Diego Ventura Joins the Discussion Panel at Finastra's Business Forum

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noHold's CEO and Founder, Diego Ventura, is excited to be part of a panel discussion at Finastra's Business Forum client conference. Finastra is the third largest financial technology company in the world. This exclusive event welcomes select senior banking professionals to network with Finastra executives and participate in thought-leadership sessions. It is a two day event that will be taking place on Sept 24th and 25th in Kohler, Wisconsin. 

During the panel discussion, Diego will join on stage a few select experts in the industry to discuss the importance and advantages of APIs for the financial industry.

For more information about Finastra Business Forum, you can follow this link: https://www.finastra.com/news-events/events/finastra-business-forums-fall-2018-wi 

noHold AI Integrates with Top Collaboration Platform, Cisco Spark

Becoming Another Channel People can Access noHold Virtual Assistants 

August 31, 2016, MILPITAS, CA – noHold Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform now supports Cisco Spark, making it possible for Spark users to leverage a Virtual Assistant directly from within a room.

Spark is a leading collaboration platform designed to “create secure, virtual rooms where teams work together from anywhere.” (newsroom.cisco.com) Using Spark’s open APIs, noHold was able to build a connector that enables users to find answers to their questions directly from the room interface. For example, if a user has a question while working in a room that already has a Virtual Assistant added, all they have to do is mention (@) the Virtual Assistants handle name in the text box along with the question. The Virtual Assistant will appear within that same chat window, and respond accordingly. Adding a Virtual Assistant to a room is as easy as adding a human. Simply look up the name of the Virtual Assistant and click add.

Integrating Virtual Assistants (chat bots) into collaboration rooms to intelligently answer user queries adds value for the platform. Customer problems vary and often require different skills to resolve different issues. The power of collaboration platforms is that all the appropriate resources to fix those issues can be found within the same room. Virtual Assistants are an important resource to provide because they are available 24/7, users can access a tremendous amount of information and answer questions on their own terms.

Moving forward, the process to create a Virtual Assistant with noHold’s platform will become more and more intuitive. Diego Ventura, CEO and founder of noHold says, “It is noHold’s objective to make sure that our Virtual Assistants work through as many pertinent channels as possible such as voice, SMS, Facebook, Alexa and certain collaboration platforms like Cisco Spark.”

To hear more of what Diego has to say on Virtual Assistants, he will be speaking at the Peggy Smedley Institute on Sept. 9^th in San Diego, CA. To register, click here and use the code IoTD for half off the price.

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

noHold’s AI Platform Integrates with ServiceNow’s Knowledge Base

July 28, 2016, MILPITAS, CA – Earlier this month, noHold created a new connector integrating with ServiceNow®. To date, noHold has completed a dozen integrations, with plans to continue creating connectors to Facebook, Alexa, and more. 

ServiceNow is a company committed to changing the way people work, offering service management for every department in the enterprise including IT, human resources, facilities, and more. Using an open API set, noHold was able to develop a connector that enables a seamless integration between Virtual Assistants and ServiceNow’s knowledge platform. 

A multi-billion dollar company that produces oil and gas is using the Virtual Assistant and connector to streamline content management operations. The connector allows content to remain in its current location, without having to duplicate it to noHold’s platform. The benefits of this connector include: 

• All content can be managed from one repository of information. 
• Improve customer satisfaction by providing the most accurate information from a single interface.
• Personalization of the customer experience.
• Expands the Single Point of Search vision.

The addition of the ServiceNow connector has added great value to the list of integrations done by noHold. Moving forward, noHold is continuing to develop more connectors to further integrate with various platforms and other Virtual Assistants. Diego Ventura, Founder and CEO of noHold, explains, “Virtual Assistants are designed to decrease the level of effort required by end users to complete a task. Connecting Virtual Assistants to other platforms is key to make sure end users can transparently tap into the capabilities of a company’s back-office systems and devices.”

About noHold, Inc.
noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Cisco, Intel and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at http://www.nohold.com or subscribe to noHold’s vlog to hear more from CEO, Diego Ventura.

Press Contact
Veronica Cech
Marketing Associate
vcech@nohold.com    

How to Reach 900 Million Users

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One of the most important aspects of creating a successful Virtual Assistant is making sure it is readily available for end users. Its evident that people are embracing Artificial Intelligence in their everyday lives, and companies are investing into it at an exponential rate. Last year alone, $8.5 billion was spent on enhance AI, four times the amount spent in 2010 (economist.com). With the demand for AI continuing to grow, and the technology only becoming more advanced, it is important to strategically place Virtual Assistant to reach the most number of users. 

Before, company websites and mobile devices were the primary way to access a Virtual Assistant. Now, with these large companies adopting A.I. practices and the user base they have, Virtual Assistants can be accessed through a wide array of platforms, reaching a broader range of users, and ultimately, potential customers. 

For example, the latest Facebook Messenger announcement, allowing end users to interact with Artificial Intelligence (they refer to it as chatbots). Using API connectors, Virtual Assistants can plug into Facebook's Messenger Platform, connecting to their audience of over 900 million users world wide.

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It doesn't just apply to Facebook's platform though.There are so many platforms like Facebook's M that Virtual Assistants can integrate with such as: Siri, Cortana, Google Now, Amazon Echo's Alexa, Cisco's Spark, Microsoft Skype and more. By moving beyond the web and mobile, companies are able to reach a greater amount of people that already exist on these platforms.  
www.nohold.com

Lenovo Uses noHold’s AI to Provide Consumers with a Single Point of Search

November 19, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – noHold recently announced the release of a new AI connector that allows for integration with multiple knowledge sources such as Bing, Google, Lithium Communities, and more. This connector is unique because of its ability to pull content from different sources, all within one place; we call this Single Point of Search.

Lenovo, a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology, is one of the first companies to utilize this type of connector. When discussing web self-support, creating a seamless customer experience was a top priority for Lenovo. With the use of noHold’s connector, Lenovo is able to provide users with a sophisticated search experience through one intelligent interface.

As a strategic way to provide a self-service tool that will augment the customers’ experience, Lenovo’s new product portal focused on a few major areas:

•   A cleaner, more concise user interface with simplified navigation.
•   New and updated content was created.
•   The use of a Virtual Assistant to provide a search experience was enabled to provide real-time solutions from 3rd party sources.

According to a recent Forrester study, web self-service has officially surpassed the use of the voice channel for the first time (Forrester’s Top Trends for Customer Service in 2015). As the number of self-service users continues to climb, the self-service technology itself needs to advance as well. Single Point of Search is the start to shifting the way consumers engage with companies. There will no longer be a need to jump from channel to channel to find the answers you need. Customers will have the information that is most relevant to them, with the convenience of accessing it from a single point. 

“There are three factors that are making the adoption of Single Point of Search critical for companies in the near future: (1) the volume and complexity of content is increasing, (2) the number of repositories for content to be pulled from is growing, and (3) end users are demanding there be one place where they can find exactly what they need. We are pleased to see companies, such as Lenovo, recognizing the need for this type of support and paving the way for others to follow suit,” said Diego Ventura, CEO and founder of noHold.

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Toshiba, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com     

408.946.9200 ext. 356

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

New noHold A.I. Connector Integrates with Lithium Communities

Allowing Users to Leverage Multiple Knowledge Sources from a Single Point of Search

Photo Credit: jdesbonnet.blogspot.com

July 16, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – noHold created a new connector that integrates with Lithium Communities to simplify the customer support experience. With a similar goal to optimize efficiency for end users to find support solutions, the connector uses noHold’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Lithium’s search to find answers in the discussion boards hosted within a Lithium Community, and returns the results within the noHold Virtual Assistant window. Through the open API connector, companies can leverage a Virtual Assistant that also works in parallel with multiple knowledge sources such as Lithium, Google, Bing, Salesforce, and more; all from one place, Single Point of Search.

One of the largest PC manufacturers in the world is already utilizing this technology to make their support options more dynamic. For example, if a user is inquiring about a battery issue for their laptop, the user can type ‘battery’ into the search bar. The expert system will bring up noHold’s Virtual Assistant, as well as pull in a library of knowledge and relevant discussion threads from the company’s Lithium-powered community. The technology is designed to help customers find solutions on their own terms, for any type of user. They can use the Virtual Assistant for a more diagnostic and interactive experience, or use the search function to get to a relevant list of articles in the forum.

The advantages to deploying a Virtual Assistant with such a connector include:

• Single Point of Search – having one place for customers to search multiple repositories of information simultaneously.
• Ease of implementation – within a matter of days the Virtual Assistant can go live.
• Low customer effort – users do not have to jump from different channels (phone, web, email, etc.) to find solutions.

“Communities are a powerful way to generate trusted content that solves customer problems. But like any content, community content is most powerful when you deliver it to the right person at the right time,” said Joe Cothrel, Chief Community Officer at Lithium Technologies. “This integration between noHold and Lithium empowers companies to harness the power of community in new ways.”

“Virtual Assistants have gone through an impressive evolution in the past few years. First, leveraging content from their own knowledge base only and now reaching out and connecting to content found in Communities,” said Diego Ventura, CEO and founder of noHold. “Our connector to one of the most sophisticated platforms in the field, Lithium, makes our Virtual Assistant even more in tune with what the audience is interested in because the content is created by the audience itself.  We look forward to this next stage of evolution.”

Contact noHold to learn more about Single Point of Search, and the benefits of an integrated customer experience.

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Toshiba, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com

408.946.9200 ext. 356

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

noHold Enhances Customer Service with the Integration of Virtual Assistants and Live Chat

March 26, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – As a recognized leader, with over 15 years of experience in the Virtual Assistant space, noHold has developed a list of best practices; the integration between a Virtual Assistant and live chat through live chat connectors is one of them.

noHold’s live chat connectors are a set of open API’s that link noHold Virtual Assistants to any live chat application. The integration of the two provides a way for companies to better support their customers, while getting them most out of their investments.

First, the end user asks the Virtual Assistant a question. The Virtual Assistant will either provide the end user with the correct information (ending the interaction for that customer), or if it does not know the answer, it can provide the option to escalate to a live chat agent. If the latter occurs, the chat log is sent to the live chat agent. This will provide the agent with an understanding of the customer’s need and can address the issue quicker; without the end user having to repeat the problem. Once the live chat agent is available, there is a seamless transition between the Virtual Assistant and live agent within the same interface, improving the experience for the end user.

There are many advantages to integrating a Virtual Agent and live chat together:

• Resolve abandonment issues
• A web-based, self-service tool is available 24/7, while a live agent is only available during business hours
• Queue pollution 

“Our objective is to create the best self-service experience possible for our customers’ end users.  In some cases it is appropriate for the Virtual Assistant to escalate a session to a live agent either to help resolve a problem, or to up-sell a pertinent product or service.” -Diego Ventura, CEO and founder of noHold.

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interaction. noHold customers include Toshiba, Lenovo, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. Most information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com     

408.946.9200 ext. 356

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

CEO's Corner: How "Opening Your Data to the World" is Beneficial

I was reading an article, “Open Your Data to the World” by Neil Savage from Computer World and immediately related to it. In fact, it wasn’t long ago that noHold had to do some soul searching to decide whether or not to provide an open API (Application Programming Interface) with its Knowledge Management platform, SICURA™.

We struggled with some of the same issues reported in this article. What will happen in terms of security? What kind of applications are people going to build with this new functionality? Can somebody cannibalize our market?

I am glad we decided in favor of building such an API. It helped us in at least three ways:

1)      It enforced a new discipline in the design of our own platform. We use the API internally so when we need to create a new module, we don’t fuse the connection points of the new module with those of an existing one, instead we just use the same API calls available to the public. This increases design modularity and helps with all sorts of other aspects of software development including maintenance and support.

2)      It freed us from having to anticipate everything a customer may want to build with our solution. Because we publish an API, we never have to say no to a customer. Whatever they ask for can be accommodated by designing a custom application that is linked via the API to our platform. Customizations are easy because the API defines clear distinct access points to different functionality. It is like building your own custom yogurt treat.

3)      It opened up new opportunities. We can now build compound applications that use our platform in conjunction with others. For example it is now possible to create a new version of our SalesAdvisor™ that can use BBYOpen (Best Buy API). The SalesAdvisor is designed to increase conversion rates on a Web site. It answers prospects pre-sales questions and generates more revenue for a company by educating, advising and cross-selling. Among other things, BBYOpen can provide consumer reviews on selected products, pricing and a chance to purchase. By marrying one solution, the SalesAdvisor, and the data from the Best Buy API, it is possible to create a powerful application that helps consumers find what they are looking for, and that helps resellers become more successful.

As more companies open the power of their platforms to other developers, the public will gain access to a new breed of applications with almost limitless opportunities.

Diego Ventura, CEO, noHold, Inc.