Automation in business can help to predict key challenges such as customer churn, sales forecast variances, real-time marketing ROI or P&L anomalies, and it can also recommend new revenue streams, product innovation, better marketing approaches and many other things besides. Another vital advantage of automation is that it also makes it more available for analysis. In this article, the author explores six ways to improve your big data automation. Read more about it at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/itmanagement/six-keys-for-automating-big-data-76670

Business analytics help in taking decisions. Business intelligence involves analysis of prior analysis and is used to support tactical decision making. Machine learning involves processing historical data to make future predictions. There is scope to add applications to deal with consumers. Unless analysis is done in production application the business will not realize efficiencies. Such analysis can speed up daily activities. The prescriptive analysis makes best use of resources by establishing how processes should be executed. Artificial intelligence supports automation of processes and decision. Machine learning is under AI, but more advanced. The main issue is that the analysis and intelligence should be integrated into the working environment. Methods, culture and discipline will always be the key challenges. Read more at: https://www.gooddata.com/blog/key-strategies-for-profitable-business-analytics

Cost per Contact includes all costs that are needed to run a contact center, like salaries, facilities, software etc. Divided by the number of contacts handled. In this blog, we go through five possible ways to reduce the cost per contact. First, optimize the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) which can provide telecom usage savings. Second, using a callback feature in the IVR can provide both telecom usage and port allocation savings. Third, overall operations cost savings can happen by utilizing skill-based routing, which can benefit all call center channels - phone, chat, email, etc. Fourth, workforce optimization tools do just that, and can help reduce costs related to staffing and telecom usage. Lastly, since it is cheaper to have a customer help themselves, so if you can provide self-service options, you should.Read more at

http://www.incontact.com/blog/reduce-cost-per-contact-5-tips/

Simply put, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services-servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics and the Internet ("the cloud"). In the context of cloud computing, in this blog, we discuss what to expect when you move a business process into a cloud application suite. First, expect to be impressed by the scope of the application, and its configurability. Second, The Cloud, or software as a service delivery model, is much cheaper to execute that an on premise install and upgrade model. Third, expect a fully formed application. This not only means a web based user interface to collect, store, and access your data, but process ware - support for your business processes via workflow, managing processes and states, and "best practices".Read more at

http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/coneblog/8-things-to-expect-from-a-cloud-application-suite-76155

The cloud, as we know is a strong rival for contact center technology today. In this blog, we discuss three critical steps for cloud success. First, constructing a good Statement of Work (SoW) is of utmost importance. You need to define requirements, address functionality, integration, training, etc. Here a little planning can bear fruits in the long run. Second is to explore what the vendor is committed to deliver on Service Level Agreements (SLA's), what they can and can't control, how will they respond, how will they track and report on SLA's. Lastly, it is very important to define the proper vendor management role and who will provide it, whether in the center or in IT. The Vendor Manager needs some technical aptitude and great communication skills as the liaison between the business areas, IT and vendor. Read more at: http://www.strategiccontact.com/blog/2016/08/cloud-success-in-3-easy-pieces/

Bitbucket is a service that lets you manage your file versions on the cloud while offering a plethora of other useful features helping in "revision control systems" for coders. Why is it so useful? Because of its continuous delivery, seamless collaboration and flexible deployment it is so popular. Also the Bitbucket server has its advantages too. These servers offer enterprise-grade security, fine-grained permission controls, and super-fast access from across the globe 24×7. Bitbucket servers are fully scalable and would grow with your team. You can also integrate your Bitbucket with JIRA, HipChat, and Bamboo. Read more at http://trak.in/tags/business/2017/01/19/reasons-bitbucket-must-have-coding-teamwork/

Facebook bots can offer your clients with personalised choices and also the same interactive communication of rebuke a customer service rep.

They will conjointly offer businesses with intrinsic message templates, which might be enforced with none programming data.

The last of the capabilities are the welcome screen and null state calls-to-action to help customize your bot.

They will also change the way customers search for information by sparing users the hunt for specific criteria for a product or service.

According to Tech Crunch, bots may render 1 -800 numbers obsolete by eliminating wait times and menu trees.

Chatbots are the newest release in its quest to revolutionize customer service through social media.

Interested in bringing your customer service to the next level? Chatbots may be able to grant that wish.Read more at: http://socialmediaexplorer.com/content-sections/tools-and-tips/facebook-chat-bots/

Fitness trackers were believed to be the next big thing about consumer accessories after smartphones. As we all know, smartphones have a high range of capabilities that includes their competency to measure basic fitness parameters, like counting of steps, number of calories burnt etc. Several companies took advantage of this growing fitness consciousness by launching bands, watches and other wearable gadgets that in addition to tracking their basic parameters also track the critical measures in activities such as cycling, hiking and swimming. The market of these fitness trackers had seen massive growth until 2015. However, the growth reduced drastically in 2016. Based on this highly staggering drop in sales, analyst purchases downgraded their prediction for 2017. Read more at:  https://www.blueoceanmi.com/blueblog/fitness-trackers-market-analysis/

Aadhaar Enabled Payment System is gaining massive popularity in India. Numerous Aadhaar payment apps have come up. This is a huge step towards Financial Inclusion. According to the author Aadhaar merchant payment apps are faster in operation. Read more at http://www.senrysa.com/blog/?p=159

The first major U.S. bank to offer card free ATM is Wells Fargo. In this the customers can simply use their mobile phones to access the bank's ATM's. The process is very simple. They need to download the app, login to their accounts and request for a unique verification code which they must type in and thereafter they should put their PIN number. This is a very secure process as the PIN expires in 30 minutes. The customer also requires to login to their account either using a thumb scanner or online banking password. Read more at: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170402/business/170409979/

Blogging and social media must coexist, complementing each other. The first step is that content should be of high quality but what if it has no viewers? To run a successful blog, one has to engage with the audience via social media and always interact. So, instead of pleasing others to share your blog, the trick is to find a piece of article/news which is performing well and all you need to do is improve it. It should be rich in content. You must find your own way to improve one's digital strategy. Read more at: https://hellboundbloggers.com/articles/blogging-social-media-intertwines/65003/

Bitcoin is not something the average person will ever use to buy and sell stuff, but is useful mainly as digital gold-as an investment, also a useful way of moving money across international borders, and that will likely be its main application over the next several years. It is most valuable as something that enables financial phenomena that have never existed before, what is known as "programmatic finance." Read more at: http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21722235-bitcoin-far-only-game-town-surge-value-crypto-currencies

Data federation and data virtualization are both terms that have been coined to describe the process of collecting and compiling data. Data virtualization is a superset of the ten-year old data federation technology. It also includes the advanced capabilities of performance optimization as well as self-service search and discovery. Data federation is a distributed access to data residing in multiple systems with the purpose of joining the data together as if it came from the same system. Data virtualization on the other hand, has evolved from data federation by improving performance and adding other advanced capabilities such as self-service search and discovery. Advanced data virtualization products like the Denodo Platform have evolved to include dynamic query optimization techniques to determine the best query execution plan thus delivering optimal performance times.  Read more at: http://www.datavirtualizationblog.com/leading-analysts-mixing-data-federation-data-virtualization-terms/

Artificial Intelligence is a reality today and is impacting our lives in every sphere be it the voice assistant SIRI in our smartphones or the Netflix recommendations we receive. AI is a blend of three advanced technologies- machine learning, natural language processing and cognitive computing. Banking is one industry that has been impacted by AI more than any other. The key application of AI that revolutionizes the banking industry over the last 5 years includes:
1. Anti- Money Laundering (AML) pattern Detection:
2. Chatbots for better customer interaction 24x7.
3. Algorithmic Trading
4. Fraud Detection using Machine Learning algorithms
5. Customer recommendation using recommendation engines
For smaller banks, AI can make a greater impact in differentiating them against intense completion from larger banks where they can benefit from operational efficiency.

 Read more at https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2017/04/5-ai-applications-in-banking-to-look-out-for-in-next-5-years/

The 4Ps of marketing by Neil H. Borden: Product, Price, Place, Promotion have been the cornerstone for decades. However, technology and innovation have led to just as powerful and as a game-changing new strategy- the new 4Ps of marketing.
Digital marketing has been failing as savvy customer now know how their private data is collected, used and benefits businesses in profiling customers. The new approach consists of the following 4Ps-
1. Permission: Consent for collecting data and being responsible for its usability for building trust.
2. Preferences: Let customer control their marketing channel.
3. Profile: Ask the customer about their preference rather than profiling them which actually hurts the customer.
4. Persona: Allow the customer to tell their own details and needs.
Read more at https://www.digitaldoughnut.com/articles/2017/may/the-new-4p-s-of-marketing

According to the author, the updated healthcare marketing has to be more value based, data driven and customer centric. In the coming years, success rate and customer experience are likely to decide the fate of the companies. Real world data with economic outcomes can demonstrate a brand’s value. New marketing techniques will require- 1. Quick and effective marketing activities. 2. Use of advanced technologies and analytics for finding valuable insights from data. 3. Provision of better and innovative customer experiences, which will maximize brand value. 4. Collaborating with partners to create unique solutions.

Read more at: http://www.adageindia.in/others/misc/the-seismic-shakeup-in-healthcare-marketing-are-you-ready/articleshow/58809226.cms 

There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence is impacting all walks of life toady-be it driverless cars, automated surgeries, AI robot and more. AI was recently introduced at the Zurich Insurance company for claims handling and it did the magic- saved 40,000 work hours, while speeding the claim processing time to just five seconds. The insurers are now planning to reap the benefits of this technological advancement and expand the use of AI. The days are not far when AI boats will be deployed to help in setting up policies and process insurance claims. The accuracy is expected to increase over time better performance. For a good read, follow the link below: https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/05/ai-adopted-by-zurich-insurance-to-assess-personal-injury-claims/

Low-tech micro finance institutions(MFI's) can capture the base-of-pyramid(BoP) population effectively. Taking the client's need into consideration from a sympathetic mindset, traditional MFI's have proved that high-tech credit providers are their complements and not substitutes. High-tech services can serve a very low percentage of the targeted population because of its prerequisites of smart technological availability which is still a rarity. Small transactions can be met by the high-tech system, but for larger needs, clients prefer face-to-face interaction. Fintech in micro finance is not experimented and it must consider the basic criterion that has enabled the success of MFI's-provide credit responsibly and productively rather than a simple profit-generating motive. Read more at: https://cfi-blog.org/2017/05/11/fintech-in-microfinance-in-search-of-the-high-tech-high-touch-unicorn/#more-23611

Dashboard has changed drastically since its beginning and lots of vendors are catering toward big data etc. nowadays. Now the focus has shifted from Excel to Big Data. But it is going to coexist for a long time. A good BI Ecosystem should allow for an easy assemblage of such small sized datasets, whether it be excel/csv or any other text file into a central repository. Visualization will continue to improve and no longer be a differentiating factor among vendors. Users will be able to perform advanced visualization by simple drag and drop operations. Dashboards will continue to be used for monitoring real time events as well as publish scorecards and performance metrics. The line between a dashboard page and any other internal web page will fade. Read more at: http://www.datavizualization.com/blog/what-is-the-future-of-data-visualization-and-dashboard-solutions

Today, "big data" is associated closely with profit maximization techniques (such as recommendation lists on e-commerce sites and targeted ads), high-profile data leaks and privacy issues. However, not all data are bad. Here are the positive side of Data Science:  LOGISTICS: e.g.: Airlines Schedule Flights predict delays based on precise weather forecasts, and other market and political happenings. HEALTHCARE : Big data power the idea of self-learning healthcare programs, which will be able to interpret the data of individual patients: not only their gender, age, weight, and medical history, but also their lifestyle, habits, preferences and give the personalized recommendation about adjustments that would be the most beneficial.  FACE RECOGNITION: Long time ago, it was tough to even think about it, but nowadays, Many tools are there which capture details of the current face and match it with millions of faces in about no time.  Self- Drive Cars : It has made life much easier. Either you are driving or you are on a walk, you don't have to worry at even new places. Many taxi companies are dependent on this and even self-driving cars are also there which is dependent. It finds shortest routes, routes without traffic, etc. in about no time. Read more at: http://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/how-data-science-has-changed-everyday-life-for-the-better