When you move to a city, especially a walkable city like Stamford, Connecticut, the first thing you might notice is how much less gasoline you’re using. In my case, moving within walking distance of Exela’s Stamford office meant cutting my travel time and fuel consumption by 83%. That has to be good for the climate, right?

Well, sure. But you know what’s not good for the climate? Cities in general. Cities are actually major contributors to the current climate crisis. Cities consume as much as 80 percent of energy production worldwide and account for a roughly equal share of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to The World Bank. It’s not so much about industrial activities either so much as it is about energy required for lighting, heating and cooling offices and residences. But there’s hope, according to Exela’s President, Americas and APAC, Srini Murali, who explains in an article published recently in Smart Cities Dive, that city governments are in an excellent position to address the sustainability issues, and so many people live in cities (i.e., half of the global population) that change happens faster than in rural locales[1]. 

Many cities are implementing environmental initiatives. For example, Stamford’s plan to advance “climate prosperity” made possible the opening of Metro Green Terrace, its first “transit oriented” housing community.[2] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania recently introduced solar-powered, Internet of Things-enabled trash-compacting cans to dramatically reduce the frequency of trash collection. “Considering that many trash trucks require about one gallon of diesel fuel for every two or three miles they drive, that’s a notable change,” Murali points out.

In Tennesse, the Alternative Workplace Solutions (AWS) program encourages state workers to give up their desks and offices in exchange for the right to telecommute. Since its founding in 2016, the AWS program has had 6,000 individual participants. Nor does it need to stop in Tennessee. Approximately half of all jobs in the U.S. are compatible with remote work, according to Global Workplace Analytics, and if people work remotely even half the time, that could mean a 54 million-metric-ton decrease in greenhouse gas emissions annually. Ultimately, we’d really have technology to thank for that, including collaboration platforms, cloud computing, and electronic signature platforms.

However, as automation advances, according to Murali, there are increasingly more opportunities for governments to further environmental initiatives. Please check back here at the Exela Blog for the next installment in our own deep dive into how technological advancements can help cities help the planet become a more sustainable version of itself.

[1] https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/deep-dive/

[2] http://www.rosecompanies.com/projects/metro-green-apartments/

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have immense potential to make our lives easier. However, with today’s proliferation of fake news and propaganda, deep learning  and other forms of machine learning have the potential to be our worst nightmare.”

- Srini Murali, President Americas and APAC at Exela

Deepfakes are computer-generated videos and images that make it appear a person is doing or saying something they never did or said. The name “deepfake” is a portmanteau of “deep learning” (a type of machine learning by which machines are trained to teach themselves, in part by detecting patterns) and the word “fake.” While there’s nothing really new about manipulating media (after all, Adobe’s PhotoShop has been around since 1990, helping those who are inclined to mislead others on what their eyes are seeing), Deepfake technology has made media manipulation cheaper and more readily available than it has ever been. In fact, as Exela President of Americas and APAC, Srini Murali notes in an article for Business2Community, as of now, deepfakes require no more than a single photo and access to neural network software (an advanced form of machine learning), which, apparently, isn’t all that difficult to access.

With widespread and ever-increasing access to, and sharing of, downloadable media, deepfakes have the potential not only to further erode the public’s trust in “news” but also to create news by sparking events based on fiction, from the trivial to the terrible, including riots and acts of war. The good news is that potential is being subverted by the very technology that makes deepfakes possible, Murali points out. And by that he means artificial intelligence. Just as artificial intelligence can be used to create fake media, it can also be used to detect it. Google has made significant strides in this area, as has Facebook.

The not-so-good news is that deepfakes are capable of proliferating in real-time, whereas the AI deployed to debunk deepfakes takes time and human intervention to run. For now, Murali concludes, while deepfakes are still maintaining their competitive edge, it’s up to us, as a society, to maintain our awareness that we can’t unquestioningly believe everything we see. Rather, he recommends employing vigilance about what we’re seeing and always considering the source.

In more optimistic news, find out how the FDA plans to use machine learning to help relieve the opioid epidemic. And learn how machine learning is becoming increasingly important in the legal industry.

Inbound transactional content – any content from an inbound document that initiates a business transaction on the back end – takes many forms: invoices, application forms, insurance claims, purchase orders, change-of-address forms, even complaint letters. Each of these contains different pieces of information, ranging from names and ID numbers to addresses, dates, procedure codes and more. Many organizations receive these documents in a mail-processing center that unpacks the necessary information and routes to the appropriate department.

Much focus has been placed on cost-cutting measures in the processing of these documents, including automation, mailroom sharing, off-shoring and outsourcing. Before jumping into any one of these, businesses should consider these issues related to processing inbound transactional content.

Centralized vs. Distributed Processing

Many organizations have already approached some degree of automation in their document processing systems. However, they may not have implemented a fully centralized shared process for a geographically disperse organization. While it makes sense for an organization that has a large geographical footprint to move into a centralized shared process with a low-cost and effective resourcing model, this isn’t necessarily an easy decision. Many regional organizations may want to exercise autonomy over their content processing steps and work within the same time zones. These issues shouldn’t be disregarded, but business leaders should consider all potential challenges before transitioning to a centralized model and do everything they can to mitigate those concerns prior to initiating changes.

Re-using Existing Assets

Any organization with multiple silos tasked with document processing will have some overlap in existing assets. It’s reasonable that businesses would want to leverage these. Consider whether the business benefits from its re-use or if it would become the source of some operational issues.

Planning for E-Discovery

Each line of information on the numerous forms handled by an organization is data that could be requested in e-discovery in connection with litigation. The cost to retrieve this information can be high, and involves sifting through copious amounts of digital data. Organizations should implement solutions from the onset that will consider any potential litigation. Is the data identifiable? How is it classified and organized? Working through these questions on the front end will help reduce discovery costs related to future litigation.

The ability to gather and compile massive amounts of business-relevant data has been a game-changer for enterprises of all sizes, across all industries. By now, most business leaders realize that this information – referred to as ‘big data’ can help them refine operations, improve messaging for marketing and sales, drive increased ROI on many business actions, and shore up employee and customer retention as just a few examples.

Just making this connection that big data provides actionable strategies for operational improvement is not enough.  There are other questions enterprises must answer as well. Where are we collecting all this information from? How do we convert something immense and evolving into something we can use to drive results?

Answering these questions will help transform your processes to be powered by big data, centered around digital insights in a strategic and purposeful manner.  Below, we’ll detail further the keys to successfully leveraging big data to help power lasting, effective digital transformation.

Why Big Data is Key to Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is often powered by a focus on the end customer, member, or patient. Today, consumers are empowered, and actively shop around for businesses that can offer them what they need in a best-class manner – attractive prices and customer services, tailored offers, custom communication strategies all combine to create the type of customer experience that drives effective retention today. Information is the key that unlocks actionable insights about customer preferences for offerings and communications, and it helps power a digitally-oriented business as a whole.

Effectively mining big data for actionable insights provides enterprises the ability to satisfy client requirements. When data powers decision-making in this way: health insurance providers can tailor communications around preferred channels and delivery times, improving response rates; banks can target only homeowners with offers for new mortgage rates and products, instead of blanketing an entire mailing list; and, retailers can analyze historical data about purchasing habits, helping them shape their inventory levels more accurately; to name just a few examples.

According to a Gartner report on digital transformation, 41% of executive respondents said their company is already facing substantial industry transformation due to these trends. It’s time for every enterprise to take the necessary steps to stay ahead of the curve. To paraphrase a famous futurist, once a new technology rolls over – you can either be the pavement, or the steamroller.

With an understanding of the ways in-which big data is crucial to an effective, lasting digital transformation for a business – what are some actionable steps stakeholders can take to initiate such an undertaking?

Identify Objectives

Don’t use the experience of another enterprise to formulate your own digital transformation strategy – look at your own, unique strategic goals for both the short and long term, and formulate your plans around those.

To this end, avoid unspecific goals like ‘improve bottom line finances’. What is more effective is honing in on your unique operational pain points or areas of improvement. Some more effective examples could include:

• Reducing costs or cycle times related to customer-facing processes such as bill collection
• Retaining more customers by improving communication, offer, and outreach strategies
• Collecting and listening to customer pain points to find gaps in the market that can be effectively leveraged
• Improving internal workflows to improve employee retention and productivity
• Improving the customer experience by examining groups of lost customers for commonalities in terms of accounts lost

Hone in on the Most Relevant Data

When you begin your digital transformation, you’ll likely find that there are both internal and external sources of relevant data. You’ll need to define exactly what is most useful to your goals. If you’re looking for insights into your customers and employees, CRM and ERP tools offer a rich source of data to mine for these areas. If you’re more interested in gaining wider insights into your market and how to gain a greater share of it, analyzing consumer behavior and sentiment across social media or ecommerce websites can provide a wealth of insights if you have the platforms and processes in place to analyze the data.

Putting it All Together in an Actionable Way

A degree in advanced analytics is not required to start many of the processes we’ve outlined – but you can’t do it all alone. To make data actionable, you need to be able to visualize it, manipulate it, and to look at various data sets from a central platform that provides simple, digestible report to share information with your team. There are tools and platforms available today that will allow you integrate with current technology and processes, and will help provide you with the insights necessary to improve them.

As 2018 swiftly approaches, it is crucial that enterprises understand how big data can help power effective, sustainable digital transformation. Those that recognize this trend, and take the necessary steps to help their enterprise leverage big data will stay competitive into the future. The ones that fail to capitalize on these new opportunities very well may not. The time has come for every enterprise to incorporate big data into business operations to power effective digital transformation.

Exela Technologies is leveraging its status as a global technology influencer to focus heavily on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and cognitive automation solutions. As businesses desire more efficient, streamlined ways of accomplishing tasks within processes such as transactions, data gathering initiatives, and IT support, Exela will be there to turn those business goals into reality through cutting-edge automation platforms.

Robotics and AI have long held a place in pop culture as a driving force behind everything from Iron Man’s fleet of crime-fighting suits to the tech that helps James Bond fight bad guys with sensors in his cufflinks and a self-driving car. AI is sometimes portrayed as an evil force, thwarting our heroes as they try to save humanity, but in real life, technology is most often an ally rather than an adversary. In fact, most of us carry around an augmented intelligence in our pocket every day: our smartphone. Just as apps can synthesize traffic information to make our commute easier or virtual assistants such as Siri can fetch the answers to millions of questions, the principles behind those smaller processes can be scaled to fit a company’s needs for much larger and more complex solutions. That’s where RPA comes in.

Exela’s RPA solutions leverage robotic software to automate repetitive, standard business processes. Each bot has its own virtual workstation, much like a human worker. The bot uses keyboard and mouse controls to take actions and execute automations. These actions take place in a virtual environment. Often, clients approach Exela with a variety of problems that need solving and the desire to implement one or more of Exela’s custom solutions. Applying the RPA platform allows for cutting-edge innovation across numerous industries and may give businesses that implement RPA an edge on their competition.

Exela’s RPA platform, part of the Exela Business Process Automation (BPA) suite, is a full-featured platform for designing, configuring, and deploying robotic tools to replace or enhance routine business processes with robotic functionality. It can do repetitive tasks more quickly and consistently than humans, freeing them to do other things such as reasoning, judgment, and interaction with customers. Exela’s BPA suite also includes server process automation (SPA) and cognitive process automation (CPA), enabling businesses to see the power of BPA, as these solutions span multiple categories.

Don’t just take Exela’s word for it – The Institute for Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence states on their homepage that “by freeing up human labor to provide additional capacity for more strategic work, RPA simply creates more value with less investment.” The next generation of smart processes is here and ready for us to use, first in higher-level business concepts and then in repetitive tasks such as data entry, as the bots can allow seamless attended automation of client-side tasks, leaving key decision points or intervention up to the user. Bots can also be deployed in unattended situations where they perform all scripted tasks according to the rules and data that have been provided in advance by an administrator. Exela is already taking its clients on this transformative digital journey, leading them into the future of business process automation by moving at the speed of creative innovation.

Through RPA, Exela lives up to its mission of embracing complexity and delivering simplicity in the best possible way. RPA is at the leading edge of market intelligence but still needs the industry leaders at Exela to create avenues for further exploration and implementation. With new and original strategies for using RPA, Exela is ready to take on the challenges faced by a global, integrated community of businesses and solutions.

Find out more about how Exela is disrupting and innovating global business solutions by following @exelatech on Twitter and LinkedIn!

So many of us, as workers, are often stressed about the idea of making a mistake in the workplace – mistakes that could affect everything from regulatory compliance to revenue to customer retention. In the previous Exela blog, the first of four tips on how to drive better customer experience is “use AI and bots to help with smaller issues” – but how do you do that? Using AI will not only give your customers a better experience, but will help your workforce avoid the potential for those small (or big!) errors that are simply part of being human.

AI is transforming every industry, from the uber-traditional financial, health insurance, and automotive industries to the newer worlds of smartphone app development and e-commerce. Machine learning (ML) is a subset of AI in which a computerized system either learns from a set of existing labeled data or learns to identify similarities within data without being told what the outcomes could be. Examples of ML include Netflix predicting what you’d like to watch next, Facebook algorithms noticing what products you shopped for and showing you ads, or Amazon suggesting new products you’d like to buy based on past purchases. Given the frequency we receive these suggestions in our online lives, the ubiquity of ML (and the overarching presence of AI) demonstrates how necessary it is to implement digital solutions within your company.

With a smartphone in nearly everyone’s pocket, customers have come to expect mobile and web options that make their lives easier. On the other side of that relationship is the workforce behind the banks, health insurance providers, hospitals, apps, and retail stores that must implement these AI-based solutions. Each industry has ever-changing guidelines to be met, leaving a wide margin for error when constantly trying to hit a moving target. Digital solutions help manage these issues, taking efficiency to the next level.

Malcolm Gladwell’s well-known text, The Tipping Point, gave us a term for when something reaches critical mass and is known and adopted across all parts of life, from our business lives to our personal lives. When Gladwell wrote it in 2000, he may not have thought of it being used to describe technology adoption in every vertical. All parts of a business need to work together to achieve an AI tipping point, what TechCrunch refers to as “collaborative automation” as employees are trained in new digital processes that will alter the landscape of their day-to-day work. Exela’s solutions provide just that – a layer of business process automation that changes how a business runs for the better, making it faster, more efficient, easier to use and implement, and providing an optimized customer experience. Machine learning principles allow users to either “auto-select” the correct answer to a problem or provide recommendations to the worker to reduce stress-related mistakes, therefore speeding up the time required to reach a successful outcome, especially in relation to customer experience.

Industry leaders are already implementing technology solutions in new and innovative ways, revolutionizing how business is conducted. For example, self-driving cars, apps that can identify different plant and animal species through crowdsourced photos, robots that interact with banking customers and direct them to the right employee for quick and effective service – all of these innovations require AI platforms similar to the offerings Exela applies to so many industries, from fintech and healthcare to print/mail services and staffing needs.

As tech leaders look to the future, AI is poised to become more intuitive, learning from repeated, assigned tasks and eventually will be able to move beyond single-step prediction. This is great in industries like healthcare and insurance, where events often move in a sometimes lengthy but predictable sequence. Industrial workers, healthcare professionals, and insurance representatives will benefit from AI knowing which task comes next and helping them complete it with accuracy, narrowing the margin for error and boosting productivity on all sides of project workflow.

Customers expect their experience with companies in all verticals to come with a layer of digital innovation, and if your company doesn’t “have an app for that” then you are perceived as lagging behind the pace of technology. Improving customer experience means adding AI to your existing systems, but you can’t do so without first knowing your specific automation needs. Choose a company that doesn’t just deliver AI and walk away, but helps transform each customer’s individual digital journey for the best experience for both customer and workforce.

Data for the Masses

Business intelligence (BI) is no longer confined to bulky centralized data warehouses owned by IT. As the reliance on data and analytics becomes more prevalent across all industries and business types, the need for greater access among different departments and users has grown exponentially. More and more companies are realizing the benefits of decentralizing big data operations to give individuals more power over how and when they access critical business information. This includes the utilization of past, present and predictive analytical data models to address current business challenges and inform decision making in a timely and efficient manner. Facilitating the transition to self-service BI is the proliferation of software elements that support configurable reporting, interactive “slice-and-dice” pivot-table analyses, visualization, and statistical data mining.

While traditional BI models still add value, especially in the case of large enterprises, the need for greater agility is required to keep up with the growing volume of data and sources available. Plus, more access to real-time, data-driven information, has presented businesses with opportunities to pinpoint and address problems across functional areas such as, sales, production, and finance, immediately. Putting the power of data in the hands of the average user can have even greater implications when it comes to future business improvements and competitive advantage.

There is no doubt that businesses depend on data for sound and informed decision-making. To facilitate the proliferation of data among stakeholders and enable on-the-spot business-critical analysis, more companies are investing in BI software and applications. Technologically advanced tools, such as Exela’s web-based, intelligent reporting platform, Athena, provide opportunities for average users, like you and me, to view and manipulate data that, otherwise, might not be readily available. Platforms like this offer analytics and information that is easy to decipher via graphical representations and drill-down features. With the help of self-service BI applications, department heads, or average users can gain valuable insight into all aspects of a business, whether it’s inventory management, production workflow, or SLA tracking. With the right tools, the possibilities are endless.

What Users Get Out of It

Businesses have a lot of options when it comes to the utilization of self-service tools. While some users appreciate the ad hoc reporting features and capabilities, others require more intricate functionality including, the integration of private, local data, and the modification of reports and dashboards. Here is a more in depth look at some of the requirements that businesses have for Self-Service BI.

• Creation of Ad Hoc reports and Dashboards

When it comes to building and accessing data-driven reports, IT has taken a backseat to more intuitive tools, pre-defined report templates, and dashboard objects. With the advancement of technology, what used to be a near impossible task for the average user is now a common reality. Reports can now be easily created and shared among employees (usually within the same department).

• Modification of Reports and Dashboards

Not only can employees create their own reports, but, with self-service BI functionality, they have the ability to change the way information is displayed and reported for the analysis of specific data sets. Users have the power to create specific business criterion and manipulate data in order to create meaningful reports that offer new insight into core business processes.

• Integration of Private, Local Data

Often times, data from external sources, such as excel spreadsheets, or flat files, need to be integrated into existing reports, analyses, or data models. Self-service functions allow for easy integration of local data to expand upon the information delivered by the data warehouse.

• Modification or creation of data models

Some business analysts or advanced users require a self-sufficient environment to produce or modify data models. These users will adapt their semantic model to a business department’s needs without the reliance on IT. This modeling can take place in a metadata layer, database, or a confined environment. The specific approach is dependent on each business’s independent needs.

Conclusion

The concept of self-service BI has revolutionized the way that businesses use data. Without the reliance on IT, critical information is now readily available to heads-of-departments, as well as the average employee for impactful decision making. Powerful intelligence tools and third party resources have facilitated the translation of complex, albeit essential, analytic applications into meaningful and actionable insight. Users are no longer restricted to a one-size-fits all representation of data. Rather, they have the flexibility to manage and manipulate volumes of information in a way that can be easily understood and leveraged. The masses have spoken. Business-critical data is now free from the clutches of an over-burdened IT department, giving stakeholders more power to influence and improve business outcomes.

What do you see for the future of Intelligent Lockers?

The future for our Intelligent locker systems is limitless. It is a natural fit with our Digital Mailroom and Shipping & Receiving solutions. As we learn more about the opportunities, we understand the impact we can make on the industry, coupling our client’s unique needs with our ability to customize the solution very quickly. I believe this gives us a huge competitive advantage over other smart locker vendors.

How do Intelligent Lockers help now? Are there any differentiation factors?

Our lockers make the mailrooms we support, and client mailrooms more efficient. With an Intelligent Locker system installed, deliveries are far more efficient and the ultimate recipient of the package, or mail, can retrieve their package at their convenience. No longer is someone being hunted down, or locked to their desk waiting for an urgent delivery. Our lockers are filling needs in support of multiple RFPs, plus fulfilling client needs in multiple facilities across the US. We have also received quotes for opportunities in EMEA, and look forward to establishing this solution there. Owning the technology and Intellectual Property, that goes along with it, truly differentiates Exela.

Why would you recommend Intelligent Lockers to others?

First and foremost, when you deal with Exela, that immediately provides our clients with flexibility. Customized solutions fulfilling our client’s needs, whether they be hardware or software are the norm when dealing with Exela.

Learn more from Exela:

Join us for Exela’s People Behind Our Technology series, a new initiative that highlights both our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and proprietary technology solutions. Our SMEs answer a series of questions that help provide insight into the present and future of Exela’s suite of solutions, leveraging their hands-on experience to demonstrate value. Stay tuned for more, and continue to visit the Exela website to see the full list of our People Behind Our Technology Q&A blogs.

“The future is undeniably female.” – The Next Web

On May 9 and 10, 2019, Exela Technologies (Exela) will be in Amsterdam at #TNW2019—the 2019 Tech Conference hosted by The Next Web, a cutting-edge media company founded in 2006 to showcase tech advancements and connect and inspire innovators.

“Women around the world are breaking the glass ceiling every day in order to achieve a diverse and equal tech industry,” The Next Web (TNW) goes on to say. Well, happily, Exela is here for it—both TNW2019 and all the glass-smashing. But to give credit where credit is due, it was actually a man who brought to our attention all that TNW is doing to promote women in STEM: Thomas Bagnall, Exela’s Vice President of Strategy and Digital Marketing in our Netherlands offices.

If you’ll be at #TNW2019, you’ll have the chance to meet Tom, who’ll be demonstrating our Exela Smart Office suite of solutions. Tom will also be offering his own insights on women-in-tech and why it matters. For now, this mini-interview will have to suffice:

What prompted Tom to begin considering the role of women in technology?

“I’ve always thought of myself as equality-minded, but I guess I wasn’t particularly proactive until my daughter [now 2] was born,” Tom told us, “or more specifically, when I witnessed how drawn Sophie was to STEM-inspired toys.”

“Did that surprise you?” we asked (because come on, we had to).

“No, but have you seen how boy-oriented those toys are? All the blue packaging and the photos of boys. Clearly, the marketing’s aimed to boys, Tom points out. “Toys aimed at girls tend to be all about traditionally feminine pursuits. And the STEM toys can’t be found in the aisles with the girl-marketed toys. So, yes, the marketing stacks the deck against girls finding their way to STEM.

So then how’d Sophie find her way to STEM toys?

Tom had to consciously lead her to them—literally, to the “boy” aisles at the toy store, where Sophie’s eyes lit up in a way they didn’t amid the pink and fluffy“girl” aisles. So naturally, Tom “kitted out” his house with “all the STEM stuff.” But if Tom hadn’t taken that initiative, Sophie might not have discovered her “inner engineer.”

And it got Tom to thinking: “Maybe we haven’t come as far as we thought.”

“The stats are abysmal,” Tom discovered upon doing a little digging. “Female CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies dropped by 25% last year, and in tech, women make up only 13% of senior executive roles. Only 20% of engineering college graduates are female, and even less go on to work in engineering professions, with only 11% of all engineers being women.

Hang on…is Tom blaming the toy store?

“Clearly the pigeon-holing starts early, but there are women who’ve gotten through despite the obstacles,” Tom points out—name-checking our colleague, Nikita Khadse, our dedictated Exela Smart Office Business Analyst. “She’s been instrumental in preparing for TNW and the upcoming Exela Smart Office demos and presentations,” Tom says. “We’d be lost without her.” That being said, if we want to really change the game for women-in-tech, we’re going to have to start with changing the assumptions.

Tom’s call to action

“Parents, please pay attention to the pigeon-holing/stereotyping, and please offer your daughters ways in to STEM,” Tom suggests. “In the tech business, we all have to bear in mind that hiring is not a tick-box exercise. Recruiting women isn’t enough. We need to offer the best possible environment and infrastructure for women to succeed.” In fact, Tom is walking the walk in his own hiring practices and seeing others doing the same all across Exela.

What Tom wants to know from everyone else is, “What more do you think can be done to pave the way for women in technology?”

If you happen to be in or around Amsterdam on May 9 or 10 and want to chat some more on this topic, or if you’re if you’re interested in seeing what Exela’s Smart Office suite of solutions can change the game for your business, stop by and see Exela at TNW. To see what Exela Smart Office can do for the environment, check out A Smart Office For a Sustainable Planet.