Blogs

The Internet of Things: A software distribution minefield in the making?

In 2018, the ‘Internet of Things’ has rapidly moved from a theoretical concept to a tangible reality, with nearly 11 billion ‘things’ (not including phones and computers) now connected to the internet. (more…)

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July 31, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

Augmented reality – The next big thing for HR?

We live in a futuristic present, where technologies once considered restricted to the realms of science fiction are now penetrating our daily lives – automation, robotics, virtual reality (VR) and cloud computing to name but a few. (more…)

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July 10, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

Chatbots to deliver $11bn in annual cost savings for retail, banking & healthcare sectors by 2023

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the adoption of chatbots across the retail, banking and healthcare sectors will realise business cost savings of $11 billion (€9.42 billion) annually by 2023, up from an estimated $6 billion (€5.14 billion) in 2018.

The research found that these cost savings will be derived from the reduced amount of time spent on customer service enquiries. Using chatbots, businesses will dramatically cut response and interaction times via phone and social channels. It forecast that consumers and businesses combined will save over 2.5 billion hours by 2023 in these sectors.

Retail to cash in on chatbot invasion

The new research, Chatbots: Banking, eCommerce, Retail & Healthcare 2018-2023, found that the retail sector will gain the most benefits from chatbot technology, with Juniper estimating that by 2023 over 70% of chatbots accessed will be retail-based.

It highlighted both customer service and eCommerce as key use cases, although cautioned that greater investment in chatbot functionality will be required to meet consumer expectations. In that context, Juniper forecasts that improvement in AI, as shown recently by Google’s Duplex, to create a more personable user experience would be fundamental in creating a ‘pull’ factor for chatbots.

Juniper cited benefits such as cost savings, up-selling, marketing and cart recovery as major retailer chatbot ‘push’ factors. Retailers will take advantage of these opportunities; propelling chatbot implementation and driving eCommerce transactions via chatbots to reach $112 billion (€95.96 billion) by 2023.

Chatbot integration future of apps

The research found that whilst messaging applications have been the first platforms on which chatbots flourished, chatbot-enabled apps in use will greatly increase as many retailers, financial institutions and healthcare providers integrate the technology into their dedicated apps.

By 2023, Juniper forecasts that over 50% of the chatbots accessed will be through discrete apps, with complete bot integration overturning the make up of current app functionality.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

For more market insights, download the free whitepaper: ‘How Chatbots will Transform the Retail Industry’.

Comment on this article below or via Twitter @IoTGN

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July 4, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

The workplace provides the perfect fit for wearables

Wearables are experiencing one of the longest gestational periods of any technology. For a long time, says Rufus Grig, CTO of Maintel, gadgets like Google Glass and the Apple Watch were perceived by many as being a bit “emperor’s new clothes”: intriguing conceptually, but disappointing functionally. (more…)

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July 3, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

Voice assistants used in smart homes to grow 1,000%, reaching 275mn by 2023, says Juniper Research

A new study from Juniper Research has found that the adoption of voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant will be a key factor behind smart home growth, with 275 million voice assistant devices used to control smart homes by 2023. This is up from an estimated 25 million in 2018, a growth of 1,000%. (more…)

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June 26, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

Amazon solidifies its smart speaker portfolio with Alexa for Hospitality

While Alexa for Hospitality offers numerous features that will appeal to hoteliers and their guests, privacy concerns will likely limit growth and prevent broader implementation of the technology in a majority of the world’s hotels. (more…)

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June 25, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

White label IoT solutions for insurance providers developed by People Power to speed development of smart home services

People Power, an Internet of Things (IoT) software company providing white-label solutions for home security, energy and care, has launched an accelerated development initiative to refine the company’s IoT solutions for the insurance industry. (more…)

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June 22, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

Veea acquires Virtuosys to advance edge computing platform, IoT-enabled devices and smart applications

Veea Inc., a global provider in smart applications, announced the acquisition of the UK-based Virtuosys Ltd., a company delivering Smart network solutions at the network edge. (more…)

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June 14, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

Digital display content and device management made easy with Vivitek’s NovoDS Cloud

Convenience and flexibility are the benefits unlocked by Vivitek’s new NovoDS Cloud, an optional cloud-based service that enables device and content management of Vivitek’s NovoDS family of digital signage solutions. (more…)

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June 13, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde

Home beats phone: Smart home device sales to exceed smartphones by 2023, says Strategy Analytics

The increasing popularity of the smart home is confirmed by new research from Strategy Analytics showing that global demand for smart home devices will exceed sales of smartphones by 2023. Consumers worldwide bought 663 million smart home devices in 2017, and this will increase to 1.94 billion in 2023, when sales of smartphones will be 1.86 billion. (more…)

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June 8, 2018

Posted by: Zenobia Hegde