Clean and well-managed business information is also one of the reasons data engineers are in so much demand. More companies are expected to rely on data for strategic decision-making in 2022, and data engineering is the key to success.

Datorios, a data transformation framework, has announced the first version of its solution to this – and other – significant issues. Available now for data engineers looking for agile and scalable data infrastructure systems, Datorios is marking the launch of its inaugural framework with live demonstrations at the Las Vegas Snowflake Summit 2022, which takes place between June 13-16.

So what does Datorios do? 

Claiming to be the first infrastructure-as-a-platform (IaaS) of its kind, it is a real-time platform designed to diminish project complexities throughout an organization’s data pipelines. Essentially, it wraps data technologies together, which should shrink development cycles and abolish the need for a variety of tools typically used by data engineering teams. Importantly, it helps eradicate garbage, ensuring clean and inciteful data throughout the business.

At the Las Vegas summit, Datorios has been showcasing the interplay between its framework and the Snowflake data warehouse, demonstrating how companies can use Datorios to pre-process data before loading it into the repository at speed. The company claims the resulting architecture enables companies to slash the time-to-value for data projects, couple data warehouses with complex data types (like streaming data), and dramatically reduce costs.

“An all-around, unified data transformation solution is key to fulfilling the data promise,” Ronen Korman, co-founder and CEO at Datorios, said. “Datorios offers its users just that. Coupled with Snowflake data warehouses, it enables companies to create a cost-effective ecosystem that takes the business relevance of data to a whole new level.”

Formerly named Metrolink.ai, the Tel Aviv startup raised $23 million throughout its pre-seed and seed rounds, the latter led by Grove Ventures and Eclipse Ventures. 

The first version of its solution includes a wide range of ready-made data pipeline building blocks of transformers and stateful correlators for data engineers to use, an open SDK for user-made custom components, native streaming data processing for handling events-based data of any scale, autonomous scaling and dynamic optimization tools, and a debugging toolset to help facilitate smooth operations.

A spokesperson for Datorios claimed that the new framework enables companies to move through the entire data-to-value cycle 20 times faster than average and at a lower cost. 

“Time is of the essence in our fast-moving world, and this very much applies to the use of data,” Korman said. “Data engineers are the key team to make data flow. Without them, there will be no business intelligence and no data science. With our solution, data-driven businesses can move at the pace of the market, generating lightning-fast insights on issues that matter right here and now.”

The post After $23m in funding, Datorios reveals its data transformation framework in Vegas appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Cardano (ADA) is one solution that aims to solve the problems related to Ethereum’s scalability, interoperability, and sustainability. Rather than a proof of work model, it uses a newer consensus mechanism called proof of stake (PoS). Ethereum 2.0, designed to solve the original Ethereum’s issues, utilizes PoS, as do Tezos and other more recent cryptocurrencies, and while Ethereum 2.0 is on the way, progress is slow.

While many of the well-known cryptocurrencies and hundreds of “altcoins” recorded a sharp decrease in value recently (leading many to dub the current period in blockchain as a “crypto winter”), Cardano bucked the trend – more so towards the end of the month. The token recorded a price increase towards the end of May 2022.

WingRiders is an automated market maker (AMM) decentralized exchange (DEX) platform for Cardano, helping to make ADA accessible for investors. And after the first month following its launch on mainnet, it has achieved 62.5 million ADA in total liquidity. 

This milestone follows an oversubscribed seed and private-funding round and a partnership with the Milkomeda Foundation to bring the USDC/USDT stablecoins, plus both BTC and ETH, to the Cardano mainnet ecosystem. 

It’s not the first time WingRiders has made the news. It surpassed $60 million in total value locked (TVL) six days after going live on April 12, 2022. And in a first for the ADA ecosystem, WingRiders offer a double yield farming feature, where liquidity providers can gain rewards from the automated staking in the ADA containing pools and the commonly known yield farming of platform-native tokens. These gains come on top of the regular swapping fee collected in the pools. WingRiders’s DEX platform is the only one, so far, that integrates ledger hardware wallets, directly enabling safe interactions, even directly on Android devices.

WingRiders leverages Cardano’s benefits to correct the issues plaguing DEXs on Ethereum. It avoids the obstacles that slow down both Ethereum-based DEXs and recent entrants into the Cardano space, such as high gas fees and failed transactions. 

It only requires its users to connect a lightweight non-custodial NuFi wallet to buy and trade tokens, which means the entire exchange can run within a browser. Traders on WingRiders can also earn interest on crypto holdings through staking. 

“We are more than pleased with our progress and look to continue the momentum as we deliver on our roadmap,” Kaaran Kalantari, a spokesperson for WingRiders, said. “We have some big milestones ahead, including the integration of additional wallets and features as well as our public token sale, and we are expecting further successes as we solidify ourselves as an instrumental piece of the Cardano infrastructure.”

The post WingRiders Shows That Even In A Crypto Winter, It’s Possible To Succeed With Blockchain appeared first on Grit Daily News.

LEAP is a sports discovery and endorsement platform that uses blockchain and Web3 to power its mobile app that helps to connect youth talent with talent seekers and fans. LEAP’s decentralized digital arena democratizes sports and grants all talents equal growth opportunities, motivating young athletes to develop their game and compete online in the “Tournament of Meta-Legends,” bringing their real-life skills to the digital playground.

It’s a noble cause. Across the world, children that grow up in impoverished communities dream of turning their passion for sports into an enriching professional career. In the U.S., home to many of the most prominent sports associations in the world and a high-class college and youth sports infrastructure, only one out of 16,000 high school athletes turns pro.

In regions like Latin America and Africa, where sports are just as popular, but resources are more limited, the chances are even lower. However, many athletes strive for a secondary route to stardom. LEAP uses decentralized economic models to make it possible for anyone engaged in real-life sports activities to play, grow, and earn.

With LEAP, young athletes showcase their skill-sets in short-form videos uploaded to the platform. By specifically working with young athletes from impoverished and isolated communities, LEAP brings together a digital community of sports talent, talent seekers, and fans to help the athletes gain recognition and get rewarded based on their skill levels. The app features a customized video editor – LEAP Studio – with filters, stickers, and add-ons to help talents better highlight their skills.  

Using a play-to-earn model, LEAP encourages athletes to improve their skills through competitions between its users. These one-on-one battles, known as DAREs, showcase individual talents through performing short-form videos highlighting specific skills. Think Tik Tok for talent, with a payoff for those that can outshine their rival. The LEAP Seekers community – consisting of fans, agents, hall of fame athletes, clubs and academies, brands, and journalists – vote for whoever they feel performed the skill best.

As the budding stars compete in DAREs, the higher their rating will be, resulting in the minting of unique player-card NFTs whose value, worth, and score will determine rarity. These NFTs can be bought and sold, allowing these young athletes to earn from their hard work while also serving as a potential investment if they develop into a star.

The platform rewards its users based on their accomplishments with LEAP’s in-game tokens. Users receive an allowance of in-game tokens backed by real crypto-assets and use them in the LEAP Meta-Market to purchase real-world products and services, further improving their athletic development.

“We are building an important platform that will enable young athletes to receive the visibility and rewards they deserve based on their talent level,” Omri Lachman, CEO and co-founder at LEAP, said. “For too long, athletes from certain backgrounds or geographic regions have seen ‘going pro’ as the only solution to better their lives, and we are here to show them that going pro is not the only win. We are bridging the traditional sports industry with emerging talents and fans to unlock a brand new universe where everyone has an equal shot at the title by bringing their physical skills into the digital space.”

It’s an intriguing idea and one that leverages Web3 and NFT technologies to help those athletes – that would typically be overlooked – grow into the next generation of superstars, get the backing they deserve, earn as they play, and be noticed by those that can propel their sports careers to the moon.

The post Move Over Messi: This NFT Platform Is Helping Disadvantaged Young Athletes Become Stars appeared first on Grit Daily News.

An NFT whitelist is a spot saved for someone (typically a loyal or highly engaged collector), allowing them to mint an NFT before the public sale. Frequently, the whitelist is the only way a creator can decide who gets to mint an NFT in a project that is likely to have high demand. Whitelist spots are limited and sometimes are combined with gaming elements, such as guessing the price of the native token used on the NFT platform or inviting a certain number of friends to join in.

Adding these elements sounds fun, but unfortunately, it can mean that even the most engaged NFT followers are not guaranteed a spot on the list. Randomized minting also has its drawbacks, failing to reward any engagement by putting the bet only on chance.

That can cause an adverse effect and sentiment from the community – the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve when launching a project.

So are there any other options for NFT projects that can offer extended reach for the creator and give value to the collector?

Enter SparkWorld*. Yes, the asterisk is supposed to be there. A community-focused Web3 ecosystem, it focuses on what it calls Fair Prediction Launches (FPLs) as an alternative to whitelists.

SparkWorld* offers similar gamification to whitelists involving token price prediction, but the startup claims its FPLs are fairer. How does it work? SparkWorld* places users into ordered lists based on the accuracy of their predictions, giving every user a fair shot at landing a more valuable piece of the collection and abolishing first-come-first-serve whitelists and randomized minting.

“Users stake $SPRK and get the opportunity to make predictions,” Jolyon Horsfall, Co-CEO at SparkWorld*, told me. “More staked tokens mean more predictions and, therefore, more whitelist opportunities. Users predict the price of the native blockchain of the NFT (for example, AVAX) or the governance token of the game or NFT project – always before the mint day.” 

Unlike a regular whitelist, there are no losers due to this solution.

“Everyone gets staking rewards and prediction rewards,” Horsfall said. “SparkWorld* is non-punitive! The most accurate predictions get the whitelist spots and extra prizes.”

Does SparkWorld* limit creators when it comes to where they mint their NFTs?

“The NFTs are minted by the creators then verified and KYCd by the platform,” Horsfall said. “This means that the original minting address will be verifiable and that the NFTs will be distributed via our FPL protocol based on our gaming mechanics.”

It sounds great, but it is worth noting that whitelisting traditionally doesn’t cost anything other than the time spent promoting the project on social media sharing or other networking groups the collector may have. Why would a potential collector stake $SPRK to get their NFT before the public sale?

“The rewards are threefold,” Horsfall said. “Users will be obtaining guaranteed high yield staking rewards on entry to the prediction event and, based on the outcome of the prediction, be entitled to whitelist spots for the project’s NFT launch. In addition, they’ll earn prediction-based rewards (for example, AVAX, ETH, SPRK, etc.) over their staking yield.” 

It is indeed an interesting idea with benefits for both creators and collectors alike, and the startup is focused on providing balance throughout the process and in its future development.

“SparkWorld* has a level playing field, where the prediction sorting algorithm eliminates the ‘First Come First Serve’ process,” Horsfall said. “This allows users to have a more fair and efficient journey.” 

The post SparkWorld* wants to make NFT launches and whitelists fairer for all appeared first on Grit Daily News.

It’s no surprise, then, that artists tend to want to be a helpful force in society and, in general, care about both others and the planet we inhabit. Artists of all kinds are usually the first to respond to a crisis, offering a percentage of their profits (and sometimes all of it) to good causes. And there lies a dilemma.

The NFT/artist paradox 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have exploded in the last two years. NFTs ballooned to a $41 billion market in 2021 and are catching up to the total size of the global fine art market. Investment bank Jefferies raised its NFT market-cap forecast recently, projecting over $80 billion by 2025.

So it’s natural for artists to join the NFT train, not just for their own needs but also when they want to make an impact by helping to raise money for those in need.

While NFTs are attractive, there’s an inherent problem. Excluding the energy needed to design and create the original piece of art, Memo Akten says the average NFT uses 340 kWh of energy, resulting in 211 Kg of CO2 emissions. To put that in perspective, TVs consume an average of 106.9 kWh of electricity per year, and the CO2 emissions from all human activity amount to 15 Kg a day.

As a consequence of the thousands of articles written about the environmental cost of NFTs, many artists are staying away from the latest trend in blockchain, choosing instead to combine non-Blockchain technology with sustainability, circular economies, and philanthropy.

Art, technology, and philanthropy, but without the environmental impact

One such example is the collaboration between Faircado – a sustainable shopping assistant that aggregates second-hand products – and Solidartsy – a non-profit that empowers women in the visual arts to set up their businesses. Along with several artists that have, at their core, a common goal to create art from existing materials, they have come together to create the Circul’art Fair, timed to launch on International Women’s Rights Day, March 8.

With their French, Indonesian, Iranian, Belgian, and German influences, the artists participating in the first “Circul’Art Fair” create an eclectic collection that blurs the lines between art and fashion and shows how beautiful and sensual sustainability can be.

The works range from illustrated textile art by the southern French slow fashion artist Uma, whose pieces celebrate natural beauty and self-love, to unique vintage jewelry by the Berlin upcycling goldsmith Anne Dannien, and moving collages from the Belgian artist Fanny Goerlich, who turn our ideals of beauty upside down. You can find an overview of the artists here.

The organizers will transfer all profits from the Circul’art Fair to associations that strengthen women and girls in war and crisis regions or work to integrate migrants and refugees. No matter their skin color, religion, or sexual orientation. The capsule collection is being hosted online on the Faircado website. Interested visitors can view and acquire unique art and fashion creations, safe in the knowledge that each has been produced with sustainability in mind.

Of course, anyone donating their time, effort, and profits for good causes is to be admired and applauded. But we should always ask ourselves if the technology we’re using to do so is the most appropriate for the task. NFTs offer great promise and are generating some frankly insane revenues, which increase the donations on offer, but if it costs us the Earth in the process, is it all that good?

This article originally appeared on Hacker Noon and is reproduced with permission.

The post Art for Good, But Are NFTs the Answer or Part of the Problem? appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Along with changes in the medium and its immediacy, we’ve also seen innovations in monetization opportunities for creators. Long gone are the days of a simple banner ad below a YouTube video. Now, many social media platforms offer creators the instant gratification of being paid virtual gifts in return for their efforts.

And, of course, the global pandemic has seen a huge spike in the use of virtual ways to connect with others, spawning new apps and pivoting others.

I first saw this in action within the LiveMe broadcasting app, where broadcasters could receive everything from a simple “clap hands” emoji or a virtual latte to a fully animated 3D castle or humungous diamond. Gifts are converted to diamonds, and around 20,000 diamonds earn you a $50 payout.

Ranked in the Top 5 Breakout Social Apps by Consumer Spend according to App Annie, Tango – a social platform for live video broadcasting – similarly allows creators of all sizes to stream live content and receive gifts as a reward. As with other similar platforms, viewers purchase coins to reward “Livers” with virtual gifts in real-time. Livers can also engage in live games and competitions, prompting coin rewards for both themself and the winning viewers.

As with LiveMe, the addition of gifting in Tik Tok and Instagram Live it’s not a new idea, but it is growing in prominence, and the numbers offer a compelling reason. Apps that feature live streaming as a core component accounted for $3 of every $4 spent in the top 25 social apps worldwide in 2021. Social media platform monetization is projected to grow in general, with global consumers expected to spend $78 billion on social apps through 2025, as forecasted by mobile data firm App Annie. This development will offer vast possibilities for live streamers to monetize their content.

So what makes Tango different from the existing gift-enabled live broadcasting platforms?

“In 2009, Tango invented the first mobile cross-platform, cross-network video chat platform,” Uri Raz, CEO at Tango, told me. “We have over 35 patents and are number one for video quality in the industry. In addition, we are the only ‘western company’ with a western brand (UI) and all-in-one global content, engagement, and gamification tools.”

And for consumers on this side of the planet, that last point is essential and the first point of focus for the company – geography. In particular, China and Asia are swamped with similar platforms. Still, many have not been localized for anyone that doesn’t speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, or other Asian languages.

“The western market is a largely expanding space for live-streaming and User-Generated Content,” Raz said. “With the ads business model shrinking and users growing tired of being blatantly monetized, social networks will quickly move to other monetization models. Tango already has a headstart in the Western market, and we are positioned to be at the forefront of this growth and change.”

Unlike Instagram, which it could be argued has started to become unwieldy compared to its humble (and easy to use) origins, there’s another area of priority that is important to Tango’s success – feature focus.

“Tango is ‘only live, always live,'” Raz said. “It is not simply a feature, but our main product. With no ads and minimal marketing, we function on micro-transactions that support micro-influencers to generate a real creator’s economy in a 5G world. Consumers aren’t constantly bombarded with ads and pop-ups, making for a more seamless and engaging user experience. Removing the traditional monetization model opens up a lot more room for connection, community, and uninterrupted entertainment.”

Tango already has more than 10 million registered users, and a total of 25 million hours of live content was streamed throughout 2021. Over 500,000 people use it daily, turning live connections into microtransactions. Indeed, it recently celebrated the first Tango-made millionaire in December of 2021 who, like other creators, is directly supported by their fanbase.

Tango is another in a long line of “unicorns” coming out of Tel Aviv. So what’s next for the live broadcasting app?

“Tango is an agile and innovative company,” Raz said. “We create engagement tools for our users to unlock their creativity and earn more, without direct consumer monetization. For example, we recently launched an NFT-like pilot with unique digital Tango Cards that have become very successful on the platform. We are continuing to roll out our NFT Marketplace so that, in addition to broadcasting live, our users can sell and trade their digital assets in the app. We will continue to lead the industry through change, always with the goal of fostering our Tango community in mind.”

The post Live-streaming Unicorn Tango Shows how Focus can be the Difference appeared first on Grit Daily News.

We’ve seen AI-powered solutions that remove the need for cashiers in supermarkets and grocery stores before. Some use CCTV, barcode scanners, or beacons and sensors, and others require proprietary technology, but another intriguing solution has entered the market.

Flow (formerly WalkOut) comes as a device store owners can retrofit onto any shopping cart. Using AI, machine learning, edge computing, and high-precision cameras, it identifies each item placed into or removed from the cart with incredible accuracy.

“Flow is a standalone retrofitted cart with four cameras that stream video directly to the computing unit that is installed on the cart,” Assaf Gedalia, CEO at Flow, told me. “The device then can differentiate between the items inserted into the cart by recognizing its packaging. This computing unit also helps make the carts autonomous units that are non- reliant on internet or Wi-Fi.”

Yep. You read that right. Flow doesn’t rely on an internet connection to work, so when the zombie apocalypse happens, and the communication systems go down, at least you’ll still be able to buy some Pop-Tarts.

Seeing Flow in action, it’s easy to be impressed with the system’s use of computer vision and how well it captures the exact product being put in the cart, even when the same brand differentiates products with only the slightest text or image difference.

“Thanks to the advanced computer vision technology, our solution can catch every single item placed in or taken out of the cart,” Gedalia said. “This encompasses any sized item, and we provide alerts to the groceries staff about suspicious behavior and which cart said activity is coming from. Items are instantly shown on screen as soon as they enter the cart and subtracted from the total if they are removed from the cart before the final tally.”

One perennial problem with supermarket automation solutions has been assisting the customer when things are working correctly. How do staff know when there’s a problem so they can help and check the consumer’s purchases?

“We have a system that is called Store Control,” Gedalia said. “This is a monitoring tool that the grocery staff has access to, and they can perform different actions through. For example, they can check a purchase, see what products are in what carts, and help with troubleshooting remotely. There is also a help button on the cart to allow the shopper to call for assistance.”

Another area where Flow helps shoppers is with recommendations, special offers, and coupons.

“Flow is integrated into the retailer’s product base, and once the retailer tags a product with a discount or special price, that discount will appear on the shopper’s screen as well,” Gedalia said. “The same goes for any store coupons or special offers. Flow notifies shoppers based on their location in the store – if they are standing by a yogurt on a two-for-one deal, the cart will notify the shopper. Besides what the store offers, our solution will also provide the shopper with information based on the many data points we analyze from our carts. This allows us also to offer personalized recommendations like complimentary ingredients, warn of products that don’t fit a shoppers personal dietary needs, or suggest a good wine to pair with the steak they just picked up at the butcher section.”

So what’s next for Flow and supermarket automation?

“Flow has already accomplished a lot in just one year, with several grocery store implementations,” Gedalia said. “We believe that our smart cart solution will expand beyond the shoppers’ experience but also change the way store pickers build their carts for customers, indicate stock levels of products for employees with shelf alerts, and overall expand our mission to improve the in-store shopping experience for shoppers, employees, and management.”

The post Flow delivers AI-powered supermarket automation that works with existing shopping carts appeared first on Grit Daily News.

The problem of website downtime is not limited to behemoths like Meta. Uptime Institute’s 2021 Global Data Center Survey reveals that outages are an expensive business for all. Over 60% of the respondents reported losing more than $100,000 to downtime, and of that 60%, 15% lost over $1 million. 

So it’s no surprise that companies from SMEs to corporates are looking to mitigate downtime as much as possible. One of the most common weapons in the armory is a content delivery network (CDN), a distributed group of servers that work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content.

Because CDNs cache content like web pages, images, and video in proxy servers near to the physical location of the visitor, the originating website could be experiencing issues, but visitors will still get the latest version of the content in your browser. CDN platforms also offer other significant security benefits, and increased website speed aids SEO since Google and others pay attention to how fast pages load.

Mlytics – a digital content delivery and experience monitoring provider – has launched a complete “belt and braces” approach to CDNs, providing its users with a SaaS-based platform that optimizes between multiple providers.

The AI-powered solution re-routes traffic to the most effective CDN’s globally. The routing decision is based on live data such as efficiency or outages, which then avoids disruptions and optimizes the experiences from top to bottom in a way conventional CDN’s aren’t able to do.

“The beating heart of Mlytics is its proprietary Multi CDN solution, leveraging multiple top-tier CDN networks and a smart load balancing solution to constantly deliver the best possible website performance and therefore user experience for any location,” Tars Geerts, Demand Generation Manager of Mlytics, told me,

The platform allows access to the leading CDNs and then manages the process of leveraging each platform’s features.

“Top-tier CDN solution providers like Cloudflare, Fastly, and Akamai all have reliable solutions and have proven to elevate their customers’ websites performance and security,” Geerts said. “However, single CDN solution providers can be – and as recent history has shown – are still causing downtime whenever their services experience bugs or technical glitches.”

Importantly, implementing the solution is straightforward, achievable with a few clicks, and the company claims that ongoing management is minimal.

“In essence, it is possible just to set up the account and let the platform with its load balancing solution run its course,” Geerts said. “In other words, there is no extra maintenance required. On the contrary, almost everything is fully automated. On average, the setup and implementation of a Multi CDN solution via the Mlytics platform takes less than 5 minutes if customers choose to use Mlytics DNS, or about 20 minutes, depending on how long it takes to set up your DNS.”

Of course, you may already be wondering what it might cost to maintain multiple CDNs and then add Mlytics on top. With pricing plans from free to $500 a month and a custom enterprise plan, MLytics says that CDN costs are typically not affected.

“By default, users will have access to 3 different CDNs, namely Cloudfront, Stackpath, and GMA, and no additional costs are calculated for these CDNs,” Geerts said.

Recently, MLytics was officially recognized in Gartner’s Market Guide for Global CDN, and it has plans to expand its solutions beyond its current offerings.

“Mlytics is building an ecosystem, built to enhance digital experience delivery and monitoring,” Geerts said.

It may not be the answer for the “S” in SME. Still, given the revenue, user, and reputational losses involved in downtime, and the risk of putting all eggs in one CDN basket, it certainly offers an interesting approach to the problem.

The post Mlytics launches AI-powered digital experience delivery platform to fix site outage and security issues appeared first on Grit Daily News.

With that comes great opportunity but also significantly higher levels of customer support, and other knock-on effects such as delivery and supply chain issues. And while support for bricks and mortar is expected but often not taken up due to the effort of returning to the store, online sales come with an expectation of instant online issue resolution and assistance.

And while website chat solutions are prevalent, that isn’t always the case for apps. In Q1 2020, mobile e-commerce traffic grew by 25% across all industries, with mobile phones representing 56% of the total order share and 71% of total traffic. Cart abandonment is higher on mobile, and the conversion rate is lower, partly attributed to the lack of pre-sales support options versus using a retail website.

Enter Voximplant. Widely used as an omnichannel cloud contact center for customer service automation, it helps conduct sales and customer services through customized outbound campaigns. Voximplant handles incoming calls and messages with smart Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and routes them to suitable operators. 

It provides in-app voice, video, and messaging communications. That includes video conferencing, integrating telephony with natural speech recognition and generation, call tracking, phone number masking, and more. Voximplant also allows businesses to incorporate two-factor authentication and push notifications into their apps.

It would be incorrect to call it a true startup. The core team has been developing communication technology solutions since 2005. In 2007, it created the first web-based phone call service – Flashphone – and under a new name, Flashphoner, it continued providing web browser audio and video communications. Voximplant itself was founded in 2013 and is based in San Francisco.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes.” Alexey Aylarov, CEO and cofounder at Voximplant, told me. “New channels appeared, mobile devices became the dominant force in the consumer economy, ecommerce development accelerated, new faster networks appeared, AI/ML became popular and being used everywhere, and I can continue the list. All these factors affect how the industry changed to accommodate new client and consumer expectations. Communications companies and industry use most of them to keep up.”

That list isn’t exhaustive either. Since the late 2000s, we’ve seen significant changes in how retailers implement and integrate new systems in the race to digitize and stay competitive. The rise of no-code/low-code platforms is evident, so why is it essential to design customer experience (CX) strategies in a no-code editor?

“No-code/low-code approach enables non-developers to build communication flows and helps businesses create and maintain more options for their customers, which affects CX in a good way,” Aylarov said. “Since there is a limited number of developers in the world, they are pretty expensive and busy. This helps mitigate that and the associated costs.”

The company claims that its customers can build an omnichannel contact center in 30 minutes through a combination of its no-code editor and conversational AI.

It isn’t just the global pandemic that has exacerbated this issue. It’s true to say that consumers expect everything to be available at all times and within minutes of a click or a tap. We truly live in “the age of the never-satisfied customer.”

“Sales and customer service require an omnichannel approach,” Aylarov said. “Customers expect to be served in a way that is convenient for them. Everybody uses various communication channels and capabilities, so offering as many options as possible is a good thing these days since the probability is higher that you’ll be able to meet customer expectations.”

The competition in this space is large and entrenched, especially for web retailers, if not in apps. What’s next for Voximplant, and how will its approach be different enough for e-commerce players to consider it a viable option?

“Voximplant has a voice-first approach at the moment while offering omnichannel capabilities at the same time,” Aylarov said. “We have more platform capabilities for building communications than most other players. But it’s the voice where we are superior to the competition at the moment. The next step? To be better at every aspect of this solution, despite how ambitious that may sound.”

Ambitious or not, Voximplant already processes more than one billion calls each year. With 140 staff working on subsequent iterations of the platform, it is one to watch as the pandemic shows few signs of slowing the hockey stick growth we’ve seen in e-commerce since it started.

The post How One Startup is Tackling Real-time Customer Service in Apps, an Area the Pandemic E-commerce Boom has Missed appeared first on Grit Daily News.

AVVIR teamed up with scientists at Bar-Ilan University with a mission to make travel safer with an easily-implementable, cost-efficient, and science-backed filtration solution.

The IN-EX solution, recently included in the 2021 Top Ten Emerging Technologies in Chemistry by the International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), leverages a unique sonochemical-coating technology to convert any air filter into a machine for killing viruses and bacteria.

So why would a solution like this be an excellent alternative to the likes of Far-UVC, which can also eradicate COVID-19 from indoor spaces?

“Far-UVC devices require an energy source,” Boaz Roseman, CEO at A.L. Group, told me. “On the other hand, our filter does not require an energy source or any structural addition or special maintenance. Additionally, the added cost of the filter is small. IN-EX is simply the same as the existing air filter that has been treated and turned into antibacterial, with no change in its size and shape.”

Using personal protective equipment (PPE) alongside social distancing has helped limit COVID-19’s spread, but many commuters are exposed to the virus every day. In June, the Centers for Control and Disease Prevention confirmed: “travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19.” Naturally, around half of US commuters are using public transit services less frequently due to the pandemic, according to a survey by Moovit. 

To restore public confidence, indoor air quality (IAQ) has been circled as an area of the utmost priority. And because improving IAQ relies on increasing the amount of outside air brought in and cleaning the air that is recirculated, filtration systems that efficiently reduce particles can prove a critical layer of insurance for purifying the air of tomorrow’s commuters. 

The air filter is coated with a unique and patented sonochemical technology, which initiates a chemical reaction with ultrasonic energy. The agreement between A.L. Group and Bar-Ilan University was carried out by Birad, a research and development company serving as the commercializing arm of Bar-Ilan University.

Tested in third-party laboratories, it has proven to be 99.15 % efficient against SARS‑CoV‑2 (coronavirus), influenza, and other airborne viruses. The company claims the filter is not only water-resistant and incredibly durable, managing to withstand high temperatures and intense airflow, but it also curtails foul odors born out of bacterial growth.

The company states that the air filter has a long lifespan.

“The IN-EX antiviral and antibacterial coating doesn’t affect the filter’s lifespan, which means that the user should change the filter according to the usual manufacturer guidance, usually every year or every 15 000km, due to mechanical reasons of a filter,” Roseman said.

After activation, it takes 30-40 seconds for a small-to-midsize vehicle using IN-EX to be deemed to have safe air to breathe. The filter is designed to be easy to install, assemble, and replace. It does not require a power source and is manufactured using natural, eco-friendly, and cost-efficient materials. 

Its users can combine it with additional filter layers such as carbon or HEPA to help create a multifunctional cabin air filter. IN-EX has broad applicability for the automotive industry and indoor spaces, which can help transform hesitant passengers into content and protected travelers. 

“The main strength of our IN-EX filter is that it is a straightforward and cost-effective solution,” Roseman said. “No additional equipment or device is needed – you replace the existing filter with the IN-EX filter. Our pricing model varies depending on the current setup.”

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