Month: March 2022

Knowledge Representation in Artificial Intelligence

Posted on by Arun Mohan

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has always been considered an innovative technology that took the human world to another level. It demonstrates the power of human intelligence when incorporated with machines. Several AI-powered devices and systems have taken control of the market because of their capability and efficiency in completing tasks using human intelligence. There are things that we don’t know much about AI.  

Here in this article, we are going to talk about Knowledge Representation in Artificial Intelligence.  

What is Knowledge Representation in Artificial Intelligence? 

Knowledge representation can be explained as the way artificial intelligence represents knowledge not with the help of stored data in the system but with prior experiences and knowledge to act like an intelligent human. 

Do you know what makes human beings different from machines? Intelligence? No, because that is what AI does – imitating human intelligence. One thing that differentiates human beings from machines is our conscience (the total of all the knowledge we have gathered so far) or the ability to think and reason. Humans use this particular ability to perform every single action in our life. For instance, we are aware that touching a hot pan can burn our hands even before we touch them. This is the human mind’s complex way of working and if we want to impart this complex knowledge into a machine, we need to give more advanced information to AI, which in turn resulted in the concept of Knowledge Representation in AI.

What knowledge needs to be represented? 

Below are the different kinds of knowledge that need to be represented.  

Object

There are many objects present in the human world. All information we have, related to all the objects, can be considered as a type of knowledge. For instance, a bus has wheels and a guitar has strings, etc. 

Events

Our understanding of the world is based on the idea we have about the various incidents that have occurred in our world. Thus, events refer to every action that happens in our world. 

Performance

The term is used to explain human behavior or the way they perform certain actions during different situations. 

Meta-knowledge

Knowledge about things we are already aware of. 

Facts

The reality of the actual world and what we stand for. 

Knowledge base

Knowledge Base abbreviated as KB is the most significant part element of knowledge-based agents. It refers to a set of information about any discipline, field, etc. For example, a knowledge base on road construction. 

Types of knowledge representation 

There are different types of knowledge which are categorized as follows: 

Declarative knowledge

It refers to the knowledge that lets us describe our world and it contains everything including ideas, facts, objects, etc… and therefore deals with the description of things. 

Procedural knowledge

Also referred to as imperative knowledge. It refers to more complex concepts (how things work or behave) than declarative knowledge. Therefore, this knowledge is used to complete any task with specific rules, processes, and agendas and thus makes the system work efficiently. Also, this kind of knowledge relies on the task we are trying to finish. 

Meta-knowledge

Meta-knowledge, as mentioned above, is a set of cognitive knowledge when combined. So, this is knowledge about different types of knowledge. 

Heuristic knowledge

Heuristic knowledge is the knowledge imparted by experts of particular domains, topics, and areas, which they have acquired after years of experience. This kind of knowledge enables you to take a better approach to specific problems and make decisions. 

Structural knowledge

This type of knowledge serves as the basic form of knowledge for solving problems in the real world and helps to establish a connection between ideas or objects and their description. 

Properties of knowledge representation 

There are certain properties or requirements for a good knowledge representation system. This system should demonstrate some of the features that help us to evaluate the system. These properties are listed below: 

Representational adequacy

Adequacy and the ability to make the AI system understand are the important assets of a knowledge representation system, which means it represents all the knowledge necessary to manage a particular field or domain. 

Inferential adequacy

It refers to the flexibility of the knowledge representation system to deal with the existing knowledge to pave the way for new knowledge.   

Acquisitional efficiency

The ultimate property of the knowledge representation system is its ability to automatically acquire new knowledge, enabling AI to integrate into its existing knowledge and, as a result, become more efficient and productive. 

Inferential efficiency

With the presence of existing old knowledge, the system of representation cannot include new knowledge but it can put in this knowledge efficiently and without hindrance.  

The Connection between knowledge and intelligence 

While AI Development companies builds these systems, knowledge of the actual world plays an important role in intelligence, as well as in the creation of artificial intelligence. When it comes to expressing intelligent behavior in AI agents, knowledge plays an essential part. An agent cannot function accurately, without enough knowledge or experience of certain inputs. For example, if you have to interact with a person and you are unable to understand his language, then definitely you will not be able to give a response or deliver any action. This is the same as with the intelligent behavior of the agents. A decision-maker works by discovering the environment and applying knowledge. However, without the knowledge component, it cannot exhibit intellectual behavior. 

Wrap Up 

Knowledge representation is an important factor in making the future AI system much better than it is today. While designing an AI knowledge representation system, there are some knowledge representation problems one has to be aware of. As mentioned before, the key is to impart wisdom to the systems, for which we require a knowledge representation system. 

We have also gone through the types of knowledge we have, the relation between a knowledge representation system and Artificial Intelligence, and the properties of knowledge representation systems as well. Moving further, we are waiting for a more advanced and better knowledge representation system. We can impart knowledge to the AI system in the same way we impart knowledge to other human beings and without any hindrance.   

Cloud Service Models (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, IDaaS, NaaS) Explained

Posted on by Mubarak Musthafa

Cloud Computing: An introduction 

Cloud services have recently become one of the leading platforms, mainly because of giant companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon paving the way to advanced technology. Companies hand over their responsibilities to trusted cloud consulting service providers who outsource their storage, supports basic facilities, and ensure security, rather than depending on their own servers.  

Cloud computing involves the distribution of computing resources such as infrastructure, data storage, databases, software, networking, and intelligence that are through the internet. This offers flexible resources, quick innovation, and a financial scale. The service provider manages every technical aspect related to any service.  

Models of Cloud Services 

The cloud servicing model mainly falls into 5 categories – Software as a service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Identity as a Service (IDaaS), and Network as a Service (NaaS). Let’s talk about each service model in detail. 

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is identified as a software distribution model or a web platform on the Internet that offers clients access to cloud computing based on a subscription. Thus, came to be known as ‘On-Demand Software’ or ‘Pay-You-Go-App’. The software will be distributed regularly like a service, rather than buying the solution once, like purchasing a product. Through SaaS providers, the customers get licensed services. SaaS is one of the fast-growing services and thus will shift to the role of active cloud service technology mandatory for all organizations and companies. Therefore, it is essential for both the users and buyers to understand the use and compatibility of SaaS. 

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS is defined as a cloud computing platform built for programmers to create, test, run and control applications. It is mainly designed in a way that makes building websites or mobile applications easier and simpler for developers with no worries about fixing or handling the infrastructure required for development including the servers, data storage, networking, and databases. In PaaS, billing is charged only for platforms used by users for the length of time the services have been used. Unlike desktop solutions, you do not have to pay for any excessive activity. PaaS bears a striking resemblance to SaaS, except that SaaS easily distributes software through the internet, without having to purchase or maintain web development. As opposed to this, PaaS offers a platform for developing software delivered through the web. The point-and-click feature in PaaS enables non-programmers/ non-professionals to create web applications. 

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

IaaS, otherwise known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS), is a computing infrastructure controlled through the Internet. One of the key benefits of using IaaS is that it allows consumers to eliminate the expense and complications in buying and controlling the physical servers. IaaS offers many ready-to-use features like the exact environment for development, personal networks, safe storage of data, performance tracking, etc. for the IT infrastructure of businesses. Companies do not have to develop and safeguard their own IT infrastructure, instead, they use third-party servers and cloud backup storage to completely strengthen the development process. Changing the infrastructure of your company to an IaaS solution can contribute to minimizing maintenance of local data centers, reducing costs on hardware, and achieving real-time business insights. IaaS Solutions also provides you with the flexibility to increase or decrease the scope of your IT resources as required. They help you get new applications faster and improve the reliability of your infrastructure. 

Identity as a Service (IDaaS)

IDaaS (Identity as a Service) enables employee or consumer identity details management as a digital entity. This reduces the complexity in remembering and managing different usernames and passwords or deactivating the account and credentials when an employee leaves the organization. The main objective of an identity service is to make sure that the consumers are what they affirm to be and to provide them with the proper access at the exact time to any software application, files, or other resources. If the basic facilities are made on-site for this to happen, then the company needs to find out what to do each time a problem arises. Deploying a centralized cloud-based system developed by identity experts who have dealt with such problems before and resolved them for hundreds of companies is very simple. 

Network as a Service (NaaS)

NaaS (Network as a Service) is a cloud service model that enables clients to directly gain access to the network infrastructure and is based on pay as you use model. It also allows networking services to be taken on lease from a cloud vendor rather than fixing their own network infrastructure by the customer. This service utilizes virtualized network infrastructure and gives safe network services to employees and clients. NaaS service providers always attempt to maintain and handle network resources in a way that reduces the workload of clients/employees. NaaS facilitate consumers to run their own networks with no maintenance on their own networking infrastructure. Similar to cloud services, NaaS providers operate networking activities with software and internet connection, thus enabling companies to establish their own networks with no hardware.  

Wrap Up 

Cloud computing has emerged as one of the rapidly growing marketing trends for the past five years, and it is certain that this trend will become relevant in the decade to come. As leading cloud computing companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google invest in technology, it is clear that the cloud will be more innovative with each new release. In fact, cloud computing is there in the field of technology for a long time. It comes with a set of criteria that provide a specific set of web services to customers.  

The very first thing you need to do is to find the best cloud service providers with certified security systems, diverse functionalities, and a low-cost pricing model. Once you identify the right model for your company and business, you forward with it.  

How Do Chatbots Improve Customer Service?

Posted on by Heston Dsouza

Customer service chatbots function as an automated support tool for the customers. They are also referred to as AI virtual agents based on the way they are coded and it is very easy to install them in any website, application, social media handles of any organization, thus helping in providing immediate assistance to customer queries. The main objective behind using a customer service chatbot is to respond to customer queries and give relevant information to the end-users with no involvement of a human operator. Chatbots can perform many tasks with advanced automation: 

  • Increase sales  
  • Generating leads by processing contact information and user data 
  • Shows relevant information to customers by gaining access to knowledge bases. 

Why are customer service chatbots popular? 

Chatbots are never an option to replace the customer support operators in your organization, but as a customer service messaging platform it is difficult to neglect the efficiency of chatbots. For instance, you can compare the number of customer interactions with chatbots and human agents. The number of customer interactions with chatbots will always remain higher. Here are some of the reasons why these chatbots are popular: 

  • They reduce the need for live interventions and minimize tension through updates. 
  • They are highly cost-effective and save up to 30% cost on customer service.  
  • They help to ease the workload of customer service agents and eliminate the need for a high volume of support. 
  • They avoid the chances of continuously giving answers to repetitive questions. 
  • They pass the conversation to a customer support agent whenever the customer demands it. 
  • They provide feedback surveys and store the customer chat history for the purpose of training and development. 

Things to consider before choosing a customer service chatbot 

Type of customers 

Before choosing a customer service chatbot, you should have a clear idea about the types of customers the chatbot needs to address.  

Common issues  

There are a lot of problems that may come up during the customer-chatbot interaction. Poor comprehension, unsatisfactory responses, repetitive replies are some of them. Either you make sure that the chatbot you choose does not cause such problems or you should be ready to provide immediate assistance whenever such problems arise (which is difficult though). 

Purpose of chatbot  

Chatbots can be used to handle entire customer conversations with the support of Artificial Intelligence (AI) software developed for the purpose of automation and also to guide the customers to the respective departments. Choose a chatbot based on your purpose.  

Platform used 

Decide the platform where you want to install the chatbot before choosing it. You can install your chatbot on social media pages, company websites, mobile applications, etc. 

Determine the goal  

There are different types of chatbots for different purposes. You should determine the main goal of installing a chatbot – whether to increase efficiency, reduce the workload of human agents, or provide better customer satisfaction. 

Use cases of customer service chatbots 

Customer service chatbots can improve customer satisfaction and minimize the costs of delivering different services to various customers. Some of the top use cases of customer service chatbots are: 

Schedule appointments  

Using chatbots is beneficial for every type of business whether it is healthcare organizations or house maintenance providers. They can use chatbots to organize and schedule customer appointments. Chatbots also provide relevant information regarding staff availability and available time slots to customers, as it is linked to the calendar of organizations. This enables the customers to fix appointments without having to contact the front desk. 

Process order  

Ordering from digital platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has become a growing trend in recent years. With the help of a customer service chatbot, customers can place their orders and process the payment without even talking to the page owner. Chatbots can also be implemented in social media platforms that do not provide the option to insert commercial links, in order to enable purchases.  

Track orders  

Chatbots enable customers to track their orders by giving detailed information about the shipping of their orders, live location of the package, halts, delays, expected delivery time and gathering feedback to provide improved customer service in the future.  

Process refunds 

Chatbots are capable of easily identifying the customers and the purchases they have made. Based on the relevant data they store, they can process the return or refund request initiated by the customer, give accurate details about the refund policies, and provide the status of their refund process.  

User onboarding  

Onboarding first-time users is a task that involves many software, human resources, procedures, paperwork, etc. But chatbots can make the process easy by giving proper guidance to the users to open and set up accounts, first-time sign-in, necessary tips, and relevant information about the product or service. 

Challenges in using customer service chatbots 

Limited training

One of the main challenges of using a chatbot is that they are programmed or designed to give specific answers. They may not be able to give accurate answers to certain complex questions. During such situations, they just pass the conversation to a human agent. 

Interrupt customer experience  

As chatbots are trained for specific functions, they may not give proper satisfaction to the first-time users as they do not prefer to chat with a bot at every stage of onboarding. 

May require maintenance  

The chatbot needs to be tested frequently to make sure that it gives accurate responses to customer queries. This is because the customer queries and their pattern can change over time, which may need additional assistance or modified responses.  

Wrap Up 

The pace at which the business change is accelerated by the pressure to streamline competitive processes for your time and investment and to provide better service to customers. The customer service chatbot is leading the digital business age with a feature that is increasingly found on websites, apps, and social media to assist your customers and increase engagement. Chatbots are on a clear path even in terms of technological evolution and numbers, not just to provide a better customer experience but also to add benefits to the business. The NLP (Natural Language Processing) and other stages enhance the basic processes used by bots and with the combined power of AI, chatbots are going to rewrite what they are capable of.  

An Introduction to AI Chatbots

Posted on by Ritchie Williams

Almost all major companies have adopted chatbots as a fundamental part of their internal and external communication strategies. They are used as an alternative to human workers who provide solutions to first-level queries, because of their ability to mimic human interaction with customers through a chat interface. In simple terms, a chatbot can initiate a conversation with users in the same way a human would do: it asks questions, answers queries of customers based on already set rules and logic.  

When it comes to the technical side, AI chatbots are automated to perform certain tasks such as interacting with human end-users through text, audio, and sometimes both. The performance of an AI-based chatbot is dependent on the knowledge input it has at the point in time. If a conversation with any user brings a query that they are not programmed to solve, they will skip that conversation or transfer it to a human operator. The development of Artificial Intelligence solutions have played an important part in the functioning of chatbots, which allows them to learn and understand human language in order to prepare for the future.  

Some of the best examples of AI-based chatbots include the virtual assistants which we use in our daily lives – Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant. They can answer our general queries, provide customized options based on our previous searches, purchasing history, etc. 

Why are AI-based chatbots the best option? 

Unlike rule-based chatbots that perform only on the basis of given commands, an AI-driven chatbot is designed in a way to function on its own with the help of Natural Language Processing (NLP) blended with Artificial Intelligence (AI), and interpretation of human conversation, which enables them to become smarter over time. Let us talk about some major advantages of AI-based chatbots and what makes them better than rule-based chatbots. 

Sentiment analysis  

AI bots can assemble large-scale data sets to recognize the sentiments of your customer’s reviews, mentions, and complaints throughout numerous platforms. 

Understanding behavioral patterns  

Certain behavioral patterns cannot be identified by human agents. In such cases, AI chatbots can identify the behavior patterns of end-users, which you may fail to do sometimes. These patterns and insights can be examined to improve decision-making in business. 

Reduced customer waiting period  

Minimized waiting time indicates high customer satisfaction. AI chatbots offer an effective platform for customers to reach out for assistance without waiting a long time. Customers can register their complaints, queries, and reviews with chatbots and they provide an immediate solution to their queries most of the time. 

24/7 support  

Chatbots are available to provide customer service to the end-users 24/7 as they do not need rest or break like human agents. They will be active all day and night to provide support to the customers without making mistakes. 

Delivering customized content  

When you provide accurate resources for the customers to solve certain issues by themselves, it will indirectly provide better satisfaction to the customers. Today consumers prefer solving their issues by themselves rather than waiting for someone to assist them and this is what AI chatbots do for you. AI chatbots provide customized responses to users and guide them to the right sources with the help of natural language processing and text recognition. This also helps in gaining the loyalty of the customers. 

Multi-language support  

It is easy to program a chatbot as you can train them to learn and understand any language based on your requirements. This is a big advantage, especially in delivering high-quality customer service. You can operate your business and provide uninterrupted customer service from anywhere in the world, without considering language as a barrier. 

Things to look for in an AI chatbot 

Once you have decided to implement an AI chatbot, the next question is ‘how to choose the right one for your brand?’ There are certain factors you should consider before opting for an AI-driven chatbot. Here are some of them: 

Multifunctionality  

When you choose an AI-based chatbot, ensure that the chatbot enables website users to organize meetings, converse with customer support agents, sign-up for newsletters, and have a look at related articles. A chatbot that offers numerous purposes is the only ideal solution to meet all your needs today. If an AI chatbot is able to perform multiple functions, then there is no need for the customer service agents to interfere at all. Overall, it can provide you with an excellent customer experience. 

Omnichannel support  

Understanding the platforms where you can deploy your chatbot is very crucial. The chances are high for increased customer experience and your brand to get noticed when you can implement AI chatbots on multiple platforms like your website, social media platforms, skype, messenger, etc. 

Scalability  

It is important to ensure that setting up your chatbot for the first time is not a difficult task. Your AI chatbot must be capable of dealing with queries and complaints according to the increase in complexity and volume of issues. Also, it should allow you to do it without or with the least help from your AI chatbot platform provider when it comes to customization and training of the chatbot.   

Expertise and experience  

Deploying your AI chatbot is a major part of the entire process because if you do not get an experienced chatbot platform provider with sufficient knowledge, then the chances of you getting a perfect AI chatbot will be very less. Always choose your technology consulting service provider wisely in order to avoid future complications. 

Wrap Up 

AI-driven chatbots have already become an integral part of the technology stack in the workplace. Moreover, organizations that have already adopted AI chatbots have many benefits over those that have not yet moved to machine learning, automation, and artificial intelligence. AI-based chatbots can contribute a lot to improvise the customer service experience and brand recognition by offering an interactive tool to the customers who are already tired of the long queue in the customer support section. Another point to be noted is that these chatbots are never intended to replace human workers from their positions, instead, they aim to reduce their workload. 

How to Build a FinTech Mobile App?

Posted on by Vishnu T

The digital transformation that took place across the globe has enabled technology to spike into all known industries around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that the financial economy has also undergone significant digital improvements. FinTech app development is the latest trend in digital transformation. This has already transformed the financial industry way too far from mere recognition. Now it is time to wait for the changes in financial technology in a few years with the excellent support of the giants of the business world. The financial technology industry, FinTech, in short, has come to light in order to respond to the needs of customers to process financial transactions easily, quickly, and securely.  

FinTech – An overview 

The word FinTech is made up of two terms – Finance and Technology. FinTech (Financial Technology) is a term used to describe mobile applications, software, and any other technology developed to enhance and automate conventional technologies associated with finance for businesses, financial institutions, and consumers. FinTech consists of everything ranging from simple mobile payment applications to intricate networks of blockchain to home encrypted transactions. In short, FinTech is an innovation in technology that aims to cut down on traditional financial technologies to deliver financial and banking services using a modern approach. The term is used to identify a rapidly growing industry that caters to the interests of consumers and organizations in numerous ways. Let us have a look at some of the popular examples of FinTech apps available in the market based on various financial purposes: 

  • Mobile banking applications – Bank of America mobile banking app and chase mobile app. 
  • Digital money transfer applications – Remitly, OFX, and Wise Paytm. 
  • Digital money lending applications – Earnin, Dave, and MoneyLion 
  • Investment applications – Betterment and Stash 

How to develop FinTech applications? 

Outperforming the nearest competitor is a challenge to startups and financial institutions. Moreover, the difficulty lies in the question ‘Where to start?’. Here is a detailed explanation of the FinTech app development process. 

Choose a FinTech niche  

Selecting the FinTech niche you want to spike into is the first step to getting started. Either you can start by investigating the target market and exploring the things that can be enhanced there, and then decide whether you have to nurture a FinTech solution with no preparation or enhance an existing FinTech solution by adding new features or functionalities. 

Ensure and manage compliance  

Once you have selected a niche, it is time to make sure your FinTech app has the best legal status. There must be numerous financial security systems to watch out for non-compliance, for example, KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) are aimed to track compliance records. This protection and privacy law decision depends on your geographic location or the area where you live. Since it is a major success factor to work through, it is very necessary to comply with legal requirements. 

Define and highlight features  

At this point, you need to think about ways to make your FinTech app better than its competitors. The process begins with market research. Identifying your competitor and understanding what is popular among the audience is the first step. With the help of business analysts and product managers, you can define key features and structure the purpose of your app solution. Some of the highlights you can consider while developing your FinTech app include: 

  • Biometric security – enabling voice recognition, fingerprint, and face lock features. 
  • Gamification – adding exciting features like rewards, bonus points, cashback, offers, etc. 
  • E- signature – giving validity and authenticity using digitally signed documents. 
  • Data visualization – detailed charts showing monthly processes, main events, etc. 
  • Automation – AI-enabled chatbots to give immediate assistance to consumers while using the app. 
  • Monetary tasks – enabling money transfer, balance inquiry, and EMI payments in a single click. 
  • Notifications – pop messages showing latest offers, EMI due dates, balance, etc. 

Pick a development team

A team of professionally experienced designers and developers will be responsible for each of your questions and will follow every pre-defined condition of the extension. There should be a project manager who can handle the entire team as well as the task. This team should take major decisions like the price for FinTech app development, development approach to be used, prototype creation. The mobile app development and QA experts should be involved in this process to identify technical collection and implementation controls. As a result, you need to have a strong development plan that balances your budget and time limits. 

Develop an MVP

MVP is the short form of Minimum Viable Product which is a standard choice to identify whether or not your ideas will succeed in the final lookout. MVP is a concept that offers enough features for the initial users to try it out. This helps to ensure that the FinTech app you created gives value to the users. It is also an excellent method to lure investors and market your app. You will get faster feedback with MVP, thus reducing the risk of your idea not being paid. 

Ongoing development, releases, and support

Even after the release of your FinTech app, the development process continues. Start improving and upgrading your app once you receive valuable feedback from consumers. Continuous support and assistance are very relevant for the success of your application. Customers will be attracted to the apps that provide smooth services, effective solutions, and immediate response. This is where your app gets a rating, which ultimately leads to increased reach of the app among the public.  

Wrap Up 

FinTech is undoubtedly becoming more popular and changing the conventional online business strategies to a different level. It has made the lives of accountants and businessmen smoother as they find FinTech as an easy way to handle their records. If you have decided to take over a FinTech venture, you have every opportunity to build a successful and profitable business. There will be many challenges you may have to face while moving to success, but your opportunities and success lie in overcoming those challenges. This article will help you understand the basics of developing a FinTech application of your own. 

Cloud Computing in Banking

Posted on by Mubarak Musthafa

Since the beginning of cloud computing, there have been a number of organizations that are gradually migrating from the banking world to it. The amount of data generated and used in the economic sector is increasing at a rapid pace. Cloud computing in the banking sector offers compatibility, safe storage capacity, 24 × 7 operating hours, etc. The inception of cloud-based software has provided many advantages to organizations from different sectors. Of all the major sectors, the banking industry has taken most of the benefits due to cloud technology.  

Let us know more about the influence of cloud computing in the banking sector.  

Benefits of cloud computing 

We have mentioned that cloud computing offers a lot of benefits to the banking sector. Here are some of them: 

Improved data security  

The economic impact of a breach in data security is indisputably one of the most critical consequences which may lead to the loss of millions of dollars. Even during this increasing amount of data breaches, most financial institutions still depend on on-site systems. The advent of cloud computing has brought a better option to prevent data fraud by providing an up-to-date customer-oriented platform with outstanding security features to protect banking data. 

Better cost optimization  

One of the major challenges faced by many organizations while using a legacy on-premise system is difficulty in adapting to routine organizational changes. With cloud computing, financial institutions will be able to meet their ever-changing needs: convert a huge leading capital expenditure into small and current operating costs, avoid cost on infrastructure, server space, and resources for IT staffs. Moreover, this distinctive nature of cloud computing enables banking institutions to pick the services they need on a pay-as-you-use model. 

Increased efficiency

The cloud infrastructure in banking enables financial firms to accelerate operations with better efficiency. The buyers and sellers can be connected on a common platform in order to simplify the payment processes. It helps to speed up transactions and track data easily. 

Business continuity

Cloud computing offers financial institutions including banks and other firms with high data protection, error tolerance, and revival of organizations from disaster. It offers redundancy at a higher level and backup at a relatively low cost compared to traditional handling solutions.  

Business agility and focus  

As cloud infrastructure offers flexibility, the development cycle of new products in financial institutions will take only a short time period. It gives faster and more efficient assistance to banking customers who are in need of the bank’s service. There is no need for investment in infrastructure as the cloud is available on a pay-as-you-go basis, which saves time for initial setup as well. Cloud computing does not support capital investment while proceeding with a new product.  

Green IT  

Organizations can shift their services to a virtual environment by using cloud computing. This not only minimizes the consumption of a large amount of energy but also reduces the carbon footprint obtained while building a physical infrastructure, which leads to more efficient use of computing power and low idle time. 

Cloud computing – Challenges  

Though cloud computing offers these many benefits in the banking sector, why are most financial institutions still doubtful of employing it? It is because of the challenges they may face while implementing it in their organizations. Here are some of them: 

Data security and privacy  

Security remains a primary concern in any organization and it has utmost importance when it comes to financial institutions. Bank data contains strategic information or sensitive data and protecting it from security breaches is paramount for the banking sector. Every technology has security issues and as a technology cloud computing is no different from that. In the cloud, security breaches can be prevented to a larger extent but cannot be avoided completely. 

Regulatory and compliance  

A bank must adhere to strict standards which cannot be compromised under any circumstances. Most of the banking regulators may need the financial data of a customer living in the same nation. For some compliance regulations, valuable data on common servers or databases may not be combined with other data. Therefore, banks need to have an exact idea about the given environment where their information lies. 

No complete control  

Financial organizations have major concerns while controlling crucial business applications and a large amount of customer data. Transferring it to a third-party cloud service provider may compromise the flexibility and agility it offers. Therefore, not having control over large amounts of data discourages companies from transferring to the cloud. 

Factors to be considered while implementing cloud in banking 

Define ROI 

Banks should be careful not to invest heavily in cloud computing until clear benefits are available. The first step is getting a detailed explanation from cloud service providers about the costs and repercussions of transferring current banking applications and infrastructure to the cloud. Bank has the full rights to validate the Return on Investment (ROI) it may get from implementing cloud technology. 

Choose expertise service providers  

Banks must use a roadmap to handle cloud service delivery programs. Financial organizations can look for service providers who have proven experience in pilot projects and have expertise in cloud computing ventures. Banks can begin with small and simple applications like CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and can jump on to major business applications later. 

Understand data confidentiality and regulatory requirements  

To make the best use of cloud computing and to make informed decisions, banks need to have a better understanding of privacy and regulatory issues. In order to meet local regulations and client privacy requirements, banks are required to store sensitive data within firewalls. For this reason, private cloud service models are a better option when compared to the public or a hybrid cloud operating model. Due to the increasing trust of the consumers in the public cloud model, there are chances for banks to shift to the public model in the near future. 

Wrap Up 

Banks were slow to adopt cloud computing due to many challenges which may result in reliability issues and security risks. At the same time, banks also wanted to secure their financial information through restricted access. This can be done by cloud computing only. Nowadays banks offer a number of services, as they have different needs based on the migration of applications to the cloud. Cloud computing enables banks to generate more dynamic and flexible business promises for emerging and competitive markets and supports them to change their business processes.  

Digital Transformation in Retail Industry

Posted on by Shaji

Digital Transformation: Definition and Importance 

The process of incorporating digital technologies into every stage of your business to cope with the market and business needs is known as Digital Transformation. It is not limited to any single industry; Instead, it is relevant to industries that have been slightly hit by the emergence and evolution of technology. In short, digital transformation is the concept that reveals the importance of using the latest technological trends and business models to encourage productivity in employees and to provide quality services to the customers.

Digital transformation in the retail industry mainly focuses on three aspects – enterprise flexibility, customer satisfaction, and inventory management.  

Enterprise agility  

Enterprise agility not only involves making fast decisions, new systems, allocation of resources but also enables access to live digital data and workflows fitted in digital devices. 

Customer satisfaction  

Providing bad service to the customer is the last thing a retailer would want to do. As per the study conducted by PwC’s, 32% of consumers will stop associating with the brand they like once they get a bad experience from the brand. 

Inventory management/ Better supply chain  

A better digital supply chain offers co-operation and enhanced process visibility, which in turn provides increased efficiency. 

Tools for Digital Transformation in the Retail industry 

There are mainly 3 tools used for digital transformation in the retail industry. These tools are; 

Artificial Intelligence  

It is more convenient for customers if they get a response to their queries any day at any time. Artificial Intelligence solutions pave the way for delivering quality customer service to the users 24/7. AI chatbots are the best examples of this as they can provide instantaneous responses to customer queries through messages. Chatbots are a low-cost, fast response service tool that helps you pay for conversions and generate new sales. Additionally, chatbots provide programmed answers to the users that match the voice of the brand. Unlike human agents who get impatient with customers’ questions, chatbots will never act rude and will remain patient throughout the conversation. 

Machine Learning and Predictive Analysis  

Machine learning helps in strengthening the relationship between customer and retailer as it allows retailers to apprehend and predict the customer requirements. Machine learning is the science of collecting data from single or multiple sources and then inputting that data into machine learning models that enable anticipate the future outcomes. The data collected by ML also allows retailers to: 

  • Recognize shopping patterns 
  • Analyze buying behaviors of the customers  
  • Provide special offers 
  • Customize products as per recommendations 
  • Tweak pricing on the fly, and 
  • Create predictions on the basis of historical trends and customer choice. 

Unified Commerce  

Customers use different channels for shopping such as websites, personal devices, social media, etc. and they want retailers to be ready across channels to assist them while they make a purchase. For this purpose, many retailers are using a single unified trading strategy that controls multiple mechanisms to run a business from a single interface. Prior to the concept of unified commerce, various mechanisms have been used for managing their business aspects. Attempting to reconcile data extracted from different systems is a resource and consuming process. To maintain data integrity safe and complete, data storage should be opened, and data from different sources must be integrated into a unified commerce system. 

Pillars of digital transformation in the retail industry 

A retailer should understand the 4 pillars in order to make digital transformation possible in their retail industry. 

Customer engagement  

Since user engagement occupies the top position of everything in the retail industry, businesses rely on a satisfied customer base to grow their bottom line. Advancements in technology such as mobile computing and data analytics have facilitated smooth interaction and understanding between consumers and retailers like never before. The customer relationship management system (CRM) helps to take a customer-retailer relationship to another level as they are designed to offer detailed insights on customer demographics and evaluate customer data depending on their behavior and preferences. The statistics created by the CRM can be used to generate more customer-oriented marketing and sales campaigns in an effort to create a higher quality and customized experience. 

Employee empowerment  

Employee empowerment involves inculcating confidence in your employees by providing them knowledge, skillset, and tools they need to perform well in their job. A CRM allows employees access to details of customers via a single, easy-to-use management interface to sell and provide customer suggestions, apart from offering insights on customer behavior and demography. 

Optimize operations  

One of the 4 pillars of retail digital transformation is optimizing operations, highlighting faster, data-oriented decision-making, more efficient workflows, and more functional visibility across channels. Your business requires functional stability if you want to give an uninterrupted cross-channel experience to the customers. You can install Enterprise Resource Planning to support integration. ERP systems eliminate the obstacle between applications to give a comprehensive overview of multi-channel functions, including supply chain, customer service and transactions, purchases, returns, and more. 

Reimagine your products  

It is essential to actively look for ways to integrate new technological developments into your offerings, to maintain the speed of innovation. It also requires proper software and tools just like the other pillars of retail digital transformation. In order to get the best Return on Investment (ROI), you need to give priority to software and systems that highlight the predictive analysis. Some systems combine statistics obtained through ERP, CRM, and BI (Business intelligence) with machine learning to identify possible failures before that happens; take a self-defense or compensatory measures, and utilize digital intelligence to detect new sources of revenue and growth opportunities. 

Wrap Up 

There is no doubt that the retail industry has become more competitive than before. Here the customer is in complete control, and nothing can attract the customer other than a customized or unique retail experience. In spite of this, there are many retailers who are slow to incorporate such technological innovations that allow them to change. The fact is that retailers have to meet the changing customer needs: you can’t bring the customer to your track, you have to follow their track.  

Chatbot Automation: What Is It And Why Do You Need It?

Posted on by Laxman Pednekar

What is chatbot automation?  

Chatbot, also known as chatterbot is a software application mainly employed by businesses to initiate a live conversation through text or speech-to-text instead of calling or talking to the human agent through the phone.

Chatbot systems are designed to demonstrate how a person behaves when engaged in a conversation and it usually requires constant tuning and testing. In short, chatbots gather the basic details and information to track the products they like the most, by interacting with customers. Website owners can save money, time, and effort they waste on landing pages by simply switching to AI-enabled chatbots that improve customer experience and satisfaction. Chatbots utilize artificial intelligence to understand the queries or requests of website users and test the basic logic model to generate the most precise response. 

Moreover, modern chatbots can collect all information related to the queries of the user by interacting with third-party applications and systems. Such interventions facilitate the promotion of products and services by prompting actions. Chatbots have been used in multiple platforms including Facebook, Twitter, other social media platforms, text messages, etc. but the main purpose remains unchanged – maintain an effective customer-company relationship through meaningful interaction. Here in this article, let us take a look into the major benefits offered by chatbots in many business areas.  

Benefits of chatbot automation 

It’s clear that AI-powered chatbots provide customer support, answer users’ questions instantly, and process requests with little-to-no human help. But have you ever thought of the benefits that chatbots offer to your businesses? There are many and some of the major benefits of deploying a chatbot are explained below: 

Target lead generation  

If a business uses an omnichannel marketing model, chatbots can be used to communicate customized messages with consumers across various platforms in order to create brand awareness and for the promotion of products. Chatbots also increase the possibilities by asking relevant questions and motivating them to submit an inquiry. 

24/7 customer support

Unlike human workers who take regular intervals during work, chatbots work relentlessly by interacting with the consumers, providing answers to common questions, assisting customers in various tasks 24/7. Moreover, bots with machine learning capabilities are constantly learning from customer interactions and over time begin to solve more challenging questions. 

Streamlining online payment services  

Chatbots can facilitate money transactions to provide improved experiences to the customers in payment services that have a chat-based interface. One of the best examples is WeChat which lets customers pay through the app in selected restaurants and shops. Recently PayPal has also introduced chatbots to initiate transactions. 

Cost-effective and less onboarding time  

Sometimes companies assign different duties to employees outside their area of specialization. This can frustrate other employees and may affect their productivity within the company, especially if they lack the appropriate training and skills required for the new position. Fortunately, companies can take advantage of AI-powered chatbots to speed up the onboarding process and save a huge cost, as all the information required for the new employees can be easily accessed and made available in one database. 

Self-learning capabilities  

Advanced chatbots are assisted with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, which means that they are constantly polishing their knowledge skillset to answer the questions they frequently deal with. It is clearly evident that AI-powered chatbots are capable of analyzing consumer behavior and learning from their experiences. Over time, they will be able to deal with intricate customer problems that usually need the mediation of an agent. 

Free from human errors  

The mistakes human workers make can be very serious and can cost a huge expense to the company itself. Collecting the wrong customer information, providing an inappropriate solution to customer queries can affect the image of the company. Automated chatbots are designed in a way to analyze the situation and give proper solutions to the concerns of customers. Chatbots are programmed with every relevant information to maintain accuracy. 

Guaranteed sales and marketing consistency  

When it comes to marketing and sales, time-bound communication follow-ups play a major role in making an actual difference. These automated chatbots deliver the promotional message to the customers and help them understand whatever the company is offering. 

Handling countless queries  

The major difference between a human customer agent and a chatbot is that an agent can deal with only one consumer at a time. Meanwhile, chatbots can handle various customer queries which not only reduces errors but also makes the communication effective. Minimal waiting time and fruitful interactions are possible with chatbots at the other end. 

Multi-Language  

Chatbots that support multiple languages. This makes it very helpful especially to businesses with global brands and consumers. The user can select the language in which they want to communicate and the chatbot will interact with the user in the selected language. Either the user chooses the language or the chatbot detects the language. This facilitates easy and smooth communication between the company and the customer. 

Endless patience  

A customer agent can lose their patience at some point in time but this is different with bots. The impatience of the agent and customer when solving a problem can be considered a human-related failure. Chatbots have great patience because of the way it is programmed, thus making it easy to solve issues.  

Wrap Up 

An uninterrupted chatbot is significant for an automated system. A smooth relationship between the customer and the company can be established by adopting a good communication strategy and chatbots are one of the best modern solutions for this communication crisis. Chatbots gives detailed and functional documentation of your customers’ biggest pain points, thus allowing your organization to improve products and services. If a chatbot responds correctly to initial questions and fails to lead complexities to a human agent, it results in the failure of providing a customer experience. Therefore, the chatbot you implement should be able to redirect a complex conversation to a human agent when it can’t find a solution. The essence of a customer-company relationship lies in communication between the two and chatbots are designed to serve the purpose of initiating an effective and smooth interaction with the customers.  

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Vs. Marketo

Posted on by Arun Mohan

There is increased competition in the marketing automation industry with more and more companies adopting digital marketing. When the options are analyzed by the marketing team, mostly the Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo get shortlisted. In this article, we will look at what Marketo and Salesforce Marketing Cloud means and how they are different from each other. 

What is Salesforce marketing cloud? 

Salesforce Marketing Cloud has created a remarkable image in the online application market with its features and flexibility.  

It is a specific tool in digital marketing that enables businesses to interact with customers with the right message and proper tone at the right time. It also enables users to personalize online communication with the help of AI-based analysis and forecasting. As a result, businesses are able to create two-way engagement that is enhanced by data-based custom communication. 

Using this platform, Businesses can allow the users to monitor the visibility of their brand, create and keep up a powerful presence on social media, publish and distribute attractive marketing content and advertising campaigns. There is also a large number of marketing products that back various marketing requirements like Journey Builder, Email Studio, and Advertising Studio. 

What is Marketo? 

In addition to the simplicity and ease of use it offers, Marketo is designed in a flexible and innovative way that enables users to do everything and achieve the best results. It is an integrated platform that can strive to heights within your enterprise. Founded in 2006, Marketo has grown into one of the best and leading marketing automation platforms with over 2,300 customers and more than 100,000 users worldwide. Its capability to make the marketing process simple, enhance efficiency, streamline a number of marketing-based tasks, and generate more revenue for users makes Marketo one of the popular options for various B2B players. It also provides live personalization, thereby enabling users to give a customized touch to the system and adapt more to their needs and preferences. 

Marketo V/S Salesforce Marketing Cloud 

Data management  

Salesforce marketing cloud tops Marketo when dealing with data management. It is possible to integrate salesforce with numerous external sources and import data with the help of Application Program Interfaces and Marketing Cloud Connect. On the other hand, Marketo works to control simple data. When Marketo defaults all data in a single database table into a lead, the marketing cloud has a more sophisticated data model, built in a way to provide more flexibility, but requires more data management skills to run more targeted campaigns. 

Campaign orchestration  

When it comes to campaign management, Marketo provides ‘engagement programs’, while the salesforce has a ‘Journey Builder’ which consists of multiple channels such as emails, social media, SMS, and drag & drop interface depending on the ways to communicate with the customers. The ‘engagement programs’ by Marketo pay more attention to emails. Such programs can be utilized as automation tools and work as a customer journey. Since they are not making use of the flowchart UI used by most other platforms, it is difficult to customize and visualize. Without customization, other channels cannot be added to the campaign. The ability to integrate multi-channel communication into a single customer journey and visualize everything in one place is one of the main benefits of Journey Builder over its competitors in Marketo. 

Content Management 

Content is a crucial element that determines the success of your marketing campaigns. With an excellent marketing automation platform, it is quite easy to create, handle, and customize your content. Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo are no different in facilitating easy and smooth content management as both I’ve permission access to WYSIWYG editors to develop content without much difficulty. However, in the salesforce marketing cloud, it is comparatively easy to modify the codes in the content. Marketing cloud provides each content, more accessibility to the codes, making things simpler for those who have experience in HTML, CSS, and AMP script. On the contrary, it is not easy to access HTML / CSS on Marketo and it may result in an extra workload as well. 

Usability and navigation 

Marketing automation platforms should be designed in a way that makes them easy for the members to use. This is because they have only limited time to get trained and familiarized with the system. In the latest model marketing platforms, there should be some requirements like accessibility to key features, smooth functioning, and ease of navigation to use the platform and system effortlessly. Well, if we compare the user interfaces of Marketo and Salesforce cloud marketing, it takes time to get acquainted with both. However, Marketo can be a better option because all the essential features are found in one place to make it easier to work with.  

Though both marketing automation platforms guarantee a number of attributes that meet the requirements of any marketing team, if you are searching for a high level of complex data management or running multi-channel campaigns, a salesforce marketing cloud may be the appropriate choice for the team. At the same time, the experience of the user in the marketing cloud is based on the channels and modules they pay for. This distinction in the functionality indicates that it takes a longer time to get the hang of the marketing cloud which is too much for beginners as well. 

Triggered activities and transactional messaging  

Marketo and the Marketing cloud deal with triggered and transactional messaging in various ways. Triggered actions are usually carried out using a smart campaign in Marketo depending on the rules that are defined according to user criteria. These smart campaigns also offer flexibility and power to set up custom activities. Contrary to this, you can configure “triggered emails” in the salesforce marketing cloud, that prompt you to send a message when called by an external API. This gives flexibility to the salesforce cloud which is similar to that of Marketo.   

Wrap Up 

Both Salesforce and Marketo have a competitive capability and if executed and handled properly, they work well for almost every enterprise marketing team. The main differences lie in the structure of data and the way it is built to meet the requirements of different marketers. for any platform to be successful, you need to organize your data architecture, execution, marketing strategy, and skills in an effective way to actively interact with your customers around the platform.