React, Angular, and Web Components connectors make it even easier for organizations to provide total experiences on any channel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), the software company that crushes business complexity, today announced a series of new and updated Pega Platform™ features that help make it even easier for organizations to embed self-service workflows into any front-end channel. Building on Pega’s open architecture, these features help businesses accelerate the development of self-service experiences that are increasingly in demand from customers and employees while requiring less time and effort from IT.

According to the 2022 Gartner® Customer Service and Support Priorities Poll (1), 74% of business respondents say creating a seamless customer journey across assisted and self-service channels is ‘important’ or ‘very important.’ But most companies rely on a mix of siloed technologies that make executing on that priority extremely complex. For example, while a self-service ‘change of address’ sounds simple to build, any developer who’s tried to integrate their maze of back-end systems with their web or mobile channels knows the harsh reality of how complex it can be. The all-too-frequent result: clunky and frustrating experiences for customers and major development and maintenance headaches for developers.

Pega extends its ability to provide total experiences for customers and employees with a series of new and enhanced connectors that help simplify the deployment of self-service capabilities with less required development work. New front-to-back-end integration options help enable enterprises to adapt quickly to customer demands using the same unified low-code platform to manage multiple types of front-end interfaces. And when any workflow element changes on the back end, Pega then updates those changes across all relevant front-end channels, further reducing IT workloads while ensuring consistent experiences for all users.

Available now for Pega Platform clients, these new features give developers the flexibility to embed self-service processes into front-end interfaces delivering benefits that include:

• Faster UX performance with enhanced Pega DX APIs – Pega DX APIs are the core components that make it possible for organizations to provide elegant and powerful experiences when plugging Pega-developed workflows into front-end customer-facing channels. Now available as part of Pega Platform 8.7, the newest version of Pega DX APIs allows for faster performing user interfaces with less data transfer and easier authoring capabilities to speed configuration and streamline the experience for everyone.
• More freedom to use front-end frameworks of choice with new SDKs – Developers using their favorite front-end frameworks typically need to build their own components to connect them into back-end systems and maintain the website’s distinct look and feel. Pega provides an orchestration layer with pre-built components to accelerate the integration of user experiences developed on popular front-end frameworks – including new and updated software development kits (SDKs) for Angular, React, and Web Components available via Pega Marketplace.
• Easier embedding of workflows into apps and websites with less code using the new Pega Web Embed – The new Pega Web Embed capability gives developers a low-code way to quickly infuse Pega Platform workflows into apps or sites. Pega Web Embed auto-generates web components which can seamlessly be dropped into existing webpages. This saves valuable development time with simple drag-and-drop capabilities and eliminates most coding work for self-service use cases.

To learn more about these features, attend Pega’s flagship event, PegaWorld® iNspire online on Tuesday, May 24 at 9 a.m. EDT for the Americas and Europe or Wednesday, May 25 at 10 a.m. AEST for Asia Pacific. After the keynotes, join the Low Code, High-Impact User Experiences session for more context on how Pega helps simplify even the most complex user interface integrations.

Quotes & Commentary:
“Today’s leading organizations are all pursuing digital transformation, but with IT resources stretched thin, many are struggling to keep up with market demand,” said John Huehn, general manager, customer service and sales automation, Pega. “Pega has long understood this struggle and has focused its efforts to easily embed back-end processes with front-end channels. These new features further extend these integration capabilities to provide a better experience for customers and employees alike.”

Supporting Resources:

About Pegasystems
Pega delivers innovative software that crushes business complexity so our clients can make better decisions and get work done. We help the world’s leading brands solve their biggest business challenges: maximizing customer lifetime value, streamlining customer service, and boosting operational efficiency. Pega technology is powered by real-time AI and intelligent automation, while our scalable architecture and low-code platform help enterprises adapt to rapid change and transform for tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.pega.com.

1. Gartner, Inc., “2022 Customer Service Trends and Priorities,” May 6, 2022
2. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Press Contact:
Sean Audet
Pegasystems Inc.
[email protected] 
(617) 528-5230
Twitter: @pega

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Pegasystems Inc.

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WALNUT, Calif., June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — ZERO BREEZE, the inventor of the first real portable air conditioner, is leading a trend by offering the cooling experience to outdoor lovers. As the latest portable air conditioner of the company, ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 is sold to thousands of users in over 40 countries and regions. The company recently upgraded its product solutions, and is going to launch its 1st Fans Day in July.

With a better understanding of its consumers through its Direct-to-Customer strategy, ZERO BREEZE commits to improve its user experiences and product solutions. From this May, customers can order customized adapters from its fans community or official website, which enables more users with different power systems to adapt the products.

“Our mission is to offer innovative solutions that suit the needs of passionate campers, RVers, boat owners, and outdoor lovers, bringing them an extra mile closer to adventure,” said Max Ma, the founder of ZERO BREEZE, “with a strategic focus on R&D and supply chain capabilities, we are committed to easing outdoor living with innovations. Thanks to the latest technology adopted by ZERO BREEZE Mark 2, users are able to enjoy outdoor activities as long as they wish.”

No More Sweating at Camping Nights

Portability is at the heart of product design. ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 only weighs 16.5 pounds and features 1/3 size of traditional air conditioners. Its micro twin-cylinder compressor is as small as a cola can, reaching the perfect balance of lightness and performance. ZERO BREEZE, as the industry-first to adopt the compressor, also brings a unique air duct system to the small-sized unit.

Powered by a 24V battery, ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 is available for up to 5 hours of normal use. The solar panels and in-car plugs also give users more flexibility under off-grid conditions.

Introducing the “spot cooling” concept to the outdoor living industry, ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 is designed to cool down the temperature only around users. This technology provides a comfortable environment for a limited area with less power consumption.

Performance Beyond the Value

Summer has arrived. Imagine being in a tent, in a recreational vehicle, or on a sailboat under the temperature of 100 °F with high humidity, the ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 will blow cold air up to 30 °F lower than the ambient temperature. Enjoy a cool and refreshing outdoor summer in 10 minutes.

ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 is available for purchase at $999 on their website.

About ZERO BREEZE

ZERO BREEZE, established in 2016, is a tech-driven outdoor living brand. Since the launch of the first portable air conditioner ZERO BREEZE Mark 1 in 2016, ZERO BREEZE has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of innovative technology and user experience. With its footprint in more than 40 countries and regions, ZERO BREEZE is dedicated to creating an easy-to-use and unmatched experience for outdoor lovers around the world.

For more information, please visit ZERO BREEZE official site: www.zerobreeze.com.

SOURCE ZERO BREEZE Tech Inc.

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SINGAPORE, June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Global payments platform 2C2P announced today that they had been appointed by IKEA franchisee Ikano Retail as its official payments partner to create a seamless and localised online payment experience for IKEA customers in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

As the demand for accessible and secure digital payment options grows in Southeast Asia, 2C2P will enable IKEA’s online shoppers to pay for their favourite homeware and delivery via their preferred online payment method in each market.

2C2P’s payment platform provides IKEA’s shoppers with a secure, versatile, and integrated checkout experience covering the region’s myriad payment methods. This includes credit cards and alternative payment methods such as online bank transfers, e-wallets and zero interest instalment payment plans, with over-the-counter solutions launching soon.

For example, in Singapore, customers can pay using online bank transfer from their DBS, OCBC, Standard Chartered or UOB accounts via eNETS. In Malaysia, customers can use online bank transfer network FPX to complete their payments. In Thailand, customers can pay using the PromptPay mobile QR solution. In the Philippines, customers can pay using mobile app Gcash.

Aside from its comprehensive payment offering, 2C2P’s payment platform can meet the complex business and operational needs of Ikano Retail by offering customised features that automatically reconcile multiple business streams and ensure accurate data reporting.

“Creating a better everyday life for the many in the communities IKEA serves around Southeast Asia means meeting our customers’ expectations and preferences in the way they shop and pay,” said Corrina Holman, Ikano Retail’s IKEA Customer Journey Manager. “Our customers expect a great user experience online and on-site at our stores, and we’re always looking for ways to improve that. We want to unite them with their choice of home and office furnishing solutions in an efficient, simple and seamless way with shorter turnaround times that are safe and secure.”

Agnes Chua, Executive Director of 2C2P, added, “Today, customers want many payment options, operating at the same speed and ease as the rest of their digital experience. By offering a full-suite solution that integrates Southeast Asia’s differing payment methods, we hope to provide IKEA with a competitive advantage and help them keep pace with their customers’ changing payment preferences and needs. We have been working closely with Ikano Retail in Thailand since 2018 and are thrilled to expand our longstanding partnership and offer IKEA customers a safe, seamless and convenient online shopping experience consistently across the region”.

Southeast Asia is seeing rapid growth in e-commerce spending, with digital payments boosting its growth. According to an IDC InfoBrief commissioned by 2C2P, ecommerce spending is expected to rise by 162% to reach US$179.8 billion by 2025 across the region, with digital payments accounting for 91% of total ecommerce payments. Mobile banking and mobile wallet users are expected to grow 97% and 162% respectively between 2020 and 2025.

Originally Appeared Here

With the easing of COVID restrictions in most APAC countries, our lives are slowly returning to normal. But the old ‘normal’ is not the new ‘normal’ – especially in business.

The last couple of years has transformed retail. In Southeast Asia (SEA), 78% of consumers, 350 million people, are now digital consumers with the rate of digital consumption increasing faster than in other APAC regions. Retailers are seeing lost sales, with 49% of shoppers now hesitant to shop in-store.

With retailers facing the biggest challenge of their existence – how to make the most of their brick-and-mortar assets – here are four ways that can help them adapt to the new consumer shopping behaviors.

Upgrade your tech to 2022 trends

Most of us welcome technology, and the convenience it brings. Retailers who have adopted artificial intelligence are seeing improvements of 16% to 19% in customer engagement, business intelligence, profit margins, competitiveness, and innovation. But what are the biggest tech trends for high-end retail stores?

One is ‘cashier-less’ shopping, for example in Decathlon, which uses RFID scanning technology to automatically detect and charge shoppers as they drop products into their baskets. Another is chatbots, which shoppers can use to get quick, simple answers to service requests. However, technology can fall short if it doesn’t live up to the expectations of customers.

Customer expectations of brands are shifting and trends that combine the benefits of physical and digital shopping or ‘phygital’ are set to dominate over the coming year. For example, live commerce is a platform via which shoppers can video call an in-store expert who gives them a personalized overview of a product, a range, or even walks them through an entire store, giving them an ‘in store’ experience from the comfort of their home. These ‘phygital’ tools not only make life easier for the customer, but they also help improve a customer’s journey and let the brand collect crucial consumer insights, too.

Harness data to enhance your CX

We all know that e-commerce websites are specialists in collecting customer data to improve the shopping experience. Just look at Amazon, which tweaks its entire homepage to each visitor, depending on their past searches and purchases, to offer more accurate product recommendations. However, brick-and-mortar businesses can leverage data gleaned from their own technologies to improve the buyer’s journey, too.

Take video-powered retail, for instance.

First, the video software can use data to connect callers to the most suitable in-store advisor based on their inquiry. For instance, Marks & Spencer has a ‘Call the Expert’ video button, pairing customers with their furniture experts for a stronger chance of a sale. Once the call is complete, the software can collect invaluable after-sales feedback and ratings to improve future transactions.

With customer data, brick-and-mortar retailers can give shoppers exactly what they are looking for, boosting their sales potential and cutting costs, too.

Use new insights to become extra efficient

Data analysis helps retail leaders make stronger, more insightful decisions on how their business should spend its resources. One basic example is stock investment. Tracking product conversion rates to see what is selling well, and what is not, makes it easier to decide what to stock up on. However, data analytics does not stop there.

‘Dark stores’ offer customers more control over how and when they buy their products, plus a VIP, in-store shopping experience from their living rooms.

Instore and online data platforms can monitor the shifts or products that staff perform best on, and help managers optimize working schedules. It can even inform a store’s opening hours to match modern hybrid working routines. The analytics can identify if there is a rise in commuter footfall on particular evenings, and recommend which days they should stay open late. Or, if it detects a spike in relevant internet searches, visits to shop websites, or video call requests from home workers, it can suggest when stores should stay open exclusively for video retail.

This does not mean retailers need to keep their premium high-street locations open. Instead, they can convert them into cost-saving ‘dark stores’.

Open dark stores for optimized ‘phygital’ retail

A dark store is usually an existing shop, or out-of-town distribution center, that is partly or fully dedicated to fulfilling online orders. While they are filled with aisles of products and shop assistants, they are often closed to regular walk-in customers to create more space for stock storage, order processing, and one-to-one video calls.

These dark stores offer customers more control over how and when they buy their products, plus a VIP, in-store shopping experience from their living rooms. The proof is in the pudding, with retailers like the online grocery platform HappyFresh, which saw a 300% month-on-month growth in users since the launch of its dark store.

One is ‘cashier-less’ shopping, for example in Decathlon, which uses RFID scanning technology to automatically detect and charge shoppers as they drop products into their baskets.

This is just one example of a data-powered retail transformation that helps brick-and-mortar stores become an asset once again to multichannel retailers, by integrating the ‘phygital’ concept as consumers turn into hybrid shoppers.

While in-store shopping continues to have a place in APAC, recent years have taught retailers that true success comes from investing in digital and pivoting business models to whatever the world throws at us next.

After all, we are now living in the new ‘normal’ and this is the chance for retailers to engage with customers in a smarter, more personalized way.

Originally Appeared Here