SigmaWay Blog

According to Jayakanthan Chidambaram (Associate Technical Architect, Aspire Systems), sustaining in the market with a persistent growth is considered to be one of the greatest challenges in any industry. Companies are focusing their investments on business intelligence technologies in order to predict behavior and consequences from patterns found in large volumes of data. Predictive analytics transforms data into important and useful information. Data analysis can be broadly categorized into 4 types - Descriptive, Simple Statistical Summations, Prescriptive and Predictive. Personalization based on location, behavior and preferences are driving how organizations should cater to customer needs and grow their business. When organizations adopted Business Intelligence, they took the first step towards understanding what is currently happening in their business. Now is the time to take that maturity to the next level where the need is not only to know what is happening but also be able to predict what is about to happen. Read more at: http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/298003/predictive-analytics-future-business-intelligence?utm_source=referrence_article

According to Stephanie Miller (customer advocate and a champion for marketers), to develop the results of content marketing, one needs to apply an analytics-based approach that focuses on topic, network and content. Choice, Customization, Connect and Communicate. By concentrating on these four "Cs" marketers can evolve from offers to solutions. Yet, at the end of the day there are performance metrics to be met and revenue targets to be reached. A successful content program will also invest in analytics to ensure that one is using the messaging, offers, format, and channels most likely to drive the major visitors and interactions. There is never a data quantity problem as such. The best results will come from a blended approach of channels and content types that are both satisfactory to the most valuable client members as well as wide-ranging enough to appeal to all other customers. Read more at: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2371279/content-and-analytics-a-strategic-combination

According to Dermot O'Kelly (Senior Vice President for Oracle UK, Ireland and Israel region) for the past few years the stage is being set for an analytics based future in which large volumes of valuable information can be collected and used to take informed decisions more efficiently. The rise of big data has been rapid. But very little emphasis has been placed on trying to understand exactly how big data can impact and improve our lives. Big data tools help in linking all information together and assess it from various standpoints at once in the hope of detecting new insights, to approach difficult questions from a fresh angle, or to process huge data sets very quickly. They also make the collection and processing of this data exponentially faster than before. Read more at: http://www.in.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/Big-data-in-the-real-world/articleshow/42649169.cms

There is an increased demand for surveillance systems by civil and government agencies which has given rise to the global market for facial recognition. This is due to growing number of crimes and terrorist activities globally. Furthermore, acceptance of facial recognition in the entertainment industry and consumer electronics is expected to raise the demand for this kind of technology. Its international market comprises of 2D facial recognition, 3D facial recognition, and facial analytics. The demand for these facial recognition technologies is further influenced by increasing demand from various other industries like retail, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), and others. The global facial recognition market is dominated by players that develop facial recognition technology solutions. Read more at: http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/09/16/global-facial-recognition-market-an-overview-of-growth-factors-and-future-prospe-a-555987.html#.VBkPJPmSzo4

According to Perry Yeatman (Principal, Mission Measurement & CEO, Perry Yeatman Global Partners), the growing significance of social value drivers for consumers is one of many changes in the marketplace that CMOs of different companies are experiencing nowadays. Differentiating a brand based on price, quality or convenience is getting increasingly difficult. However, it has led to a new meaning for all marketers to find new ways to make their products matter. One of the most promising new set of benefits is inherent social benefits. Discrete choice analysis is implemented across categories to identify the most influential social value drivers. Many leading companies are already reaping the benefits from this. The benefits range from increased revenue to improved loyalty. These new social value drivers are thus powerful, which is why CMOs must embrace them to build uniquely relevant and meaningful brands. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/perry-yeatman/new-research-simultaneous_b_5828710.html

According to Laura Cole (marketer and researcher based in the UK) content marketing has emerged as effective method for promoting products, sharing information and motivating brand recognition. It differentiates between Public Relation and social media. Social media offers an advantage in case of online brands as it is entirely free to access and enables you to share and promote your content easily. One can reach a larger audience through social media platform. It also allows messages to be tailored and therefore real-time interactions can be generated with customers. This is a huge boon for business owners, traders and entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/social-media-marketing-represents-new-face-pr-01003698

Fraudsters are exploiting weaknesses in call center and help desk user authentication processes. Common caller authentication methods are creating inconvenience for legitimate users. Current authentication methods fail in three ways. They are: 1. knowledge-based authentication (KBA) - KBA's are used to authenticate users.2. PINs. 3. Caller ID. The other two ways include PINs and Caller ID to authenticate users- all of which are accessible by criminal. The best security is always layered security. This principle holds true when securing telephony channel. Voice biometrics can catch fraudster voices and put them on a blacklist for future voice comparisons and verifications of callers. Phone printing combined with voice biometrics provides the strongest method for detecting fraudsters. To know more, read Avivah Litan's (vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner) article at: http://www.itworldcanada.com/blog/preventing-fraud-in-the-call-center-use-voice-biometrics-phone-printing/97217#ixzz3D51sGlc6

According to Jason Bowden (a contributor to Business 2 Community), branding is a means by which a company is able to build their own identity and to communicate what their products and services are. In order to promote branding, brand managers always try to point out that their marketing campaign's focus is on consumers. These brand companies can learn more about their target customers with the help of big data analysis. The entry of data provides plentiful information that helps these companies in determining the various aspects that will yield better profit. Big data provide a window of opportunity for brand companies to know what products their target customers want. By instilling big data analytics, it is easier for marketers to know about their competitors and thus improve their digital marketing. There are other benefits in using big data. To know more about these benefits, follow: http://www.business2community.com/big-data/infusion-brand-marketing-big-data-analytics-0994537

Big data generated by drones is useful in every sector including monitoring data of animal cruelty on farms and surveillance data from military drones. The drones' usage needs a revolution in big data cloud services. However, flying a drone and taking pictures is the first step in data collection process. Since software to reason directly from video feeds is still in a research phase, drone data handling needs to be improved. The use of a cloud-based in-memory computing platform can enhance analytics, processes, and predictive capabilities. Amazon recently proposed to increase sales and revenue by providing the delivery of food using drones. By gathering data on a large scale, service providers will be able to process unique levels of details and turn it into usable information. To know more, go through Abhishek Sharma (author of InfoQ)'s article: http://www.infoq.com/news/2014/09/drone-data-big-data-analytics

Six Sigma improves quality and efficiency by identifying and treating the causes of errors and defects and minimizes variability in manufacturing and business processes. The Lean Six Sigma principles- define, measure, analyze, improve and control, were applied to a rural Indian hospital to improve quality and care for patients. The approach was also able to identify other administrative issues. The successful implementation of this approach surprised the management and eventually brought about a cultural change within the organization. This could be a significant step towards improved healthcare for rural communities in the developing world. Read more at: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20140813/Six-Sigma-approach-in-manufacturing-industries-can-improve-healthcare-for-rural-communities.aspx

According to Tor Constantino (Director, Global Public Relations and External Affairs at IMS Health) Nexxus Mobile Sales is the first complete cloud-based sales performance which aids companies to implement national brand strategies at local levels by linking updated industry and customer data with expert decision-support tools for sales representatives. IMS Health provides life sciences commercial organizations with a new app for driving actual, smart local customer engagement. For increased productivity in the field, Mobile Sales issues alerts to the sales representatives about specific territory and customer opportunities and incorporates advanced voice-command technology to provide easy access to all solution features. As a result, sales teams can deliver greater value and spend more time with customers. Read more at: http://www.imshealth.com/portal/site/imshealth/menuitem.c76283e8bf81e98f53c753c71ad8c22a/?vgnextoid=70f32cf8cb7a7410VgnVCM10000076192ca2RCRD&vgnextchannel=5ec1e590cb4dc310VgnVCM100000a48d2ca2RCRD&vgnextfmt=default

A B2B based Cloud network called AutoDX (Auto Data Exchange) was recently implemented by IBM for Indian Auto industry. This electronic data exchange platform reduces the auto industry's transaction costs by 80%. This is useful because until this deployment the whole auto industry was using manual processes which were very inefficient. AutoDX is an example of how organizations in the same domain can come together and share cloud to reap benefits. Such cloud platforms can be useful as cloud has potential to reduce costs. To know more, go through Vipin Chandran (Member of Integration Services team of IBM DemandTec)'s article link: http://www.indiaonward.com/how-beneficial-could-a-multi-tenant-private-cloud-be/

According to Ajay Kulkarni (the development leader of Social Business and Digital Experience portfolio at IBM India Software Labs) there are numerous challenges in reforming the Retail sector even though it is currently going through an incredible change technology-wise. The first one is FDI in Multi-Brand Retail. The main argument against Retail FDI is loss of jobs. The second is the co-existence of global supermarkets and small Kirana shops. Traders in Kirana stores, vegetable shops and even consumers use easy Social Media tools like Skype and WhatsApp. However, they need to be more equipped to face competition. The e-retail business in India is still nascent but is growing at a fast pace with the help social media platforms. Read more at: http://www.indiaonward.com/social-business-will-transform-the-indian-retail-industry/

Enterprise cloud computing provides a clear path to CRM success. Today, however there are at least two major problems in operating with highly data-driven intelligence. Firstly, CRM databases start empty and secondly it isn't very intelligent. It is therefore time to re-imagine how businesses operate. In a world where we have lot of data points, outcomes should be accurately predicted. The next generation of CRM should monitor website updates, news, public filings, social networks, technology vendors, job openings and new hires. To know more, go through Jamie Grenney (Vice President of Marketing at Infer)'s article link: http://gigaom.com/2013/09/02/what-will-crm-look-like-in-2015/

According to Sorcha Corcoran(Managing Editor at Whitespace Publishing Group), around eight years ago a division within Irish Life in Dublin decided to embrace Six Sigma which turned out to be a key driver of innovation. Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools required for process improvement.The company found Six Sigma training useful because they came up with loads of fresh ideas.  Opportunities and problems are then picked up by the innovation team. This combined with market and customer research has helped them to drive specific innovations. Read more at: http://www.isixsigma.com/share.php?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessandleadership.com%2Fleadership%2Fitem%2F47367-six-sigma-driving%2F

What is the requirement of the IT certification skill? It is a recognized benchmark based on standardized skill, which shows a person's knowledge and dedication on a particular technological platform. This certification helps to group the person with a selected group of individuals. Having an IT certification gives a person an edge over others when it comes to hiring. In a volatile economic environment it helps a person to retain his/her job. Also helps a person to climb up the corporate ladder in his/her career. With the help of the certification a person can join a group of unique members which will improve his/her networking skills. It also enhances professional credibility. In some cases, organizations require certified associates and staff, so having a certificate will also be helpful for the company. In some scenarios, customers only want to work with companies that have certified individuals. Earning an IT certification on a new product can make a person a subject matter expert in his/her organization. Certifications may be the best way of rewarding one's efforts. IT certification ensures that corporate professionals are up to date with existing and new technologies. Read more at:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/news-analysis/297740/certifications-benefits/page/1

63% of IT pros said that they would not consider a candidate for employment if they saw one to five social media comments about that company and 68% IT leaders said they would not consider a candidate if they saw a single negative social media post about his or her current employer, as seen by the TEKsystems survey. Social media plays a very important role in IT hiring. 68% IT leaders use social media to search for candidates and 82 percent use it to screen them. LinkedIn was rated as the top source for finding prospective employees. Facebook was second with 9%. 75% of IT pros rely on social media with 67% citing LinkedIn as the best source for finding jobs. Facebook came in second at 12%, followed by Google Plus at 7%. Read more at:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/news-analysis/297739/social-media-matters-hiring

Internet of things (IoT) is helping in monitoring the weather by gathering as much data as possible about the weather so that some idea is obtained about how the weather is evolving in different regions. IoT provides detailed data and makes it feasible to locate hundreds or even thousands of sensors per square mile in populated areas. Many weather forecasting apps are also available. One such app comes from Weather Signal, a brainchild of Open Signal, producing a live crowd source weather map which can be viewed by anyone. The BloomSky Tian is used for a more consistent set of measurement in weather forecasting. It uses Wi-Fi to connect to a home network and also has a camera to take pictures. Both these options are there for consumers, but IoT options are also there for civic and professional use. One such option is available from Envirologger. Read more at:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/news-analysis/297673/monitoring-weather-internet

According to Brian Cantor (Managing Editor and community Director of IQPC's Customer Management IQ), businesses develop and put into operation strategies without truly trying to understand who their customers are and what they want, thus producing suboptimal customer experiences. The question is does a customer actually want to engage in long, personalized calls to identify and resolve a business issue?  A customer may not be supportive in all cases.  But a business that ignores the desires of their customers cannot be called customer-centric. Being alert of this problem, the author discussed this situation and was exposed to some of the factors that "normal people" value when it comes to customer service.  They are as follows: availability of full service 24/7 and quick resolution-because time is money and effort is money.  Read more at: http://www.callcenter-iq.com/customer-experience/articles/what-normal-people-think-about-customer-service/

IMS Health, a leading international information and technology services company, provides clients in the healthcare industry with comprehensive solutions to measure and improve their performance by using anonymous healthcare data to deliver critical, real-world disease and treatment insights. Recently, it announced the immediate availability in the U.S. of IDN Impact - a solution to measure, compare and prioritize the influence of Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs) on life sciences brands. Combining a unique data set of IDN influence metrics with business intelligence software and local market analysis, IDN Impact enables life sciences organizations to effectively shape and execute their commercial engagement actions. Read more at: http://www.imshealth.com/portal/site/imshealth/menuitem.c76283e8bf81e98f53c753c71ad8c22a/?vgnextoid=3edfb0cfe6228410VgnVCM10000076192ca2RCRD&vgnextchannel=5ec1e590cb4dc310VgnVCM100000a48d2ca2RCRD&vgnextfmt=default