For years, artificial intelligence has been increasingly influencing our everyday life, but also the economy, politics and science – as chatbots in customer service, GPS assistants or characters in video games.
AI can be used in many different ways and offers us new innovative solutions to problems in the most diverse areas. However, deepfakes show that AI also offers potential for controversy.
The piggy bank of children in Denmark looks weird: it is black, not pink. It is made out of plastics and metals, not porcelain. It is rectangular, not round and no coins disappear in the slot. Instead, the charger docks – if the charging process is not wireless anyway. This is because the average Danish child already receives his or her pocket money directly on the smartphone these days. 13-year olds like August from Copenhagen simply hold their phone close to payment terminals when they want to pay for a bag of liquorice at unmanned checkouts in the supermarket.
What is already common practice in future-oriented Denmark also slowly gets going in Germany: mobile payment via smartphone – that small supercomputer we all carry around in our pockets. Cash is increasingly becoming a case for the history books. Credit and debit cards are also used less frequently. But how do payment methods actually change?
Data is the gold of the digital age. Whether sales, marketing or service – no successful digital business without data. The collection, processing and analysis of all types of data, especially customer data, therefore plays a key role in many companies to break down data silos, drive omnichannel marketing forward and ultimately obtain a 360-degree view of the customer. Behind all these activities is the well-known mission – but also challenge – of creating a personalised customer experience across all devices and all channels.
The creation, spread and use of digital platforms are logical and necessary consequences to turn these missions in reality. Its major advantage is the direct data exchange between all parties involved (companies and customers, but also partners and employees) via the platform itself. To use data effectively and achieve real competitive advantages, however, it is not sufficient to only collect huge amounts of data. Whether ERP, PIM, MDM or CRM – an effective system is required to be able to structure, connect and analyse data. Real time is the keyword of the moment. It is becoming increasingly relevant as customers expect unique and individual experiences quickly, anytime and anywhere. Companies have to react to these expectations and find their single source of truth which, based on robust data, helps them better understand their customers and address them appropriately.
But despite all the possibilities and a variety of providers, systems and solutions, the one perfect tool does not yet seem to exist. Data silos persist. In the context of customer relationship management, a 360-degree view of the customer is too often still theory rather than practice. For this reason, software providers are working on a new solution that is to connect the remaining loose ends completely and cleanly. We are talking about customer data platforms (in short: CDPs). Which role do CDPs play in a crowded system landscape? What distinguishes them from other systems such as CRM? Which development stage are CDPs currently in? Who are the most important providers? We answer these questions today.
Digitisation requires courageous, well-founded decisions and a far-sighted strategy. To master digital transformation, many questions have to be answered and decisions have to be made accordingly. First and foremost the following questions: Which technology should I choose to support my company and to achieve my goals? Which type of software and which provider best meets my requirements and goals?
Once these key questions have been answered, a dilemma frequently arises among decision-makers. It is related to the selected software version: community or enterprise? Does this sound familiar?
Whether community or enterprise: the answer depends on the specific requirements of each individual customer and the selected digital solution and cannot be answered in general terms. Therefore, we will have a closer look at the differences and explain which version is more suitable in which cases.
Climate change, the Greta effect and »Fridays for Future« have recently put sustainability and environmental protection at the top of the political and economic agenda. Living and working sustainably as well as being environmentally friendly in both private and professional life thus turns from a nice-to-have into a must-have for a safe future.
With this future in mind, new technologies and the digitisation of processes and activities are being developed and implemented very rapidly today. However, the costs of this exponential growth – although invisible – are becoming higher and higher.
So how do you simultaneously deal with the challenges of digitisation on the one hand and the challenges of environmental protection on the other hand? What is required so that companies integrate a sustainable way of thinking into their (digital) DNA?
Everyone has probably been in the situation of having to call a technician to investigate and solve a problem at home, at work or at the factory. Sometimes, it is a quick, smooth process that satisfies the customer. Other scenarios, however, can be frustrating, time-consuming and error-prone.
In an increasingly customer-centric world where customer experience is of the utmost importance, companies can no longer afford such bad experiences. For this reason, many of them increasingly rely on technologies that help them in fulfilling the expectations of today’s customers and optimising the background processes.
Because of this development, field service is becoming more and more important for companies. In fact, the field service management market will have exceeded 3.5 billion euros by 2022 (in 2012, it amounted to 1.28 billion euros). But what is meant by field service management and which advantages does this service discipline offer for companies?
In our digital life, we are almost always surrounded by them. From mobile alarm clocks to payment apps and instant messengers to online shopping – microinteractions are used to improve our user experience. But what exactly are these small interactions between humankind and machines? And how are they used effectively?
E-commerce is booming. Yes, it is also booming in Germany. About 60 per cent of Germans have already ordered something on the Internet. One out of three even places orders several times a week via online platforms and shops.
For years, the industry has only known one direction: upwards. And the last year has once again put a smile on the faces of retailers and manufacturers. We take a look at the figures and show who was able to enjoy 2019 the most.
The word migration usually does not arouse much enthusiasm, mainly because of the great effort behind it. However, this does not change anything about the fact that it is necessary. It is also true that the shop migration should be seen as an investment in the future – despite (or even more so because of) its often gigantic extent – since the migration is an excellent opportunity to modernise the existing commerce solution, which had reached its limits, in a competitive and future-proof way.
And if a provider removes a solution from its portfolio, you have no choice anyway but to deal with the topic and make the best of it – just like everyone whose shop has been based on Magento 1 so far. Because it will soon be a thing of the commerce past. Once and for all. From June 2020, Magento will no longer offer support for Magento Commerce 1, Magento Open Source 1 as well as older Magento Commerce 2 versions. So, dear shop operators with old Magento versions: migration is no longer optional, but obligatory.
For those who want to continue using Magento, we have summarised all the important information and tips for a successful shop migration in this article. Obviously, switching the provider is also an option worth evaluating, but this is a topic for another article 😉
The first two weeks of the new year are over. Enough time to develop first business ideas, set the first goals for the year and have the most important digital trends on the radar. In digital business, everyone is aware of the fact that (tech) trends alone cannot create innovation. A clear symbiosis between humankind, space and technology is THE success strategy par excellence.
In the first part of our double feature, we showed which strategic trends in 2020 have a clear human-centred focus according to Gartner. In this second part, we will focus on the trends that have a major influence on the spaces and environments where technology and humankind meet.
However, it should be noted that these two types of trends should under no circumstances be considered separately. Each company has to find its perfect mix that suits the company best in order to keep growing.
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