Future Tech
Zendesk | January 08, 2024
Zendesk today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Klaus, the industry leading AI-powered quality management platform. AI is driving a rapid increase in customer interactions and radically transforming the world of customer service. Customer service teams are being asked to increase their ROI by managing a rising volume of interactions while providing quality service, and increasing their organization's efficiency in the process. With Klaus, Zendesk customers will be able to deliver consistent, high quality service across every channel and across both human and digital agents (bots) – all while unlocking the power of everyday customer interactions to increase loyalty.
"As AI drives up the speed and frequency of customer engagement, only AI-powered quality assurance (QA) can keep up as companies work to identify and fix gaps in their customer service operations," said Adrian McDermott, chief technology officer, Zendesk. "The combination of Zendesk AI and Klaus' capabilities will help businesses navigate greater complexity and volume and ensure both digital and human agents deliver highly personal and empathetic service."
"Zendesk and Klaus share a vision of AI-led, personalized CX with businesses fully anticipating and acting on their customers' needs," said Martin Kõiva, CEO and founder, Klaus. "QA software plays a critical role in this, ensuring consistency, assessing both human and digital agent performance and providing actionable insights for strategic planning. As part of Zendesk, we will continue to build and deliver these crucial capabilities, but now at an even greater scale."
With digital agents resolving more service inquiries without human interaction, having a QA solution that analyzes both human and digital agent performance is crucial to maintaining quality control and providing best-in-class customer service. While most QA software is capable of only scoring 1 to 2 percent of interactions and cannot recognize systemic trends, Klaus' AI scores 100 percent of customer support interactions. It pinpoints conversations with positive or negative sentiment, identifies outliers, churn risk, escalations and follow-ups across all conversations – even those done by digital agents or outsourced teams. Klaus spots knowledge gaps and coaching opportunities that can be used to improve agent performance and productivity, all of which results in higher customer satisfaction.
WEM is a critical capability for today's customer service leaders. The acquisition of Klaus will be the latest addition to the company's existing workforce engagement management (WEM) solutions which includes Tymeshift, a modern workforce management tool built exclusively for Zendesk. The company acquired Tymeshift in June 2023. The acquisition of Klaus is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2024 upon receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
About Zendesk
Zendesk is on a mission to simplify the complexity of business and make it easy for companies and customers to create connections. Our customer experience software unlocks the power of billions of interactions, enabling businesses to build rich, meaningful relationships with their customers. The company was conceived in Copenhagen, Denmark and today operates in more than 20 countries around the world.
About Klaus
Klaus is an AI-powered quality management platform that helps companies drive revenue through excellent customer service. Headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, Klaus was founded in 2018 by Martin Kõiva, Kair Käsper and Egon Sale and has nearly 100 employees.
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Software
Persistent Systems | January 05, 2024
Persistent Systems (BSE: PERSISTENT) (NSE: PERSISTENT), a global Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization leader, announced a multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate the pace of innovation and development of generative AI solutions for clients. Persistent is a long-standing AWS Partner and has a proven track record of early scale generative AI adoption across multiple industry verticals leveraging services like Amazon CodeWhisperer and Amazon Bedrock. Amazon CodeWhisperer provides generative AI-powered code recommendations directly in multiple integrated development environments (IDEs) to help developers build applications quickly in more than 15 coding languages; Amazon Bedrock is a fully managed service that makes foundation models (FMs) from leading AI companies accessible via an API to build and scale generative AI applications.
This strategic collaboration with AWS will help Persistent to further increase the impact it delivers to its clients that are embracing generative AI. Through this teaming, Persistent will have access to additional resources from AWS to build proofs of concept to help clients identify tangible business outcomes from generative AI. This will also support use case discovery and rapid build out of solutions with additional go-to-market funds from AWS. One of the key benefits to combined clients will be continued early access to AWS's generative AI services and investments that will help clients with their aspirations around growth, time-to-market, and better customer experience.
The Strategic Collaboration Agreement builds on Persistent's 30+ years of software engineering heritage, its best practices from more than 120 AWS engagements for cloud migration and modernization, and its 2,500 AWS practitioners to enable flexible and scalable generative AI-powered solutions tailored to clients' unique needs. Persistent's AWS Migration Competency status provides proven cloud expertise to help clients move successfully to AWS through all phases of complex migration projects. This collaboration reflects Persistent's proficiency in building robust cloud infrastructure, crucial in today's cloud-first, AI-first world, enabling clients to implement cloud-powered generative AI solutions.
These combined assets from AWS and Persistent can bolster the value provided to joint clients, helping them unlock the full potential of their technology investments.
Rajiv Sodhi, Senior Vice President – Hyperscaler Business & Strategic Alliances, Persistent:
"Enterprises across industries are looking to tap into the transformative potential of generative AI to reimagine, redefine, and rethink their business models for improved customer experiences and business growth. Combined with our newly acquired AWS Migration Competency status and our SCA, AWS will help us scale generative AI adoption among our clients so they can identify and implement use cases where this technology can have a real impact. We remain committed to helping clients reach their technology goals by leveraging the agility, breadth of services, and rapid innovation that AWS provides."
Quan Yang, Vice President of Research IT, Regeneron:
"Generative AI unlocks new opportunities to transform the life sciences industry. We are modernizing our legacy research applications to help accelerate the drug development process and simplify workflows. With Persistent's Digital Engineering expertise, powered by the AWS platform, Regeneron's research and pre-clinical development teams help bring our new life-savings drugs to market faster."
Chris Sullivan, Vice President, Worldwide System Integrator Partners, AWS:
"We are delighted to be working with Persistent to help our customers accelerate growth, enable business transformation, and enhance their digital experience. Together, we aim to redefine what's possible with generative AI, setting new standards for efficiency, innovation, and technological advancements."
About Persistent
With over 22,800 employees located in 21 countries, Persistent Systems (BSE: PERSISTENT) (NSE: PERSISTENT) is a global services and solutions company delivering Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization. As a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, Persistent is committed to aligning strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, as well as take actions that advance societal goals. With 268% growth since 2020, Persistent is the fastest-growing Indian IT Services brand according to Brand Finance.
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AI Tech
Qlik | January 25, 2024
<p> Qlik, a global leader in data analytics and integration, today announces the establishment of its inaugural AI Council – an initiative that further embeds leading edge, ethical AI development at the heart of the company’s mission and industry proposition. By convening a distinguished set of advisors, Qlik will accelerate the responsible development of its AI-driven product portfolio, benefitting from the expertise of some of the world’s most prominent AI experts, to help customers use their data to achieve more significant business outcomes.</p> <p> Qlik’s Generative AI Benchmark Report found that 31% of senior executives plan to spend over $10 million on generative AI initiatives in the coming year and 79% have already invested in generative AI tools or projects. Despite this enthusiasm, it also found that they understand the need to surround them with the right data strategies to realize their potential. If the data building blocks of AI are not governed properly as it is democratized across the entire workforce, it could present a serious threat to the efficiency and integrity of business operations. The AI Council has been established to help Qlik’s customers navigate these challenges and advise on best practices.</p> <p> Members of the Council will work within Qlik to guide the company’s R&D direction, inform its product roadmap and ensure its customers’ use of Qlik’s AI is built with responsibility and ethics front of mind. The Council will also educate Qlik leaders and employees on how to harness the full potential of AI, while providing insights into the priorities of business leaders tasked with demonstrating value from AI investment.</p> <p> The AI Council features some of the most renowned subject matter experts from around the world. More information on these members can be found on our Qlik Staige website:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Nina Schick – Author, Advisor and Founder of an advisory firm focused on GenAI</strong><br /> A world-leading authority on generative AI, Nina has long been analyzing emerging technology trends for society. With over two decades of geopolitical experience, she has advised global leaders, including Joe Biden, President of the United States, and was articulating her vision of the ‘AI inflexion point’ years before ChatGPT made AI a global phenomenon.</li> </ul> <ul> <li> <strong>Dr. Rumman Chowdhury – Responsible AI leader, engineer, auditor and investor</strong><br /> Rumman is a pioneer in the field of applied algorithmic ethics, creating cutting-edge socio-technical solutions for ethical, explainable and transparent AI. She is currently the CEO and founder of Humane Intelligence, a tech nonprofit that builds a community of practice around algorithmic evaluations. She has also served on multiple boards, including the UK Center for Data Ethics and Innovation, and on UN’s Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, Oxford University’s Commission on AI and Governance, and Patterns data science journal. Previously, Rumman was the Director of META (ML Ethics, Transparency, and Accountability) team at Twitter, leading a team of applied researchers and engineers to identify and mitigate algorithmic harms on the platform.</li> </ul> <ul> <li> <strong>Kelly Forbes – Co-Founder and Executive Director, AI Asia Pacific Institute</strong><br /> Kelly sits at the intersection of policy, research and industry, working with leading organizations and governments to address the risks associated with AI through international cooperation. With extensive experience in the Asia-Pacific region, Kelly has conducted research on AI governance, public-private dialogue and government policy issues.</li> </ul> <ul> <li> <strong>Dr. Michael Bronstein – DeepMind Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Oxford</strong><br /> An award-winning academic, Michael was previously Head of Graph Learning Research at Twitter, a professor at Imperial College London and has held visiting appointments at Stanford, MIT, and Harvard. Michael is also a serial entrepreneur, having founded startups such as Novafora, Invision (acquired by Intel in 2012), Videocites and Fabula AI (acquired by Twitter in 2019).</li> </ul> <p> "The formation of Qlik's AI Council is a strategic leap, reflecting our deep-seated commitment to not just advancing AI, but doing so with ethical integrity and practical applicability," said Mike Capone, CEO of Qlik. "Our goal is crystal clear: to enable our customers to harness AI in a way that's not only transformative, but also responsible. By uniting a cadre of AI luminaries, we are sharpening our focus on delivering AI solutions that are not just cutting-edge, but also seamlessly integrated and governed. This initiative is a pivotal chapter in our journey, marking a bold move towards democratizing AI in a manner that is both accessible and aligned with our core mission of driving substantial, data-driven business outcomes."</p> <p> Data and analytics leaders from around the world can hear from the AI Council at Qlik Connect, which takes place on June 3-5 in Orlando, Florida. At the pre-eminent event for data analytics, integration, and AI, Council members will share their take on the opportunities and challenges for businesses exploring the value of automation in their data strategy. Additional details and event registration is at www.qlikconnect.com</p> <p> “I am excited to join Qlik’s AI Council and work with some of the greatest minds in AI to optimize how businesses around the world use data,” said Rumman Chowdhury, member of Qlik’s AI Council. “We’ve reached an inflection point where innovations like generative AI are impacting the world as the internet did. This is not the time for complacency. ‘Adopting AI’ is not as simple as some suggest, but getting left behind is a risky game. By taking responsible steps, organizations can enter an era of unprecedented innovation – I look forward to being able to contribute to this evolution.”</p> <p> “In working at JBS USA, I recognize the significance of Qlik's advancements in AI, embodying a responsible and pragmatic approach to enterprise AI development,” said Stephanie Robinson, IT Business Intelligence Manager at JBS. “Qlik's dedication to enhancing AI applications aligns with our focus on employing technology to drive substantial business outcomes. We value Qlik's commitment to ethical AI practices and are optimistic about the beneficial impact this will have on the industry.”</p> <p> <strong>About Qlik</strong><br /> Qlik converts complex data landscapes into actionable insights, driving strategic business outcomes. Serving over 40,000 global customers, our portfolio leverages advanced, enterprise-grade AI/ML and pervasive data quality. We excel in data integration and governance, offering comprehensive solutions that work with diverse data sources. Intuitive analytics from Qlik uncover hidden patterns, empowering teams to address complex challenges and seize new opportunities. Our AI/ML tools, both practical and scalable, lead to better decisions, faster. As strategic partners, our platform-agnostic technology and expertise make our customers more competitive.</p> <p> 2024 QlikTech International AB. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.</p> <p> The development, release and timing of any product or functionality described herein remain at the sole discretion of Qlik and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision.</p>
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