Bluetooth beacons are hardware devices that use low energy signals to transmit periodic information to electronic mobile devices in close proximity. The beacons transmit their id to the mobile devices, which return this identification number to the cloud server. The server responds by sending the information attached to the identification number. It could be a product detail, a webpage, a phone number, etc.

Business marketing professionals are using Bluetooth beacons in numerous ways to increase sales and revenue:

1. Tracking customer’s in-store movements: Bluetooth beacons can be used to track the movements of a customer in the store and send relevant offers. For example, if the beacon detects that a customer is in shoes section, it makes sense to send her a shoe discount coupon. This motivates the customer to make a purchase.

2. Help Customers In In-Store Navigation: It is common for customers to abandon the store if they can’t find what they are looking for. Bluetooth beacon technology can be used to tackle this problem efficiently. The technology can be used in conjunction with the store app to create an in-store mapping experience. Businesses can develop their apps to assist the customers in creating a shopping list as they enter the store. The app can then be used to show them the location of the selected products. The Bluetooth beacons detect the real-time location of the customers as they move and create a map to show them if they are moving in the right direction or not in relevance to the products.

3. Attract Customers To In-Store Events: Retail businesses commonly organize in-store events to attract customers during holiday seasons. The events may range from free makeup tutorials to gift wrapping presentations. Traditionally, the business marketing professionals used emails or telemarketing to inform their customers about the events. However, customers have a higher probability to walk in the store for attending an event, if they are already in the vicinity. Thus, you can use Bluetooth beacon technology to alert mobile device users in the proximity of your store about the ongoing events. This will help in increasing the footprint traffic, giving you a chance to generate leads.

4. Improve In-Store Conversion Rates: Using Bluetooth beacon technology, you can have an idea of the products that are being purchased by a customer via his online shopping list or in-store location. This information can be used to transmit notifications or reminders to purchase related products. For example, if a customer purchases cereal in a supermarket, a notification such as ‘Do you also need milk?’ can make sense to him. Such targeted messaging helps in increasing in-store conversion rate.

For more information about use of Bluetooth beacons in business marketing, call Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

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Customer service is an important aspect of any business organization. Businesses keep looking for new ideas to improve their customer service and offer better customer experience, which has led to the advancements in AI based customer service solutions. Although, businesses have been using AI in customer support for a while; the collaboration still holds many facets that are yet to be unfolded in the future.

Following are some of the applications of AI that can be explored for enhancing customer service by businesses:

• Brand Messenger: In recent years, there has been an increased user inclination towards messaging apps. The use of messaging has extended from personal communications to user engagement with brands. This has laid out a path for businesses to incorporate chatbots to interact with new and existing customers. As some major industries (like fashion, tourism, food chains, airline, e-commerce and hotels) have adopted this feature to increase user engagement; it would be exciting to know which industries will follow the suit in future.

• Quick Resolution: Wait time for resolving simple queries is an important determinant in customer satisfaction. Customers seek quick answers to general queries and tend to trust a brand that offers faster answers and streamlined action plans for their queries. Thus, businesses can exploit the capacity of AI to multi-task and handle multiple automated queries. This will help in limiting the response time and generating accurate resolutions.

• Customized User Experience: In addition to making self-service user interfaces more intuitive, AI can help in anticipating customer needs based on previous chat history, contexts and user preferences. AI integrated systems can capture a large amount of data for identifying customer issues, defining customer behavior, determining frequent decisions, prompting with proactive alert messages, suggesting personalized offers and discounts, etc. Such intelligent assistance and pre-emptive recommendations will help companies in offering a quality rich customer service.

• AI Controlled Multiple Support Channels: In addition to providing direct assistance to the customers, AI can be used to control multiple channels of customer support. For example, in case a telecommunications agent is unable to answer a query, AI can determine the issue and direct the customer towards dedicated support channel.

Undoubtedly, these applications support the strengthening of collaboration between AI & Customer Support. However, as the AI systems rely on collecting extensive user data for working efficiently, this gives rise to privacy concerns. The data collecting system can be compromised resulting in a data breach. Thus, business organizations need to pay due attention to data security policies before implementing AI supported customer service systems.

For more information about use of AI in customer service, call Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

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A smart application is an software that uses data from user interactions (historical and real-time) for providing actionable insights for better user experience. The insights may be in the form of recommendations, estimates or suggestions to complete a task. A common example of smart applications is retail apps that provide product suggestions to the user based upon previous buying behavior and choices made by the user.

As a business owner, following are the reasons why you should consider to invest in smart applications:

• Operationalize Data: If you are investing your resources for collecting data related to your customers, it will hold no value if this data is not used. Smart applications operationalize the information collected by your data scientists. These applications utilize this information to provide insights to customers and systems for helping them take profitable actions. For example, a smart app utilizes data about the buying history of a user to provide a list of your products that may garner user interest and improve the chances of a sale. This leads to desired outcomes that support your business goals.
• Improve Operational Efficiency: Smart applications are also available for machines, not only human users. Machine-to-machine smart applications can be paired with event-driven architecture for automating the operational processes based on real-time insights. This helps in improving the operational efficiency of an organization.
• New Business Models: Smart applications can be used to analyze data for providing predictive insights for developing more productive business models. The model is based on extensive user data, market research, and thorough analysis. The smart app helps the organization in predicting the results of a business model before investing resources for its implementation.
• Dynamic & Evolving: As new data, insights, and user feedback are collected regularly; the data scientists and developers use this newly acquired information for continuously evolving the smart application. Thus, the smart application is able to provide relevant insights based on real-time data. Also, smart apps have a loosely coupled microservices-based architecture. This makes it easier to implement changes and support continuous evolution.

Undoubtedly, it has become important to adapt smart applications for your business. However, here are some points to be considered before making a decision:

• Do you have robust data practices? Smart applications are data-driven. Thus, an organization requires robust data practices for finding actionable information from a large amount of data.
• Do you imply an agile methodology? For running a smart application, it is important for both data scientists and developers to adopt an agile methodology. Thus, make sure that your data scientists must be able to analyze data and update the algorithms regularly. Also, your developers need to continuously update the smart app.

For more information about next generation smart applications, call Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

As the IoT network continues to grow, the data has to travel long distances in order to be accessible to every device connected to the IoT network. As the data was formerly stored at a central location, it requires high bandwidth for pushing the data to and fro the nodal devices where it was actually needed. This also resulted in high latency rates. The need to reduce bandwidth requirements and latency rates gave rise to ‘Edge Computing’.

Definition: Edge computing is defined as a part of a distributed computing topology in which the information processing is located close to the edge – where devices or people connected to the network produce and consume the information.

Thus, it is a Microdata center network that processes or stores the vital data locally and pushes all data inward to a central location or cloud storage. Broadly speaking, edge computing is all computing that happens outside the cloud, at the edge of the network, where real-time processing is required. The basic difference between cloud computing and edge computing is that cloud computing feeds on big data while edge computing feeds on real-time data generated by sensors or users.

How Edge Computing Works?

In order to understand how edge computing works, let us consider a corporate scenario. Think about monitoring devices in a manufacturing company. While it is easier for a single device to capture data and send it to cloud storage, the problem arises in the case of multiple monitoring devices as they would produce a large amount of data.

Thus, the edge gateway collects data from the devices and processes it locally to separate the relevant information from junk data. Once the processing is complete, only the relevant information is sent to the cloud storage. Additionally, in case an application needs this information, the edge gateway sends it back in real-time reducing the latency period which would have occurred if the information request was to be processed at cloud location.

Privacy & Security Risks:

As the data is handled by different devices, it gives rise to security and privacy risks.

• Bots: A great degree of edge computing is done via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Failing to encrypt the data and authenticate third-party APIs result in a lack of control. This gives rise to a loophole that can be exploited by hackers to steal data or infect the connected devices with malicious code or bots.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): The hackers may lay silent for an extended period after infecting your system. This gives them time to spread the infection through a larger number of devices while staying unnoticed. Once their code is deep-rooted, they may initiate a DDoS attack which will spread at a greater speed owing to the low latency of edge computing paired with the upcoming 5G network.

It is imperative for organizations to pay attention to data security before implementing an edge computing model in their network. For more information about edge computing and ways to manage privacy issues related to it, call Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

Automation helps in enhancing the productivity of a company by streamlining the processes. Technological advancements have helped companies in automating routine tasks for better management of time and resources. Undoubtedly, automation seems like a lucrative option and a large number of companies are grasping the opportunity. However, it has some security risks that should be taken into consideration before incorporating automation into your operations.

• If your business process makes use of IoT enabled devices for data collection and process execution, a through security audit is recommended. It is also important to make sure there are no vulnerabilities in the internet or LAN connection that may install Trojans or malware in the system.
• When automating your company’s payment process, it may be a risk to provide access to multiple people. If multiple employees are authorized to set up and verify payments, the chances of insider threats may increase.
• Relying excessively on automated tools is another security risk for your business. Periodic manual checks to correlate automated process findings should be conducted.
• Like other software, ignoring regular updates of automation software may open a back door for cyber attackers.

Once you understand the risks associated with automation, here are some ways to help you balance automation with security:

• Set Security As A Priority: As the automation market is growing, the service providers have a zeal to launch the latest solutions at a higher pace than their competitors. This may lead to ignorance of security measures during the beta phase of development. Thus, make it a point to ask the automation provider about the built-in security measures. Also, you may consider a trial period to test if the products match your security standard.
• Think Before Scaling Up: Investing in automation for the sake of keeping up with the trend may lead to the obliviousness of security measures. Thus, before you invest in automation, you should consider the need and purpose. Also, pay attention to your system and infrastructure security before scaling up the automation operations.
• Regular Updates: Outdated software has vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers and may lead to cybersecurity breaches. So, it is important to be aware of software updates provided by your automation service provider.
• Automate Cybersecurity: Incorporating automation in your cybersecurity strategies can help in improving your security protocol by offering features such as better threat detection, data correlation, etc.
• Training: Before incorporating automation in your operations, train your employees to train them on ways to use the automation tools while considering security protocols.

We, at Centex Technologies, provide state-of-the-art IT security solutions for businesses. For more information on securely incorporating automation tools into your work processes, call us at (972) 375 - 9654.

As quoted by Steve Jobs, ‘Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.’ UX & UI are an integral part of a website design process that make it more responsive and user-friendly. In order to understand the future of UX & UI, it is first important to understand the terms individually.

 What Is UI?

UI or user interface is the point of contact between human and computer. It includes anything that a user interacts with in order to use an application or website like screens, touchscreens, keyboards, sounds, lights, etc.

What Is UX?

As defined by ISO 9241-210, UX or user experience is "a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service".  It includes all the users' emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, psychological responses, behaviors and accomplishments that occur before, during and after use. 

Talking in terms of business websites, UI is more focused on how a product’s surface looks and works; whereas UX is focused on a user’s journey of using your product.

Here are some future trends that you should look forward to:

Future UI Trends For 2020

• Custom-Made Graphics: Your business website should help people relate to your brand. So, making use of photos or imagery with people who are relevant to your business is a good idea. Instead of using stock photos, the future will see creation of custom-made graphics for business websites and other digital content.
• Motion Graphics & Motion Effects: With the rise of 5G, it will become easier to load complex animations. So, this will pave way for websites with a creative UI having animated texts, fonts, graphics, etc. instead of static images.
• Responsive Colors: This trend has been around for a while and is expected to be adopted by more brands. Instead of sticking to a single symbolic color, the brands tend to include an array of responsive colors to the website design. These may include a set of pre-defined colors or a dynamic color system that adapts according to the color of environment for a more symmetrical view.

Future UX Trends For 2020

• Designing For Speed: As data transfer speed and latency rate are improving significantly, UX is directly related to loading speed of your website. For 2020, the focus will be on optimizing your website for speed. Also, some good UX practices such as loaders (button that shows your webpage is loading) will become irrelevant. The only use of loaders will be in call-to-actions such as order confirmation, transferring funds, etc.
• AR & VR: AR & VR are becoming an integral part of UX design. Common examples of including AR & VR in design are apps like Snapchat, Sephora, etc. The trend is being extensively adapted to offer user convenience.
• Device Synchronization: Users tend to use a website across multiple devices like desktop, laptop, smartphone, etc. With increasing use of mobile devices, device synchronization is an important future trend for UX design.

For more information on UI & UX, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

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Small-medium size businesses (SMBs) pose as an easy target to the cyber criminals. The reason behind an increased number of crimes against SMBs is that majority of cyber-attacks have an underlying motive of stealing personal data for identity theft and credit card fraud. Since SMB networks tend to be less secure, it becomes easier for the hackers to launch a breach successfully.

As there is an alarming increase in breach incidents, it has become important for SMB owners to pay more attention to cybersecurity. Some cybersecurity practices that SMBs should adopt are:

Document Your Cybersecurity Policies: It is important to document the cybersecurity policies, installed updates, analysis reports, etc. SMBs can make use of online planning guides to initiate the documentation process. Also, many portals offer online training, tips and checklists related to prevailing cybersecurity trends. This is an important step for SMBs to keep a track of their cybersecurity protocols.

Educate Your Employees: As the cyber-attacks are becoming more complex, the cybersecurity policies are also evolving. In addition to regularly updating the protocols, SMBs should define internet use guidelines and establish consequences of cybersecurity violations. The employees that have access to the network should be thoroughly educated about these updates and guidelines. They should be properly trained on security policies and ways to detect malware or infection.

Firewall: Make sure that your employees should use a firewall when accessing business network in office or at home. Firewalls act as fist line of defense against cyber-attacks targeted to access sensitive data. For an additional line of defense, SMBs should consider installing internal firewalls in addition to external firewall.

Mobile Device Security: As the BYOD culture is gaining popularity, most employees prefer using their own mobile devices to access business network and sensitive data. Since employees tend to download numerous applications or software on their mobile devices, they pose as a threat by accidentally downloading malware. A hacker can compromise the mobile device and gain access to the sensitive business data. Thus, educate your employees on the requirement to encrypt their data, install trusted security apps and password protect their devices.

Password Policies: Teach your employees to use strong passwords. You can ensure this by setting well-defined password policies for network access. Also, it is advisable for SMBs to use multi-factor authentication for granting network access to the employees and consumers. SMB owners can also lay out the policy that requires employees to change their passwords after a few months.

Data Backup: Invest in off-shore backup plans to ensure data retrieval in case of any disaster or data loss. Make it a point to back up the data at regular intervals. If possible, consider using automatic data backup settings.

 For more information about cybersecurity practices for SMBs, call Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.