How AI, ML, Data and Automation enhance the Content Supply Chain – Vlog Part 3

In Part 2 of the Vlog series, Focazio discussed the basics of a video content supply chain — including the big workload areas of where and how content is created and how it gets to the end-consumer.

In this Part 3 video, Martin covers how AI/ML, Data and Automation (AMDA) enhance or operate a content supply chain. It’s important to realize that every content supply chain is different with many variations—some are real-time like sporting events, whereas others are recorded video/audio. We need to set together an advanced content supply chain, and this is where AMDA plays a crucial role.

In this video, Focazio discusses the variations of a content supply chain, and how AMDA works throughout the entire process. The advanced content supply chain starts with the pre-production phase, where the overall process of creating content uses AI for meta-data creation, or to locate data, archives, and more. The production, postproduction/editorial, distribution, playout, and measurement phases are also discussed.

Watch the video to learn more about the role that AI/ML workloads play in the content supply chain :

 

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey: Empowering a Mobile Workforce

Case Study

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey: Empowering the New Mobile Workforce

The Challenge

One of the main objectives was to help horizon blue cross blue shield of new jersey gain tangible efficiencies in operations throughout the enterprise and deliver the best possible customer experience

A key fundamental to starting this project on the right path was to engage business units outside of IT early on in the process to determine their true frustrations with requesting services from IT. With this feedback and input, this project started to receive recognition outside of IT and perceived as not just another technical project, but garnered support from their internal customers, the end-users.

As a result, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey developed a self-service catalog that transformed the end-user experience – the theme – bringing services to users’ verses users’ to services.

Roles were defined for specific requests so that end-users were presented with requests that were pertinent to their job function and consistent branding was introduced to help support user adoption.

In addition, it was important to the company to empower its end-users with statuses of requests, allowing for increased transparency and a natural byproduct – a reduction in call volume to the service desk.

The Solution

Many growing organizations face a common challenge – IT is plagued with legacy systems that create significant costs to maintain and frustrate its end-users by spending time determining which system they should use to submit a basic request.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (“Horizon BCBSNJ”) faced this very challenge. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ IT was burdened by legacy systems. Employees struggled to determine which system to use to make basic requests, such as password resets or to initiate the on-boarding process for new employees. To solve this significant challenge, Horizon BCBSNJ’ system required consolidation, and most importantly, a streamlined approach to empower its mobile workforce systems to find answers.

As a result, Horizon BCBSNJ partnered with Ness for its expertise in enterprise cloud solutions and cloud based service management to devise a strategy to consolidate multiple legacy systems and develop a front-end self-service catalog to enable employees to order pre-defined, bundled goods and services from not only the IT organization, but other departments beyond IT. The solution – a versatile, cloud based Enterprise Software Service Management solution designed to meet the needs of the enterprise not only today, but for long-term growth.

The Results

By taking the time to properly define services to include in their self-service catalog and incorporate other business units, Horizon BCBSNJ was able to successfully change the perception of IT’s capability to deliver services in a more efficient manner, garnering an increase in customer satisfaction. As a result of their new front-end self-service catalog, Horizon BCBSNJ was able to quickly realize tangible results, including reducing:

  • 150 requests to 55
  • Service desk call volume by 30%
  • Request fulfillment cycle by 15%
  • Manual data entry by 50%

With the first phase of this project in place, the stage has been set for the company to continue to extend its self-service catalog beyond IT and incorporate services from other business units to further streamline requests. The scalability of the Enterprise Cloud Service Management solution has proven to be an ideal mobile workforce management platform to expand capabilities across the enterprise and reach new levels of optimization with real-time dashboards, additional automation, and chat integration.

FAQs

What is mobile workforce management?

It is the process of optimizing and managing the tasks of remote mobile workforce.

What is a WFM platform?

It’s a software solution to manage and optimize workforce through task automation such as attendance tracking, scheduling, performance management, forecasting, etc.

What companies use WFM?

Some renowned companies using WFM are Amazon, Walmart, and Starbucks.

Is Horizon BCBS the same as Blue Cross Blue Shield?

Horizon BCBS is a health insurance company operating in the New Jersey region and is a licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a national association of health insurance companies.

Is Horizon BCBS only in NJ?

Horizon BCBS is only in state of New Jersey.

Can I use Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield out of state?

If you have a nationwide coverage plan, you might be able to use those benefits outside of the state. This will also depend on the plan and network.

Higher Education: Elevating the Student and Faculty Experience

Case Study

Higher Education: Elevating the Student and Faculty Experience

The Challenge

The education sector has no shortage of ongoing challenges. From skyrocketing costs and intense competition, to increased government regulation and restricted public funding – it’s more difficult now than ever to deliver education services effectively. The higher education sector is unlike other industries; thus, you must have the ability to deliver increased efficiency and effectiveness across your institution. Fortunately, we can help.

The Solution

We work closely with higher education institutions to help solve your most-pressing challenges: from developing self-service portals that empower students and faculty, to streamlining requests and changing the way people work from reactive to proactive with automation. The bottom line: we give you the expertise you need to deliver your services better, faster and more cost-effectively by leveraging delivering services – anytime, anywhere, anything.

The Results

In working closely with leading higher education institutions, we know first-hand that your students and faculty demand the same efficiencies at work that they have in real life. We have the experience to take you on the journey to modernization to deliver services at the swipe of a finger. We’ll guide you through the entire process to:

  • Create an intuitive self-service portal to deliver services anytime, anywhere, on any device
  • Develop custom applications quickly and easily
  • Implement automation to replace manual, redundant tasks
  • Increase accountability using auditable service metrics, reporting and intelligence

Success with Software Asset Management: Global Manufacturing Firm Takes a Strategic Approach to Reducing Costs

Case Study

Success with Software Asset Management: Global Manufacturing Firm Takes a Strategic Approach to Reducing Costs

The Challenge

Many companies face the challenge of answering questions related to software purchases, such as, what licenses do you own, where is it deployed, and what does it cost you? A recent audit prompted a large global manufacturing firm to enlist Ness’s help to better understand the cost and tracking abilities of their software and license asset management. The firm acknowledged that the amount of money spent on software purchases was out of control and needed to confidently be able to answer the question, “Where are we today?” to avoid future costly penalties. In order to move forward, they had to enlist Ness’s help to prove that they could self-fund all of their next steps in their business plan. Part of this was helping to diminish their financial cost, and another part was Ness uncovering that they were improperly taxed.

The Solution

Our team of experienced Asset Management experts conducted a thorough assessment of the firm’s governance, processes, practices, tools, and data for IT Shared Service (ITSS). After doing so, we established a baseline of the current state and developed a business case and strategic roadmap to achieve an agreed upon future state for Software Asset Management. The Ness Assessment not only uncovered opportunities to reduce software spend, improve the processes, procedures and technology necessary to standardize and improve the management of software, but it also uncovered opportunities to recover millions of dollars spent on unnecessary software sales tax.

Once Ness was contracted for the assessment, the client-stated objective was to build a business case that could self-fund the necessary improvements that needed to be made to Software Asset Management. Ness succeeded identifying opportunities that not only would self-fund the three-year strategic roadmap to improvements but would also fund the development of an ITAM Office to govern ITAM long term.

The Results

As a result of the assessment, Ness identified $3M in cost recovery opportunities and $16M in cost avoidance in software licenses. Ness’s efforts resulted in a business case that allowed the firm to fund the critical steps for the project, as well as provide a recommended roadmap for a long-term strategic approach to Software Asset Management. Savings opportunities were not only identified for this year, but a significant monetary recovery/reduction was realized with the refund of tax on software licenses from four years. Due to Ness’s dedication to the assignment, they went above and beyond to prevent future expenses but also remedy previous expenses as well.

Success with Global Software Asset Management: Large Transportation Fuels Refiner Accurately Manages Their Global Software Assets

Case Study

Success with Global Software Asset Management: Large Transportation Fuels Refiner Accurately Manages Their Global Software Assets

The Challenge

A multi-billion-dollar petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company desperately needed a comprehensive solution to eliminate their numerous software asset management shortcomings that included their inability to tie software licenses owned from both new and existing software contracts to what was actually installed on computer devices. Given the organization is global in nature, this meant IT assets were often purchased, implemented, and maintained by different departments in remote and disparate locations. Combine this with constantly changing and evolving IT infrastructure to make for a very difficult task of tracking IT assets and their current status. This mistake was not only costly but opened the organization up to significant risk should they be audited.

The Solution

A key fundamental to starting this project on the right path was to engage the people – engage other business units (outside of IT) early on in the process to determine their true frustrations with requesting services from IT.  Ness began by establishing a governance office to create standards and consistent processes based on best practices for requesting software, purchasing software licenses and managing the client’s global overall software compliance. Ness’s solution included:

  • Facilitating automatic creation of software license titles in Asset Management (AM) through integration with a 3rd party tool to provide operational efficiencies.
  • Configuring both a straight-line depreciation schedule and annual depreciation report to provide the client with the most up-to-date asset management information.
  • Enhancing the client’s use of the IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution Procurement module to better adhere to ITAM best practices.
  • Implementing Ness’s own asset candidate process – a proven methodology for reconciling devices from the client’s discovery tools to the ITAM solution resulting in improved asset inventory accuracy.
  • Designing and implementing a rogue software management process solution that was supported and managed within the ITAM solution.

The Results

The client’s single, reliable and auditable source of asset information significantly improved and streamlined daily business operations while providing critical software license compliance data to support procurement planning and mitigate financial liabilities. The client realized numerous business benefits from Ness’s enhanced software asset management processes and tools including:

  • Reduced licensing costs
  • Optimized software assets
  • Elimination of waste and redundancy
  • Improved financial security limited liability resulting from poor licensing practices
  • Accuracy in their accounting of assets

On the Next Industrial Revolution

While, the fourth industrial revolution is already here, and the age of digitalization is rapidly unfolding, it’s time to learn what’s coming next on the list. In an article for Toolbox, Anand Subramanian, Chief Delivery Officer, India, shares his perspective on the new industrial revolution and the technology stack that will change the businesses.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/2XhWXbF

What Can Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Do for You?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have come a long way in the past 10 years and are no longer just “hype”. In this video blog, Ness CTO, Moshe Kranc is interviewed by Principal Solution Architect, Sean Caron on the tangible benefits of AI and ML, how to overcome common challenges, and how to best apply these in the digital world.

AI and ML can help in almost all industries and across departments to reduce costs, increase efficiency, enhance the user experience and minimize down-time.  For example, contact centers can use ML to provide chatbots that reduce manpower needed to support customers, marketing can use intelligence for personalization, and sales and operations departments have a multitude of use cases including churn analytics and predictive analytics.

All of the benefits can be accompanied by challenges that are difficult to overcome due to the difficulties that arise once a ML or AI project is initiated. Cleanliness of the data, lack of collaboration between teams and owned data, and the basic complexities of handling large amounts of data are some of the common factors. Listen to this brief video to learn the benefits, how to overcome issues, and how Ness SimpliAI can help by integrating several tools into a solid framework that enables successful AL and ML projects.

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