Why brands should be integrating artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the way that marketers transform their digital strategy. Implementing a data-led approach can help businesses improve the customer journey and in several ways, help marketers to better understand their customer’s habits . Understanding artificial intelligence tools is key for brands to streamline their marketing efforts using AI solutions.

AI is changing the landscape of marketing and digital marketing agency; Hit Search share their stance on why retail brands should utilise the latest go-to technology to their advantage.

Andrew Donaldson, strategy director at Hit Search, supports the use of cutting-edge AI research, which allows brands to learn and optimise digital strategies in several ways. Here, the SEO agency share four ways artificial intelligence can change retail marketer’s digital marketing strategies for the better:

1. Voice Search & SEO

Voice search technology and AI combined are changing how marketers conduct their digital strategy and their SEO strategy. Enhanced artificial intelligence can assist retail brands, when used correctly. Start by adjusting your SEO strategy, in support of voice search. Recognising long-tail, conversational search terms is imperative to display your brand throughout the customer’s user journey.

2. Chatbot Technology

Ecommerce sites should use AI technology to their advantage and tailor the customer experience to shopper’s needs. Resolving customer queries across several platforms; including social media channels, is the simplest way to make an impact on customers, increase brand loyalty and improve customer retention. Bots can create a lucrative shopping experience and with many customers willing to shop via bots, the positive impact they have on the user’s experience is huge for ecommerce retailers.

3. Content Marketing is King

The old saying ‘Content is king’ has never carried more weight since the introduction of AI. Redefining content marketing strategies, using the insights gained from AI technology will aid content marketers with the ability to tailor a cohesive content approach. This can be achieved by creating content targeting specific keywords, planning blog posts that align with consumer’s shopping habits and creating personalised content that will result in a data-driven marketing approach.

4. Improved Paid Ad Campaigns

Artificial intelligence software is integral when running ad campaigns. Paid media will continue to evolve and increase the efficiency of paid search and social campaigns. AI allows marketers to hyper-target shoppers, based on lifestyle actions and voice search behaviour, who are already in the decision-making phase and ready to purchase, making reaching your target audience far easier.

There are many ways in which artificial intelligence data can improve and strengthen marketing campaigns to streamline the way in which brands connect and influence new and returning customers throughout the user journey.

Demica closes US$30m financing round to accelerate investment

Today Demica, one of the world’s largest working capital fintechs, announced that it has successfully closed a US$30m Series C financing round led by Simcah Management LLC.

Over the past five years, Demica has built a rapidly growing Software as a Service (“SaaS”) platform to manage working capital for over 500 large corporate multinationals financed by 50 global financial institutions. During this time the company has grown funded programmes from US$3bn to US$16bn, established a commercial presence across Europe and North America and expanded its development centres in UK, India and Poland.

Uniquely in the market, Demica’s vision is to give treasurers access to the full range of working capital finance products offered by banks around the world through its award winning portal. Responding to customer demand, this financing round will facilitate adding invoice discounting and distribution finance products to the platform as well as enhancing the syndication and risk distribution functionality. In addition, the investment will enable Demica to expand its North American team and build deeper relationships with the banks and institutional credit investors that finance its transactions.

Matt Wreford, CEO of Demica, commented: “The trend for working capital finance transactions to be managed on independent third party platforms has accelerated during 2019. All parties are looking for flexible financial structures that can be automated with best in class risk mitigation for funders. This investment round takes us another step closer to delivering this vision and transforming how working capital is financed globally.”

David Cohen, managing member of Simcah Management, commented: “As an experienced investor in enterprise SaaS companies, I have been attracted for many years to the working capital finance market due to its substantial size and consistent growth rate. Demica is one of the very few credible platforms that has the potential to reach critical mass on a global scale.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to the requisite regulatory approvals from the FCA. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Tech start-up celebrates whirlwind growth in 2019

A UK tech start-up has announced it closed 2019 with a record 200 clients, only eight months after launching onto the market.

ePOS Hybrid has created the world’s most advanced hospitality ePOS platform – a fully-customisable system companies in the industry can use to reinvent their business, driving operational efficiency and elevating customer experience.

The company now boasts an extensive portfolio of clients across Scotland, England and Wales as well as clients as far afield as Australia and India. The business also recently celebrated winning a new contract with an enterprise firm which operates fast food locations throughout the UK.

ePOS Hybrid is the only point of sale provider which can offer clients a fully modular ePOS platform, with products including point of sale terminals and online and mobile ordering solutions. It also provides customer self-checkouts and interactive smart tables – all of which seamlessly connect with one another to deliver a slick experience for customers.

A series of high-quality appointments has helped to accelerate the company’s rapid growth, bringing the management team to a six-strong unit with years of experience in I.T., technology and high-growth start-ups.

Recent appointments to the board of directors include non-executive directors Alex Grant, Alastair Hutt, Caroline Heeney and chief technology officer Hema Bellapukonda.

Alex Grant has 36 years’ experience in financial services and technology, latterly serving as head of technology at RBS and Natwest. Alastair Hutt has over 40 years’ experience in business growth, product development and partnerships, recently acting as head of partnerships and innovation management at Natwest and RBS.

With over 15 years’ experience, Hema will provide her vast expertise in software development, project management and quality assurance, while Caroline joins with extensive background in commercial law, further reinforcing the company’s commitment to strategic business growth.

Andrew Gibbon, head of growth at ePOS Hybrid, said: “2019 has been a very big year for us. Since our product launch in April, we’ve been working hard to increase brand and product awareness and drive sales growth across the UK.

“Thanks to our effective growth strategies, unique product offering and competitive pricing, we’ve been able to scale far faster than initially anticipated, securing new clients on a daily basis and creating five new full-time jobs as a result.

“We’re firmly on track to continue onboarding 75 new clients every month and we’re well on our way to hitting 500 customers by May 2020.”

By addressing gaps in the competition’s offering, ePOS Hybrid has propelled itself to the forefront of the hospitality industry and the point of sale market.

Bhas Kalangi, founder of ePOS Hybrid, said: “The level of demand we’ve seen from customers shows just how impactful our products are within the industry.

“We’re constantly developing exciting and innovative products which are transforming the way businesses in the food and drink industry connect with customers and run their businesses. We’re looking forward to another successful year for sales and client expansion, and further growth of the business.”

The Android-based system automates a bar or restaurant’s operations, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency for both staff and customers. Managers can receive in-depth reports and analysis of everything from tracking stock and food waste to reservations and capacity.

The firm offers clients the option of fully-branded online ordering platforms and apps to increase online revenues and build up a loyal customer base.

Customers can also enjoy one-of-a-kind dining experiences thanks to ePOS Hybrid’s innovative hardware – including a Smart Table which allows diners to play games, call a waiter and design their own pizza from the comfort of their seats.

Cyber defences in financial services sector worsen

The level of cyber risk facing the financial services sector has increased significantly in the last 12 months, according to new research by international cybersecurity consultancy Coalfire.

Coalfire’s second annual Penetration Risk Report identified that financial services firms are more susceptible to cyberattacks than they were a year ago, with the number of businesses at high risk of attack from cybercriminals increasing by 41%.

The report details the cybersecurity credentials of more than 500 businesses of all sizes across five high risk sectors: technology, retail, healthcare, education and financial services. Of all those tested, the report found that only the financial services sector had suffered an increase in risk from last year’s report.

Out-of-date software was highlighted as the biggest contributing factor to the increased level of risk, with Coalfire’s study identifying that flawed legacy software – well-known to hackers – is still commonplace within major companies and financial institutions.

Security in the sector was further hampered by consistent vulnerabilities generated by internal issues such as insecure protocol, patch management and password flaws.

Human error was a persistent theme across all five sectors involved in the study, with almost three-quarters (71%) of businesses breached by phishing attacks. In a fifth (20%) of the businesses tested, more than half of all their employees shared sensitive data as a result.

Andy Barratt, UK managing director at Coalfire, said: “In a year in which the number of IT failures within the financial services sector has been heavily criticised by UK MPs, attacking outdated IT systems remains like shooting fish in a barrel for sophisticated cybercriminals. By their nature, financial services firms have access to huge amounts of sensitive data and funds, so it’s critical that the sector moves quickly to close the widening gaps in its armour.

“The results of the report simply reinforce the need for a cyber strategy that encompasses both software and people to eradicate the all-too simple errors that can lead to major breaches. It only takes one employee to click on the wrong link or unwittingly share sensitive information to a fraudulent email and a hacker is in. This makes security basics, such as limiting employee access based on their role and educating staff on how to spot suspicious activity, vitally important.”

Dubai based fintech set to disrupt UK digital payments

Dubai based fintech company specialising in payment processing is set to launch OG Bank and OG Pay (On the Go) a digital banking solution, chat based payment wallet and a digital point of sale (POS) all to be operated from mobile devices.

OG Bank and OG Pay have signed an agreement with Bankable, the global architect of “Banking as a Service” solutions, to offer digital banking and digital payment solutions primarily in the UK and Germany.

Whilst OG Bank will be a digital bank, OG Pay claims that with a chat-based payment solution and digital pos through mobile phones in a closed loop environment they will cause major disruption in these markets.
Chat based payment solutions and mobile payment processing is widely and commonly used in Asia. For the last few years a cashless race has been seen in Asia with global players emerging however this type of technology has rarely been seen in Europe. A closed loop system can create advantages for consumers due to the competitive nature and low costs for operators.

Mohammed Ibraheem Khan, CEO of OG Bank and OG Pay said: “I chose Bankable as a technology partner to support my ambition in multiple markets. OG Pay will change the way individuals and businesses send and receive money along with how businesses process payments. We are going to ruffle feathers… A disruption is needed and disrupt we shall”.

“Bankable is delighted to partner with Dubai based OG Pay, a chat based payment pioneer, to launch new payment solutions in the UK and Germany. OG Pay is an ambitious organisation planning to launch digital banking services supported by Bankable API infrastructure, not only in Europe but also in Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and other jurisdictions,” says Eric Mouilleron, founder and CEO of Bankable “Bankable will partner with OG Pay in all its markets, appointing new regional bank sponsors in the process.”

Whilst digital banks are emerging and growing in popularity the emergence of payment wallets and adoption in the UK and Europe has been slow. With the world in a cashless race only time will determine the success of such technology in established markets.

The death of the password expected to be biggest trend for 2020

One of the key trends to impact millions of people and businesses in 2020 is the death of the password. Passwords are widely being recognised as an outdated, costly method of authentication, and the source of most cyber-attacks.

According to James Stickland, CEO of Veridium: “Passwords account for over 80% of data breaches , with resets costing firms a staggering $1.9m a year . In 2020, the expansion of 5G – the wireless replacement for broadband that is up to 100 times faster than its predecessor – will escalate the volume and speed of data theft, empowering hackers to penetrate vital company data . As a result, more and more organisations are turning towards biometric authentication to mitigate against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, whilst enhancing the user experience.”

He continues: “Increasingly, companies and consumers alike are realising the weakness of passwords. Millions of people use the same password for multiple logins, leaving valuable personal data at risk. In addition, employees must remember an average of 27 passwords , which on top of costing businesses at least $70 per user per year to manage resets, also decreases productivity significantly. Gartner forecasts that by 2022, . Gartner forecasts that by 2022, 60% of businesses will have cut their reliance on passwords by half . Biometric authentication is a far more secure alternative to this obsolete, easily compromised security measure.”

He continues: “This year will see regulation and compliance becoming more business critical for financial institutions with the delayed Strong Customer Authentication of the EU PSD2 directive set to come into force in March. This will require banks to provide two layers of authentication on purchases over £28, with a view to improving the security of online transactions. Implementing biometrics is a cost effective way of fulfilling such regulatory requirements whilst maximising security and guarding against fraud.”

James observes that other security trends in 2020 will include:

Identity and e-commerce fraud – Global e-commerce fraud is projected to cost $130bn by 2023 . This issue has been amplified by artificial intelligence powered ‘deepfake’ threats which imitate characteristics such as voice. These are anticipated to cost businesses more than $250m in identity fraud scams this year.

James comments: “Integrating innovative behavioural biometric authentication, which uses artificial intelligence to identify unique mannerisms such as gait, or patterns of behaviour such as the time of day an app is accessed, as well as location, is widely being regarded as a the final frontier in security, and a solution to such advanced threats.”

Mobile-first security – Gartner predicts that by 2022, 70% of organisations will be using biometric authentication for employees via smartphone apps, which is a huge rise from less than five per cent in 2018.

James concludes:“This year will also see mobile-first authentication strategies take precedence. Biometric facial recognition hardware will be present in 90% of smartphones by 2024, thus enterprises with a Multi Factor Authentication strategy will provide increased security for their clients and the organisation and also an improved and more seamless user experience.”