Tag: Technology

Singapore – Customer feedback management platform provider Medallia has announced that it has launched its latest data center in Singapore, accelerating its investment across the APAC region.

Singapore is a priority market for Medallia, being a global business and connectivity hub, said the company in a press statement. 

“The Singapore data center plays an integral part in ensuring we deliver on the data security and regulatory requirements of businesses who are scaling up customer and employee experience programs. We already have customers using the infrastructure and it will become the default location for many of our Asian customers,” said Medallia APAC Vice President and General Manager Gavin Selkirk. 

As a SaaS cloud platform, Medallia owns and maintains all backend infrastructure, ensuring that reliability, uptime, and operational capabilities match data centers around the world.

The data center will host all Medallia Experience Cloud solutions, including video, digital, speech, conversations, text analytics, and the company’s artificial intelligence product, Athena

As of current, the Singapore branch adds to the company’s ten data centers worldwide, including Toronto, London, Amsterdam, and Sydney. 

New Delhi, India – India-based data science-driven mobiletech MoMAGIC has entered a strategic partnership with Taiwan-based original design manufacturer (ODM) Qisda Group as it looks to unveil new feature for its AI SaaS platform, TrueInsight. 

Via the platform, MoMAGIC will be offering consumer digital footprint and online monitoring of public opinions for the retail industry. 

As a part of the partnership, TrueInsight will be able to provide advanced algorithms of ‘Intelligent POI (Point of Interest) Mapping & Intelligent Online Listening’, for the retail store chain.

This is said to enable critical capability to see through dynamic consumer footprint traffic and retail competition analysis, allowing businesses to process non-sensitive and anonymous consumer movement data.

Founder and CEO of MoMAGIC Technologies, Arun Gupta believes that the collaboration will help the company’s AI solutions to expand to other verticals.

“The strategic partnership with Qisda Group in Taiwan is a window to expand our AI Solution offerings into retail and other industry verticals,” Gupta said.

“With our advanced data science capability, we also hope to expand our AI solution application out of India. Looking forward to accelerating our offerings in AI business, to other Asian countries in 2021,” added Gupta.

Michael Lee, General Manager of Qisda’s Business Solutions Group agrees, and thinks that a viable expansion is on its way. 

“We are looking forward to the strategic partnership with MoMAGIC, for AI SaaS solution applied in the retail sector and other similar industry. The cooperation can be extended from Taiwan, even to India and other Asian countries in the future,” said Lee.

Singapore – Financial services platform GoBear has announced that it has appointed martech solutions, Netcore Solutions to power up its multi-channel marketing automation and engagement campaigns, as it eyes unparalleled customer retention

GoBear, which advocates financial health through a comparative model of financial products, currently operates in seven markets across Asia with over 55 million users. 

Netcore Smartech’s platform offers AI-powered technology which bundles the customer data platform (CDP), multi-channel campaign management, journey builder, and AI-based email delivery among others.

Go Bear’s performance marketing director Azril Arif thinks Netcore will be of valuable partner as they push their customer engagement to new heights

“GoBear is ushering in the next phase of customer engagement and we believe all engagements need to be personal in nature. Netcore Smartech will enable us to understand our users better, conceptualize engagement strategies, and deploy personalized engagement at scale. We foresee this to be instrumental in our growth,” said Arif.

Meanwhile, Netcore CEO Abithab Bhaskar believes that the collaboration is a demonstration of one of many that there’s a viable opportunity within Fintechs for customer engagement.

“GoBear is a marquee name in the Fintech space and we are thrilled to impact the key retention and engagement KPIs and contribute to their incredible growth story,” said Bhaskar.

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia-based integrated cloud platform Enginemailer, which focuses on email marketing services has been appointed by government-owned Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to support its efforts in digitizing SMEs.

The support will mainly be given via the company’s flagship service, email marketing.

MDEC was established by the Malaysian government to propel Malaysia’s digital economy, which it refers to as the ecosystem of public and private sectors who produce, adopt and innovate digital technologies in the name of socio-economic productivity.

Enginemailer offers database management, email marketing, and transactional email services. It has unified features which deliver customer engagement across the entire email marketing and automation spectrum; combining drag-and-drop interfaces, advanced data analytics, and a complete set of integrations APIs.  

Companies who will engage in Enginemailer’s services will be provided with tools to bring their brand messaging into customers’ inboxes through efficient email campaigns.

“Enginemailer is proud to be appointed as an approved  TSP specializing in end-to-end email marketing service for SMEs looking to reach their target audience more effectively,” said CEO and founder Jeffri Shahul Hamid. 

Malaysia announced during its Budget 2020 that its Digitalization Grant will allow SMEs to apply for a 50% matching grant, or a cap of RM 5,000 to adopt any three of the five key digitalization areas delivered by approved Technology Service Providers (TSP). 

Jeffri cites Statista study that global email users in 2019 are estimated to reach 4.3 billion by 2023, a 400 million increase from 2019.

Fast-growing Software as a service (SaaS) and other cloud-based solutions providers in Singapore, and across the region, have developed data apps for a variety of business uses across functions and industries. These companies are receiving huge volumes of valuable data that promises to unlock significant insights for their customers, if managed properly. From marketing apps that provide customer insights, to Internet of Things (IoT) apps that handle device feedback, and data analytics apps that process both historical and near real-time data, the demand for data apps for analysis is growing exponentially. 

Various data apps that promise to help companies take advantage of their data in real-time to improve business outcomes are emerging. However, many businesses using these applications struggle to extract and analyze these growing volumes of data efficiently. This is due to challenges that developers often face when building, designing, and supporting these applications including developing a 360-degree view of the customer data, handling IoT device data in near real-time, combining historical and current data for analysis, bringing data together for machine learning (ML) models, and embedding analytics in data-intensive applications. 

A key obstacle in overcoming these challenges is app developers’ reliance on legacy architectures that only enable limited scalability, concurrency, and performance. To address these challenges, software companies can turn to cloud data platforms to build and manage their data stack. By adopting a modern, cloud-based data architecture, developers have an opportunity to deliver differentiated and defensible value to customers who need powerful features and real-time insights to run their businesses better.  

Why does architecture matter?

While apps have been modernized, the infrastructure powering these apps still runs on a traditional architecture that was built on the assumption that small clusters of machines with predictable amounts and types of structured data would be created largely by internal sources. Not surprisingly, these companies struggle with large volumes of data, as well as schema-less and semi-structured formats from external sources, such as application logs, web applications, mobile devices, social media, sensor data, and IoT data. This legacy architecture, created long before the emergence of the cloud and IaaS and PaaS services, was not built to run massive SaaS applications with semi-structured data. Additionally, traditional data warehouses cannot scale to match data capacity or demand easily, which creates constraints on data availability. Adopting generic architectural plumbing and tools might be a quick and low-cost fix, but such strategy can cause technical challenges down the road that can lead to lower output and a disappointing customer experience. 

As a result, investing in new architecture is critical to delivering on customer expectations of data apps. Some key capabilities to look for in a modern data platform for data applications are:

  • Decoupled resources which allow apps to scale computing resources independently, and in a linear fashion for each job. It also enables multiple queries to be run against the same data without conflict. 
  • Elasticity to allow software companies to grow or shrink dynamically and adapt to load changes. 
  • Support for various data types to provide a holistic view of the data.
  • Developer tooling and automation to enable developers to “plug in” services with APIs, applying a building blocks approach, rather than rebuilding with each addition to the app.  
  • Strong security baked into the design to enable fast development, while protecting against security threats. 

To ensure that data apps deliver on their customers’ expectations, software companies need to align technology decisions with long-term product needs, keep evolving customer needs in mind and design with growth and flexibility in mind. App developers need a central repository to provide the workload isolation, instant and near-infinite elasticity, unlimited concurrency, and ability to natively ingest semi-structured data. 

Additionally, many data app developers adopt generic low-cost tools that allow for quick development without upfront investment, as well as using traditional data platforms. When developers do not fully consider what is needed from their data stack to deliver powerful data analytics apps, problems can arise down the line. These problems include data storage and computing strains on the system, difficulties supporting semi-structured data, frequent maintenance and upgrades, and a lack of employee resources to configure the platform to their requirements. That will eventually lead to a full re-architecture of the data platform to address these issues, which can leave customers frustrated by latency issues and incomplete data analysis.  

In order to develop powerful, modern data apps, software companies need to invest in a modern, cloud-built data platform. Consider the data architecture before technical issues arise to enjoy a lower total cost of ownership from the beginning, remove the restraints of traditional data platforms and deliver fast, differentiated customer experiences.

The author is Geoff Soon, Managing Director, South Asia, Snowflake. Snowflake equips organizations with a single, integrated platform that offers the data warehouse built for the cloud.

If you want to be part of MARKETECH Experts Group, please click here.

Singapore — Qualtrics, creator of the experience management (XM) category, has announced the Qualtrics XM Institute. A community and resource destination for XM professionals, practitioners, and leaders.

Bruce Temkin, the founder of the Temkin Group, former VP at Forrester Research, and one of the earliest customer experience visionaries, led the launch of the XM Institute.

It offers members around the world the opportunity to learn and share XM best practices. This includes thought leadership insights, networking opportunities, specialized training, curriculum, and more. 

As Qualtrics launches XM Institute, it provides members with resources for professionals along their XM journey. Often, it starts with a customer or employee experience program. The XM Institute provides guidance and resources to help members create and deliver differentiated experiences for their target audiences. The four core experiences of XM include: customer, employee, product, and brand.

Membership to the XM Institute is FREE.

“The insights and guidance provided by the XM Institute have been instrumental in guiding CenturyLink on how to deliver exceptional customer experiences.,” said Karen Russell, Director, Voice of the Customer, Experience Analytics, and Insights at CenturyLink. “Many of the reports they publish such as the CX Maturity Assessment, Market Research insights, and the XM Operating Framework have directly influenced our XM governance process that has positively affected our business.”

“The XM Institute was created based on one core belief… experience matters! The success of any organization is based on how effectively it interacts with people, whether it’s customers, employees, students, patients, citizens, suppliers, or partners,” said Bruce Temkin, Head of the XM Institute, Qualtrics. “Our team of experts helps organizations build the capabilities to continuously learn what their key stakeholders are thinking and feeling, propagate those insights to the right people in the right form at the right time, and rapidly adapt to those market signals. Experience Management isn’t about doing this once or twice. Instead, we help organizations embed XM as a discipline that’s woven across their operating fabrics.”

Singapore – Magnolia announces the appointment of industry veterans Vincent Jiang (pictured left) and Matthew Zhang (pictured right) to strengthen its footprint in the APAC market.

Vincent Jiang joins the company as the Head of Business and Alliances for Magnolia Asia Pacific, who previously worked on complex solution portfolios at Salesforce, Brandwatch and Smartly.io, said, “Joining Magnolia presents a great opportunity for me to work with a tremendous team to accelerate our customers’ digital transformation, leveraging our market-leading content management system.”

Jiang will be responsible for providing customers with insights on how to build a modern, adaptable and experience-focused MarTech stack in the constantly evolving technology landscape.

Matthew Zhang joins Magnolia as Technical Operations Leader for Magnolia Asia Pacific. Previously, Zhang worked at Accenture, where she spent four years driving and delivering complex enterprise solutions for Accenture’s top strategic accounts and ensuring customer success. Zhang who will be responsible for engaging with all facets of IT, said, “Magnolia is a first-class content management platform, perfect for building best-of-breed marketing technology stacks. I am privileged to join in Magnolia to identify and orchestrate strategies to utilise market opportunities as well as establish systems/processes to drive growth and team building.”

The new hires will also support teams in recently opened offices in both Singapore and Shanghai.

Commenting on the new appointments, Don Lee, APAC Managing Director at Magnolia, said, “Both Jiang and Zhang have a wealth of experience across the digital landscape that will help to further strengthen our APAC teams and ability to support customers across the region.”

Lee added,

“In the age of omnichannel marketing and personalization, a flexible content management system is a powerful resource for marketers looking to deliver first-rate digital experiences.

As our business expands, these new appointments will help us to deliver those experiences, while also offering greater support and value for customers in the region.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Adqlo, a Malaysia-based tech company, has released a report analysing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysia’s retail industry.

Titled “Life After Covid-19—How The Retail Industry Is Forever Changed”, the report analysed 8 retail sectors, 8,220 profiles, and 339,930 postings from social media and e-commerce platforms in Malaysia over a span of 105 days from 1 January to 14 April 2020 to see how the industry has been impacted by the pandemic and the government-decreed Movement Control Order (MCO), as well as the digital transformation or lack thereof that has subsequently taken place.

The report offers unique insights into the Malaysian market, highlighting the impact of the MCO on consumer behaviours and habits; effects on different segments of the retail industry and how the industry players have reacted; as well as changes in the social influencers landscape.

Ginz Ooi, Founder and CEO of Adqlo, said,

“When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Malaysia, many businesses are heavily affected, especially those in the retail and SMEs segment. Businesses are turning to digital in an attempt to stay afloat but have no clue how to navigate the digital landscape.”

“This is where Adqlo steps in to help these businesses using data and social media.”, he added.

As consumers spend more time online in the wake of the MCO, brands have the opportunity to gain greater reach through a sound digital strategy covering multiple digital touchpoints.

“We hope this report will be able to help businesses make informed decisions in their journey of digital transformation and get ahead of the curve,” said Ginz Ooi, Founder and CEO, Adqlo.

Adqlo’s Life After Covid-19—How The Retail Industry Is Forever Changed report is now available to download for free.

Jakarta, Indonesia — Marketing plays a major role in helping brands in identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs while also building a deeper connection with them. Marketing has been an ever-evolving field. As the costs for innovation increase, the costs associated with not keeping up are higher yet.

This discussion is probably relevant now more than ever. The ongoing pandemic is shaping the structure of a new way of life. Now, how do brands evolve to stay connected to the consumers? The past few months have witnessed numerous changes in the behavior of consumers and their general way of life. Social Distancing is here to stay. So, it is clear that the effects of COVID-19 would last way beyond these few months. Content consumption has increased significantly, and this has induced brands to reconsider their marketing plans to align with this change.

The Holy Month of Ramadan

One of the major examples of the changes and impacts caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 is during the month of Ramadan in Islamic countries. It’s the month in which Muslims across the world socialize with others. They fast, pray, and reflect their acts to the community and themselves. This is why most of us call it “The holy month of Ramadan’. Usually, promotion and sales have been at its peak during the month of Ramadan. But with the pandemic, sales have plunged due to the decrease in social income and economic welfare.

The scenario narrated above provides a grim, yet hopeful picture. It is safe to say that the growth of digital marketing is inevitable. Brands are looking for newer avenues to engage with consumers and content sharing platforms. This includes SHAREit as one of the perfect alternatives.

SHAREit as a Digital Marketing Platform

The rise of SHAREit can be attributed to its diverse user base. It has over 1.8 billion users speaking 45 languages in about 200 countries. 

Especially during the pandemic, there have been big increases in digital activity. This leads to brands spending significant parts of their budgets on online advertising. This is in order to reach out to users who are under strict lockdowns. An increase in the amount of time spent playing games and watching videos has also been observed. 

A vital consideration for brands is to design appropriate messaging for their target audiences. This depends in a major way, on the content consumption patterns of the target audience. Usually, consumers are interested in consuming light-hearted short format content. Brand communication then is more efficient if it is designed in the same manner. Consumption insights hence play a major role in communicating the right message.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) was announced on May 1st effective on Monday, May 4th. As Netizens raised concerns over the potential increase in infections, businesses are rushing to put safety measures in place and prepare for reopening over the short notice. Several states have taken a stance to either opt out entirely or revise the CMCO for tighter control. The 7th edition of this study covers chatter about the CMCO, reactions and stances taken by individual states, compulsory screening for all foreign workers, highlights on four selected industries, and top trending topics among Netizens during this period.

With an estimated loss of RM 2.4 billion per day of MCO, the government announced the CMCO effective May 4th to reopen most businesses. The rushed announcement was made on Friday, May 1st with only three days for businesses and workers to prepare. The movement restrictions have also been eased with conditions, allowing two people in a car, travel distance more than 10km, allowing stranded Malaysians to return to their home or workplaces, and limited sports activities. The reopening of businesses also highlighted another concern over the finances of affected citizens.

The gap between the public’s spending capacity becomes apparent when we look into social chatter, typically industries that are considered as non-essential or a luxury. This edition’s study covers the Telco, Local Fashion, Gold Jewellery, and Beer industries, angled to derive insights from trends of chatter among consumers when it comes to non-essentials and luxuries. Providing insights into the proportion of Netizens who are financially comfortable during the MCO, and indirectly indicate the proportion of those who are not.

While communications are a necessity, multiple telco packages were offered in line with Stay Home campaigns during the lockdown, providing greater access and bandwidth to users but what of users who now will spend more time at work and dread the additional expense. On the other hand, the local fashion and gold jewelry guys who were pretty stagnant during lockdown have seen increasing interest as the festive season draws near. With hope for the MCO to conclude before Hari Raya, a considerable portion of Netizens including non-Muslims are preparing to celebrate the festive season in the new norm.

Wisesight’s Founder and Regional Director of APAC, Shakthi DC said, “Engagement data in relation to these industries can be used to assess the economic impact on target markets. After almost two months in lockdown, Netizens appear to have had a shift in priorities, where self-reflection has increased individuals’ needs towards personal well-being across the dimensions of physical, emotional, and financial health and security. This is indicated through the uptake of essential supplies while comfort and luxury were compromised during lockdown.

Depending on how quickly a vaccine is identified, when the economy picks up and People as individuals begin feeling secure again, it’s likely that the Luxury segment and Brands offering high-value assets will suffer as People make cutbacks due to the effects of Covid19 and are shaping up to be the ​last segments to recover​.”

She added, “The reopening of the economy will unquestionably bring back some volume in traffic and transactions, albeit with changes in consumer buying behaviours. Businesses that have adapted and remained in touch with their audiences throughout the lockdown will find it easier to engage with their customers post-MCO. Purely because brand loyalty and affinity was actively maintained throughout the lockdown, and the results will show in the target audience’s response. Also considering the heightened fear of infection, organisations that create environments and processes with reduced physical contact, increased hygiene and safety measures will continue to gain public support as we embrace the new norm.”

Wisesight’s study details the events from 29th April – 5th May analysing the ​reactions and impact of these changes in comparison to findings from the previous weeks​. The latest study includes:

  1. Netizens reactions to the CMCO
  2. Stances taken by individual states regarding the CMCO
  3. Top Malaysian’s concerns over the past seven weeks
  4. Current trending topics Malaysians shared online
  5. Selected Industries’ performance during the MCO (Telco, Local Fashion, Gold Jewellery, and Beer)
  6. Best practice recommendations for Brands content strategy
  7. Case Study – Communications and strategies adopted by highlighted industries to retain market share during the MCO
  8. Other stories of key interest among Malaysians during the period analysed

To get access to the report, please click here .