Trusted Brands Use Quick Videos to Introduce Virtual Agents to Call Center Agents, Employees, and Consumers

One of our customers once said, "Consumer products and services should be easy enough to use that you don't have to train your audience to use them ." This is a great rule of thumb for consumer products, as well as the support and self-service that accompanies them. Consumers don't like buying an expensive piece of technology and having to spend hours learning how to turn it on. They want easy, light weight, user-friendly technology that can simplify their lives in some way. 

At noHold, we always talk about the importance of ease of use for the end customer and administrators alike. In some instances, our clients recruit interns or entry level associates to build and maintain Virtual Agents. Minimal training is key to making this model successful. Similarly, call center agents and end customers should be able to interact with the Virtual Agents effortlessly. When a customer launches a new Virtual Agent, one of the easy ways to introduce the users to the product is with short overview videos. Within the videos, companies can describe the User Interface (UI) of the Virtual Agent, the different capabilities, and/or anything else they feel appropriate.  

One of the largest companies in the networking equipment industry is utilizing this method of introducing Virtual Agents with easy to follow and engaging videos. In doing so, it encourages adoption by giving examples of the ease of use. These videos have been viewed by internal employees, call center agents, and more. 

noHold also made a quick overview video of our Help Desk Virtual Agent, Albert. Check out the video below to see the example.

Would you be more inclined to use self-service options if you were prompted by a quick video clip? How does your company introduce new products or services, like a Virtual Agent, to your end user?  Do you think videos help to encourage usage? 

www.nohold.com

P.S. 

The time with our interns is almost up; this is their last week here with us. We are sad to see them go, but are very excited for them to show us what they have been working on for the past month. Stay tuned for a blog overview on their work creating their own Virtual Agent.   

Throwback Thursday: Are Robots Threatening Your Job Security?

Photo Credit: apps.carleton.edu

If you look back at past T.V. shows/movies, it is almost as if they were foreshadowing a future with robots and interactive technology. Take the 1960's cartoon series, The Jetsons, for example. They enhanced the futuristic vibe of the show by adding a robot as their housekeeper. Now, in today's World, the public is more afraid than ever of robots replacing humans in the job market. I recently read a funny article, making light of the public's worry about a 'robot take over'. The article is titled, '7 Roles That Robots Will Never Fill (Although We Kind of Wish They Would).' 

Read the full article to find out why the author thought a robot could never replace a human in certain occupations.

While most of these seem like a joke, their are many other jobs that robots cannot replace, either. For example, an occupation in creative arts. While, a computer can enhance art (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), a robot uses logic and lacks the element of a 'creative eye.' Some of the most beautiful art is abstract and that would be a hard concept for a robot to grasp.

What about teachers? We wrote a blog about Jibo, the social robot, being used as a tool to help teach children. While it was proven successful, it does not mean that the presence of a human teacher is obsolete. Young, developing minds require human interaction, and much more to thrive. 

In the end, it is important to look at robots/technology as supplementary to human jobs, instead of a threat to job security. Industry experts and trusted brands envision a work place where technology and humans work together. Creating efficiency, streamlining processes, responding quickly and reducing costs are just a few of the benefits that automation can provide. According to our metrics, we see millions of consumers interacting with Artificial Intelligence a month. People feel more comfortable with A.I. and in most cases, prefer the immediacy of using such tools. Not only are consumers getting to the answers they want quicker, but they are leaving the conversation feeling satisfied as well.       
What do you think about robots, automation and Artificial Intelligence becoming more predominate in the job market? Are you worried, or do you see it as a benefit? How do you interact with AI today in your occupation, and how does it make your job easier? 
www.nohold.com 

Update: Interview with Cisco Small Business, Interns from Italy, and a Feature on the Peggy Smedley Show

noHold has been up to some exciting stuff over the past couple weeks. Here's a quick update on what we've been up to...

1. We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Shawn Price, Sr. Manager of End-User & Collaboration Applications of Cisco, to talk to him about the internship program that he is spearheading. Here is a snippet from the introduction. 

"Cisco Small Business has been working with University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) and its students on a cutting edge internship program that empowers students to learn about Cisco products, helps improve customer satisfaction and self-support, with the opportunity for students to earn money while obtaining college credit. The students that are part of this program additionally have room for advancement as well as the potential to become a Cisco employee in the future. 

Recently, noHold took some time to learn more about Shawn Price’s intern program at UC Santa Cruz in California; Shawn is Sr. Manager of End-User & Collaboration Applications at Cisco. One of the first of its kind, Mr. Price has spearheaded a project with an incredible Mission: 'We use students first, to promote education, and to give back. The program helps students develop and be successful. In addition, it helps Cisco develop additional support capabilities and it’s a win-win situation for our customers, for the students, and for Cisco.'"

To check out the full interview, please click here.

2. In addition to getting an exclusive interview with Shawn about his internship program, at the beginning of the month we welcomed a few interns of our own here at noHold. To find out a little bit more about their experiences and what they are accomplishing at noHold, read the blog titled, "Traveling All the Way From Italy to the Silicon Valley, noHold Welcomes Interns for a Month."

3. To conclude the update, on August 12th, our CEO, Diego Ventura, had the privilege to be featured live on The Peggy Smedley Show, the voice of M2M and connected devices. Peggy and Diego sat down to talk about Virtual Agents, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Everything. If you missed the show, you can still listen to the show by going to http://www.thepeggysmedleyshow.com, or click here to go directly to the episode Diego appears in. Note that he joins the conversation in the second segment titled 'Interaction with the Internet of Things' and continues through until the last segment.

Now that you are all caught up on the exciting projects we've been working on, stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks.

Cheers!

www.nohold.com

Tips Tuesday: Send Your Kids Back to School with the Best Suited Device for Them

As August is coming to a close, friends and family are trying to catch their last 'fun in the sun' moments before summer officially ends, and school begins. In light of it being back-to-school month, and having the added stresses that come along with that, I wanted to share a resourceful article with great information about picking the right device that fits your youngsters needs. The article is titled "How to Pick the Right Back-to-School Computer for Your Kid." Check it out to see some suggestions regarding which computers are best for kids of different ages. 

Photo Credit: www.imore.com

Not only is picking the right device important, but choosing the right support to go along with that technology is also key. With so many consumers turning to mobile and portable devices, the best way to respond to troubleshooting, diagnosing problems, and how-to support questions is to utilize light-weight and intuitive self-help options such as Virtual Agents. 

Since the kids of this generation are growing up in a technology driven society (also referred to as the App Generation), it is inevitable that they will utilize their devices in school settings. Parents need to know how to pick the right one, and teachers need to learn how to incorporate the kids identity with technology and use it in their curriculum. "Born after 1990, members of this generation have been surrounded and immersed to an unprecedented degree by technology: laptops, tablets, smartphones, handheld devices of every size and shape. Unlike so-called digital immigrants, they cannot remember a less technological era; indeed, unlike every previous generation, most of them do not know what it is like the be lost" (The App Generation: How Technology is Changing Us). 

What devices work best for your family's needs? Do they like the kid-friendly touchscreens or the more advanced software for performance?
www.nohold.com

Traveling All the Way From Italy to the Silicon Valley, noHold Welcomes Interns for a Month

Happy Monday all! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.

To start off this week, I wanted to share some insider news about what's going on inside the office of noHold...

At the beginning of August, we had the pleasure of welcoming 5 bright, young interns to join the noHold team. Four of the five students traveled all the way from universities in Europe and the other came straight from the Silicon Valley, here in California.

They each come from different walks of life and have a unique perspective on the world. This gives them the ultimate advantage in the up-and-coming tech industry. Let me tell you a little bit about each of them. 

Asraful Islam: Originally from Bangladesh, but is now working on his Masters in Software Engineering at the University of Bolzano (ITA). Some of his hobbies include table tennis and soccer. With a passion to travel the world, Asraful has experience studying within multiple different cultures.

Stefano Masserini: Stefano was born in a small town in Italy called Bergamo. He is currently in his third year at the Free University of Bolzano and is expected to graduate next year. One of his hobbies includes freestyle skiing, a hobby that has given him great opportunities in the field of marketing, working with companies such as Spiagames and Redbull.    

Eleonora Marzadro: Born in Rovereto, Italy, Eleonora attended a high school that focused on the arts (graphic design, photography, etc.). After many courses and a great job opportunity as a graphic designer, she decided to get her degree in Design and Arts. With a knack for photography and HTML, she is a great asset to noHold.   

Victor Gobbo: Coming from a small village in Italy called Perca, he is looking forward to continuing his studies in International Economy at the WU-Vienna University, one of the most prestigious universities in Austria. On his free time, he enjoys sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding.   

Brandon Liu: Just starting high school, Brandon is one of the youngest interns here at noHold. He is the son of one of our experienced engineers here at noHold.   

As students, they will be here up until the end of August (a total of one month) and with their time here, they will be creating their own Virtual Agent. As a team, they will go through all the steps involved in creating a Virtual Agent; from creating and organizing content to marketing strategies to promote the Virtual Agent. At the end of the month, they will have the opportunity to present what they have completed to our team at noHold (the board)!       

Here is a picture of our talented interns.

From left to right: Brandon Liu, Victor Gobbo, Stefano Masserini, Eleonora Marzadro, Asraful Islam

Throughout the rest of the month, stay tuned for updates on their experience. 

I'll leave you with a quote that our intern Eleonora shared with me that relates to their experience, and the importance of embracing new challenges and all the positive that can come from that. "I once read, 'Become friends with people who aren't your age. Hang out with people whose first language isn't the same as yours. get to know someone who doesn't come from your social class. This is how you see the world. This is how you grow.' That's why I travel and I try to put myself out of my comfort zone as much as I can!"

Cheers!

www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: How Important is Having a Multilingual e-Service Strategy?

In light of Throwback Thursday, I found a noHold blog from 2011 titled, 'Is your e-Service Strategy Multilingual? 72.7% of Internet Users say it should be...' Now, three years later, more and more companies are realizing the importance of having a multilingual strategy, and putting those plans into action.

Recently, a client of noHold, one of the World's leading, multinational computer technology company, launched another version of their Virtual Agent...in German! To become a global success, the need to appeal to people all over the World is a necessity. If not, you are excluding a large population of potential consumers that you can be marketing to. I'll leave you with this statistic that further validates the need for companies to have multilingual strategies for not only sales, but support as well.

"...85 percent of Internet users do not make important purchasing decisions unless product descriptions are in the language they speak, according to Common Sense Advisory, an analyst firm specializing in translation services. And visitors stay twice as long on sites in their native languages, according to Forrester Research" (Content Translation Speak the Language of ROI).

What is your company doing to accommodate to your non-English speaking consumers? 
www.nohold.com

Diego Ventura, CEO of noHold, with Special Guest Glenn Schleicher, Sr. Director of Customer Service at Cisco, Talk about the Internet of Everything (IoE) on The Peggy Smedley Show

August 11, 2014, Milpitas, California – In recent news, Diego Ventura, the Founder and CEO of noHold, Inc. was published in an interview with Connected World Magazine. Now, Ventura is invited back to be a guest on their live radio show, The Peggy Smedley Show.

Connected World Magazine is a trusted source for all things M2M. They provide insider knowledge about the latest innovations in connectivity, and top technology trends. Tim Lindner, a distinguished member of the editorial advisory board at Connected World Magazine, sat down with Diego to talk about the Internet of Everything phenomenon and how noHold fits into the equation. “What we learned is that what noHold does will at some point in the future touch your lives on a daily basis. It will soon be very transparent to you. All you will see, hear, and touch will be his company’s Virtual Agents.” (Lindner, 2014; Diego Ventura, CEO noHold, Talks IoE and A.I.). To read the full interview, please click here.

As a seasoned veteran on all things M2M and connected devices, The Peggy Smedley Show is a reputable source for industry professionals and technology enthusiast alike. The show features select guests to inform listeners of the different perspectives on the market today, and what they envision for the future. noHold is very excited to announce, tomorrow, August 12th at 12:15 p.m. CT, Diego Ventura will debut live on The Peggy Smedley Show. Glenn Schleicher, Sr. Director of Customer Services at Cisco will also be there sharing his thoughts on the topics at hand. They will sit down and discuss matters such as: Virtual Agents empowering humans to experience the Internet of Everything, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), cognitive computing, and everything in between.

To listen, please go to http://www.peggysmedleyshow.com/, and click on the ‘Listen Live Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT’ link in the navigation bar at the top of the page. Be sure to call in during the Q&A portion of the show to share your questions and comments; the number is 866-977-2346 ext. 2. Also, we will be tweeting live throughout the show. To join the conversation tag @noHoldAI and use #IoEConvo.

“It is nice to see the industry accepting Artificial Intelligence as a strategic differentiator. The show will give us an opportunity to discuss some of the latest developments and what the future has in store.” Diego Ventura, CEO 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. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

About The Peggy Smedley Show

As the voice of M2M and connected devices, The Peggy Smedley Show is an entertaining, yet fun, resource for listeners looking to understand the issues and challenges of implementing the newest technologies both in the workplace and at home. Broadcast live each Tuesday from 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. CT on wsRadio.com, host Peggy Smedley brings her years of experience, knowledge, analysis, and sense of humor to each show. The Peggy Smedley Show features discussions with top-tech thinkers and newsmakers, offering in-depth analysis, while sharing the hottest connected-device stories and trends. To learn more, or to hear current or past shows, please visit www.peggysmedleyshow.com.

Press Contacts

Sarah Ramoz

Marketing Operations Manager

sramoz@nohold.com

408.946.9200 ext. 305

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