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Tag: automation

  • 3 Secrets to Streamlining Your Accounts Payable Process | Entrepreneur

    3 Secrets to Streamlining Your Accounts Payable Process | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It’s a common mistake made in adolescence: bleaching one’s hair to look unique. Those who achieve the envisioned look are few and far between, as the proper at-home technique evades most of us, leaving us to tell the tale of a period in life during which we sported preposterously orange hair.

    Thankfully life grants us wisdom (and a collection of funny stories) as we age. We learn that nailing a unique vision requires tremendous study, discipline and teamwork. It takes time to create something distinctive. And gaining wisdom doesn’t mean you have to lose your flair for the unique: it just means you’ve got a better eye for the solutions and processes that’ll get you to your goal.

    While hair couture is a fascinating topic — and apropos to leaving a distinctive mark on the world – today I’d like to take a look at one of the fundamental elements behind creating an exceptionally successful business: the Accounts Payable (AP) process. Leveraging the right AP solution that perfectly aligns with your business’s unique vision and resources will ensure your company grows without compromising its individuality.

    Related: How to Master Bookkeeping for Your Business Without an Accounting Degree

    Why choosing an AP solution that aligns with your vision is a must

    The urge to start or run a business stem from a creative place. Thankfully, the fundamental processes that run a business have come a long way, making it more possible than ever to make entrepreneurial visions a reality. The Accounts Payable process is one such fundamental element of a successful venture. Accounts Payable (AP) tracks and monitors the expenses owed by a company to its suppliers and vendors, which is crucial in managing the overall budget.

    Each business has unique needs — and the AP process should suit their individual situation. Top-rated automation solutions for AP allow organizations to do the tailoring they need. For example, multisite organizations — like in the construction business or the B2B service industry — would benefit from Cloud-based Accounts Payable automation, as this allows for the capturing, processing, approval, and payment of invoices from any approved device at any location, with multiple and complex validation rules and routes (if you’ve worked on a construction project before, you know there’s often a lot of movement amongst sites). Additionally, Cloud-based AP automation can track and reconcile orders, retention status, and lien waivers as they flow in from vendors, subcontractors and suppliers.

    Another example of industries that thrive with customizable AP software is the industries where maximizing customer-facing time is key for satisfaction and business growth. In a fast-moving restaurant, in a retail store, in a consulting business, there’s no time for manual mistakes. A fully-automated, no-touch AP process can significantly lessen the incidence of human error around the many business transactions flowing back and forth on a given day, streamlining and centralizing the purchase-to-pay (P2P) process and others pertaining to spending and suppliers. A customizable, seamless AP automation software can free these businesses up to focus on the distinctive elements that make their business special – like the food and customer experience for example.

    The majority of businesses, large and small, can benefit from implementing Accounts Payable automation and Purchase-to-Pay automation moving forward, suited to their budgetary goals and specific workflow configuration. The increased productivity, accelerated cycle and data accuracy heighten coordination and collaboration between departments, and easier compliance with regulations and standards granted by this intelligent software improves business operations. Beyond, it improves business leaders’ ability to predict cash flow and make better decisions as data automatically flow in real-time to their data analytics and data visualization tools.

    What to look for in Accounts Payable software

    Not all AP automation software is created equal. After determining your business needs and requirements around invoice processing, there are a few things to pay attention to when searching for the best Accounts Payable automation software for your business.

    • Seamless real-time automation: Ensure the Accounts Payable automation software syncs with your existing financial solutions and ERP system. You want your AP automation to act as a one-stop shop for invoicing and payment solutions. Some unique solutions leverage AI and machine and deep learning technologies to deliver an outstanding level of automation with extreme simplicity and traceability.
    • Simplicity: AP automation software should display user-friendliness, plug-and-play integration with existing IT systems, and unlimited flexibility in meeting evolving business operations needs. It should work for your business and not require a total restructuring of the systems you already have in place.
    • Scalability: A great AP automation software should be based on a pay-per-use model, and it should offer an all-in-one set of solutions, starting from invoice automation, then moving to automated invoice payment, then extending purchase automation. Rather than relying on a user-toll model, AP automation software should afford teams the flexibility and elegance of using only what they need to, when they need to. Elements such as customizable workflows, the ability to create codes to suit specific transaction needs, and Cloud-based integrations provide the end-to-end, structured dynamism necessary to meet the needs of your business as it evolves.

    Related: 5 Cash Management Tactics Small Businesses Use to Become Bigger Businesses

    Choose an AP automation solution that’s as unique as you are

    Running a business is labor-intensive. When it’s work you deeply care about, it’s a labor of love – and that means you’ll go above and beyond to find the processes and tools that bring your vision to life. Only a happy few automation software solutions will allow your team’s creative and innovative power to shine while preventing errors along the way. Market offering is wide, so it is crucial to make the right choice. Finding the right balance between automation, simplicity and functional scope is the only way to make your automated AP process suited to support the unique vision of your business. Just like finding the right hairstyle to suit your individuality, the right AP automation strategies will set the groundwork so your company can grow confidently without sacrificing what makes it unforgettable.

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    Francois Lacas

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  • How These Robots Are Bringing 24/7 Automated Convenience Stores to Your Neighborhood | Entrepreneur

    How These Robots Are Bringing 24/7 Automated Convenience Stores to Your Neighborhood | Entrepreneur

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    Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

    There are more than 150,000 convenience stores in the U.S., making over $258 billion in combined sales every year. But what if there was a way to make these stores even more profitable?

    That’s the question one founder is answering with a new company called VenHub.

    Shahan Ohanessian — a logistics and technology innovator — founded VenHub to automate retail stores using state-of-the-art robotics. VenHub’s automation unlocks a new world of potential for the industry, including:

    • Potentially 5X higher profit margins
    • Seamless 24/7 operation
    • Can be set up in just seven days

    With this sort of potential, it’s no surprise they’ve secured nearly 70 pre-orders representing more than $23M in potential revenue. And that’s just the start. VenHub plans to scale its automation across multiple industries, from pharmacies to storage lockers.

    The best part? Anyone can invest in VenHub right now and join them on the ground floor. Here’s why you don’t want to miss this opportunity.

    3 ways VenHub can make money.

    The way VenHub works is simple: A customer orders through an app or at the touch screen, robotic arms inside the store grab the items, bag them, and the customer picks them up at a secure window. The stores can run 24/7, utilize solar power, and fit nearly anywhere.

    Plus, the business model creates multiple revenue streams. VenHub earns money in three ways:

    1. Store sales
    2. Software subscription fees
    3. Licensing the technology to other brands

    Not only will VenHub be able to sell its stores directly to entrepreneurs, but retail brands can pay to use VenHub’s technology to automate their stores.

    It’s a winning idea, but the challenge is taking it from an idea to reality. And Ohanessian and his team are uniquely suited to doing just that.

    Ohanessian previously served as the CEO of a successful logistics and technology company that delivered more than 100 million shipments with companies like Amazon, Uber Eats, UPS, and GrubHub. Under his leadership, the company generated $300+ million in revenue.

    Now Ohanessian and the team are hitting the ground running with their first market opportunity.

    VenHub is solving the biggest problems in the $258B convenience store industry.

    Convenience stores are big businesses, but they are ripe for technological innovation. Customers want faster, quicker, and cheaper solutions, while business owners face headwinds from high real estate costs, staffing problems, and theft.

    VenHub’s tech aims to checks every box.

    Customers no longer have to hunt through aisles looking for products they want, only to find they’re out of stock. They can order ahead and pick up their products in under 2 minutes. Even better, customers skip crowds, don’t have to wait in lines, and enjoy an entirely touchless process.

    Business owners certainly like the idea of happier customers who will seek out their stores, but VenHub offers even more benefits for store owners.

    How VenHub compares to brick-and-mortar retailers.

    Retail businesses lose $100 billion each year to theft and loss. A fully automated store eliminates the theft risk, so store owners no longer have to budget for loss.

    Plus, VenHub can slash costs across the board. With a small footprint and the flexibility to fit nearly anywhere, store owners can fight back against the rising cost of real estate.

    Even better, with 24/7 automation, store owners no longer need to worry about staffing problems, like worker shortages or finding reliable night shift employees.

    Here’s how VenHub stacks up against a traditional brick-and-mortar store:

    • Costs 76% less to build
    • Can fit 1.5X more inventory
    • Takes up 1/10th the space

    In today’s climate — where real estate costs are soaring and businesses are looking for more flexibility — VenHub delivers. In fact, VenHub’s technology has the potential to 5X profit margins for business owners.

    VenHub can automate anything from pharmacies to live event vendors.

    VenHub’s flexibility and mobility unlock even more expansion opportunities. Businesses and entrepreneurs can put a VenHub store in a parking lot, near EV charging stations, and quickly move the location based on demand.

    And while VenHub is targeting convenience stores first, the potential to expand into more verticals creates an even bigger opportunity for their investors.

    Essentially any brick-and-mortar retail business can benefit from the cost savings and flexibility VenHub’s automation offers. That includes businesses like pharmacies, hardware stores, pet supply stores, and even mall retailers.

    Plus, VenHub’s technology isn’t limited to retail. VenHub’s mobility means it can be used for live events, from concerts to weddings. And the technology can also be used for other verticals, like storage lockers.

    The best part? Investors like you can help VenHub scale up to meet demand across these industries.

    How to invest In VenHub.

    Startup investing can be a great opportunity on its own. Until recently, this market has been closed to everyday investors and limited to institutional investors or venture capitalists. But for a limited time, VenHub is opening up the opportunity to invest for our readers.

    Whether you’re looking to diversify your portfolio or trying to invest in new technologies, this is your opportunity to invest in a company led by an experienced team using robotic automation to disrupt a massive market. And you’ll be joining them on the ground floor.

    Learn more about the limited-time opportunity to invest in VenHub here.

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    StackCommerce

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  • Making cybersecurity a cornerstone of digital transformation | Bank Automation News

    Making cybersecurity a cornerstone of digital transformation | Bank Automation News

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    These days, financial institutions have a great deal more to manage than their customers’ money. They must also manage their customers’ personally identifiable information safely and in accordance with an increasing number of regulations — data that makes this sector attractive and therefore more susceptible to cybercriminal attention.

    Headshot of Michael Brown
    Michael Brown, field CISO for financial services, Fortinet

    In addition, if a company doesn’t uphold security standards in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, it could completely lose its ability to process credit card payments.

    The potential attack surface grows as financial institutions step up their digital operations. A possible vulnerability exists with every work-from-anywhere (WFA) login, service integration and mobile app. As an illustration, many American banks were handed a combined $1.8 billion penalty last year because staff members were using personal messaging apps for work-related purposes.

    Financial institutions require complete cybersecurity solutions that include WFA capabilities, secure networking for branch locations and next-generation firewalls in order to adapt to the current regulatory and threat landscape. These solutions must provide advanced threat prevention from the data center to the endpoint to the edge.

    Real-world impacts of insufficient cybersecurity

    We’ve seen it time and time again — cyberattacks can cause significant and, sometimes, irreparable harm. The concrete repercussions of insufficient cybersecurity can have a lasting impact and a ripple effect.

    These include:

    • Data loss — Financial services organizations hold very sensitive and proprietary information that you don’t want bad actors getting their hands on, whether it’s investment portfolio information or customers’ personally identifiable information like passwords and Social Security numbers.
    • Operational outages — Security teams typically need to identify the attack’s origin and assess the extent of the damage. And when a distributed denial-of-service attack occurs, the intention is to halt business as usual. Both scenarios result in a loss of productivity, both internally and externally. Customers are unable to access their money and employees can’t do their jobs.
    • Fines — In some cases, a company may receive penalties from several regulators for a single incident. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York State Department of Financial Services have fined companies for issues like inadequate disclosure controls and cybersecurity-related procedures.

    Additionally, if the penalty includes revoking licenses or charters that you need to operate, one of your business lines or even the entire company could be shut down for noncompliance.

    Reputational damage — It can be quite challenging to bounce back once an organization has shown that it is unable to protect the personal information of its customers. For instance, years after the initial occurrence, the Equifax breach remains a cautionary tale.

    Bolstering strategy with the right features

    To ensure proactive regulatory and cybersecurity compliance, a well-managed solution from a reputable cybersecurity provider can make all the difference. When choosing a solution, financial organizations should consider these aspects:

    • Cloud capabilities — Due to the prevalence of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud networks, many financial services companies need to collaborate with cybersecurity suppliers that provide products that can operate natively in both public and private cloud settings. To provide uniform policy enforcement, the solutions must perform smoothly across on-premises networks and cloud environments. Organizations should choose a cybersecurity provider with a history of innovation and scalable, accessible and safe security solutions.
    • AI/ML and automation — Every day, new cybersecurity risks surface and bad actors are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation. Likewise, these technologies should be part of the arsenal for defending against cyberattacks. Automation can help increase accuracy and decrease human error. Many cybersecurity suppliers employ point solutions to patch vulnerabilities.
    • Seamless customer experience — For customers to be unaware that the cybersecurity solution is operating in the background, it must be seamless. The solution must operate with the current architecture without placing an excessive load on the network. Seconds count; if a customer can’t connect right away, they might go elsewhere for their business.
    • Adaptability — Every milestone on the digital transformation journey should involve cybersecurity. Businesses require adaptable cybersecurity solutions when they change their focus and enter cross-industry disciplines. Financial firms require dependable cybersecurity solutions when the core elements of the business shift or the network grows in unanticipated ways.

    Transform safely

    Even as financial service organizations strive to better serve their customers via digital transformation, they are facing more — and more sophisticated — threats. As data multiplies with frightening speed, organizations must keep that data secure and compliant. If not, fines and loss of reputation and even the whole business can result. Consider the best practices noted above when vetting cybersecurity providers to ensure a safe and compliant business foundation.

    Michael Brown, field CISO for financial services at Fortinet, is a global security evangelist and advisor, helping financial services firms implement digital transformation while enhancing security and resilience. He specializes in cybersecurity regulations, ESG impact, SD-WAN, SD-Branch, Zero Trust, low-latency electronic trading security, SASE, and multi-cloud solutions.

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    Michael Brown

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  • 5 Ways Automation Can Help You Achieve Balance and Piece of Mind | Entrepreneur

    5 Ways Automation Can Help You Achieve Balance and Piece of Mind | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    People love to discuss balance in life and business, but achieving it can feel completely out of reach. In fact, according to a recent Keap survey, most entrepreneurs struggle with having too much on their plates and not enough time, money or resources to get to it all.

    The result? They end up feeling wrong-footed and perpetually behind. The good news is it’s actually possible to find balance in your business. All you need is automation and intentionality.

    1. Peace of mind

    I’ve been an entrepreneur for more than 20 years and have experienced the full spectrum of the stresses and joys that come with it. So I can relate all too well when business owners tell me they’re constantly worried they’re dropping the ball. But even if many people feel this way, such ongoing internal tension is not only physically unhealthy but also unsustainable.

    To relieve the relentless pressure, you need a way to ensure your most important tasks are being handled. This is where automation comes in, allowing you to nurture relationships and consistently follow up with prospects and customers.

    Thanks to automation tools, you don’t have to feel that familiar knot in your stomach when you spend the day dealing with a vendor problem and don’t get around to giving your new customer a welcome they deserve. Automating most customer communications shrinks your daily to-do lists and increases peace of mind.

    Related: How to Use Automation (and Avoid the Pitfalls) as an Entrepreneur

    2. Predictable pipeline

    Ask any entrepreneur what the most stressful part of growing a company is, and they’ll usually respond with two words: cash flow. Especially when you’ve moved on from being a solopreneur to having a team, you’ll feel the squeeze of payroll and the responsibility of providing other people’s salaries. So, what’s the fix?

    A big piece of the puzzle is making sure your pipeline is predictable. Having reliable sales lined up for the foreseeable future assures you that you’ll have money in the bank to pay your bills. You can make this happen by using automation. By capturing leads automatically and tracking sales consistently, you won’t have to wonder whether you’ll be able to cover your monthly expenses or continue growing. You’ll feel confident you can do both.

    3. Automated payments

    Of course, a predictable pipeline is only half the battle. You might have the work and the sales, but what about actually getting paid? For many entrepreneurs with younger companies, this is a real sticking point. Disorganization and a lack of time leave gaps in invoicing and payment collection. There’s also often a real issue with the personal side of getting paid; no one wants their relationship to go from vendor or partner to bill collector. It can be awkward, so business owners often avoid it, delaying their payments even longer.

    Automation can be the intermediary for you. Instead of having to personally track payments and then follow up when they’re late, an automated system takes care of it all. You no longer have to chase your customers to get paid, and your cash flow is suddenly smoother, stronger and healthier.

    Related: Automation Is Becoming a Business Imperative: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

    4. Stress-free scheduling

    Many business owners struggle with the inconvenient back-and-forth required to schedule appointments. This is another area where automated tools can save the day.

    Instead of emailing a customer to ask about their availability or playing phone tag, you can provide them with a link to automated appointment scheduling. If you have a flexible system in place, you should be able to configure this to offer a variety of appointment types, time frames and date options that you already know work well with your own schedule. No more checking calendars and waiting for responses; customers can book with you automatically without you having to lift a finger.

    Furthermore, using this feature works great with automated follow-up. Set your sequences up to automatically remind customers about your meeting, and they’ll be more likely to show up. Then, set up an automated email to check in with the customer a few days after the appointment, and you’ll be nurturing your relationship like a true professional.

    Related: The Benefits of Automation for Digital Marketing

    5. Reallocation of your time

    When you start using automation to take repetitive tasks off of your to-do list, you’ll free up your time. As your technology handles things like lead capture and follow-up, you get the hours back that you would’ve spent on those areas yourself. If you could have two extra hours per week, what could you do with them? What about four or five more free hours per week?

    Small businesses that automate repetitive tasks have been found to save as many as ten hours a week. With more than a full day of work now freed up, think of the big-picture, complex or creative tasks you can actually get to — and how far focusing on those tasks can take your company.

    Achieving balance in your business doesn’t have to be a pipe dream. By being intentional about using automation to handle customer follow-up, keep your sales pipeline predictable, manage payments, handle scheduling and more, you’ll do a lot to reduce your workload and stress.

    So, are you ready to make balance a priority? It’s within your reach.

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    Clate Mask

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  • 3 Ways Companies Can Reduce Their Cloud Costs | Entrepreneur

    3 Ways Companies Can Reduce Their Cloud Costs | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Many people’s experience with cloud costs is limited to the monthly $10 or so bill they get from Apple or Google. But for technology companies, which have to manage and process vast amounts of user data, it can be the second-biggest expense after payroll. Indeed, when Snap went public in 2017, filings revealed the company had more than $3 billion in cloud services contracts with Amazon Web Services and Google.

    And if you thought your cell phone bill was hard to understand, try making sense of cloud charges. Companies like AWS, Azure and Google offer thousands of options, with variations that can result in some eye-popping overruns, whether it’s a startup accidentally racking up a $72,000 bill during a few hours of testing or Pinterest having to spend an extra $20 million to accommodate a bump in user demand.

    In fact, it’s estimated that at least 30% — or $180 billion of the nearly $600 billion on cloud spend globally — is entirely unnecessary. The culprits can be as mundane as multiple copies of identical files or failing to clean up outdated or unused assets. Often, cloud costs are a black box altogether. In our 2020 Saas Cloud Spend survey, about one-third of the decision-makers who responded didn’t even know their company’s cloud spend as a percentage of annual recurring revenue.

    Making sense of shifting cloud use across teams and contracts can seem like a game of whack-a-mole. But by focusing on three principles — visibility, accountability and automation — companies are finding ways to fight cloud spend, often saving millions and avoiding layoffs in the process.

    Related: With Rising Costs and Vendor Lock-Ins, Is a Cloud Exodus in the Making?

    Visibility: You can’t fix what you can’t see

    The first step is to understand where cloud spend is happening. This isn’t quite as easy as it might sound. The very characteristics that make the cloud so convenient also make it difficult to track and control how much teams and individuals spend on cloud resources. Even the costs can be variable, depending on the type of service used, the resources consumed and the time of day or week.

    According to the FinOps Foundation, a group focused on advancing best practices in cloud financial management, most companies still struggle to keep budgets aligned. The good news is that a new generation of dedicated tools can provide transparency. Resource tagging can automatically track which teams use cloud resources, making it possible to measure costs and identify excess capacity accurately. Meanwhile, with cloud cost anomaly detection, users can receive alerts when the meter starts ticking wildly. But visibility is only the first step to bringing costs under control.

    Accountability: Put someone at the helm

    Companies wouldn’t dare deploy a payroll budget without an administrator — or an entire HR department — to optimize spend carefully. Yet, when it comes to cloud costs, there’s often no one at the helm.

    That’s why the second step is establishing accountability and ownership for cloud costs. Enter the emerging disciplines of FinOps or cloud operations. Increasingly, organizations are standing up these dedicated teams, whose purview can embrace everything from setting cloud budgets and negotiating favorable contracts to putting engineering discipline in place to control costs. Importantly, this isn’t an annual exercise but an ongoing commitment.

    To work, these teams must be given authority to create guardrails enforced across the company. One of the reasons cloud spend spirals out of control so quickly is that teams have been insulated from the cost effects of their cloud use.

    Say a developer is testing a new program or feature and has created a machine in the cloud for this purpose. It might seem easier just to keep the machine running than to power it down and restart it. But budgets suffer when developers take up that bandwidth during periods of latency. Multiplied by hundreds or thousands of users across the company, the wasteful spending quickly adds up.

    Related: Cloud Data Warehouses Are a Game-Changer for Modern Businesses. Here’s How to Utilize Them for Growth and Expansion.

    Automation: The missing ingredient — AI

    But even with a dedicated team monitoring cloud use and need, automation is the only way to keep up with complex and quickly evolving scenarios.

    The sad truth is that much of today’s cloud cost management remains bespoke and manual, even at some of the most tech-forward companies. In many cases, a monthly report or round-up of cloud waste is among the only maintenance done — and highly paid engineers are expected to manually remove abandoned projects and initiatives to free up space. It’s the equivalent of asking someone to delete extra photos from their iPhone each month to free up extra storage.

    That’s why AI and automation are critical to identify cloud waste and eliminate it.

    Amazingly, the most recent FinOps Foundation survey reveals that fewer than 40% of organizations have automated reporting for cloud usage or anomalies, notifications for cost overruns, rightsizing containers or other statistics. But this is just the first step of automation. The next step is to intelligently and automatically remove the waste. I’ve seen Fortune 1000 companies reduce cloud spend by up to 40-50% by automating best practices.

    For instance, tools like “intelligent auto-stopping” allow users to stop their cloud instances when not in use, much like motion sensors can turn off a light switch at the end of the workday.

    Companies that rely on “spot instances” to access surplus capacity can run automation that helps them access the best rate, much like Expedia lets travelers access better deals on hotels and rental cars.

    Meanwhile, even more tools are being developed to help companies model the most cost-effective service contracts or sell excess capacity on the secondary market

    As cloud management evolves, companies are discovering ways to save millions, if not hundreds of millions. With next-level AI now handling the heavy lifting of identifying and eliminating cloud waste, the very backbone of the tech economy — data storage and processing — is getting a much-needed overhaul.

    Related: The Challenges of Optimizing Your Cloud Spend in 2022

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    Jyoti Bansal

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  • AI Could Replace The Equivalent of 300 Million Jobs — Will Your Job Be One of Them? Here’s How to Prepare. | Entrepreneur

    AI Could Replace The Equivalent of 300 Million Jobs — Will Your Job Be One of Them? Here’s How to Prepare. | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Last year, many of us spent time thinking over the problem of AI bias, carefully depicted by one of the authors of “Coded Bias”, the famous Netflix documentary. Now that yet another boost of generative AI popularity is here to stay, the talks about job replacement are back in the game.

    Namely, one of the most verbose reports on how AI could potentially automate (or as many are afraid, replace people in their qualified jobs) belongs to Goldman Sachs, which was vehemently spread under a variety of alarmist headlines about 300 million potentially replaced jobs across the globe.

    In particular, some of the reported data suggests that 18% of the work worldwide is likely to be computerized, and the effects on the more developed economies could be worse than those across the emerging ones, for instance.

    Strangely enough, the recent boom of generative AI has coincided with several consecutive waves of layoffs in the online tech industry, which only made some sort of a minor panic in a myriad of discussions on the web even more understandable.

    Related: The 3 Principals of Building Anti-Bias AI

    However, the report itself suggests that the so-called “exposal to automation” itself does not imply the elimination or removal of the human-involved job in any way. More importantly, many of the non-white-collar professions are not even prone to negative effects.

    On a greater scale, according to some experts, the ability to operate the next-gen AI tech will be decisive for the professionals, instead of them becoming redundant because of Chat GPT-like solutions any time soon. As Ingrid Verschuren, head of the data strategy for Dow Jones said, “humans are the real “machine” that drives AI.”

    Facing the reality behind the hype

    So, as Goldman Sachs estimates, up to almost 25% of all work could be managed by AI completely in the upcoming years. But what exactly does this mean for a specialist in the law department, a copywriter, or a motion designer, for example? To tell the truth, not that much.

    A friend of mine, running a video production studio has been testing AI solutions to generate images for some time and as it turns out scraping the creative inspiration from the machine learning algorithms has been quite a tiresome journey all along. The default imagery is often somewhat generic (and often gloomy for that matter), so their designer team hasn’t been successful in actually applying the newly-acquired AI-powered assistance to a significant extent.

    Meanwhile, in editorial departments, the recent trend of running the ChatGPT queries, regarding some news personalities and seeing the not-so-truthful results has also proven the point of truthfulness being the weakest point of generative AI.

    And given so many of the false narratives, and how easily the generative AI tools are being persuaded (e.g. write content with non-existent facts, if those are being given in the assigned request), I highly doubt their legal advice is qualified enough to go along with, let alone substitute even an inexperienced, yet hungry paralegal for their software equivalent just yet.

    Will the future uphold our fears?

    While the current state of generative AI is obviously not as advanced as its founders wish to believe, some of the job market predictions for 2024 may seem too pessimistic for that matter. Of course, chances are the technologies are likely to have a significant impact on our workforce this way or another within the upcoming decade. So how can we be prepared?

    Here are a few focus points that entrepreneurs might keep in mind:

    Don’t rush into cut-offs

    Whatever the niche you’re in business in, the current state of generative AI doesn’t have the skills and competencies to replace any of the qualified specialists in your team.

    More importantly, even when further AI advancements arrive, you will probably still need your team to manage the new software (i.e. explain precisely what needs to be done, then review the outcome) in order to obtain the best results.

    Some of the most vivid examples include code reviews/tweaks, editing of the scripts created by AI, accounting and engineering project re-checks and physical exams/prescriptions reviews in medicine, but this list is virtually endless.

    Related: History Has Shown What Happens to Companies that Shy Away from New Tech, So Why Are So Many Afraid of Generative AI?

    Check your facts

    While we leave the media and celebrities worrying about the possible negative effects of complex deep fakes, made possible by the introduction of generative AI upgrades, using ChatGPT or similar tools to search for information remains a very tricky business.

    As the algorithms’ training evolves, the risks of being completely misguided will definitely decrease, but chances are that we won’t be able to trust the AI-generated text/image in the foreseeable future.

    Even though this aspect will remain of primary importance in editorial newsrooms, law firms and political offices, any calculations, provided by the advanced machine learning algorithms will also need to undergo re-checks, at least in the selected data cohorts.

    Peculiarly enough, the amount of time and operational resources, inevitably required to run these reviews/checks, actually challenges somewhat a common belief that the extended use of AI leads to higher productivity, with less budget spending.

    Beware of the bias

    The first thing we learned on the launch of ChatGPT was that its latest “knowledge acquisition dated to 2020 – 2021”, but the more important thing is that in spite of its latest upgrades, the generative AI is still old-school, or better to say biased.

    Here are several examples to prove my point.

    I’ve run a simple query asking ChatGPT to “tell me a story of two people”, and what I’ve got was a cheesy rom-com about John and Mary. Then I ran a short query to draw me two people on the beach in the relevant generative AI software and I got a picture of two males (even though the scene structure was good, no doubt about that). Presumably, having analyzed my request, the algorithm “decided” that “people” should primarily refer to “male people.”

    What this means to entrepreneurs using generative AI, whether they’re working in a creative industry or not, is their necessity to not just have a clear understanding of the AI-bias-risks, but also the willingness to triple-check, then update the intermediary software-generated results, prior to their incorporation into any of the further work product.

    Prospects for 2023-2024

    Long story short, whatever the misconceptions we might have about generative AI at this point, they aren’t likely to stay relevant in 10 years. However, the most reasonable approach to its use remains in moderation. In plain words, exaggerating its benefits will definitely be damaging, but the exceeding focus on its possible ramifications can be just as much.

    Quoting Ms. Verschuren from Dow Jones, it’s still up to us humans to figure out our future, and tweak our machines for better results, however complex they might be.

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    Anton Liaskovskyi

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  • Kiosks: Types, Uses, and Profitability | Entrepreneur

    Kiosks: Types, Uses, and Profitability | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With the rise of automation and self-checkout options, kiosks are becoming a hot topic of discussion among many business owners. But what exactly is a kiosk, and is it a profitable piece of equipment for businesses? Here’s everything you need to know about the different types of kiosks and whether they’re profitable hardware.

    What is a Kiosk?

    A kiosk is a small, computerized booth or screen with a digital display, usually a tablet or other touchscreen computer enclosed in a protective tablet wall mount. Kiosks are often found in high-traffic areas, and are intended to provide additional information or offer services to customers passing by. A kiosk may be manned by an attendant who can assist in a transaction, or it may stand on its own and be available to serve customers when human employees are busy. There are a few different types of kiosks that each offer unique services and advantages.

    Information Kiosks

    An information kiosk is the most general type of device, and its sole purpose is to offer information to shoppers. Information kiosks can be a great way to provide customers with resources and answer their questions without bothering the staff. They can be interactive or non-interactive but typically feature a menu system to help customers find what they need.

    Related: 11 Ways to Automate Your Business and Boost Efficiency

    Self-Service Kiosks

    A self-service kiosk is a device that acts as a POS system where customers can check themselves out without waiting for a human cashier. It’s typically a tablet or touchscreen computer that allows customers to scan and pay for items. It may be monitored by a human employee in case there is a system error or customers have questions. Self-service kiosks are a great way to avoid backed-up lines when it’s busy and help reduce the cost of hiring cashiers.

    Wayfinding Kiosks

    A wayfinding kiosk is a device that exists to help visitors find their way around an area. You’ll often see them at the mall or in large buildings where visitors need assistance to find a particular store or department. Wayfinding kiosks can be a great way to show potential customers exactly where they need to go to find you, so they don’t get frustrated and simply visit another establishment. This can be especially crucial for businesses that aren’t easy to locate or are within a large complex with many other stores.

    Advertising Kiosks

    An advertising kiosk is a large, backlit digital display that shows advertisements for a business or event. It’s typically placed in a high-traffic area full of potential customers and intended to market products or services. It functions much like a billboard, although it offers additional flexibility and convenience because the display can be easily changed, or the kiosk itself can be moved to a different area.

    Internet Kiosks

    Internet kiosks are a particular type of kiosk that provides users access to the internet and other applications. They can offer visitors full access to the world wide web or restrict it to a particular page or application based on the goals of the provider. You can offer free internet access to encourage customers to try a specific software or application, or you can charge a small fee for use and attract those who just need to do a quick search while they’re out running errands. Internet kiosks are a great way to bring in new customers and offer exclusive access to a digital product or service.

    Are Kiosks Profitable for a Business?

    The simple answer is yes; kiosks can be very profitable to many different businesses. However, it depends on your objectives and how you use it. For instance, self-service kiosks can be a great way to reduce the costs of hiring unnecessary employees, although they may not work for all businesses as certain industries benefit from human interaction.

    Advertising kiosks are another device that can increase brand awareness and generate more sales. Here, you must have a solid marketing plan and research where your ideal customers are likely to hang out.

    Related: Blendid’s Automated Smoothie Kiosks Aim to Be a $300B Game Changer

    Kiosks are a relatively low-cost piece of hardware that serve a variety of different purposes and can certainly help you cut costs and boost revenue. They are also a great way to provide resources and information to customers that may not directly translate into sales, but can help create new interactions and build brand awareness that will ultimately help your bottom line.

    However, like any piece of technology, you need to have a solid strategy and a clear set of goals to make money with a kiosk. If you simply plant the device in the middle of your storefront and expect it to magically sell your products faster, you’ll likely be disappointed. If you have a clear purpose and use your kiosk effectively, you’re sure to see a significant return on investment!

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    ReadWrite.com

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  • How to Change Your Bad Habits with Automation | Entrepreneur

    How to Change Your Bad Habits with Automation | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Russian composer Igor Stravinsky reportedly did a 15-minute headstand each morning. Inventor Nikola Tesla performed 100 toe curls every night. Poet and author Maya Angelou only wrote in hotel rooms.

    We may snicker at the quirks of famous creators, but we all have entrenched habits, whether we’re aware of them or not. In fact, research shows that about 43% of our everyday actions are habitual. Your morning espresso? Habit. Choosing an aisle or window seat? Habit.

    Habits are powerful — and they run a wildly subjective gamut from good to bad, with loads of gray in between. Yet, the variable nature of entrepreneurship can make it tough to create and maintain constructive habits. “Consider the almost daily schedule upheavals that require us to drop what we are doing or had planned to do and choose the best response right now,” writes researcher Michelle Segar, author of The Joy Choice.

    People with busy lives and ever-changing roles, schedules and responsibilities often struggle to put complex behaviors on autopilot, Segar says. In the 17 years since I launched Jotform, I’ve implemented some key habits, like spending an hour with my personal trainer before work. At the same time, I’m a classic founder. My attention gets splintered, and my calendar often resembles a chaotic LEGO tower.

    Although habits are essential, there’s another tool entrepreneurs should use to maximize their time and focus: automation. I’ve spent the past decade automating my most repetitive, manual workflows and building a team that does the same. If you want to kick-start a habit, like checking email just once a day, automation can minimize the mental bandwidth required to make the change. Or it can take over a task entirely; you don’t even have to think about making or breaking a habit.

    Let’s break down three common habits that trip up entrepreneurs, and how automation can smooth the road to success.

    Related: 3 Ways to Automate Your Busy Work and Boost Your Productivity

    1. Letting your to-do list run your life

    Most of us develop the list-making habit early in life. Teachers, parents and coaches tell us to battle overwhelm by itemizing tasks and crossing them off, one by one. But a list doesn’t reflect what’s important versus what’s urgent. That’s how “buy printer paper” ends up on the same list as “launch new website.” And if you can’t do it all — a truly impossible goal — it’s easy to feel like you’re failing or falling behind.

    You’re not failing. The only problem is thinking you have to personally tackle everything on your list. Instead, take a cold, hard look at your calendar and to-do list. Choose the single most important item — the activity that could transform your business — and give it your undivided attention. Later, examine the remaining tasks and consider what you could automate. For example, let software schedule (and re-schedule) your meetings. Set bills to auto-pay. Use automated tools to parse reports and organize social media posts.

    The more you start to automate, the more opportunities you’ll find to let machines do the heavy lifting. Adopting an automation-first mindset will give you more time to think strategically and grow your business.

    Related: From Mundane to Magic: The Incredible Benefits of Automation for Small Business Owners

    2. Doing everything yourself

    Founders know they need to delegate. But what if you’re just getting started? Before there’s a team to share the workload, you’re covering sales, IT, marketing, operations and maintenance. Thanks to recent advances, technology can now be your assistant — and it has deep expertise in nearly every function your business requires.

    With AI and automation tools, you can track your competition online, receive search daily trends in a custom spreadsheet, employ chatbots for customer support and so much more. For every task you’d like to delegate, there’s a strong chance someone has built a free or low-cost solution to meet your needs.

    Research from Columbia Business School also shows that women are socialized to feel guiltier when they delegate tasks than their male peers. In my experience, bootstrapped founders (of all genders) often struggle to delegate, too. They identify a need and move immediately to address it — whether they should or not.

    Thankfully, automation doesn’t have feelings, nor does it value your deep self-sufficiency. It doesn’t mind backing up a server at 3 a.m. or adding yet another line to the spreadsheet. Most importantly, delegation is a habit you can strengthen over time. Just like editing your to-do list, re-assigning manual and repetitive tasks gets easier with practice.

    Related: 5 Ways Automation Can Help You Manage Your Team

    3. Saying “yes” all the time

    As an entrepreneur, you’ve already said “yes” to an idea or opportunity. Chances are, you’ve also accepted many requests along the way, from taking introductory meetings to exploring new directions. You’re primed to say yes. As author and habit-building expert James Clear explains, saying “no” is equally important. “When you say no, you are only saying no to one option,” writes Clear. “When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option.”

    Sometimes, “no” is the best choice for your business. Automating tedious activities protects your time, focus and energy and opens the door for innovation. As I was writing my upcoming book, I realized that modern business requires a machine for success. When you automate your busy work, you create that machine and then refine and improve it over time. Instead of spending all your time baking pies, you can develop increasingly better recipes.

    Whenever I share this principle, someone inevitably suggests that saying “no” is a luxury reserved only for founders with money, power and established businesses. These puzzle pieces certainly make it easier, but “saying no is not merely a privilege reserved for the successful among us,” Clear says. “It is also a strategy that can help you become successful.”

    I couldn’t agree more.

    Related: How to Enhance Business Automation and Unlock New Levels of Operational Efficiency

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    Aytekin Tank

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  • Transactions: Lloyds Bank launches payment service | Bank Automation News

    Transactions: Lloyds Bank launches payment service | Bank Automation News

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    Lloyds Bank launched PayMe, a payment transfer service developed in partnership with fintech Bottomline Technologies. PayMe, which launched Tuesday, allows businesses to send payments when the beneficiary’s bank details are unknown, according to a Lloyds Bank release. Companies can send a secure link to the other party through SMS or QR code, and the other […]

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    Whitney McDonald and Brian Stone

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  • How to Enhance Business Automation and Unlock New Levels of Operational Efficiency | Entrepreneur

    How to Enhance Business Automation and Unlock New Levels of Operational Efficiency | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In today’s business landscape, AI and automation are increasingly important. Over 50% of organizations plan to incorporate them in 2023. Implementing AI comes with opportunities across different business units. Yet at the same time, it provides challenges that companies must address.

    Operations: AI can optimize resource allocation and improve performance in operations. However, businesses need to make their AI systems compatible with existing infrastructure. It is crucial for companies to realize that AI can make mistakes, so they should focus on eliminating them.

    For instance, Uptake worked closely with customers to integrate their AI software into their vehicles’ existing systems. The company made sure its predictions were reliable and did not interfere with vehicle performance or safety.

    Customer service: Finding the right balance between automation and human interaction is crucial when it comes to using AI in customer service. Virtual assistants should provide quick and relevant responses. But customers must be able to access human representatives when needed. Regular monitoring of customer queries and feedback is also necessary for good AI system performance.

    A prime example of this is Volvo’s early warning system. It involved collecting and analyzing large amounts of data from various sources — namely, car sensors and customer feedback. Additionally, the company checked that the system’s predictions were accurate and timely, thus avoiding compromising customer trust in their vehicles.

    Related: 5 Tips for Integrating AI Into Your Business

    Sales and marketing: Incorporating AI into sales and marketing presents several challenges. Firstly, AI-powered chatbots must be effective in handling customer inquiries without causing frustration. Secondly, personalized recommendations should be based on relevant and ethical data. Finally, implementing lead scoring and predictive analytics requires careful consideration of customer sentiment.

    For example, Amazon trained its algorithms to effectively understand customer preferences and patterns. Dynamic pricing required continuous monitoring to ensure prices were appropriate.

    Finance: To implement AI in finance, businesses must comply with regulations and ethical standards. It is important to ensure that AI systems are transparent and can be explained to customers and stakeholders.

    A case in point is JPMorgan. They made sure their AI initiatives did not violate legal or ethical boundaries (discrimination or biased decision-making). The company worked closely with regulators and stakeholders and thereby manages to achieve transparency and explainability of their AI systems.

    Technology solutions to enhance AI-based business automation

    While AI is a powerful tool for business automation, it is not the only technology that can be used to optimize processes. By combining AI with other technologies, companies can unlock even greater potential for efficiency and innovation.

    Cloud computing: Cloud technology enhances AI-powered applications. It allows businesses to store and access large amounts of data, providing the scalability and flexibility needed for AI to function at its best.

    With cloud computing, companies can also save costs by avoiding the need for expensive on-premise infrastructure. Combining AI with cloud computing, you gain real-time insights from their data, improve decision-making and automate tasks more efficiently.

    Related: 4 Ways You Should Be Using Cloud Computing to Scale Your Business

    Digital twins: When used in conjunction with AI, digital twins can provide even greater value for companies’ automation. AI algorithms analyze data collected by digital twins to identify insights, and as a result, they get further ideas for optimizing business processes.

    Consider a fashion retailer that has a digital twin of a brick-and-mortar store. Sensors are used by a virtual twin to gather information on consumer behavior (foot traffic, product interactions and sales transactions.) While this data is being processed, AI algorithms look for patterns to improve the store’s layout and product placement.

    Digital process automation (DPA) platforms: Such platforms help streamline complex processes by integrating AI with workflow automation, data integration and analytics. This not only reduces errors but also frees up employees to focus on more important tasks.

    Digital process automation platforms can be utilized in various industries such as banking for loan approval processes or in insurance for automating claims processing. By using DPA platforms in combination with AI, businesses can make better decisions, achieve greater efficiency and reduce costs.

    AI isn’t enough

    In the world of business automation, AI is like a trusty hammer in a builder’s toolkit. It’s a versatile and powerful tool that can get the job done. But it’s not the only tool available.

    By incorporating cloud computing, digital twins and DPA platforms into the mix, companies can add other specialized tools to their arsenal, thereby unlocking new levels of efficiency and innovation.

    While there may be challenges in implementing these technology solutions, the rewards they offer are too great to ignore. So, just as a builder wouldn’t rely solely on a hammer to build a house, businesses shouldn’t rely solely on AI for their automation needs.

    Related: The Perfect Blend: How to Successfully Combine AI and Human Approaches to Business

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    Slava Podmurnyi

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  • Seven high-impact automation targets for financial institutions | Bank Automation News

    Seven high-impact automation targets for financial institutions | Bank Automation News

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    It’s 2023, and technologies like machine learning, robotic process automation, natural language processing and artificial intelligence are fast becoming ubiquitous in both customer-facing and back-office digital infrastructure, bringing financial institutions a wealth of opportunities to leverage automation across the business.

    Bucky Porter, financial services industry analyst, Windstream Enterprise

    As these technologies and the automation capabilities embedded within them evolve and mature, it’s up to institutions and their IT decision-makers to identify areas of the business where these capabilities can deliver the most bang for the buck in terms of impact on customers, employees and the bottom line. Based on my work supporting financial services organizations in their digital transformation initiatives (with an emphasis on network connectivity, communications and security), here’s a look at seven of the most impactful ways institutions can tap into the power of digital automation in 2023 and beyond:

    Enriching the customer journey

    Automation across the communications channels that institutions and customers use to interact with one another is critical to providing the rich, disruption-free experiences that customers today expect. Using AI and ML technology along with advanced analytics tools, institutions can develop a full understanding of a customer’s (and a household’s) preferences, then tailor their journey with automated, hyper-personalized offers and recommendations, human-like automated chat/virtual agent interactions and the like. Many of these tools and capabilities can be found in the current generation of unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS) platforms.

    The mortgage line of business is one area that’s especially ripe for automation, given the bottlenecks that continue to plague processing and the customer journey. Building more workload automation into the mortgage process, from application to booking, can minimize human interaction and human error, shrink approval times, simplify compliance with reporting requirements, move pipelines along faster, and ultimately translate into the kind of elevated customer experience that gives an institution a clear competitive edge.

    Securing network as well as data, apps and users attached to it

    First, the bad news: In 2022, according to fresh data from Contrast Security, 60% of financial institutions were victimized by destructive cyberattacks, 64% saw an increase in application attacks, 50% experienced attacks against their APIs, 48% experienced an increase in wire transfer fraud and 50% detected campaigns to steal non-public market information.

    The good news is new multi-layered cybersecurity strategies like secure access service edge (SASE) and security service edge (SSE) use automation to thwart ransomware attacks and other types of attacks that pose a threat to banks. SASE and SSE can be deployed in tandem with a software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN), and typically employ firewall as a service, secure web gateways , zero trust network access and cloud access security brokers, with a portal to manage and automate deployment of these elements. These comprehensive security frameworks can also be architected to have automated intelligent resiliency, ensuring service continuity without human intervention. The result is a unified framework to intercept, inspect, secure and optimize all traffic across a network that includes multiple branches.

    Simplifying network management

    Not only does SD-WAN provide institutions with access to advanced security strategies like SASE and SSE, but it also comes with automations that make the task of managing a network across multiple branches simpler and much less time consuming. It does so by automating tasks traditionally set manually. For example, an SD-WAN can automatically detect network conditions and provide dynamic path steering and forward error correction to ensure high-priority apps get the performance they need. Via a single network interface, many of the moving parts of the network can be centrally managed with automated capabilities, including prioritization of network traffic to optimize bandwidth, which increases reliability and app performance while maximizing network capacity at a lower cost. Benefits like these explain why a November 2022 study found that more than 95% of enterprises already have deployed an SD-WAN or plan to within the next 24 months, and why, anecdotally, I’ve seen so many financial institutions shift to SD-WAN recently.

    Improving employee productivity

    In the years I spent working as a bank executive, I can recall myself and other managers spending hours on duplicative manual data entry and document-shuffling — time that would have been much better spent on higher-value pursuits. Automating workloads and processes unburdens employees of monotonous, unnecessary busy work.

    A financial institution also can impact employee productivity with how it manages the bandwidth across its communications network. With an SD-WAN, for example, an institution can use automation to enforce policies that allocate less bandwidth (or restrict access) to apps that can distract people from their work (personal social media, etc.).

    Strengthening the employee experience

    Automations also are proving their value on the HR side of the business, for example, where institutions are using portals through which employees, enabled by automation, can access self-service capabilities to manage their benefits, as well as to access training, upskilling and other resources.

    Uncovering cross-selling and other opportunities

    By automatically capturing and applying analytics to data from customer interactions and transactions, institutions can quickly identify opportunities to market highly targeted additional products and services to existing clients, while also developing personas that help them zero in on the right prospects. Then they can reach out and/or deliver highly personalized offers.

    Sharing insight across open banking ecosystems

    Open banking allows for customers to connect their various accounts and control the sharing of their financial data through APIs that interface with other financial institutions and fintech companies. Automations can ensure that data and insight is securely shared among the various partners within an open banking ecosystem, a must to provide a seamless experience for customers across the various apps they’re using within the ecosystem.

    Bucky Porter is a financial services industry analyst at cloud-enabled connectivity and communications provider Windstream Enterprise.

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    Bucky Porter

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  • 5 Property Management Tasks You Should Automate Now | Entrepreneur

    5 Property Management Tasks You Should Automate Now | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In our fast-developing digital world, there’s little we can’t automate with a few lines of code.

    The same is true in the property management industry. The property management software market will be worth $2.7 billion by 2023, according to Strategic Market Research. The reason for its growth is easily apparent — software makes it possible to automate many tasks that traditionally belong to property managers.

    As landlords race to implement affordable software tools in their rental businesses, automation is one feature you should be on the lookout for. The more tasks that can be automated, the fewer you must take on yourself, and the less money you’ll spend paying other people to do them.

    Here are five property management tasks to automate in 2023, if you haven’t done so already:

    Related: 11 Ways to Automate Your Business and Boost Efficiency

    1. Rent reminders

    Basic rent reminders are an essential part of your digital toolkit as a landlord.

    Even the least tech-savvy landlords can set up a recurring email to remind tenants about upcoming rent payments before the first of each month.

    However, there are much more sophisticated ways to automate rent reminders in 2023. On most property management software platforms that offer online rent collection, you can automate a monthly message that includes a link to the payment portal.

    Your software tool also knows which tenants have already paid and which haven’t, so it can target additional reminders to tenants who still have outstanding balances closer to the due date.

    Plus, for most tenants, a simple reminder is all they need to regularly pay on time. Rent reminders are the simplest kind of automated communication you can set up in your rentals with the highest rewards.

    2. Applicant pipeline

    Your rental applicant pipeline can also be largely automated. From responding to a listing to signing a lease, much of the process can proceed without your direct supervision.

    If you use a listing syndication service, you can often compose message templates to be emailed to a prospective renter at specific points in the pipeline — for example, immediately after they respond to a listing or even a few days after they might have forgotten about the listing to follow up.

    Automated messages can also include your current availability, so you don’t waste time communicating personally with tenants who ultimately won’t be interested in renting your properties.

    Lastly, tour scheduling can also be automated. By setting up a platform for prospective renters to schedule tours of your properties on their own, you minimize the time you both spend attempting to coordinate schedules. Your availability is already on the calendar, so the tenant simply needs to choose a time that works for them, too.

    3. Renewals

    The lease renewal process varies from state to state and property to property. Sometimes, leases automatically renew after the original lease term is up. In other states, the tenancy switches to month-to-month by default unless a new agreement is signed.

    To make the renewal process easier on your tenants (and yourself), you can automate renewals in your rental business. For instance, if tenants need to sign a new lease each year to continue living in the property, you can automate reminders with links to information about renewals or an offer to schedule a time to meet and negotiate any details.

    If the tenancy switches to month-to-month by default, you can automate a reminder message that this will happen if the tenant doesn’t respond by a certain date.

    Automating renewals can eliminate much stress at the end of the lease term.

    Related: How to Manage Your Real Estate Business Like a Pro

    4. Financial reports

    There are a variety of financial reporting tools available for landlords currently on the market. In addition to the reporting tools included in your property management software subscription or account, you can also opt to use a general business accounting tool like QuickBooks.

    A good financial reporting tool will allow you to automatically generate income statements, profit/loss (P/L) reports, year-end summaries and bank reconciliation. Many platforms also generate certain tax documents to help you prepare for tax season.

    While you can certainly (and often should) hire an accountant for this job, any person you hire will still appreciate tools that automate their work. Rental accounting is no different, and there is a myriad of ways available to do so.

    5. Late fees

    Late fee enforcement is one of the most practical ways to leverage automation in your rentals.

    With property management software, you can easily schedule late fee reminders and apply late fee charges to the accounts of tenants who haven’t paid by the due date (or after a designated grace period).

    This way, your tenants can’t claim that they “didn’t know” or “forgot” about the late fee — the charge automatically appears alongside all late rent payments.

    Automatic record generation is also useful should you ever need to evict a tenant. During an eviction hearing, you are required to provide proof that the tenant violated the lease agreement. With automated records, you won’t have to worry about whether you remembered to record that the tenant didn’t pay on time. You’ll already have dated and time-stamped records of all payments and late fee charges.

    Related: New Real Estate Technology: Disruptive Ideas Transforming the Industry

    There’s no shortage of responsibilities when you’re running a rental business, and everything that simplifies the process is an asset. Automating components of your property management is a massive step you can take to embrace the digitalization of the industry.

    Instead of juggling tedious, everyday rental tasks, leverage automation to pursue bigger and better goals.

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    Dave Spooner

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  • Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking launches 3 innovations | Bank Automation News

    Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking launches 3 innovations | Bank Automation News

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    Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking is focused on eliminating friction in the global payments space, including user experience, onboarding and accessibility.   The $1 trillion bank identified three areas of friction that it has addressed using automation, Brinda Bhattacharjee, chief operating officer for Transaction Banking in platform solutions at Goldman Sachs, said last week at the […]

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    Brian Stone

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  • 3 trends at Bank Automation Summit US 2023 | Bank Automation News

    3 trends at Bank Automation Summit US 2023 | Bank Automation News

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    CHARLOTTE – Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 kicks off Thursday with panelists from Fifth Third Bank, Truist Financial and Wells Fargo taking the stage to discuss data expandability issues through cloud technology at the Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C.

    The two-day event features panel discussions, presentations, networking roundtables and a fireside chat with Goldman Sachs’ Brinda Bhattacharjee, chief operation officer and head of partnerships for transaction banking.

    Brinda Bhattacharjee, chief operation officer and head of partnerships for transaction banking, Goldman Sachs

    The event brings together U.S.-based industry experts to discuss banking automation and technology topics, including RPA strategy and automation of real-time payments. View the full agenda.

    The Summit will take on the following three key trends:

    1. How to approach automation projects: Financial institutions continue to automate and invest in technology

    Decision makers from PNC Financial and Discover Financial Services will discuss how to approach new projects, how to pitch to senior management and how to determine where to invest time, energy and resources.

    2. Balancing automation and human capital: As more technology surfaces in the financial industry, banks are faced with finding the right mix between digitizing and hiring.

    In many cases, banks are investing in both to balance customer needs and their desire for digital capabilities. Sessions will deliver how to maintain that balance through employee training.

    3. Implications for core systems: Cloud modernization, integration tools and pushing legacy systems to their limits.

    The Summit will address on how to determine whether to wrap or scrap a core system. Speakers from TD Bank, BankUnited and Arvest Bank will discuss how they have approached core modernization.

    Learn more about and register for Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023. 

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    Whitney McDonald

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  • Forward Bank engages customers using in-app location services | Bank Automation News

    Forward Bank engages customers using in-app location services | Bank Automation News

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    Forward Bank is aiming to improve client interactions and to spend more time and effort in the advisory space with the launch of new automated capabilities.  The $897 million bank seeks to increase customer engagement through its automated “geofencing,” process, which uses mobile location services granted through the bank’s app, radio frequency identification (RFID), Wi-Fi […]

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    Brian Stone

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  • State Street Global Advisors’ bid to speed up client onboarding

    State Street Global Advisors’ bid to speed up client onboarding

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    State Street Global Advisors aims to cut the average time it takes to sign up new customers by 10% in the next year through a partnership with Appian, a software company that uses automation to enhance workflows.

    The investment arm of Boston-based State Street Corp. has been using low-code technology from Appian, which analyzes the companies’ workflows to find where actions can be automated or streamlined, since 2011. Automating processes and incorporating artificial intelligence is a high priority for financial institutions, said Joe Davey, a partner at the technology consulting firm West Monroe.

    “Banks and financial institutions are interested in low-code solutions, like automation, that allow them to deploy in a framework that can be managed, has standard tools people can be trained on, and doesn’t really require engineering time and investment,” said Davey, who isn’t involved in the State Street-Appian effort.

    State Street Global Advisors, which has $3.48 trillion of assets under management, has already shaved the average customer onboarding time by 20% since 2016 with Appian. Dennis Mackey, who heads business process management, reference data and data governance at State Street Global Advisors, said the software company has been “integral” to its current data-population process.

    “Appian has been able to build with us a dynamic workflow where we can pull in the right people and get the right data at the right time so we can implement these products in a timely manner,” Mackey said. “Given the breadth of offerings that we have, you can’t do one size fits all. It has to be very dynamic in the way that the workflow responds to the questions that you’re asking stakeholders.”

    Now, State Street Global Advisors will utilize a technology feature that McLean, Virginia-based Appian rolled out last year, called process mining, to find other bottlenecks in its customer onboarding workflow and trim down the process even further by the first quarter of 2024.

    Here’s how process mining works. Appian extracts data collected during the onboarding process, which includes attributes like time stamps and product types, from the logs of underlying systems that State Street Global Advisors operates, such as Salesforce. The software company then applies machine-learning algorithms to find the causes of slowdowns in processes, offer solutions and monitor progress.

    Appian co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Mike Beckley said the software company’s goal is to delegate work to the most efficient actor, whether that’s a robotic process automation bot, AI algorithm or a human. He added that he’s seen a rise in demand for automated processes, like straight-through processing, at financial institutions.

    “People are demanding that efficiency, and they’re demanding more automation,” Beckley said. “There’s enthusiasm for process mining so that [Appian clients] can prioritize their investments because you can’t automate everything. You have to find those most beneficial opportunities. People are being forced to do more with less. …Every CIO or CTO is looking for ways to save to cut costs.”

    Mackey said customer onboarding is an iterative process, in which the firm collects a series of information points, like the type of strategy or asset class of the customer. He said he wants State Street Global Advisors to increase automation use to gather and populate customer data fields in its records, which would also free up employees’ time to have conversations with clients.

    State Street Global Advisors has developed 18 applications with Appian, used by more than 900 employees. Mackey added that the firm is planning on integrating another Appian feature, intelligent document processing, to extract key information from contacts and putting that data in its records. 

    West Monroe’s Davey also said that banks are eager to incorporate AI in their systems, which can improve operating efficiency, service more customers and offer additional business lines, but not mandate changing existing infrastructure.

    “Automation is how you plug those interfaces in to realize your operational efficiency,” Davey said. “Banks are super excited about this because they want to offload more mundane tasks, standardize those tasks.”

    Davey said Appian is a strong offering for automation solutions, but not the only option. UiPath, another software company, also offers low-code workflow automation software. Microsoft PowerToys can provide similar products, though primarily to clients who operate Microsoft products across platforms. Low-code software, like Appian’s, also increases accessibility and time to market on application development.

    Beckley said Appian’s differentiators are its ability to pull data for clients from different systems, and its longevity, with nearly 24 years in the market.

    In 2021, Appian launched its data fabric, which can effectively merge data from different sources, like customer growth and compliance metrics, into one dashboard. For example, In State Street’s customer onboarding process, Mackey said Appian helps unite data from Salesforce and the firm’s product master into one record. Beckley said the data fabric is an alternative to migrating data to a public cloud or single provider.

    “Banks today are not like banks 25 years ago. They’re full of engineers who are building very complex systems,” Beckley said. “They’re also very useful to us in providing very specific requirements for how they want to manage their data, how they want their systems to work together, how security needs to work and how demanding their users are going to be. That translates into a very specific set of requirements that we have to build into our new product launch process.”

    Beckley said Appian’s products also need to be agile, because the best fit for State Street won’t align with the software company’s other clients, which include National Westminster Bank, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and the Securities and Exchange Commission. London-based NatWest recently announced that it wanted to use Appian to trim its risk governance process from 73 days to 73 minutes by the end of the year.

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    Catherine Leffert

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  • Listen: Archway Software president, WaFd CTO offers preview of panel at Bank Automation Summit US 2023 | Bank Automation News

    Listen: Archway Software president, WaFd CTO offers preview of panel at Bank Automation Summit US 2023 | Bank Automation News

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    Washington Federal Bank has spun off a digital innovation provider, Archway Software, led by WaFd Chief Technology Officer Dustin Hubbard, who will speak at the Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 in Charlotte, N.C., next week.

    As part of the panel, “Automation Operations: Use Cases for Transformation” on Thursday, March 2, at 1:30 p.m. ET, Hubbard will discuss his role as president of Archway Software and share how his experience at WaFd and Pike Street Labs will carry over into his latest endeavor.

    Attendees of the panel discussion will learn about:

    • How to take advantage of tools or technologies you currently have;
    • How to pick the right tool for an automation job; and
    • Use cases on successful automation implementation.

    Hubbard will be joined by Tom Lang, head of treasury management products and operation at PNC Financial Services; Daniel Ireland, senior manager of automation business and strategy at Discover Financial Services; Karen Oakland, vice president of financial services industry marketing at Smart Communications; and John Trapani, industry leader for financial services at Appian.

    Listen as Hubbard discusses the launch of Archway Software and his plans for next week’s Bank Automation Summit U.S.

    Learn more about Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 here and register here.

    Whitney McDonald 0:05
    Hello and welcome to a special edition of the buzz a bank automation news podcast. Joining us is Dustin Hubbard, president of Archway Software. Dustin will speak at the upcoming bank automation summit us 2023. On Thursday, March 2 in Charlotte, the following is a preview of his upcoming discussion on the automation operations use cases for transformation panel. First question, just tell me a little bit more about this new endeavor of archway software that you’re diving into

    Dustin Hubbard 0:38
    your Whitney Well, archery software really has been over three years in the making. And that’s because just about three and a half years ago, Washington Federal Bank asked me to join and help build out a technology platform to help them modernize their digital experiences for their clients. And we started that as pipe street labs. And over the last three years, we’ve been winning several awards on the on the platform. And so in 2022, we decided to split it out into a new company with venture funding called archway software. And really, you know, our goal is digital freedom for banks, we want allow banks to pick and choose the best providers and have the ability to deliver the best client experiences with the least amount of friction. And so our technologies are designed to help empower banks put the best technology in their clients hands.

    Whitney McDonald 1:39
    Of course, we know that you’ll still be on automation projects and leading the way there for archway, can you share a little bit how you’re going to be approaching automation for archway and where that overlap is?

    Dustin Hubbard 1:52
    Yeah, so automation, when it’s working really well, starts with integration. And so our trade is really an integration stack, first and foremost. And so if you think about automation, it’s how do I get information from point A to point B in the most seamless way possible, oftentimes, that sort of API connection, sometimes it’s through ETL, jobs and others. And while typically, it’s being used to help streamline things for the back office, it’s client impacting because it’s speeding up the ability to do something like originate a loan or open an account. And so our choices still totally focused on automation in the sense of interconnecting different providers together such that you’re removing a lot of those manual processes that happen oftentimes behind the curtain. Clients don’t necessarily always see the friction that banks are going through to get them set up. But it’s there. And so archway will certainly help remove a lot of that.

    Whitney McDonald 2:53
    And can you give us a little bit of insight as to what you’re going to talk through at the upcoming bank automation summit when it comes to approaching automation projects?

    Dustin Hubbard 3:03
    Yeah, so I’ll focus probably a lot about how do you take advantage of tools and technologies that you either currently have or need to have to pick the right tool for the job. And so as an example, take something like rpa, which is pretty popular, but rpa, like automation anywhere projects can be a little bit difficult to maintain. So automation should start with API’s as the first point of integration, when possible, and then follow the other tools when that’s not when that’s not available. So at the summit, I’m going to talk about some use cases that we did at weIfare. That really sped up automation sped up solutions by using automation, in many cases, completely eliminating manual processes that had been there for years.

    Whitney McDonald 3:58
    Great. Well, I know that I’m excited for the panel, wondering if you can share a little bit also about what you’re most looking forward to at the upcoming event.

    Dustin Hubbard 4:08
    For me, it’s hearing from other people in the industry, right? It’s an opportunity, especially as a software company to understand what are the pain points that people are facing? What are the emerging technologies that companies are interacting with? How can archway play a part of that? And so really, it’s just getting a good pulse of other people in the industry, making some new connections, and making sure that I’m tied down with all the latest sort of trends in terms of technologies and approaches banks are starting to take.

    Whitney McDonald 4:44
    You’ve been listening to a special edition of the buzz, a bank automation news podcast, please find us on LinkedIn and visit bank automation news.com For more information on the upcoming bank automation Summit, which will take place March 2 and third at the Westin Charlotte, please Visit bank automation summit.com

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    Whitney McDonald

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  • HSBC ups tech spend 19% since 2019 | Bank Automation News

    HSBC ups tech spend 19% since 2019 | Bank Automation News

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    HSBC’s cost-reduction efforts have allowed the bank to up tech spend to improve workflow efficiency and customer experience. THE BIG PICTURE: The $3 trillion, London-based bank’s three-year cost reduction program, which has now ended, included the reduction of global corporate real estate, the branch network and operations headcount, Chief Executive Noel Quinn said during the […]

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    Whitney McDonald

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  • Entrepreneur | 5 Technologies to Help You Stay Ahead of Market Changes and Automate Business Processes

    Entrepreneur | 5 Technologies to Help You Stay Ahead of Market Changes and Automate Business Processes

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When the economy is struggling, it’s common for business owners to focus on cost-cutting measures — reducing expenses and slowing down hiring. However, simply tightening the belt isn’t enough to get ahead during a downturn. The companies that come out on top during economic recoveries are the ones that have also found new ways to grow.

    So, how can you gain a competitive advantage during economic turbulence?

    Having streamlined processes, consistent performance and reliable technology are key. Business automation can support these efforts — as evidenced by the 74% of surveyed companies who reported that using technology solutions for automation helped them during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 23% even managed to exceed their revenue expectations.

    Here are five ways to transform your business workflows with the latest technology:

    Related: How to Use Automation Effectively in Your Business

    1. Embracing AI

    AI appears to be this year’s buzzword with the ChatGPT hype and Google introducing Bard, but it’s a beneficial technology for businesses. By adding AI-powered automation, companies can boost the processes within different business units.

    For example, in marketing and sales, AI can be used to personalize marketing strategies and create custom content. In IT and engineering, AI can streamline code writing and review processes. And in risk and legal, it can provide quick and accurate answers to complex questions by sifting through vast legal databases.

    An illustration of AI’s impact on business automation is the case of a banking software company, nCino. The company used AI to automate processes related to loan origination and compliance. This allowed the company to securely collect data from clients and make onboarding faster — and nCino gained an advantage over competitors by reducing the time for getting loans. That was a critical issue during the pandemic.

    2. Maximizing cloud efficiency

    The cost of cloud computing is difficult for many firms to manage. This is mostly because they are unable to monitor the precise usage of their cloud resources. In fact, 54% of businesses claim that the main reason resources are wasted is because of a lack of visibility. Cloud automation is an alternative, though. In fact, 75% of chief information officers concur that automation has boosted profits, made the business more agile and enhanced the customer experience.

    Cloud automation offers a powerful tool for IT teams, enabling them to efficiently create and manage cloud resources. This optimizes resource utilization and minimizes security risks posed by manual workflows. Although automation cannot replace human expertise, it is a game-changer for operational efficiency.

    3. Streamlining user experience

    In today’s business world, user experience plays a crucial role in shaping corporate processes and how businesses interact with their customers. A seamless front-end experience can make all the difference in a customer’s journey. The better the experience, the more likely customers are to return.

    And when it comes to delivering a memorable and engaging experience, the 3-D web is leading the charge. According to Shopify, implementing 3-D content has the power to skyrocket customer engagement, resulting in a 94% conversion lift. The technologies behind this transformation include WebGL, Unity, Play Canvas and PixiJS, making it easier than ever for companies to add a cutting-edge touch to their online presence.

    Related: How Artificial Intelligence Could Help You Design a Better User Experience

    4. Building cyber resilience

    As companies grow and technology becomes more complex, it becomes harder to manage security and compliance manually. That can result in slow response times to security issues, mistakes in how resources are set up and inconsistent policies.

    Security automation makes it easier to manage security. It facilitates daily operations and integrates security into the way a company uses technology from the start. In fact, 70% of the most cyber-resilient companies use security automation.

    There are three categories of security automation tools to enhance an organization’s cybersecurity. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) automates routine tasks with software robots. Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) unifies threat views and automates responses. Extended Detection and Response (XDR) integrates security data for better threat visibility and response.

    Related: Automation Is Becoming a Business Imperative: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

    In today’s rapidly changing business environment, companies must have the agility to confront and overcome obstacles. Technology provides a vast array of automation and optimization solutions that bring stability and efficiency, acting as a strong foundation and efficient engine to keep your business on course.

    However, a one-size-fits-all approach to technology implementation is not the solution. It’s crucial to evaluate your company’s specific needs and implement technology solutions that align with your business goals. Only then can you fully harness the power of technology to achieve long-term success.

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    Slava Podmurnyi

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  • PNC execs join Bank Automation Summit US 2023 | Bank Automation News

    PNC execs join Bank Automation Summit US 2023 | Bank Automation News

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    Several technology leaders from PNC Financial Services are joining the Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 event to discuss their approaches to automation: Tom Lang, executive vice president and head of treasury management products and operation, Matthew Barrett, AI and intelligent automation manager, and Scott Kinross, senior vice president and software engineering director.

    View the full agenda for Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 here.

    Image courtesy of PNC Bank
    • Lang will speak Thursday, March 2, at 1:30 p.m. ET on the panel “Automation operations: Use cases for transformation”;
    • Barrett will speak Thursday, March 2, at 2:15 p.m. ET on the panel “Automation and the pursuit of efficiency: A frank discussion on cost/benefit”; and
    • Kinross will speak Friday, March 3, at 9:05 a.m. ET on the panel “New approaches and techniques in RPA.”

    PNC’s recent automated innovations include earned wage access tool PNC Earned It and forecasting tool PINACLE Cash Forecasting. The bank’s equipment spend increased 7% sequentially to $369 million in Q4 2022.

    Read more on PNC’s automation efforts

    The Summit takes place March 2-3 at the Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., and brings together U.S.-based industry experts to discuss banking automation and technology topics, including cloud modernization and automating real-time payment processes. The Summit will feature more than 35 exceptional speakers from across the banking technology ecosystem.

    Learn more about the Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 here and register here.

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    Whitney McDonald

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