A Look Back at noHold’s Top Stories of the Week: July 28-August 1

This week has been full of some great information; from blogs about the Internet of Everything to Virtual Realities, it has been an interest week. Here's a quick recap of the week's stories.

1. The Internet of Everything is taking city streets to a whole new level with Internet connected trash cans!

Photo Credit: govtech.com

2. Did you know, "35% of IT organizations will have 75% of IT service desk contacts from the business resolved by Virtual Assistants."

3. Flashy gimmicks are no longer the way to promote your company's new products or services. By using a Virtual Agent, it can provide the appropriate information, in the right context. Check out the blog, Leveraging a Virtual Agent to Cross-Sell Within the Right Context.

4. #TBT: Virtual reality is the new anesthesia? It seems so. Researchers are studying the effects of being immersed in a virtual reality while undergoing dental procedures. Studies are showing that the pain is significantly reduced when you distract a patient by immersing them into a virtual reality. Maybe one day, instead of being 'put under', all you'll have to do is put on a headset and drift into another reality. 
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Hope you all have a great weekend, cheers!
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35% of IT Operations Organizations Will Have 75% of IT Service Desk Contacts from the Business Resolved by Virtual Assistants

In recent news, noHold announced last Thursday our partnership with a trusted provider of user-oriented IT solutions for systems, security, mobility, and ITSM challenges. In doing so, we are working together to introduce the next-generation Help Desk to IT organizations with the help of Virtual Assistants/Virtual Agents. Here is our stance on the topic.   

Typically, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are prioritized on two different levels, and in a customer-centric world, companies often let employee satisfaction fall by the wayside. In fact, industry experts in IT Operations have said that in general, IT Service Management is five to six years behind consumer-facing Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Knowing this, companies are taking another look internally and starting to incorporate what experts call a ‘necessity’ to running an efficient Help Desk. Top research firm, Gartner, predicts, “By 2016, 35% of IT operations organizations will have 75% of IT service desk contacts from the business resolved by virtual assistants” (Source: Gartner Predicts 2014: Automation Brings Promise to IT Operations Management, but at What Cost? 12 December 2013. Authors: Greene, J., Colville, R., et al.).

Some companies are already embracing a more interactive Help Desk. For example, Fidelity, the world’s largest provider of financial services, used Apple’s Genius Bar as inspiration for constructing their Help Desk. By doing this, the company is providing a closer, more personal relationship between the business and their employees. Multiple universities are also following suit, creating Help Desks with a similar concept to the Genius Bar.

A ‘Genius Bar’ inspired Help Desk is a move in the right direction; but as for the near future, IT organizations seem to be getting more interactive, in addition to becoming automated. In fact, industry experts agree that most IT help desk tickets can be handled through self-service. It is increasingly important for IT to implement a quality self-service solution for their employees to ensure profitability and employee satisfaction.  

A revolutionized Help Desk will include leveraging a Virtual Assistant as a first point of contact. One way of making a Virtual Assistant easily accessible, is through QR codes. Simply scan the QR code and a Virtual Assistant will pop up to help you with questions regarding BYOD, company policies, email issues, and more. When a live agent is necessary, the Virtual Assistant can carry the conversation over to the live agent so they know the root of the issue and can take action quickly. Incorporating a Virtual Assistant into your IT strategy can support employees, while allowing the Help Desk to spend less time responding to issues that can be automated, and more time focusing on the business.

I'll leave you with this slideshare demonstrates how a Virtual Assistant empowers enterprise customers.

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Gartner Predicts, "By 2016, 35% of IT Operations Organizations Will Have 75% of IT Service Desk Contacts From the Business Resolved by Virtual Assistants"

Hi all, I wanted to share with you a blog we posted for Albert written for IT professionals/CIO's, but it also gives great information for Virtual Agent enthusiasts as well. Enjoy!

     This year I have been talking a lot about the growing popularity of smart machines, the Internet of Everything (IoE), and Virtual Agents. I typically write about these topics from a customer support or customer service perspective in the PC market, though. I recently came across a document from Gartner explaining that similar trends hold true for the IT Service and Support Management (ITSSM) industry. Gartner predicts, “By 2016, 35% of IT operationsorganizations will have 75% of IT service desk contacts from the businessresolved by virtual assistants” (Predicts 2014: Automation Brings Promise to IT Operations Management, But at What Cost? December 2013). With BYOD, WYOD, bid data, and more, IT organizations are in need of extra hands to eliminate some of the work load. Using Virtual Agents to answer tier one questions open up a huge amount of time for IT professionals to focus on other important aspects of the business, all while reducing the cost within the IT department. In a population that demands technology, self-service is the norm to most people and is quickly becoming the preferred channel for support. Employees want to find the answers to their own questions fast and avoid long resolution times. Providing them with Virtual Agents, allows them the capability to help themselves.

     As I mentioned, artificial intelligence is one of the few, big disruptive technologies emerging into the tech world in 2014. More and more big name companies are recognizing its popularity and becoming more proactive in their journey towards automation and Artificial Intelligence. Just recently, IBM invested over one billion dollars into developing a new business unit for Watson (IBM’s Watson for Business: The $1 Billion Dollar Sire Slayer). The market is getting dominated by smart machines fast and experts agree that there will be a strong demand for artificial intelligence in the coming future. It is beneficial to stay ahead of the curve and be prepared for the undergoing changes. Gartner recommends, “Act now to initiate exploration, build expertise, assign resources, and launch smart machine initiatives. This area is in the early state of evolution, but holds enough promise that early adopters should benefit more over time” (IBM Bets on New Watson Unit to Ignite Smart Machine Era Growth, January 2014).

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