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Our exposure to chatbots is at an all-time high. From customer service to commerce to healthcare, chatbots are the fastest growing brand communication channel , thanks to their ability to handle issue resolution, remove friction in surfacing common information, and enable self-service to relieve human bottlenecks. advertisement advertisement But the growing chatbot landscape shows signs of fracture. In a recent study, over half of consumers who use chatbots cite dissatisfaction due to the frustration caused by “inconsistent answers” across chat and human assistance, while ranking preference of digital service channels like social media, human chat, and even email over chatbots. A finer point still, 60% of consumers would still rather interact with a human than a brand’s chatbot because of the ability to solve more complex and personal problems. The irony is that a chatbot’s premise to exist is to offload human-to-human interactions while … [Read more...] about Chatbots need to evolve to stay relevant in the age of virtual assistants

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin David is the Co-Founder of Aloa , a platform for outsourcing software development. Aloa has helped 200+ startups/companies build their tech. Software outsourcing is an inherently complicated space, where even highly technical individuals face pain points. In this article, I’ll create a simplified guide by walking through three main concepts that will help you understand what you need to know to kick off your software outsourcing journey. 1. The Analogy “Software development is like building a house.” Let’s look at some of the basic challenges of software development with this analogy in mind. Third-Party Limits: Your house doesn’t control your Wi-Fi signal; your internet provider does. The contractor who built your house is not responsible when you have an issue with your connectivity. With software development, you will have to rely on numerous third parties. Your devs will help implement them, but … [Read more...] about Why You Need To Look At Software Outsourcing Like Building A House

If you're looking for capitulation in 2022, it's in the bond market. And that tells you that investors' confidence in the global economy is very low. Inside the stock market, it's all about defense. Defensive stocks, which include big healthcare companies and dividend-paying value stocks, have been driving the gains. An index of global defensive stocks put together by Goldman Sachs, which is heavy in healthcare giants, has climbed to more than an 18-month high relative to the MSCI AC World Index. Inside the U.S., the defensive ETF ticker DEF has been outperforming the Spider ETF SPY all last week and all year. For market watchers, this feels a whole lot like a recession trade. While investors in the capital markets are battening the hatches for a recession, money in the private markets is also drying up. The value of venture capital deals in the U.S. dropped more than 25% in the second quarter to just $1 trillion, according to Dealogic . M&A activity in the United States … [Read more...] about What the Business Cycle is Telling us About a Recession

Passengers queue inside the departures terminal of Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, June 27, 2022. - A + A LONDON (June 28): London's Heathrow Airport will have to lower landing fees over the next four years after Britain's aviation regulator responded to pressure from airlines over the cost of flying at the hub. Heathrow wanted to double the fee it charges airlines in order to provide a better service to customers while retaining the support of its owners, but the plan drew fury from the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic who said the airport was already among the most expensive in the world. The dispute reflects the pressures in the aviation industry as it recovers from the pandemic, and more broadly the need to limit consumer price rises at a time of soaring inflation while still investing to modernise services. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Tuesday that the average maximum price per passenger would fall to £26.31 … [Read more...] about UK to cut Heathrow charges after airline protests

A Sri Lanka Air Force member checks the tokens of people queueing for fuel due to fuel shortage, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 27, 2022. - A + A COLOMBO (June 28): Sri Lanka will allow companies from oil-producing countries to import and sell fuel, the power and energy minister said on Tuesday, ending a duopoly as it tries to overcome a shortage of petrol and diesel that is exacerbating an economic crisis. The Cabinet decision came as the minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, headed to Qatar and a ministerial colleague was due to arrive in Russia on Sunday for talks on energy deals. Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since its independence, with foreign exchange reserves at a record low of US$1.92 billion, according to the Central Bank, though analysts estimate a lower level of useable funds. The island of 22 million people is struggling to pay for essential imports of food, medicine and, most critically, fuel. Sri … [Read more...] about Cash-starved Sri Lanka to end fuel duopoly to ease shortages

Fred Hu, chairman of Primavera Capital Group, poses for a photograph following a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong, China on Monday, Sept 16, 2019. (Bloomberg filepix) - A + A (June 28): The founder of one of China’s biggest private equity investors said the nation’s tech firms are turning a corner after a recent rout wiped out nearly US$2 trillion in market value at its peak. Fred Hu, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc rainmaker who started the US$17 billion Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital, said reassuring messages concerning regulation, resilient earnings and beaten-down valuations now make the sector interesting for investors. “This could be the beginning of a new era for China tech,” Hu, the firm’s chairman, said in a recent interview. “There’s a lot of value to be discovered,” he said, adding that investors still need to be selective given the high risk profile of such companies. The private equity mogul’s views are one of the … [Read more...] about One of China’s top tech investors sees crackdown turning point

- A + A SINTRA/FRANKFURT (June 27): The European Central Bank (ECB) will activate the bond-purchasing firepower it has earmarked as a first line of defence against a possible debt-market crisis on Friday (July 1), according to President Christine Lagarde. Applying "flexibility" to how reinvestments from the ECB's €1.7 trillion (US$1.8 trillion) pandemic bond-buying portfolio are allocated is aimed at curbing unwarranted turmoil in government bonds as interest rates are lifted from record lows to curb unprecedented inflation. Net buying under a separate asset-purchase programme is also set to end on Friday — potentially exposing some of the eurozone's more-indebted nations to speculative attacks by investors. "We have decided to apply this flexibility in reinvesting redemptions coming due in the PEPP portfolio as of July 1," Lagarde said on Tuesday in a speech in Sintra, Portugal, where the ECB is holding its annual retreat. "We will ensure that the orderly … [Read more...] about ECB to activate first line of defence in bond market on July 1

- A + A LONDON (June 28): Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc is abandoning the sale of the Boots drugstore chain in the UK citing "unexpected and dramatic change" in the global financial markets since launching the sales process in January. The American healthcare group had been in talks with a consortium between Reliance Industries Ltd and Apollo Global Management Inc over the more than £5 billion (US$6.1 billion) sale of Britain's biggest pharmacy chain. As a result of "market instability severely impacting financing availability, no third party has been able to make an offer that adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots", Walgreens said in a statement on Tuesday. The recent strong performance of Boots, and its key No7 beauty brand, is also behind the decision to retain the business, the company added in the statement. The Boots sale was considered a litmus test for dealmaking in the UK with credit markets becoming increasingly fragile. The easy financing … [Read more...] about Walgreens abandons Boots sale amid volatile debt market

- A + A PUTRAJAYA (June 28): The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI) has 27 technological solutions that are ready to be widely applied to assist the country handle the food security issue in the short run. MOSTI in a statement on Tuesday (June 28) said the technological solutions are divided into several clusters, namely seeds, bio fertiliser, booster fertiliser, use of drone, testing, and internet of things (IoT), aquaculture, as well as livestock feed. "All the technology solutions are the results of local research and development (R&D) financed by the government,” said MOSTI. Among the technology solutions which could be introduced are automated fertigation system, vertical farming, aquaponics combined with artificial intelligence (AI), which is capable of operating in remote areas and reduce the cost of operation through Nano Light Energy Panel (NLEP) solar energy as a primary source of energy. The usage of technology could also be … [Read more...] about MOSTI offers 27 technology solutions to tackle food security

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (28 June): The Malaysian Bar, who is objecting to Datuk Seri Najib Razak's bid to hire a lawyer from the United Kingdom for his final appeal in the SRC International corruption case, has said that the former prime minister's current lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is more experienced and qualified to lead the appeal. In an affidavit against Najib's bid to appoint Queen's Counsel (QC) Jonathan Laidlaw to handle his appeal at the Federal Court, Bar Council secretary Anand Raj said that there are 21,659 advocates and solicitors in Malaysia who are in valid possession of a "Sijil Annual and Practicing Certificate". "Local advocates and solicitors have the requisite expertise and experience in the various aspects of the law and jurisprudence in respect of the appeal and any other cause or matter related thereto," he said. Anand said that Laidlaw does not have the experience of practising in the country's local courts and he would need to … [Read more...] about Malaysian Bar: Shafee more qualified than Queen’s Counsel to lead Najib’s SRC appeal