'Technology' Bookmarks

Apple knows the strategy of engaging people. It has recently launched iOS 10.3. But this does not end of the good news. The actual news is that when users install the OS on their iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone, they can notice their device working in more faster and responsive way.

Renaud Lienhart, iOS engineer said, “iOS 10.3 feels ‘snappier’ because a lot of animations were slightly tweaked & shortened, for the better.”

With this new version, Apple has bid farewell to 19-year-old HFS+ that was based on 32-year-old HFS. And also it replaced with the Apple File System. In the present market, experts state that it’s a big step & this new formation saves the mobile phone space and optimizes it for the solid-state drives (SSDs).

There Is a Lot More in the Bucket
Without any delay, Apple users download all the new versions that apple release. However, there are various misconceptions presence about iOS, one of the biggest concern is security. Keeping this in mind, here we have listed some of the interesting new features that make iOS 10.3 futuristic. And they are,

1. Find My AirPods

Well, AirPods are easy to lose. So Apple introduces its new Find my AirPods feature. This feature works activated in the new OS. When Apple users forget where they kept their AirPods last, or they lost it. Simply they can use the Find my iPhone application and it will notify the new icon for AirPods.

On the other hand, you can find your AirPOds on the map, this will give you an idea about the last location where your AirPods ware connected to the device. Yes, you have other option too that can help you identify your last AirPods location easily. On the other hand, If a user’s AirPods are connected with the device via Bluetooth, then the advanced feature can play a high pitched sound that helps users find out their AirPods instantly. Yes, you can say all iOS 10.3 features are working effectively but this one is extremely favorable between the users.

Apple introduced this advanced special feature for the cricket lovers. AI assistant Siri can understand that cricket is one of the famous sport, and people want to know the score according to their comfort. Because in this busy schedule people don’t get time to watch the complete match. Here is the Siri, which can update you about the latest scores of the cricket matches. Also, AI assistant Siri will help users to book there Uber rides in advance and in paying bills.

3. App Store Gets Better

Now the updated App Store allows the users to rate the apps that they are using. This new tactic allows users to express their experience through review and rating without switching to the App store. This particular process helps the company to understand all aspects of the users and subsequently, they can work to make it better. The app developers can also respond to these reviews, and make this entire arena like a forum.

Read more on Why Ios 10-3-Is Gaining Popularity Among The Users

Why Do We Need DB Connection Pools?

Typical data-driven web apps need a Database (DB) connection to render almost every page or to serve every API call. For scalability reasons, Web Server and Database servers are hosted on different Machines. In such scenario, obtaining a new DB connection is a potentially expensive task. This process of acquiring a new DB connection increases the latency of your pages and makes your web app slow.

DB Connection Pools Solve This Problem

In Java web applications DB connection pools are provided as libraries. The DB connection pool manager keeps a number of DB connections open in memory. When the data access code closes a connection, the connection pool manager doesn’t close the connection, instead, it returns it to the pool. When the next call requests a connection, it returns an unused connection from the pool, rather than creating a new one. This improves the latency of your application.

DB Connection Pool Configuration

Apart from essential connection properties such as DB username, password, host, port, etc., a Database connection pool typically has following 3 properties:

• Minimum Number of Connections: This is the number of connections the pool keeps in memory as soon as it is created. It will try to ensure that at least these many connections are available to your application.

• Maximum Number of Connections: This is the maximum number of connections the DB connection will keep in memory. Once your application reaches this numbers, further calls to obtain connections must wait till previous calls are done.

• Max Idle Number of Connections: As specified before, the connection pool keeps connections in memory. But if it finds that some connections are idle and it already has more than minimum number of connections then it tries to close these idle connections, so that some other program can use them.

The boundaries between customer-facing, front-office channels and back-office support functions are blurring.

As Ken Landoline, principal analyst at OVUM, stated in his blog, Back-Office Integration Coming to the Forefront in Customer Engagement, a number of trends are making it easier to link these two functions, including:

• In-sourcing previously outsourced contact centre functions
• The increase in channel digitisation
• The growing use of robotic process automation.

Why Extend WFO into the Back Office?

Overcoming Cultural Differences

• Change: They’ve been managing with their limited tool set for years, so why change now?
• Control: Being forced to do things the way the contact centre does them, vs. following their own processes.
• Rigidity: Loss of flexibility and autonomy in how employees spend their time.

In the webinar Craig shared five best practices for overcoming the cultural differences, as well as other challenges—check it out.

In addition to the webinar recording, you can learn more by downloading the Best Practices Guide: The Business Value of Extending WFO Beyond the Contact Centre: Practical Steps to Get Started. 

Are you using WFO in the back office? Share your experience with us and the challenges you overcame below.
 

Serving customers with excellence is imperative in today’s highly competitive, fast-moving world. We all know that every advantage is important.

Recently, I was a panelist on a session at the Incite Customer Service Summit in New York City called “Proactive Social Care: Engage Your Online Community.”

Attendees learned how to proactively engage their communities to solve their issues before they become complaints, as well as raise awareness of social care channels and facilitate self-service, facilitate peer-to-peer service, identify customers and potential issues on social networks and online communities, and learn when it’s appropriate to engage and when it is not.

While better customer service was naturally front and centre at such an event, what we also examined was how communities can help build customer loyalty and brand trust. Those are big.

When it comes to enhancing the customer experience, digital innovation can have a significant impact upon customer satisfaction and loyalty. Digital has the power to unlock a rich portfolio of insights and reveal valuable data about customer engagement levels, buying preferences and emotional drivers.

Given that 84% of Australians access the internet daily, CEOs and leaders who own the digital space will be better equipped to boost customer engagement and promote brand awareness.

Creating an online community centred around your brand is key to business success. However, a digital presence alone is not enough. To truly stand out in the market, organisations must lead the way with innovative digital technologies.

Enhance customer engagement with robotics, KM and speech analytics

So where are the opportunities to get engaged with customers via digital innovation? In my view, robotics, knowledge management (KM) and speech analytics are the three key areas that forward-thinking businesses should prioritise in 2018.

From self-driving cars to services such as Amazon Alexa, great strides are being made to offer technology to help make our day-to-day lives easier. It’s not a huge leap to consider how software robots might soon be found in the workplace, helping human employees do their jobs.

The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs report1 (January 2016) predicted that developments in artificial intelligence, robotics and other fields would lay the foundation for a “revolution” in how technology could be used to tackle problems.

There was great promise, but also a warning issued about the transformation that entire industries would need to make. Some jobs were expected to grow rapidly, others could be threatened by redundancy—and for others—a new set of skills might be required.

For many, the initial reaction was one of anxiety. Doom and gloom. There was real fear about the possibility of mass unemployment from the inevitable extinction of common jobs.

In the months that have passed, however, a calmer response has emerged around the potential for technology and employees to work together in new ways for even better outcomes. Change is happening quite rapidly. It’s even estimated that as many as 65% of children entering elementary school today will end up working completely new jobs that don’t even exist yet.2

What it means for the work

Work can now be done faster and with fewer errors when automated using Robotic Process Automation. Processes can be executed in high volumes—following organizational policies or industry regulations—without variation.

What it means for employees

As routine, repetitive work is offloaded to software robots, employees can focus on work that requires human decision-making, creativity or empathy and continue to build new skills as jobs evolve and organizations transform. Robots can also make the work that employees do easier. It can speed up portions of their tasks or provide guidance within a process to help them learn how to do certain transactions—or notify them of changes in how they need to be done without requiring continuous training.

If positioned correctly, employees won’t see software robots or automation as a threat, but simply another tool to help how work gets done.

What it means for managers

Managers will oversee a combined human and robotic workforce, leveraging the strengths of each to get more done in a smarter way. As automation software technology gets even better with machine learning and artificial intelligence, managers will need to coach and train their employees to perform higher-skilled functions in response.

What it means for organizations

When work is completed faster—and by automating the work you eliminate the potential for manually introduced errors—the customer experience is better. Improved customer satisfaction results in better retention rates and future potential for upsell and cross-sell.

As employees offload more monotonous tasks and can continue to build their skills to perform more valuable work, they are more engaged—and attrition likely decreases.

Smart use of technology positions the organization for more growth and the ability to adapt to future changes across industries and customer expectations. This idea is backed by a new study that suggests that robotic process automation and robotic labor is adding more value to the economy and may even create more jobs as a result.3

Want to learn more? We’d love to show you what Verint Robotic Process Automation and Process Assistant can do.

1 World Economic Forum: The Future of Jobs Report, January 2016

2 World Economic Forum: The Future of Jobs Report (Executive Summary), January 2016

3 Dishman, Lydia, “Could Robots Actually Create More Jobs?” Fast Company, March 16, 2017. Report referenced in article is “Will post-Brexit Britain hinder a robo-revolution?” from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) and Redwood Software.

Over the past few years, KM customers and prospects have increasingly asked Verint to help them define, deliver and measure KM value. 

This corresponds with a subtle shift in the customer service industry as a whole—a gradual yet significant transition from viewing the contact center as a cost center to a strategic enabler. 

As the commoditization of products increases, providing world-class service can be a true competitive differentiator.

Recently, we have helped our customers build KM business cases around strategic goals: increased revenue for a bank, reduced time to competency for an airline, improved customer loyalty for a retailer, and enhanced employee performance for an insurance provider.  

That’s a stark contrast to just a few years ago when most KM business cases were based on average handle time (AHT) and headcount reduction. Organizations are finally starting to understand the tremendous business value that can be realized through successful knowledge management.

That’s a huge step forward, but there’s still a gap in understanding. Too many organizations stop trying to correlate KM to value after the business case is signed. In fact, most KM programs struggle to answer this seemingly innocuous question:

Can you explicitly link KM capabilities and activities to desired business goals and outcomes?

We’ve spent some time this year determining an answer to that question, and it has led to some new perspectives on how to relate the value of KM to the practice of KM. By clearly coordinating KM capabilities, activities, and outcomes, the value of KM can be demonstrated. This process can be enhanced through scorecards and dashboards. In this context, value becomes both the enabler and the outcome of KM—we can start to prioritize and evolve what we do based on direct impact to business success.

Traditionally, KM programs have struggled to quantify exactly how and where KM is working well, where it isn’t, and where it needs to be improved. The root cause of this disconnect is the lack of obvious correlation between KM capabilities and outcomes. The key to addressing this gap is to understand the layers of activity and how best to assess them:

KM capabilities: the specific tools, processes, standards and resources that exist to frame and inform knowledge development and delivery KM activities: the actions taken using those capabilities—how well they are implemented and executed

KM outcomes: metrics and analytics that summarize knowledge-specific activities—knowledge base adoption, user experience, content quality, workflow effectiveness, etc.

To develop a comprehensive understanding of KM value, we must first assess KM capabilities fully and independently. Next, we must assess how well specific capabilities are being executed as KM activities. And finally, KM outcomes provide a mechanism to help us quantify the activities and their impact.

This comprehensive view provides the foundation for a full KM value model. From here, we can start to build relationships back to top line business goals and strategy, and the correlating KPIs and dashboards to measure and express that value. 

A value-driven KM program can generate this full ‘line of sight’ across layers for any set of products, services, channels or locales. This is an exciting target state to aspire to! 

In this blog series, we look forward to sharing deeper insights around our KM value model, and helping you on your journey to value-driven KM.

In the age of the smartphone, more and more consumers are taking advantage of the ease and convenience of digital channels. People can now shop or pay a bill or renew a service anytime, anywhere with the touch of a button.

However, digital consumers can be less loyal than customers of the past; as online services make it easier for them to shop around and switch between providers, hence influencing behaviours.

A recent global research study by Verint in 2016, ‘The Digital Tipping Point: How do Organisations in Australia and New Zealand Balance the Demands for Digital and Human Customer Service?’, found a strong correlation between a high standard of customer service and higher consumer retention online.

However for consumers, online environments can present uncertainty for communicating with organisations. Data privacy and safeguarding consumer experiences is highly valued - as almost 9 out of 10 customers (89%) indicated that they wanted to know how secure their personal information is, while the same percentage want to know whether their data will be passed on to third parties for marketing purposes.

Businesses who understand the importance that trust and transparency play in building positive relationships with customers will likely experience better retention outcomes.

Those [1] who have had a good customer experience online are also more likely to behave even more positively in a brand’s digital environment, and are:

• 66% more likely to renew their product or service even if it’s not the cheapest option
• 50% more likely to sign on to a loyalty program
• 27% more likely to leave a review

How to deliver an engaging customer experience: 

1. Listen to your customers. Use their input to drive a ‘voice of the customer’ strategy to provide the framework for customer service channel offerings.

2. Put yourself in their shoes. Look at things from their point of view, since what is most convenient for your organisation may not be the most desirable in their eyes.

3. Collect relevant data. Gather data each time you interact with them to understand when and how to personalise the experience.

4. Create a balance between digital and traditional services. Avoid improving digital service channels at the expense of traditional options.

5. Provide multiple communication platforms. Ensure you offer them a wide variety of platforms, tools, technologies and resources.

In today’s digital age, a personal touch in customer service continues to help drive the right engagement for better retention and loyalty. Consumers feel more positive about a brand when they interact directly with a person, so organisations need to prioritise making the digital experience more ‘human’. Chatbots and virtual assistants are examples of how technology is evolving to deliver this kind of experience.

To read the full results, download the report from HERE

[1] For the purposes of this study, Verint grouped together customers whose first preference was to use a digital channel to engage with an organisation if they have a simple, fairly complex or complicated enquiry, to create a clear picture of how these digitally disposed customers behave. This group has been labelled digital natives for the purpose of this study.

About the Research - The research was commissioned by Verint from 23 June to 20 July 2016 in association with Opinium Research LLP, a UK-based research company. Interviews were conducted amongst 24,001 consumers in the following countries: Australia (2,000), Brazil (2,000), India (2,000), France (2,000), Germany (2,000), Japan (2,000), Mexico (2,000), Netherlands (2,000), New Zealand (2,000), South Africa (2,000), UK (2,001) and US (2,000). The research was conducted online, in the local language for each area and respondents were incentivised to participate. 1019 organisations participated in an online survey, conducted by Verint from 27 June to 23 September, these respondents were not incentivised to participate.

In today’s tech-savvy business world, companies are investing heavily in digital solutions. There is a shift away from face-to-face interactions and a push towards online-based customer service. Yet with this shift arises customer concerns about the safety and security of data and private information.

Verint’s 2016 report, 'The Digital Tipping Point: How do Organisations in Australia and New Zealand Balance the Demands for Digital and Human Customer Service?', has shown a resounding preference for human customer service channels, indicating consumers are far more likely to respond positively with an organisation after engaging in-store or over the phone. However, it is also shown that as well as the human touch, 4 out of 5 consumers want an even more personalised service online.

Research also shows that 9 out of 10 customers want to know how secure their data is - and 89 percent want to know whether their data will be passed onto third parties for marketing purposes.

For many organisations, this is proving challenging as they have to balance the need to gather histories, preferences, information and analysis from their customers, while at the same time protecting customer data and storing it securely.

Unsurprisingly, 90 percent of ANZ organisations polled do understand the importance of telling customers that their data is being kept secure, with 100 percent also agreeing that they understand the need to tell customers if their data will be passed onto third parties for marketing purposes. However, the balancing act by businesses to gather histories, preferences, information and analysis from their customers, while at the same time adhering to high standard of protecting customer data and storing it securely, can prove challenging.

Advanced technologies are a way to address the obstacles around data security and offering an improved personal customer experience. For example, the use of improved voice biometrics solutions is an important stepping stone on the way to digital integration within customer service - as one of the major barriers to digital customer service is the issue of authentication and protecting customer information from fraudsters.

Now more than ever, customers are also wanting more personalised service. However, for organisations to effectively provide this, they must collect and analyse pertinent customer data. Concerns about trust have risen in the past 12 months, meaning organisations must be open and honest with how they collect and use their customers’ data, or risk breaking their trust.

For the customer experience journey to improve, and for more customers to take a step closer to the digital journey with organisations, companies in the services sector should be considering the implementation of advanced technologies - especially when there is already such heavy investment happening in digital channels.

To read the full results, download the report from HERE

About the Research - The research was commissioned by Verint from 23 June to 20 July 2016 in association with Opinium Research LLP, a UK-based research company. Interviews were conducted amongst 24,001 consumers in the following countries: Australia (2,000), Brazil (2,000), India (2,000), France (2,000), Germany (2,000), Japan (2,000), Mexico (2,000), Netherlands (2,000), New Zealand (2,000), South Africa (2,000), UK (2,001) and US (2,000). The research was conducted online, in the local language for each area and respondents were incentivised to participate. 1019 organisations participated in an online survey, conducted by Verint from 27 June to 23 September, these respondents were not incentivised to participate.

How enterprise knowledge management systems can help deliver engaging brands

A report released by Frost & Sullivan, in conjunction with Verint, highlights the need to service the customer experience across all channels, from digital and face-to-face interactions, through enterprise Knowledge Management systems that can address complex customer queries.

The report indicates that over 82% of organisations regard customer service as a competitive differentiator [1]. However, many struggle to meet the rising customer demand for highly personalised, responsive and consistent interactions across all channels.

Verint’s APAC Engage Conference will bring a range of industry leaders together to explore the customer experience journey from beginning to end - and everything in between.

Our 2017 event will be held in Melbourne on the 6-7th September, and as part of the activities, we’ll be launching the results of the inaugural Verint APAC Experience & Engagement Index.

As a valued member of my network and industry thought leader, I invite you to share your insights for the Index!

As a research initiative, Verint APAC has launched the Index to further map the customer experience journey and identify strategies, challenges and opportunities for organisations to enhance customer engagement.

Share your thoughts now on key customer experience and engagement strategies for modern organisations HERE.

The survey will take less than 5 minutes to complete and can be done anonymously.

By participating in the survey, you can help us map the customer experience landscape and deliver valuable insights to the community.

People – Technology – Growth at Verint APAC's Engage Conference 2017

At Verint APAC's Engage Conference 2017, we will be joined by a prestigious group of thought leaders who will deliver the latest insights into market trends, industry innovations, actionable learnings and new technologies and how you can transform these into a strategic advantage for your organisation.

With a focus on the themes of People, Technology and Growth, we’ll discuss how these guiding pillars contribute to building a differentiated customer experience in organisations.

People: What is the relationship between highly engaged employees and happier customers? How does having the right people on board to oversee and enhance the customer experience? Hear from some of the industry’s leading customer experience experts on the importance of people engagement.

Technology: What is the role of technology in enhancing the customer experience? How does technology deliver great value to the end customer and boost business growth? Join the conversation with industry experts on the latest strategies for enhancing the customer experience with technology.

Growth: How does a differentiated customer experience drive business growth for today’s organisations? In a competitive environment, what are some of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry? Hear timely insights from some of the industry’s best thought leaders and influencers.