same customer as far as possible. Such software also ensures high levels of compliance to deliver operational control and business confidence.

Optimize Merchandising

Retailers do not make money by blindly stockpiling inventory. The inventory has to sell. When introducing a new product, smart retailers ask pertinent questions such as “Will the product sell?” “Can the store make money selling the product?”, and so on.

Having introduced a product, a retailer’s prime focus is to optimize the handling of the product inventory; the ordering processes has to be streamlined by identifying the most optimal order-quantity and should be integrated with the sales forecast to eliminate stock-out situations. A good, automated inventory management suite automates all these processes, boosting efficiency and reducing costs.

Automating the merchandising and product exposure process offers retailers the infinite capabilities offered by machines, as opposed to the finite capabilities of a human employee. It also facilitates easy integration of disparate data sources, and comprehensive analytics based on live data. Customers who enter the store are presented with the most optimal inventory, in the best possible way. The analytic engine, could, for instance, draw up the price-point resulting in maximum sales, and tweak the pricing and merchandising strategy accordingly. The net result is the elimination of wasteful trial-and-error methods and saving time. It also ensures the exposure of more products to more people, increasing sales.

Embrace analytics to improve processes

The application of IoT based sensors has taken data analytics to a new level. Retail analytic solutions now aggregate data from video camera feeds, beacons, Wi-Fi, POS systems and other components, and subject such data to big data analytics.

Retailers could gain valuable insights from such analytics. They could measure various elements in the buying process, such as the products each customer inspected in detail, tried, and compared. This information, available in easily digestible reports and graphs, allows retailers to optimize their inventory, eliminating slow-moving inventory. They could also fine-tune prices to boost uptake of inventory. More importantly, such processes become automatic and precise, with a high degree of accuracy, reducing the costly trial-and-error methods usually associated with the processes.

Mindtree’s 2017 study, “Sixth Sense of Retail“, reveals how rapidly evolving digital trends such as social media, mobile applications, and automation reshape the way retailers engage with customers. About 51% of young shoppers (16-24) are comfortable with automated technologies and would visit robot-driven stores, but as high as 78% of older shoppers (55+ years of age) were apprehensive about this trend. Likewise, while 44% of men, cutting across age groups are comfortable with automated technologies, only 30% of women are similarly comfortable. As such, retailers would do well not to blindly embrace automation, just because someone else is also doing it. Rather, they should study their business, understand their customer, and apply automated technologies judiciously.

Few lines about Varghese Samuel -CEO of Fingent Corp

Mr. Samuel is the Founder and CEO at Fingent Corp, a Global Technology company founded in 2003. Samuel’s ability as a leader, to span a breadth of businesses and technologies has enabled Fingent to build and deploy technology platforms which realize tangible business benefits for Enterprise businesses across the globe.

Over the last couple of years, he has led Fingent’s  transformation to the cloud-based services business – Products and services that Fingent currently offers leverage modern cloud platforms and frameworks. Samuel has been a Technologist and an Entrepreneur leading technology innovations over the last 20+ years. He has a diverse background in the broader financial services and healthcare industry, and a proven track record of transforming businesses by creating innovative technology solutions. Samuel received a Master’s Degree in Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai India.

1. Give us a brief introduction about your company.

Since our inception in 2003, Fingent has pioneered custom solutions that have become central components in our client’s business success. Our technology and industry expertise enables us to partner with clients to deliver sophisticated solutions rapidly and on budget. We apply modern design principles, together with the latest in mobile, cloud and desktop technologies to help create solutions. As an organization, our primary focus is to build technology solutions that help businesses simplify/streamline their existing business processes, prepare for future growth, offer new services, reduce operational overheads, lower costs and help organizations connect better.

Fingent has been a recognized force to reckon in the technology space as we have made significant investment in producing advanced software products and platforms that will transform the technology industry.

2. What are the services you offer to your clients?

Fingent has been building custom enterprise business applications since inception for major corporations, small/medium businesses and startups across the Globe. As a pioneer in delivering technology driven innovations, we have segmented our focus areas into 8 Strategic technology Business Units, to better respond to client requirements. Our Strategic Business Units are as follows

● Microsoft
● SAP
● Enterprise Mobility / Digital
● Open Source
● Dev Ops and Infrastructure management
● QA
● Product conceptualization, including UI/UX
● Data Analytics

Most of our clients prefer to opt-in for services spanning across BUs for a single program or for multiple projects. Key areas include:

● Technology consulting ( including strategy, review, and intervention)
● Software product development including PLM
● Business process automation
● Digital Marketing

3. In this intensely competitive era, what technologies, services, and project model can give you an edge over your competitors? 

Our vision is to be acknowledged by our clients, people and our shareholders as the leading strategic technology partner in our market.

We will deliver this vision by providing high-quality Software & product development, IT infrastructure, project management & IT Consulting services enabled by our people, technology, and assets and supported by our committed vendors and partners.

4. After service is a necessary part of development. How do you provide customer support to your client? 

We have always prided ourselves as our client’s extended technology wing. We have always focused on, not just building solutions, but, delivering value. And as extended partners of our client, we ensure that our solutions and products are always catalysts to their growth.  We have account managers and business analysts who act as single point of contact for every client need. Our dedicated infrastructure and quality assurance team ensure that we deliver quality solutions that keep our clients a step ahead in the market.

5. Give your opinions on how far this app revolution can make a difference in the technology world? 

We already have many personal-use apps exploiting the hyper-connected, hyper-local, hyper-personalized environments provided by mobile devices. Apps and the connected cloud-based ecosystems have dramatically transformed the personal-tech space.

However,  the Enterprise Tech world has barely scratched the surface in exploiting apps for innovation and business value creation. While Enterprise users demand mass market like apps and their cloud counterparts, security and cultural challenges remain key obstacles. The challenge is to find the delicate balance between controlling mobile devices and yet freeing employees to use them efficiently. CTOs and CIOs managing Enterprise IT teams can leverage the app (and cloud) revolution to deliver significant value by:

• Placing mobility and mobile devices at the heart of their digital workplace strategies
• Deploy management policies while educating users and bringing transparency to compliance
• Provide the best Rewards versus Risks balance for the apps deployed across various employee segments
• Manage the device lifecycle – purchase, usage, and disposal

Enterprise mobility is complex. At Fingent, we can help traditional IT teams upgrade their Enterprise Mobility strategy to deliver tangible business value, by leveraging the app revolution.

6. What latest technologies and tools you’re planning to implement for mobile app development?

We prefer to use tried and tested robust technologies to create both native and cross-platform apps across – iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry devices.  We carefully evaluate new and bleeding edge tech before considering them for production use on client projects.  While there are a number of tools we are evaluating, we are excited by the recently announced Azure App accelerator and Telerik Progress platform. Long term – we believe that AI and Machine learning will significantly alter the app development process. On a slightly different note, there is a lot happening on the wearables, AR and VR space. We successfully delivered our first Hololens project a couple of months ago.

7. What’s your approach to creating interactive and addictive UX/UI of mobile apps and websites?

We approach UX/UI from the perspectives of -Understandability, Learnability, and Operability under real user conditions.  On mobile, we try to imbibe business features with the natural advantages provided by the mobile ecosystem – GPS and location tracking, Voice recognition, Cameras for Scanning, Gyro and Accelerometers, native connectivity option like Wifi and Bluetooth – in a secure manner. From a UI techniques perspective, we are looking at circular design patterns, interactive content layers, intelligent manipulation of content, cognitive interfaces and a few other areas to provide good learnability and operability.

8. What are the challenges you see in the outsourcing industry and how much you’re prepared to face those challenges?

I remember reading a report recently that  70% of CIOs expect to change their mix of sourcing providers to get more business value and innovation from new partner relationships. While this is a challenge for incumbents, it is good news for the outsourcing industry as a whole. For customers, outsourcing is no longer just about cost, but also about innovation and partnership. Today, most Enterprise software outsourcing is based on the staff augmentation approach. As customers demand result oriented and value driven partnerships, we see a slow but steady shift back towards the project-based approach. This requires a greater understanding of the customer’s business and higher accountability and ownership of business results.

At Fingent, we are built ground up to focus on the business outcomes that our clients wish to achieve using the product we develop for them.  Our processes secure the continuity and coherence across the CX cycle from-  Sales to Account Management to Operations and Delivery.   This, together with our focus on technology competence development ensures that we provide innovative solutions to add value to our customers’ businesses. We are happier to provide our customers with solutions that add value to their business, to be accountable for the entire solution, than to body shop.  We are ready.

9. Mention the ways you use to introduce new updates to your team.

We have many different mechanisms depending upon the source, the context, and the impact. Technology updates are managed within the BU and the teams unless it has a wide-ranging cross-functional impact. Project-specific updates are introduced from the PMO since every project has a single point of contact ( for the client)  who is responsible to secure that project changes are communicated and understood by the project team.  Communication channels for an update may include one or more of- meetings, emails, blogs or updates within our PM tool. We prefer face to face communication to the extent possible, either in person, or using modern video communication tools.

10. Nearly 70% users engage in wearable tech. What’s your step to enter into this revolution?

We have already started working with clients on Augmented Reality. We recently delivered a Hololens based facial recognition system for a client. We see opportunities across the entire technology stack- from chipsets to applications to cloud to data analytics and learning. Our strategy is a bimodal approach –

• Leverage competence in areas where we are already strong. For e.g. Our strengths in data analytics and visualization, help us manage the structured, semi-structured and unstructured data that flows in from wearables. Our expertise in data security helps provide Security consulting services to Wearable tech manufacturers.
• To focus on a few niche areas, where platform technologies are likely to succeed. For e.g. creating Augmented Reality applications for the HoloLens.

11. Examine the success and failures that your developers are facing while wearable app development?

The key challenges that we face in the wearable tech industry include:

• Lack of standardization. Fragmented platforms create an overhead due to the learning curve and lack of interoperability.
• Cultural challenges. Many users are not aware that by connecting wearables to the internet, high-risk information is placed in highly insecure and vulnerable environments. Risk assessments are often overlooked in an attempt to cut costs.

Nonetheless, we are optimistic about the opportunities here. These are challenges faced by any nascent industry.

12. There’s a boom in native apps for wearable devices, what’s your move to this technology?

Given the tight hardware integration required for many wearables, I would argue that in most cases, native is the only option. We are looking for more cross-platform tools to create apps that can be deployed across platforms at lower costs for our customers, But these are early days and we believe that such cost efficiencies will soon be created.

13. Define your future prospective and vision regarding new technologies like wearable and IoT apps?

I believe that we are at the beginning of the mass market wearable and IoT revolution. Privacy issues may lead to a temporary backlash, but these issues can be resolved.

We are looking forward to enterprise applications of wearable technology, especially in AR. Challenges around Security, Interoperability and Data mining/analysis have to be solved for Wearables and IoT to deliver tangible benefits at low risk.

14. What is your go-to-market scheme at a global level?

Currently, we are operating globally with offices across the globe. We have built many innovative solutions for our clients which are attracting other business with similar needs to reach out to us. We have a market research team that does industry research to identify the potential leads/opportunities based on the various matrix that we have developed internally. Some of the advanced project management and delivery processes that we developed with proven history convince our clients to work with us. We have most of our clients working with us for many years as a trusted partner as the organizational culture that we developed over the years focus on trust, integrity, and transparency with our clients along advanced technology capabilities.

We also share our knowledge and experience through blogs, white papers, case studies which has helped many people. We are also tapping into the power of social media platforms.

We also recognize that there is so much more than can be done to establish the Fingent Brand across the Globe.

Please tune in to hear about some major platform launches coming soon which we have been hard at work.

15. Mention the name of some of your successful projects?

We are grateful to have worked with large enterprises like NEC, Johnson and Johnson, CBN, Sony, WRI Capital, PwC and many more. We take a great deal of pride in having played a significant part in the explosive growth of successful startups like RentMoji, MFS, Lindsey Jones, Sweden Academy, Teachucator and many others.  We believe that true success is about adding value to people’s lives, be it in ways large or small, at work or at home – our work with our clients has helped us do exactly that.

This post originally appeared at https://www.itfirms.co/interview-with-varghese-samuel-ceo-fingent-corp/

The psychology of color in human beings is a subject of’ research and ‘has been under study for long periods. The color scheme that is selected by the retailers for decoration, the design of the logo, content on the website and mobile applications etc. can have a direct impact on the sales.

Importance of Color

According to a research, the first impression of the customers plays a significant role in retail and 62% to 90% of it is based on color. Aesthetic appeal is of utmost importance for the shoppers and 52% do not return to the store if they dislike the aesthetics. The primary and deciding factor for 85% of the shoppers while making a purchase is the color. Signage is also an important factor for retail and it is often observed that the ads and banners are designed using red as the primary color.

Color Schemes

There are various color schemes that the retailers may use in their store and on the web applications. Some of these color schemes are as listed below.

• Monochromatic Colors: Varied tones of a single color are used under this scheme.
• Complementary Colors: The opposing colors on the color wheel are used in this scheme.
• Analogous Colors: The colors that are placed at left or right of a color on the color wheel are used.
• Triadic Colors: The colors placed at 120 degrees apart on the color wheel are used as per this scheme.  
• Split-Complementary Colors: A color is selected as a base color and two colors that are adjacent to the complementary colors are used.
• Rectangular Colors: Pairs of two complementary colors on the color wheel are used.  
• Square Colors: Four colors placed evenly on the color wheel are used.

There are also combining color schemes that are often used by the retailers in order to enhance the visual appeal and attract an increased number of buyers.

Influence of Color

Color is a critical variable that has the power to impact the psychology of a human at conscious and subconscious level.

The colors can be used in the following ways to have a positive and appealing influence on the customers.

• The retailers shall select an effective theme for their store and shall then decide upon the colors to explain the concept to the buyers.
• There are certain colors, such as green and blue that may have a calming effect on the shoppers while orange and brown can have a reassuring impact.
• The retailers must understand the ability to alert and appeal their buyers through the use of adequate colors. The use of bright colors like red and yellow can grab the customer attention.
• Brand recognition can be enhanced by 80% with the correct use of colors. Logo colors and color scheme should be intelligently selected.
• The category of product and the choice of color shall go hand in hand. For instance, the sleek look of an electronic product may vanish with the use of bold and bright colors.

Consumer Reaction to Red Color

Red is a color that is usually associated with love and power. The color also has the ability to enhance the heart rate and also activates the pituitary gland. The use of red color in the retail stores visually appeals the buyers and grabs their attention.

A majority of retailer use red as the color for sales signs and for displaying other significant details. It is because more value is added to the aesthetics and it can be easily read from a distance.

A research was carried out to understand the importance of the color in a better manner. A male model was selected as the communicator and was asked to pose for two different pictures wearing a red sweater in one and white sweater in the other. Persuasive arguments were used to understand the color psychology of 94 undergraduate students and the picture with red sweater was rated more persuasive.

The use of web and mobile applications has increased in the recent years and the color of the website or application logo along with the choice of text color shall also be judiciously picked up. The online shoppers make their purchasing decisions largely on the basis of the color scheme used.

Technology plays a crucial role in the retail industry, and partnering with a software development company is key to unlocking its full potential. By leveraging innovative software solutions, retailers can enhance customer experiences, optimize operations, and make data-driven decisions to stay competitive in the market.

The future expects to witness the e-commerce revenues to go up to $460+ billion. With the expansion of e-commerce in the recent years, it is also expected that there will be more competition in the e-commerce market. As per the recent survey, it has been found out that 67% of the millennials and 56% of Gen Xers prefer online shopping rather than in-store shopping. There are specific trends that have been observed with respect to e-commerce in the upcoming year.

Omni-Platform & Omni-Device

With the advent and expansion of Internet of Things (IoT), the consumers are making a shift towards integrated platforms and devices. The e-commerce applications will also be required to integrate to deal with the competition in future. Currently, around 85% of the online shoppers begin with their shopping on one device/platform and end it on a different device.

Faster Delivery

With the increase in online sales and competition, the brands can gain a competitive edge with faster shipments and deliveries. The e-commerce companies will be required to look out for more fulfillment options in the coming days with enhanced shipping cut-off times.

Use of Augmented Reality

Technology is witnessing modifications and advancements at a rapid rate. The use of Augmented Reality (AR) is the next big thing that will have an impact on the e-commerce industry as well. There are applications, such as Snapchat that have already started with the use of AR in their services. The e-commerce applications are sure to search for the measures to integrate their functionalities with AR.

Video Content

It is estimated that video will comprise of 80% of all online consumer Internet traffic by the end of 2020. Videos have the power to increase the purchase intent by 97% and can also boost the click-through rates by another 200-300%. The use of live videos will be in-trend to improve customer engagement.

Voice Search & Purchases

There are approximately 40% of the millennials that have used voice search to make a purchase. This number will further increase in the next few years. The e-commerce applications will be required to make their content compatible with the common user queries and terms used for purchasing.

In addition to this, the analysis is also carried out to understand these trends on the basis of different factors and parameters.

Trends by Gender

It has been recorded that both men and women spend five hours per week on online shopping with the percentage of men shoppers higher by 28%. The marketplaces have managed to attract 56% of women and 52% of male shoppers while the percentage is almost equal in case of large retailer sites with 75% men and 74% women shoppers. 40% women have used category specific online stores while the percentage in this section is 31% for men.

Trends by Parental Status

Online shopping engages parents for 7 hours per week while the duration is 4 hours for non-parents. There is also a difference in the budget for parents and non-parents as it has been recorded 40% and 34% respectively. 49% parents have stated that they cannot imagine their world without online shopping.

Trends by City-size

The percentage and budget allocated to online shopping are in the decreasing order in large/mid-size metropolitan areas, suburban areas and rural areas. Americans have scored the top rank in the expenditure made on online shopping. 63% of suburban shoppers do not prefer to pay shipping costs and online privacy is the major cause of concern for 38% of rural shoppers.

Trends by Types of Online Goods

Large retailers have succeeded in engaging 60% of the online shoppers for the purchase of clothing, shoes, and accessories. Shoppers prefer to stick to the marketplaces for the purchase of computer or electronic goods as the percentage recorded in this area is 43%. Marketplaces have also managed to attract 55% of the shoppers for the purchase of books, movies, and music. 28% category-specific online stores have been used for the purchase of flowers and goods.

Social media has played an influential and significant role in the purchasing trends of buyers. Market analysts can use the data from social media platforms to predict customer preferences and choices for the year to gain and maintain a competitive advantage.

Learning is highly evolving in all facets of life and so are the systems that provide learning opportunities. The definite way to address the changing and growing requirements of employees in the organization is to provide them a responsive Learning Management System that will offer the right flexibility and accessibility of the learning material on multiple devices without loss of information or tracking. The continuous learning keeps them involved, motivated and helps to retain the employees in the organization. However, before your organization jumps into implementing a responsive LMS, it is important to put some crucial forethought for selecting the right one that suits the preference of your employees.

Understanding devices

You will need to understand and evaluate the various devices that are available and will be used most frequently as a learning source for your employees.There are numerous devices available today with various screen sizes.  Pre-identifying these target devices helps in understanding the compatibility of the software and achieving better productivity. Lock the primary ones that you need to address and check if the responsive LMS works well, and adapts from landscape to portrait mode and back. Also, the user information should be tracked effortlessly so that the data isn’t lost when they switch between devices.

Easy Navigation

A responsive LMS should utilize the features that each device offers, such as touch, swipe, and scroll in smartphones. A highly intuitive UI with user-friendly approach will definitely make the learning experience more fun and enjoyable. Along with switching of the device resolution and screens, the content should also be formatted to mold into any device dimensions and screen resolutions.

Better Accessibility

Data packs that connect to the internet vary largely on devices and hence you need to consider your content likewise. Choose an LMS system that utilizes HTML5 that helps learners to download and access the learning material offline. Also, keep the bandwidth that each lesson will need in mind and use a cloud-based system that customizes the resolution and bandwidth as per usage.

Safe and Secure

No matter how good a responsive LMS system is, if it doesn’t offer security to user’s information, it simply won’t work. Select an LMS system that can protect and safeguard the personal data of learners. This may include securing email IDs, passwords, phone numbers, and even course content. This can be identified by checking what level of encrypted coding is used by the system and how secure is its server or cloud data storage.

User Interactivity

Responsive LMS system that allows the user to not just access material, but also lets them upload content in the form of pictures, videos, and more will definitely work well. It should have the ability to convert the content into a compatible format that will be streamlined and functional for all device types. Another feature that can enhance a responsive LMS is the addition of social elements. It is a great strategy to make the learners in the organization interact with each other with the help of discussion forums, chat plugins, ratings, and content sharing. It will not only help learners explore more but also help promote the material via their word of mouth.

Support Services

A more engaging and responsive LMS would always require monitoring and support over a static system. Check if you get the right support from the vendor and figure out their turnaround time. If your organization is huge, check if they can offer a dedicated support team on a contract.

A responsive LMS is a sure-shot way to go ahead if all these factors are kept in mind. If you are reading this to seek a vendor, contact us to learn more about the latest trends and practices in developing learning management systems and how these benefit learners and organizations today.

If you are planning to select Business Intelligence (BI) tool for your Big Data solutions, it is important to evaluate which one is the best suited and not best rated for your company. Selecting a right visualization tool that can help you get the most out of Big Data and has well-defined functions, is an important criterion of the process. So you should ask the following questions before selecting the best tool for your company.

1. What are you visualizing?

It is important to first understand why you are looking for the tool in the first place. If you are planning to visualize the internal data such as marketing, finance, etc. you should look for a tool that is in alignment with your management system. For example, if you are using SAP ECC/Net Weaver system for handling internal data, an SAP-based BI will work better for easy implementation and cost reduction on training. Similarly, if you are going to use the tool for a client, it is better to use something that is compatible with what your client is using.

2. How is the tool’s interface?

It is imperative that the tool has an easy to use Graphical User Interface (GUI). Tools are meant to save time and make the task easy.  A well-designed tool that offers access to various options can be put in the pipeline with ease. Check if it has nice graphics capabilities in case you need to visualize decision trees and so on.

3. Does it have the essential support for visual discovery?

Tools should provide the most basic support for visual discovery and query processing. This might include something as simple as comma-separated values file, text, Excel, and XML support. Apart from these basic things, you might need to check what programming language it supports. Your decision will rest on what your internal team is expert at handling. Your team can get to support for various well-known programming languages such as C++, Python, Java, and Perl.

The other thing to check is whether or not the visualization tool you are planning to use is compatible with the operating system you use. In case of cloud implementation, ask the cloud provider for an OS that is compatible with your visualization tool. If you are catering to a client, ensure that the OS you select is compatible with their systems too.

4. Is the price right?

It is no surprise that price plays an important role in finalizing a lot of things in any company. BI projects cost a lot and the cost will largely depend on a number of criteria such as the level of in-house expertise and the ultimate goal to be achieved. Visualization tools should not be judged on the basis of their price alone but compared with how big is the need and what is being provided.

A good way to make a decision is to try a free trial version of the software to check whether it works for you or not. The tool provider should offer good technical support along with the documentation that covers all aspects of the tool.

5. How flexible is the tool?

Big Data is evolving at a phenomenal rate and so is the technology around it. Make sure that the visualization tool that you are seeking is flexible enough to adapt to these changes. Ask the provider how easy it is to upgrade the tool so that you do not hit a roadblock and require a complete overhaul in the near future.

Understanding these points will help you start zeroing on a list of visualization tools but seeking the support of an experienced tool provider will help you finalize it. Look for someone like us who have an expertise in understanding the requirements of the client and providing a complete solution.  

If your company is dealing with Big Data, Data analytics and visualization is a must-have tool to understand and gain insights effectively. There are several tools available in this sector that promise to convert raw data and produce it as solutions that are easily understandable. These solutions can be in the form of charts, videos, infographics or even highly engaging and intuitive presentation that uses Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR & AR). Here are the top 7 data analytics and visualization tools that you can hire to get the most out of your data.  

1. Tableau

Tableau is one of the most widely used data visualization software due to its user-friendly, intuitive design, and excellent official supporting documentation. This data analytics and visualization tool are available in five different versions – Desktop, Server, Online, Mobile, and free-to-use Tableau Public. It has the capacity to produce interactive visualizations that are compatible with huge and very fast-changing data sets used in Big Data operations involving artificial intelligence and machine learning applications. It is designed to work great with almost all advanced database solutions such as Hadoop, Amazon AWS, My SQL, SAP, and Teradata.

2. Sisense

This tool is smartly designed to provide a full stack analytics platform with ease of use. The interface offers users a chance to simply drag and drop charts and more complex graphics for achieving interactive visualizations without much of a hassle. The tool has the capability to gather data from multiple sources and query them instantaneously along with an option to share the dashboard across organizations. Sisense is a powerful tool for people who are experienced in this field and can be a little overwhelming for newcomers.

3. Plotly

Plotly is a web-based data visualization platform that lets the user create simple to complex charts directly inside their web browser. It offers a clean, intuitive and fully-featured interface for free, but its commercial package provides more user-friendliness and support. Its ability to enable more complex and sophisticated visualization is a direct result of integration with analytics related programming languages such as R, Python, and Matlab.

4. FusionCharts

This Javascript-based data analytics and visualization tool has the ability to produce 90 different chart types and integrates a large number of platforms and frameworks to offer optimum flexibility. It is one of the leaders in the paid-for market simply because it offers many live templates where users can simply plug in their data instead of starting one from scratch.

5. Google Charts

Google is at the forefront of technology and it stays the course by providing an entire set of data visualization tools that support various data formats including geolocation and offers a variety of outputs. But keep in mind that Google Charts are for people who have worked with data before and can code in JavaScript to make the best use of this amazing tool.

6. QlikView

QlikView tool is a major vendor that competes for supremacy with Tableau since it also provides a wide feature range and high customization setup. It does take time to get used to it, but can be very powerful when used to its full potential. There are numerous third-party resources available online for this clean and clutter-free tool. It additionally offers powerful business intelligence, analytics, and enterprise reporting.

7. Datawrapper

Datawrapper is the perfect tool for media organizations that are looking for creating simple charts to present statistics. It’s simple and clean interface allows easy CSV data upload, to create simple charts and maps that can be quickly embedded into reports.

Data analytics and visualization tools are abundantly available and seeking the best one for your organization can be difficult. It is better to seek the expertise of consultants such as our organization to get the most out of your Big Data.

In today’s age of hyper-competition, businesses need to focus their systems on the customer. A critical area of focus is business software. Much of business software hitherto focused on internal efficiency. However, competitive pressure mandate a realign, with the focus on the customer, and specifically customer support.

Businesses Need to Roll Out Mobile Solutions

Nowadays, the basic support for customer commerce is through customer-facing mobile apps. About 80% of shoppers use their mobile phones for product reviews, to compare prices, and find store locations. A good chunk of these customers completes the purchase process online as well. About 54% of Millennials and 49% of Non-Millennials prefer shopping online. Businesses need to roll out customer-facing mobile apps and responsive websites, to facilitate e-commerce and other customer interactions.

The Rise of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

E-commerce websites offer a world of convenience to the customer. It brings the shopping experience anywhere, from home to office, and from the boardroom to the bathroom. However, such convenience comes without the “touch-and-feel” experience of physical stores. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (VTR) technologies bridge the shortcoming and offer the best of both worlds.

Cases of retailers supporting customer commerce through VR and AR-based software abound.

• Swedish furniture giant IKEA’s VR app allows customers to view different kitchen decors. Customers can walk around IKEA kitchens virtually, using a VR headset and app.
• Sephora’s app allows users to take selfies and apply the brand’s cosmetic products to their images. Customers can get conclusive proof of whether a shade of lipstick will look good on them, rather than debate endlessly or speculate.

Artificial Intelligence Systems Facilitate Personalization

Personalization is the order of the day.

Most businesses already use Google Analytics tool to segment customers. They target segmented groups with different discounts and deals. Marketers also use various other predictive analytics tools to analyze historical data. Advanced solutions deliver accurate predictions about demand. Enterprises could focus their efforts on products having the greatest potential for profits.

However, such a superficial approach will undergo a sea change in the future. More-and-more shoppers now leverage Artificial Intelligence, to source products, bargain prices, and pick up products. As a case in point, connected smart fridges detect when the stock of milk becomes low, and trigger an automatic reorder with a linked e-commerce store. Enterprises who can roll out business software to align with such smart systems, and leverage “A-Commerce” or Artificial Intelligence-based commerce, stands to gain big.

Adaptive Design Comes Centrestage

Customers’ needs are never set in stone. Smart businesses keep track of changing customer preferences and the underlying influencers of such change. Business software which connects with potential clients on a personal level, in real-time, is central to such efforts.

Use-cases abound for businesses leveraging technology, to adapting its products and services to serve real-time customer needs.

• Curve, a credit card company allows customers to switch cards even after completing the purchase. An executive purchasing a computer for the company with his personal card, to take advantage of a bargain, could later change the billing to the company card, after getting authorization.
• KLM’s new clip, attached to the traveler’s bag, offers real-time directions, suggestions, and alternatives. For instance, when a user is stuck in a long line at the Eiffel Tower, the clip suggests the nearby hot-air balloon at Parc André Citroën. The clip also directs users to specific in-house services, stealing customers away from the competition.
• Tesla recently increased the range of its electric vehicles for customers struck in places affected by Hurricane Irma. Range limitations in Tesla’s vehicles meant owners couldn’t evacuate the area.

Virtual Companions Become Mainstream

Most smart businesses now empower their workforce, especially support agents with virtual assistants. Such virtual assistants automate daily tasks in ways CRM can never enable.

Virtual assistants offer agents deep real-time insights on information hidden inside the company databases and other systems. Locating such information manually is a time-consuming task, in the absence of clear-cut information on where such information resides. The obvious benefit is a speedier resolution of consumer issues, leading to improved customer satisfaction and accelerated sales cycles.

Virtual assistants also take the shape of chatbots, replacing the manual assistant altogether. Technology has evolved considerably on this front, and businesses are co-opting it in a big way. In the future, even the most basic bots will become more interactive than Siri and Alexia of today.

AI infused bots learn from users, to offer highly relevant insight and suggestions. It could open the database and pry a solution even before a manual agent has the chance to comprehend the question. Further, the technology to make bots understand emotional intelligence has arrived. Such Emotional Intelligence capable bots would know how exactly to respond to a frustrated customer. Going forward, bots would handle most normal queries, leaving human agents only with long-tail and complicated queries.

Social Media Rises in Importance

Social media caught on big-time, with estimates suggesting a 394% increase in social media use in recent years. The widespread popularity is mainly on account of the transparency, the social media delivers. The best businesses leverage such transparency to further their business model.

Traditionally, businesses had complete control over their products and services. The business model essentially boiled down to a “take-it-or-leave-it” approach. The transparency infused by social media has changed the power equations. Customers now have unprecedented choice and ability to gather real feedback from real users of any product or service. If something goes wrong, rest assured everyone will come to know about it.

Smart companies cope with such change by giving more power to its customers. They listen to the customer eagerly and align their business software to take feedback. This ensures that the business and the customer work together, for mutual benefit. Businesses roll out more collaborative systems and link it to their key product development and management channels.

Enterprises need not always go in search of new technologies. What is important is the way in which any technology, new or old is applied. Any business today needs to adapt and change its services and products to meet the changing needs of the customers. Customer focused business software is a major enabler in this direction.