Article | August 14, 2020
You just got a new drone and you want it to be super smart! Maybe it should detect whether workers are properly wearing their helmets or how big the cracks on a factory rooftop are. In this blog post, we’ll look at the basic methods of object detection (Exhaustive Search, R-CNN, Fast R-CNN and Faster R-CNN) and try to understand the technical details of each model. The best part? We’ll do all of this without any formula, allowing readers with all levels of experience to follow along! Finally, we will follow this post with a second one, where we will take a deeper dive into Single Shot Detector (SSD) networks and see how this can be deployed… on a drone.
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Article | July 19, 2021
Storytelling is an art. It brings out the best of the teller and the listener. For centuries storytelling has been proved to be a successful way to reach out to the masses. However, a myth about storytelling is that it is considered only as a subject of literature. Well, we are here to break this myth.
The art of telling a story belongs to every field. Be it literature or science, electronics or computers, every field has its own story, even astronomy. Likewise, every little particle has a story to tell.
There is a story in every line of code written by software developers. The user tells a story, and the software developer writes it in a computer code language. Read further to understand more about storytelling in software development.
The Art of Storytelling in Software Development
When a user comes across a problem that needs to be simplified digitally, he explains the problem to the developer or salesperson.
For example, a shopkeeper needs to digitalize his inventory; he will talk about the problems he is facing while manually managing the inventory. This manual management could be handwritten or a basic excel sheet.
Now, when he tells his issue, he says that “I need software that easily tells me about the things I have in my inventory, goods that are to be stocked and also the goods that have and do not have demand.”
When the shopkeeper elaborates his problem and tells them in a story-like manner, the concerned person understands it better. Now imagine if they would say that, “I need software to know about the goods in the inventory.” Unfortunately, this simple sentence does not convey what exactly they are looking for. As a result, the salesperson would not be able to give them appropriate solutions.
Once the story behind the work is understood, the entire team puts in the effort and comes up with perfect solutions. From coding to the visuals of the software, everything works in synchronization. Thus, the story behind the work is of great importance.
Storytelling in software development has a structure. It has a beginning, middle part, climax, end, visuals, and imagination. The only difference in the storytelling tool is that it is known as understanding the need of the user (beginning), designing the solution (middle part), CTAs and ways to reach the target audience (climax), visually appealing and adequately working software delivery (end).
The success of storytelling in software development depends on how well the developer connects with the user’s problem. Once the entire team is on the same page, emotionally and practically, they deliver the most reliable solutions.
The Process of Storytelling in Software Development
Storyteller software is a tool that listens to the thoughts and ideas of the customer, understands their audience, and then transforms them into concrete solutions. Storytelling software uses the following steps.
● Understanding the user story
● Implementation of the story
● Conclusion
Understanding the Story
As described earlier, understanding the story is learning the background of why the solution is being developed. Once the digital storytelling software is understood, the implementation of the solution becomes more apparent.
When the user tells his problem, there is always a story in it. When this story is told to the team, they give a set of solutions to the user. It is like giving them the menu to select the dish they like to be served.
Once they select the dish, it becomes an easy job to make it. But you need to ask the user why he is selecting the particular solution. Because the ‘why’ will answer almost every question that is needed to design the appropriate solution.
Implementation of the Story
The implementation of the story is the ‘show, don’t tell’ part. You need to display the solution on the screen for the user to understand. The user does not know the coding language, but he will understand that if I click this, this happens. And that understanding for the user is the implementation of the story.
We can also say that the implementation of the story is the architecture of the software. A well-built architecture will convey the story to the users. For example, when HRIS software is developed, the HR departments will know that the story behind the development was to ease out their tasks. These tasks could be anything from attendance to salary management.
Always remember, only a well-understood story can be implemented most dependably.
Conclusion
The conclusion of the story is the delivery and installation of the visual storytelling software. The user should be able to find all the answers to his problems in the best possible way. Their story that started with ‘once upon a time’ should end happily ever after’. And this is possible only when the entire team is connected emotionally and practically while working towards the solution.
The conclusion should also convey the climax of the story. The climax implies the CTAs or the final work that the software does after getting the desired data.
Only after you have reached a conclusion and the user is satisfied you will know that you have written an excellent story. This good story is the incredible software you built by gathering the plot, characters, problems, and other raw material from the user!
Benefits of Storytelling in Software Development
We know the process of storytelling in software development, but what do we gain from it? You must be thinking, can’t we listen to the demands, design a solution, and give the user what he wants? So, what is the need to understand the story behind the software?
Well, software delivered without understanding the story is merely a puzzle created. In the future, the software would not be able to answer the most important question -WHY? And that could prove that the software is a failure.
Here are some benefits of storytelling in software development.
● Straightforward Approach
Instead of beating around the bush or designing complicated solutions you will deliver the solutions in simpler steps. And this is because you have well understood the story behind creating the software.
● Understand the Big Picture
The user's story will let you understand what outcomes or expectations the user has from the software. The vision of the user and their expectations from the product can be understood only when the whole team has clarity on what and why they are working.
● Emotional Attachment
When software is developed practically and empathetically, the user also connects well with the software. People have to be given an emotion to get clicks on CTAs or use the software.
A survey was taken wherein people had to donate to a cause. As a result, two types of causes were created. One group was asked to donate food for an underdeveloped country, and the other group was asked to donate for a hungry child. The second group donated more, and many of them stated why they felt emotionally connected to the child.
Thus, the emotional connection of the team to design software is essential.
● Give Better Outcomes
Stories assure better results and excellent outcomes. They make sure that the team works best and the customers are motivated to take action. The story behind the software helps build the software in precisely the way it is asked for.
Thus, You Need to Tell a Story
Building a great story and connecting it with the user’s pain points is the best way to develop a creative solution. This helps paint a picture in the team's minds as to what is being built and why.
Storytelling in software development is essential as each software should convey an incredible story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is storytelling in software development?
Storytelling in software development understands the story as a tool to design the software more accurately. The thoughts and requirements of the user are used as raw materials and utilized to create an efficient solution.
The story also helps in understanding the audience for whom the software is being developed.
What is the importance of storytelling in software?
Stories create better solutions and excellent outcomes. They motivate the audience to react in a certain way. They connect with the user and the audience on an emotional level. They are impactful and even let developers learn a lot.
They help create better software by keeping the team connected through the story.
What are the software storytelling tools?
Software storytelling tools are the elements that help implement the solution most productively. These are the user's point of view, emotionally connect, purpose, and the answers to the questions- what and why.
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Article | August 14, 2020
Red Hat is continually innovating and part of that innovation includes researching and striving to solve the problems our customers face. That innovation is driven through the Office of the CTO and includes OpenShift, OpenShift Container Storage and use cases such as the hybrid cloud, privacy concerns in AI, and data caching. We recently interviewed Hugh Brock, research director for the office of the CTO, here at Red Hat about these very topics.
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Article | June 22, 2021
The world of AI-powered businesses is evolving like never before. It’s fast-moving, extremely competitive, and even ruthless at times.
Currently, hundreds of artificial intelligence platforms are being introduced every day and they are reshaping the way businesses conduct different campaigns like social media campaigns, search marketing campaigns, digital marketing campaigns, etc.
With intense competition in this field, only a few manage to reach the top. Some keep on struggling to impress their audience for years while others fail to find the right traction and eventually crumble shortly.
Being a company owner, marketer, or founder, it is essential to keep one thing in mind — people want to buy great products. And, only the most creative, smartest, and strongest all will last. Whether it is a service or product, it must add more value to the day-to-day lives of your customers.
That said, effective marketing for AI-powered platforms in this internet era may seem like finding a needle in a haystack for some. However, it can get an edge and rule this cynical market if you follow the below-mentioned actionable tips. We have discussed with some of the best brand communicators and marketers in the business who have used amazing tactics to survive in this already saturated industry.
Focus More On ROI, Less On Technology
Being an AI-based company or a platform, it's obvious that many tend to get wrapped up in a bunch of technical terms. But the customers don’t care much about it.
Instead of knowing your artificial intelligence tool in and out, they want to know how it can boost their returns on investment.
Yes, it’s good to let them know the technology you have used. But in the end, it’s the service you are selling and any customer would want to make sure if your product can satisfy the following needs:
● Enhance customer relationships
● Minimize business costs
● Simplify the processes
● Reduce the losses
● Get more sales
Your marketing strategy for AI-powered platforms must focus on the major pain points of the customers. After all, knowing if your product is worth the money is the basic thing all businesses and individuals need.
Go Visual To Effectively Market Your Service
Nothing can catch someone’s attention better than the visuals. Humans are visual learners and nothing can beat great visuals when communicating a service or product.
Let your customers take a peek at what’s under the hood of your service. You indeed can get help from gifs, videos, photos, and screenshots to clear some fog. But understanding how the software works is rarely achieved through them. Giving them an idea of how it really works is the key here.
Demonstrating the functionality and interactivity of your platform helps clients understand its operations and ultimately, its potential benefits. Make sure your demo is clear, friendly, and able to help your customers visualize your AI-powered platform in action.
This high-performing marketing strategy has the power to normalize your solution, no matter how complicated it is in reality.
Have A BS-Free Approach
Even though this is a pretty obvious thing to know, it’s worth mentioning here because it is, unfortunately, extremely widespread. You should market your product as an AI-powered one only if it truly revolves around AI.
The concept of artificial intelligence is the new boom in the market and many businesses are tempted to introduce their platform as AI-powered even when it isn’t.
This may look cool in the beginning but avoid doing this as it can cause serious consequences for both investors and customers down the road. Therefore, the marketing for AI-powered platforms should be very tech-specific and long away from even the slightest hint of misleading.
Educate Your Customers On Alternate Options
In general, Artificial Intelligence is an umbrella term that comprises several technical approaches. But sadly, only a few of them are mostly touted in the market. “Deep Learning” and “Machine Learning” are to name a few.
How many are there who say they use Robotic Process Automation, AI Optimized Hardware, Decision Management, or Evolutionary Strategies?
The numbers are surprisingly poor. Your marketing for AI-powered platforms should include demonstrations that educate customers on your unique approaches that can benefit their business in terms of finances, eCommerce, digital marketing, etc.
For instance, if your platform is armed with Evolutionary Strategies (ES), let your customers know about it. ES uses a set of candidate solutions for problem-solving. It evaluates the answer depending on a ‘fitness’ function. The survival of the solutions is decided on their performance ratings which improve them generation by generation. The stand out feature of ES is that it does not require tons of clearly labelled data.
Such kind of optimized marketing creates wonders. It cares more about the outcomes customers will get and less about the tech.
Develop A Remarkable Demo
To earn the trust, attention, and eventually the budget of your customer, you need to make the best first impression of your AI-powered platform.
Your product should speak for itself and you can get help from a crisp, condensed and engaging demo for this task. Build a great demonstration of your product to explain how it operates. This will make customers realize how it can be beneficial for their specific needs.
A highly practical and visual demo gives extra information about the product so your customers can understand a broader picture of it. It helps them to draw conclusions about certain facts, functionalities, and potential benefits.
Include Case Studies In Your Demo
Case studies play a vital role when it is about marketing for AI-powered platforms. The fact is, most of your customers are not tech-savvy. And, all those jargon, technical words related to your product are kind of an enigma to them.
Of course, you can use visuals, bulleted points, and other forms to demonstrate the unique features of your product. However, it’s not enough for them until they see how your product helped other customers.
You can count on some of your compelling customer stories to showcase the power of your tool. It not only demonstrates how your platform works in the real world but also helps clients know the tangible value creation.
Arrange Free Consulting Sessions And Webinars For Customers
Marketing for AI-powered platforms should be all about expressing your unique approach and best ideas to the right audience in such a way that they find it valuable, interesting, and game-changing.
Talking directly can make this job a lot easier. Yes, we mean literally talking to your prospective clients. But how can you do that?
It’s simple — through consulting sessions and webinars. Both of these options are highly beneficial as they can
● Answer all the questions customers have
● Create excitement among customers
● Build communities
Such a consultative approach is an integral part of any high-performing marketing strategy because it allows you to serve and not just sell. And on top of everything, it creates a ‘tone of helpfulness’ that promotes trust.
No matter if you have the most unique and powerful ideal in the world, that’s not enough for the success of your company. The right marketing is what you need to make your idea reach the mass. As the artificial intelligence industry is constantly growing and the cutthroat competition is making it harder to reach the top, what roadmap you follow in marketing for AI-powered platforms is the ticket to your success.
FAQs
What is AI-powered marketing?
AI-powered marketing, in layman’s terms, is a marketing strategy that uses artificial intelligence. It revolves around the facts related to data analysis, data collection, and customer & economic trends that can make or break your marketing efforts.
When speed is what you want, nothing is better than AI-powered marketing. With the effective use of customer profiles and data, AI initiates communication and serves the customers in the best way.
What are the top benefits of AI-powered platforms?
The following are the benefits that can make your job of marketing for AI-powered platforms easy:
● Improved personalised experience
● Automated customer interactions
● Improved outcome predictions
● Enhanced recruitment process
● Improves information security
● Operational automation
● Real-time assistance
● Data mining
What is an AI-powered platform?
Traditional platforms involve human beings to complete specific tasks. On the other hand, AI-powered platforms use machines to do the same.
Artificial intelligence platforms use cognitive function stimulation that humans normally use for general intelligence, social intelligence, logical reasoning, learning and problem-solving.
With such a great ability to reduce human efforts and deliver excellent benefits, effective marketing for AI-powered platforms is the need of the hour.
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