Argility targets retail business solutions development with new appointment

ajustus Oct 1, 2019

Argility, a member of the Argility Technology Group – a South African leader in enterprise software solutions innovations for the retail and supply chain industries – has announced the appointment of a Retail Solutions Consultant, Stefan Terblanche, with specific focus on the retail market.

Terblanche brings almost 30 years’ experience in the South African retail sector to the position. He attended business and management courses at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, where he completed the management development, the senior management development and the executive development programmes. He also attended courses at the Peninsula University of Technology Management.

In his career, he has worked in senior operational roles in some of SA’s largest retail organisations, where he was able to make significant contributions to the retailers’ leap into technology as business enabler.

His experience includes IT executive at a 1 000-strong store-based retailer, where he was tasked with the integration and conversion of the corporate group into a single retail management system.

As a Business Intelligence (BI) Executive, Terblanche established a Centre of Excellence and Enterprise Data Warehouse for a major South African retail enterprise.

Tanya Long, Chief Operating Officer of the Argility Technology Group, says the appointment forms a significant part of the group’s strategic focus on the retail sector – where it has been the market leader in technology innovation for almost four decades.

“Argility’s origins trace back over an almost 40-year period as a leading software solutions supplier to the retail sector. We are approaching our core market arena with renewed vigour and focus; augmented by a wealth of home-grown, globally competitive technology solutions and services. We created this role with the strategic goal of acquiring an exec with the requisite experience and knowledge to support our growth plans in the sector. In the appointment of Stefan, we have definitely acquired exactly what is needed for the role,” says Long.

Terblanche notes that as the Retail Solutions Consultant, he will be responsible for prospective and key customer engagements as well as unlocking business and commercial value for Argility plus the customer.

“Argility has a solid set of relevant and trusted retail solutions in its stable that speaks to the holistic retail ecosystem. Our credo of digitally transforming retail and supply chain using intelligent software, data science through artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of things (IOT) is aligned to customer expectations in a digital world of hyper-personalisation, convenience, trust, recognition and value. We strive to become an extension of our customers’ business by providing innovative and trusted solutions,” concludes Terblanche.

Source: IT Web

Heritage Day - Ikageng Building a future

As Heritage Day approaches – Argility works to build a legacy for future generations

ajustus Sep 10, 2019

Instead of looking to the past this Heritage Day, SA organisations should be planning for the future, says Nobuhle Zwane, human capital manager at Argility.

While Heritage Day gives all South Africans an opportunity to celebrate their history and cultural heritage, the day also offers them an excellent occasion to reflect on the legacy they will leave their descendants.

For the Argility Technology Group, enterprise software solutions innovator for the retail and supply chain industries, now is the time to be building a positive, empowering culture for young South Africans, which future generations will be able to celebrate as their shared heritage.

“Argility’s vision is to build the heritage of generations to come, and to achieve this, the first step is unquestionably to start with investment in the youth of South Africa,” says Nobuhle Zwane, Argility Human Capital Manager.

“We believe that the future depends on helping young South Africans to become the best that they can be. This is why our corporate social investments focus heavily on education and youth development. We also do not believe in an approach of throwing money at development efforts and walking away – all too often, this can be a method used in corporate South Africa. Argility does it differently: staff – from executive level down – roll up their sleeves to engage actively with our CSI projects and their beneficiaries.”

Zwane says at present the group has chiefly engaged with two youth development central organisations, namely: Ikageng Itireleng and Releasing Eagles.

Ikageng Itireleng is an NPO in Orlando West, Soweto, which cares for and supports over 800 orphaned, vulnerable children and youth in the community. Ikageng’s prevention and therapy programmes, individual and family interventions, group work sessions, seminars and structured meetings aim at collective empowerment and facilitating processes that help the poor, vulnerable and marginalised to regain control over their lives.

Releasing Eagles, supported by Argility, strives to raise the level of consciousness among the youth around their purpose in life and their impact on their world. Releasing Eagles creates platforms and environments where the potential of young leaders is incubated and nurtured through strategic mentoring partnerships and with youth workshops, staged in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

“Programmes such as these don’t simply offer short-term assistance – they actively work to change by empowering young people to improve their lives,” says Zwane. “We believe that if all of corporate South Africa started focusing on initiatives that deliver sustainable impacts that truly inspire our youth, we would go a long way towards achieving our country’s development goals,” Zwane concludes.

Source: IT Web

Argility Digital Assets Management System

Tanya Long, Argility COO, unveils the enhanced version of DAMSense

ajustus Sep 9, 2019

Argility's Digital Asset Management System

It’s always good to get to the point quickly and what is the point here? Well, it is that DAMSense makes sense of digital assets and enables businesses to organise, store and retrieve. Now that’s an attention grabber for any business readership.

DAMSense is a comprehensive Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, which enables companies to manage and make sense of digital media files in one central and searchable repository platform. The solution can be deployed across a range of organisations – from large eCommerce enabled image websites to internal corporate branding asset management systems.

It is important to understand that DAM is now a strategic business priority. DAMSense is set to lead the multiple usage innovation arenas where it is already deployed and proving to show the best return on investment (ROI).

DAM enables companies to: accelerate time to delivery for marketing campaigns; increase the number of promotions that marketers can deliver in a given time period and launch new products more quickly, while at the same time accelerating global product launches.

DAMSense provides organisations with the ability to make sense of their images, videos, music, PDF’s and other documents in one central and searchable place.

Already successfully deployed!

DAMSense has already been implemented successfully at a wide range of companies in Southern Africa, supplying solutions that provide real benefits on a daily basis.

It is a cost-effective and high-performing webserver application that is delivered either as a cloud or as an inhouse hosted service, giving you access to a leading-edge digital asset management system. The benefits of the cloud platform are that it limits the costs and worries of running a high performing server infrastructure. It has been designed to be modular, providing the ability to build the solution you require. Moreover, it is branded to our client’s requirements, and as such, adheres to their organisational identity standards.

The solution offers: on-demand access to contracts; management of a single view of customers’ history and prevention of duplication of form-filling for frequent customers. In a digital asset management environment, the enhanced metadata features powered by AI, facilitate the process of organising, storing and retrieving rich media assets. It also serves to alleviate the need for expensive storage space and resources.

DAM proven to reduce costs

The implementation of DAM has been proven to decrease asset creation costs as it leads to better asset reuse; avoidance of duplication of effort and a reduction in the number of assets that are created but never used.

Productivity benefits include: less time spent searching for assets; streamlined review and approval processes, plus easier collaboration with external stakeholders. It also provides greater visibility into project status, which is an enabler of productivity gains. But at the same time, it reduces risk as it prevents non-compliance use of licensed content; unapproved assets being used and it stops the theft or leak of intellectual property.

DAMSense can be applied in a myriad of industry sectors and holds great promise and relevance for any of the following industries and more:

Media – Create libraries of news and research material.
Corporate – Control and protect brand usage across distributed departments.
Travel and Tourism – Share up-to-date images with business partners, including: brochure and website material.
Retail – Locate images with ease for campaigns, brand usage, press releases and collaboration with business partners.
Public Sector – Create large scale, centralised national archives, whilst securing sensitive digital material.
Education – Create and share libraries of learning material for lectures and seminars.

For more information contact our Sales on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website: Argility

Brief Bio: Tanya Long – Chief Operating Officer, Argility Technology Group

Tanya has 30 years industry experience and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Argility Technology Group.

Tanya’s career in the IT sector started in 1988 in IT Support for Point of Sale solutions. She moved formally into software development with UCS/Argility in 1989 as a developer and progressed through to: team leader; account management; project, and development management roles

Tanya is an internationally Certified Consciousness Coach, Enneagram Practitioner, and leadership speaker and facilitator. She is considered a specialist in the fields of culture and engagement and often presents at conferences on the topic of engagement, leadership and coaching. Her strengths lie in her exceptional people management abilities and dedication to precision and execution.

In 2017, Tanya was appointed Human Capital Executive at Argility where she reunited her Retail, IT, Leadership, HR and coaching knowledge to drive her zeal for transformation. In her capacity as COO, she heads up the Sales and Marketing and HR teams whilst driving performance and processes within the group.

Tanya’s vision is to ensure that the Argility Technology Group is filled with engaged, skilled and innovative individuals delivering outstanding customer-centric solutions.

Argility launches enhanced DAMSense digital asset management system

ajustus Sep 3, 2019

The Argility Technology Group has announced the release of an enhanced version of its complete digital asset management (DAM) system – DAMSense, which assists companies to manage and make sense of digital media files in one central and searchable repository platform.

The solution can be deployed across a range of organisations – from large e-commerce-enabled image Web sites to internal corporate branding asset management systems.

According to Argility Technology Group COO, Tanya Long, DAM is now a strategic business priority and DAMSense is set to lead the multiple usage innovation arenas where it is already deployed.

“It is already proving to show the best return on investment (ROI) in this market. DAM enables companies to: accelerate time to delivery for marketing campaigns; increase the number of promotions that marketers can deliver in a given time period and launch new products more quickly, while at the same time accelerating global product launches.

“DAMSense is a comprehensive DAM system that provides organisations with the ability to make sense of their images, videos, music, PDFs and other documents in one central and searchable place,” says Long.

DAMSense has been implemented successfully at a wide range of companies in Southern Africa, supplying solutions that provide real benefits on a daily basis.

“It is a cost-effective and high-performing webserver application that is delivered either as a cloud or as an inhouse hosted service, giving access to a leading-edge digital asset management system. The benefits of the cloud platform are that it limits the costs and worries of running a high-performing server infrastructure. It has been designed to be modular, providing the ability to build the solution our customers require. Moreover, it is branded to our clients’ requirements and as such, adheres to their organisational identity standards. Productivity benefits include: less time spent searching for assets; streamlined review and approval processes, plus easier collaboration with external stakeholders. It also provides greater visibility into project status, which is an enabler of productivity gains and reduces risk as it prevents: non-compliance use of licensed content; unapproved assets being used and stops the theft or leak of intellectual property.”

The solution offers: on-demand access to contracts; management of a single view of customers’ history and prevention of duplication of form-filling for frequent customers. In a digital asset management environment, the enhanced metadata features powered by AI facilitate the process of organising, storing and retrieving rich media assets. “It also serves to alleviate the need for expensive storage space and resources,” confirms Long.

“The implementation of DAM has been proven to cut asset creation costs as it leads to better asset reuse; avoidance of duplication of effort and a reduction in the number of assets that are created but never used.”

DAMSense can be applied in a myriad of industry sectors and holds great promise and relevance for any of the following industries and more:

Media: Create libraries of news and research material.
Corporate: Control and protect brand usage across distributed departments.
Travel and tourism: Share up-to-date images with business partners, including brochure and Web site material.
Retail: Locate images with ease for campaigns, brand usage, press releases and collaboration with business partners.
Public sector: Create large-scale, centralised national archives, while securing sensitive digital material.
Education: Create and share libraries of learning material for lectures and seminars.

Source: IT Web | Intelligent CIO

Argility releases big data analytics product; PredictRetail

ajustus Jul 24, 2019

The Argility Technology Group has announced the release of its latest innovation: PredictRetail, a Google Cloud native application offering predictive analytics to retailers.

PredictRetail enables retailers to make better business decisions, by using Machine Learning, data science and predictive modelling, to extract insights from historical data and translate it into business value.

The application is developed on top of the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and uses a variety of GCP services from the building of data pipelines and training Machine Learning models, through to data visualisations and image recognition. Being a native GCP application, PredictRetail is able to scale to any size data sets or processing workload.

The future of business in a data driven world is integration, optimisation and automation of business processes across the enterprise. Typically driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI); Machine Learning (ML) and data science. Marko Salic, CEO of the Argility Technology Group says that while these terms are now popular buzz words not everyone fully understands what they mean.

“AI for example can be defined as the simulation of human thought processes by machines. ML is a subset of this as it aims to facilitate the ability of computers to learn and improve without the need for re-programming. Data science typically refers to the ability to extract useful insights from raw data,” said Salic.

Salic notes that while core retail operations have remained the same for centuries, the consumer has changed.

“We demand a personalised service and a flawless customer experience. If we don’t get what we expect, it’s very easy to switch to a competitor as we have more options than ever. Predictive analytics and Data Science are key to offering an improved customer experience, by predicting future outcomes and customer needs more accurately, you can act on them early and effectively,” he adds.

Most retailers have been collecting data about their customers, inventory, products etc. for decades, but little is done with this data outside of your typical BI-postmortem analysis.

“PredictRetail’s purpose is to help retailers monetise their historical data by using data science techniques to discover hidden trends and patterns in this data, then exposing those patterns as insights and assisting business users to make smarter business decisions,” said Salic.

PredictRetail benefits include:

Increased sales by determining the most likely next-sell opportunity using an ML based recommendation engine
Improve marketing spend using an ML clustering algorithms to segment the customers more accurately and create tailored marketing campaigns for each segment
Improve customer retention by determining the customers propensity to buy, there by engaging them at the right time, with the right products
Realise more sales by using ML to predict demand more accurately, ensuring less capital is locked in under-performing stock, and more realised sales from reduction in out-of-stocks situations
Optimise customer acquisition costs by predicting historic and future lifetime value of a customer, focusing spend on the right audiences
Maximise margins through price elasticity modelling
Increase basket sizes using market basket analysis to determine most likely up-sell opportunities
Introduce image or voice-based searching on e-commerce sites
Tracking of brand sentiment using social media sentiment analysis
And more…

Source: Intelligent CIO

Jai Kalyan, Divisional Executive; Joosubs

Argility celebrates 21 year milestone with Shoprite Furniture

ajustus Jul 3, 2019

The technology innovator applauds its 21-year journey with the retail giant

Argility, a member of the Argility Technology Group, has revealed details of its 21-year journey with the Shoprite Furniture Group, trading under the brands of OK Furniture, House & Home and OK Power Express.

In 1998, Argility was appointed by the retail giant to provide Shoprite Furniture – a trading division of Shoprite Holdings – with end-to-end robust, dynamic, bespoke software solutions – from in-store POS to back-office to multiple third-party interfaces.

Jai Kalyan, Argility Executive, says the relationship commenced with a roll-out to approximately 160 stores. “It has now grown to over 520 stores operating in SA, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Zambia, Angola and Mozambique.”

Kalyan says that over and above the retail management solution, services include:

A merchandising system;
Warehousing system;
Strategic IT expertise and consulting;
System analysis and architecture;
Business analysis;
Software design and implementation from small ad hoc changes to massive projects;
Support – working hand-in-hand with the helpdesk to resolve any issues and queries raised; and
Argility team on call 24/7 to provide customer service and support.

He notes the distributed architecture allows stores to trade even if the network is down, plus there are daily backups to a central server to ensure stores can be restored should it be required.

By their very nature, retail chains have a highly distributed organisational structure. Kalyan explains that individual stores need to be able to operate independently if communications are interrupted. “But it is also critical that data is consolidated in order to provide business intelligence, particularly relating to inventory optimisation and customer relationship management. A robust backup/disaster recovery solution is also crucial to ensure that data is never lost and store downtime is kept to an absolute minimum,” he says.

Keeping the business running in order to best serve its customers is top of every successful retailer’s agenda. “Retailers are acutely aware of the need to continue delivering more value to their customers, and as such, must constantly assess the latest developments in technology and trends in the sector. The consolidated data provided by Argility’s solutions provides the raw material for better intelligence to improve all aspects of our customers’ businesses, from ensuring ideal quantities of goods at each store and better debtor management, to improving customer insight and, ultimately, service.

“Argility’s software has kept pace with technology advances, which means we can provide cutting-edge solutions including initial credit application via cellphone, in-store use of tablets for salesmen, flash figures app for managers, automated cash upload system plus integration and use of Web services and more. All of this translates into competitive edge in the retail environment,” Kaylan concludes.

Source: IT Web

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Get to Know, Tanya Long; Chief Operating Officer at Argility

ajustus Jul 1, 2019

We get to know Tanya Long, the Chief Operating Officer at Argility, to see what makes her tick…

What would you describe as your most memorable achievement?

While there are many projects that stand out for me as having a positive impact, I would say my most memorable achievement is the leadership roles to which I have been appointed to in my career. When I commenced working in the technology world, there were very few women in management roles. In my youth I was driven towards success and thought that I had to show up and compete with my male colleagues in their ‘game’ to get a seat at the table.

I wore pin striped suits and tried to do things better on what was considered the norm for a tech leader. This honestly caused stress, as being something that you are not takes excess energy. There came a point in time, where close to burnout, I realised that regardless of the levels of success, if you compromise yourself trying to be something that you’re not, then the journey is meaningless. I re-evaluated my life, owned my femininity, and decided to become a leader who brings all of these strengths to the role – even if they were not outlined in the traditional job description – and structured my work to have time for my family and passions. I much prefer the leader that I am today and I’m sure my colleagues also do, by being true to myself, showing vulnerability and compassion and knowing that just because you’re wearing a floral dress doesn’t signify that you don’t expect results.

What first made you think of a career in technology?

My father. He knew a guy, who knew a guy who was doing ‘great’ things in computers. So I did what any teenage girl would do, I rebelled and went backpacking. During this time I did temp work overseas, and got thrown a job where I had to work on a Wang PC. It frustrated me so much, that I signed up for a course to master it and loved it, that as soon as I arrived home I sent myself on a programming and networking course. Needless to say, there were many Christmas lunches that contained a few ‘I told you so’s’.

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position?

I am for servant leadership and a coaching or motivational management style. Ultimately as a manager and leader it is about people and how passionate, engaged and effective they are. If you believe in peoples’ greatness, empower them to be the best versions of themselves possible and hold them to that capability – you can truly call yourself a leader.

What do you think is the current hot technology talking point?

In our world it is customer experience, Internet of Things (IoT) and data science. The technology world is so competitive that a successful organisation needs to focus on bringing extra value to the customer, to simplify their lives. There is a lot of talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT but also a slight hesitancy to embrace these innovations which I believe is purely due to not knowing where and how to start, and whom to partner with.

How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office?

I call them my 2 W’s. Walking my hounds and writing are my best stress busters. A couple of years ago after reading Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way, I started writing morning pages first thing, a gratitude diary at night and then a weekly blog, which have been useful tools to help make sense of things.

If you could go back and change one career decision what would it be?

To not hold on so long to something that’s not working. Over the years, there have been some stressful situations where I thought, ‘If I just tried this, or tried that’, I could solve this. The result is that I held onto certain things too long. I worked in a role that despite the challenges sapped my energy and for a few years made me completely unhappy. Eventually I had the courage to resign and in spite of the initial fear, I have never looked back. These days it is not that I give up; I have just learned to respect myself enough to know when to walk away.

What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry?

Cloud tools and architecture; advanced analytics, inclusive of Machine Learning and data science, and IoT. The ultimate goal is, of course, the digitisation of the value chains and providing a personalised customer experience with frictionless service.

What are the region-specific challenges when implementing new technologies in Africa?

There is no doubt that solutions implemented in Africa have to understand the challenges, which are often not solved with international products. Solution design and hardware needs to be able to manage unreliable infrastructure in connectivity and power and must meet the needs of the customer segment that one is targeting.

What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months?

I have been on a whirlwind of change since moving from Human Capital Executive to Chief Operating Officer of Argility, a few months ago. The benefit is being able to bring all sections of the business together to drive strategy and execution. Having oversight of sales and marketing now, together with culture, engagement and operations, has allowed me to impact from beginning to end. Going forward I’m thrilled to be able to begin with the end in mind and track it through the full loop.

What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain C-level position in your industry?

Surround yourself with exceptional people who challenge you, if you’re the smartest person in the room then be worried. Be teachable and continuously push yourself to learn and take on new things. Set WIGs (Wildly Important Goals) weekly, monthly, yearly – for the right reasons.

Be 100% committed to achieving them. Do the work; there are no traffic jams on the extra mile. Make sure you live in integrity and show the way. Never expect anyone to do something that you are not prepared to do yourself. And lastly have courage, take on things that scare you and if you fall down, own it, dust yourself off quickly, learn the lesson and keep moving forward.

Source: Intelligent CIO

Shaun O'Brien CEO CQuential Supply chain WMS

The likely impact of AI; robotics and blockchain on the Supply Chain of the future

ajustus May 28, 2019

Supply chain management has come down a long road.

Supply chain management is a multifaceted undertaking that extends beyond the scope of a single organisation. What was historically viewed as a cost centre with the main purpose of moving stock from A to B, has today evolved into a critical enabler of business. In the past supply chain management key objectives revolved around reducing operational costs within certain areas of but not viewing it as a collective set of activities aimed at delivering value to the end customer – which today is the holistic take on the sector.

But where is it headed?

As with all sectors of commerce, in the age of digital transformation and disruption, technology is the driver of change. New digital technologies that have the potential to take over supply chain management entirely are already disrupting traditional ways of working.

Research guru Gartner* notes that supply chain leaders today must examine how emerging technologies such as AI, robotics and blockchain will affect their business, and decide where and how to invest. Companies are scrambling to put digital foundations in place that can capture, analyse, integrate, access, and interpret high quality data. This refers to the real-time data that fuels process automation, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and robotics with the capacity to not only change the entire shape and face of the supply chain industry but are the technologies that are predicted to soon take over the sector.

An article in Select Hub** suggest that robots may become the biggest co-worker in the warehouse of the not too distant future. These new robots will be nothing like the industrial robot of the past but are autonomous mobile robots which are intelligent and can follow humans through a complex warehouse as the employee selects items for an order (called picking in the trade) and can also be used to deliver goods to and from people. They are, as such, collaborative robots that interestingly support, but do not replace, humans.

However, other sources suggest that within five to ten years, the supply chain function may be obsolete, replaced by a smoothly running, self-regulating utility that optimally manages end-to-end work flows and requires very little human intervention***.

This is hardly the stuff of science fiction movies – it is already well underway. However, great advances often bring bigger challenges and these developments are no exception to that fact. So while technology has been a crucial enabler of collaboration within the supply chain these advances will inevitably be accompanied by risks – one of the biggest being the predicted increase in cybercrime as new technologies such as AI and IoT are integrated into the arena.

The shape of the Supply Chain of the future

Therefore, the supply chain of tomorrow will look quite different with increased: visibility; automation and sharing of information, across partners up and down stream. The focus will be on how to use gathered data to improve operational performance. In the past this was a retrospective procedure with companies examining collected data and based on what the findings revealed, decisions taken to address any issues. However, this approach often led to time delays and loss of business with obvious negative financial impact.

Today there is a shift to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning into the supply chain which allows companies to be more proactive and change strategies for the future in real time, and in so doing, capitalise on opportunities that may arise. Automation and advanced manufacturing are already having significant impact on supply chains and will continue to do so by reshape countries that have traditionally been the engines of global supply chains. Moreover, labour force and the total cost of sourcing, especially in industries that are suited to automation, will also be affected.

In conclusion data is becoming a key asset that drives organisational strategy. Going forward increasing emphasis will be placed on how organisations process data and how it can be used to predict and mitigate future risks to the operational success of the business.

By Shaun O’Brien, CEO of CQuential WMS

Source: https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Q&A – Marko Salic on digitally transforming retail and supply chain solutions

ajustus May 5, 2019

Q&A – Marko Salic on digitally transforming retail and supply chain solutions

BY: EVAN -LEE COURIE

Argility is a South African enterprise software development and services organisation predominantly focused on the retail and supply chain arenas. The company provides end-to-end solutions inclusive of: managed services; service desk and industry 4.0 technologies. The latter are inclusive of: data science, predictive modelling & advanced analytics; the internet of things; location technologies and cloud computing and gateway control platforms (GCP).

We chat to Marko Salic, CEO of Argilty, to find out more about the track record of skills and global experience acquired through the years…

Could you tell us a bit about Argility?

The Argility Technology Group is a collection of software businesses focused on enterprise IT solutions for retail and supply chain. With over 30 years of experience and the wealth of intellectual property generated during that time, we have the expertise to understand the entire commercial landscape.

It is our vision to digitally transform retail and supply chain using intelligent software, data science and the internet of things. Our mission is to become an extension of our customers’ businesses. Decades-long customer relationships bear testament to our customer-centric culture and passion for innovation.

When and how did Argility start?

Over 30 years ago, Argility was a wholly owned business unit/subsidiary of the UCS Group – a diversified IT software, solutions and services business, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. When Argility was formed it was tasked with expanding the group’s footprint in the global retail software sector with operations being directed from the company’s offices in South Africa, the UK and the USA.

In 2010, UCS consolidated by merging four of its operations and moving them into the Argility stable. The result at that time was a newly expanded Argility with ownership of the group’s Intellectual Property (IP) and tasked with distributing it globally.

Since starting up, Argility has developed various software solutions. What is the one innovation you are the proudest of?

We are most proud of our Argility Group Ecosystem which is actually a combination of many of our solutions and the fact that this has all been created for the African market. We empower retailers and supply chain to digitally transform, with ease and integrate their business operations with our: predictive analytics; internet of things (IOT); proximity marketing; asset management and e-commerce solutions. All of this whilst remaining the provider of choice for POS, retail, warehouse, and fleet management systems.

The company delves into IT solutions for retail and supply chain. Which market has been the biggest recipient of the solutions and why do you think so?

The biggest recipient of our solutions is the furniture retail market, primarily because this is where the roots of Argility came from. Over the past 30 years, we have retained and grown with our customers, becoming true partners with them in their technology journeys.

Your latest product innovation is called MultiTRAX. Can you tell us more about this?

MultiTRAX is a delivery management mobile app that enables businesses to schedule deliveries and manage administration while at the same time providing their customers with real-time tracking capabilities.

MultiTRAX provides real-time delivery management information such as the current location of drivers; the routes followed and a holistic view of the progress of all deliveries. Customers are provided with real-time information including estimated arrival time; current location of delivery and more.

From the business perspective, the app provides easy access to delivery documents; immediate delivery confirmation and the ability to schedule routes. The businesses’ customers enjoy a unique connected and reliable delivery experience and are able to track the location and progress of their delivery at any time in the entire process.

How did this innovation come about?

The concept was developed in-house through the group’s Shark Tank initiative.

“We launched the Shark Tank initiative in 2016 as a vehicle to encourage staff to participate and contribute their ideas for new product development.
We set up an adjudication panel that was comprised of senior executives from both Argility and a leading SA retail corporation. The winning team received a monetary reward but even more exciting is the fact that they saw their idea come alive as a fully developed marketable product.”

Cloud adoption and digital transformation is already changing the way business, from SMEs to major corporates, operate. What impact has this had on Argility?

The impact has been positive as we have been driving towards cloud adoption and digital transformation over the past number of years. We are extremely well positioned through our skills and IP to guide and assist not only existing customers but new customers to achieve their digital transformation objectives.

Were there any extreme changes that need to be made?

We took some strategic decisions a few years ago to upskill our teams to meet the foreseeable demands, and we have made sure that we are continuously evolving our toolsets and knowledge.

Where do you see Argility in five years’ time?

We will be recognised as the leading retail and supply-chain technology supplier in sub-Saharan Africa, and once again list on the JSE.

Source: Bizcommunity.com

Argility’s Shark Tank generates latest innovation: MultiTRAX

ajustus Apr 4, 2019

Argility’s Shark Tank generates latest innovation: MultiTRAX

The Argility Technology Group has announced the launch of its latest product innovation, MultiTRAX, a delivery management mobile app that enables businesses to schedule deliveries and manage administration, while at the same time providing their customers with real-time tracking capabilities.

Marko Salic, CEO of the Argility Technology Group, notes one of the most exciting aspects of the launch of this product is that the concept was developed in-house through the group’s Shark Tank initiative.

“We launched the Shark Tank initiative in 2016 as a vehicle to encourage staff to participate and contribute their ideas for new product development. We set up an adjudication panel that comprised senior executives from both Argility and a leading SA retail corporation. The winning team received a monetary reward, but even more exciting is the fact that they saw their idea come alive as a fully developed marketable product,” says Salic.

MultiTRAX provides real-time delivery management information such as the current location of drivers, the routes followed, and a holistic view of the progress of all deliveries. “Customers are provided with real-time information, including estimated arrival time, current location of a delivery and more.”

Salic adds this innovative product delivers benefits to businesses and their customers. “From the business perspective, the app provides easy access to delivery documents, immediate delivery confirmation and the ability to schedule routes. The businesses’ customers enjoy a unique connected and reliable delivery experience and are able to track the location and progress of their delivery at any time in the entire process. A customer-centric business culture that leads to consistently positive customer experiences should be a core focus of any organisation. It translates into competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace.”

He confirms the product is already generating market interest with planned deployments in major South African brand organisations.

Tanya Long, Argility Chief Operating Officer, says 2019 will see the technology innovator taking its Shark Tank initiative to another level. “Not only will it be about promoting staff to develop innovative ideas, but will also aim to encourage them to define what return on investment the concept may hold for customers. In today’s fast moving world, it is vital to build entrepreneurial skills and business acumen within organisations and we are striving to ensure that our teams are not only technical experts, but are also able to quantify and design bottom-line, value-adding solutions that give our customers the edge in their respective industries,” says Long

Source: IT Web

Data science is transforming retail and customer experience

ajustus Jan 28, 2019

By Marko Salic, CEO of the Argility Technology Group

In essence, the basics of retail have remained much the same for millennia but technology has given consumers more options and more power. Now, retailers, like all other businesses, must rapidly adapt to the changing needs of their consumers, or risk being consigned to the scrapheap of history along with Blockbuster Video and Kodak.

To succeed in the new digital retail environment, companies must learn how to collect and then use the raw data generated by the technology that underpins everything. Combined with advanced techniques and technologies, the base metal of data is transmuted into digital gold: actionable insights and business value where it matters most – the bottom line.

The necessity for data science in retail is widely recognised, with most operators appreciating that being competitive depends on consistently delivering great customer experiences. Retailers comprehend that if their competitors are using data science to understand customers better, and then offer them what they want, they will have to use the same tools to better effect.

That much is apparent from the 2017 Zebra Retail Vision study, which showed that retailers are planning investments in the Internet of Things (70%), machine learning and cognitive computing (68%) and automation (57%).

But first, let’s consider where raw data in retail comes from.

Rich in raw data

It should come as no surprise that retailers have always generated plenty of their own data, both in-store and throughout the supply chain. However, historically speaking, for most retailers, somewhere between very little and nothing has been done with that data.

This is changing, driven in part by the big online retailers like Amazon and AliExpress, which have introduced new and exciting customer experiences that rest on data science. In particular, Amazon’s pioneering work in data science can truly be said to have disrupted the entire retail sector.

Today, with the inexorable march of technology, the amount of data generated by all retailers has increased dramatically. Furthermore, there are additional data stores available which can enhance the “raw material” available for analysis.

Examples of the traditional data sources include product and pricing information, customer purchase, credit and payment history, and various other transactional data. Newer data stores which can be “ingested into a data processing platform include external customer data from social media platforms or government sources like the Census, real-world data like weather and holiday dates and, increasingly, sensor data including that generated by Internet of Things deployments linking millions of inanimate objects to the network.

Turning data into information

But data is just data. It isn’t the same thing as information – and that’s where data science comes into it, along with techniques like machine learning, artificial intelligence and predictive modelling.

Data science combines human capabilities and mathematics with specialised software tools to process and analyse data. For retailers, three overlapping possibilities emerge from data science:

You can increase revenues and retain customers with accurate personalised recommendations Amazon-style. Data analysis can segment customers, so you can focus on the most profitable ones, while understanding key metrics like their likelihood of making purchases and lifetime value analysis.
You can optimise stock holding and distribution to reduce working capital and warehouse space. Analytics provides insights including more accurate demand forecasting, optimised routing and scheduling for an efficient supply chain, and optimised picking and packing for a high-performance warehouse.
You can maximise credit profits and minimise losses. With accurate insights, you’ll know with a high degree of confidence which customers are worthy of credit, and which are potentially risky. You’re also equipped to manage churn by being able to identify customers who are likely to stray and put in place retention strategies. Analytics even provides insights to optimise collections for customers who haven’t paid their bills.

If that all sounds a little too theoretical, it is useful to break down data science into a series of questions to which every retailer is likely to relate. These questions can be grouped in terms of:

Product: Are you carrying customer-centric localised assortments (the right goods at the right time)? What is behind sale and margin fluctuations? What is the current stock situation and is an out-of-stock likely?
Pricing: What are the pricing sweet spots? How do price adjustments affect sell-through? What tactics can be employed to manage markdowns and control margin erosion?
Promotions: What are the best next-sell; upsell and cross-sell opportunities? What products do customers typically buy together? Can promotion spend be optimised?
Product placement: Are products meeting sales targets? What impact can repositioning have on specific items? What is the yield effectiveness of shelf, aisle and end-cap placements?
In-store: Are stores staffed and managed optimally? Do store associates have real-time customer insights? Are customers provided with personalised experiences?

The possibilities offered by data science for retailers are nothing short of transformative. By combining data generated automatically every day in the business of retail with those additional data sets from social media, the supply chain or elsewhere, data science helps you understand your customers far more intimately. By converting raw data into information that is relevant to the retailer, data science gives you the ability to optimise your operations from one end to the other.

This retail-specific information provides one of management’s most potent tools: the essential metrics that signal success, and thus the power to measure how well you are doing.

In conclusion, it should also be emphasised that in order to take full advantage of the insights offered by data science, profound organisational and cultural shifts are necessary. Working with the right partner to effect this mix of technology and behavioural change can make all the difference in getting this complex transformation right.

Source: Bizcommunity

Argility launches latest Innovation: AutoScan

ajustus Nov 22, 2018

Argility launches latest Innovation: AutoScan

A proximity-based marketing mobile app that accelerates the sales cycle and enhances customer experience.

Argility, part of the Argility Technology Group and leading enterprise software developer, has launched AutoScan, a tool that enables car dealers to engage buyers with relevant content, at the right place, at the right time, and thereby accelerates the sales cycle and enhances customers’ buying experience.

Argility’s business development consultant, Bryan Slaven, says this proximity-based marketing mobile app is a real-time platform for delivering relevant content to buyers on their mobile phone, using beacon technology.

“The app has relevance in any arena where customers and potential buyers are seeking information that will assist them in their purchase. It can be used in automotive, retail… essentially any environment where a seller/purchaser scenario exists. Both seller and buyer have everything to gain from this ground-breaking technology. The app is simple in application and basically works as follows: a buyer walks into a dealership/shop, etc; the beacon then sends information to the buyer’s mobile device; the buyer interacts with this information and the dealer gets data based on the buyer interactions,” says Slaven.

He says the benefits for the dealer/seller includes empowering them to deliver a unique customer experience, using rich content and relevant product information. “The app tracks the customer engagement and sales journey, and can be useful for directing promotions and supports the ability of sales staff to respond to enquiries and technical questions.”

He adds the customer benefits by enjoying a unique buying experience through convenient and easy access to information. “Customers can use the platform to interact with dealers; bookmark and share key information for convenient off-line viewing; and request a quotation or test drive with ease.”

Steve Mallaby, Argility’s chief operating officer, says Autoscan is set to revolutionise the way business is conducted. “It is a powerful cloud-based platform that allows consumers to receive opt-in, proximity-based communications via their mobile devices. Using easily deployed beacon technology, getting the right content at the right time is now a reality,” says Mallaby.

Mallaby highlights research that confirms that 73% of shoppers are more likely to make in-store purchases on receiving beacon-triggered content or offers*. “AutoScan embraces the world of the Internet of things (IOT) using smart devices to communicate with one another and with humans, seamlessly and in real-time, while gathering valuable consumer intelligence.”

He notes that AutoScan delivers content-rich messaging in real-time through the Argility-built platform. “Low energy Bluetooth is used to connect smartphones to strategically placed beacons which trigger messages when someone approaches, enters or leaves a specified location.”

Mallaby says the benefits of this Argility innovative product are extensive and include:

The creation of multiple touch points and the ability to drive consumer loyalty.
Extend the customer experience, at every touch point.
Notifications can include links to the company Web site or invite customers to view other offerings that are not on the shop floor. For example, customers can be directed to an e-commerce Web site to order immediately.
Collect customer information to deliver quality experience.
Consumer information is crucial to improving services and providing better customer experiences.
White labelling
The solution enables notifications to be branded for the company pushing the communication. This increases brand awareness and consistency with immediate brand association with the message being sent.

“AutoScan provides a value-laden, information-rich experience for consumers and businesses. It opens up new ways of creating continuous leads and revenue streams in a cost-effective manner. It essentially merges the physical and digital worlds to enable seamless, effective, high-value communications,” concludes Mallaby.

Source: https://www.itweb.co.za

Argility launches analytics platform to monetise data

ajustus Nov 6, 2018

Argility launches analytics platform to monetise data

Argility, part of the Argility Technology Group, has launched PredictIT, a powerful analytics platform designed to help companies convert raw data into actionable insights. Marko Salic, CEO of Argility, says PredictIT leverages predictive modelling, data science and machine learning to help companies use their data intelligently to increase sales and drive profitability.

“Modern systems are generating huge amounts of data; however, turning that data into the gold of genuine business value is a tough challenge requiring specialist knowledge and huge processing capability,” Salic explains. “PredictIT brings all that is needed onto a single platform, leveraging Argility’s three decades of intellectual capital in the retail and financial services sectors.”

Over the years, data analytics has moved from describing what happened to answer questions like why it happened (diagnostic analytics) and what is likely to happen (predictive analytics). Now, he says, data science can help companies influence what happens (prescriptive analytics). To do this, PredictIT uses data science techniques, including machine learning and deep learning, to mimic human ability to reason and learn, creating a system that can not only derive insights from large amounts of data, but itself mutates in response to those insights, or simply referred to as artificial intelligence (AI). In this way, more and more of the analytics process is automated, greatly enhancing the value of what the system can deliver, and its effect on the business’s profitability.

The move from hindsight through insight to foresight is highly significant as companies compete in increasingly competitive markets. PredictIT can be used to forecast demand more accurately, optimise prices, increase client spend and loyalty through targeted recommendations, use customer behaviour analytics and profiling to segment customers more finely, and detect anomalies like fraud rapidly. The travel and healthcare sectors also offer numerous examples where the ability to predict and influence what will happen is very valuable.

Marketing and sales teams across all sectors will benefit from PredictIT’s ability to improve segmentation and price optimisation, and analyse churn, predict customer lifetime value and propensity to purchase, and transform the capability to upsell. PredictIT can also apply sentiment analysis to help companies negotiate the treacherous waters of social media successfully.

“A complex offering like PredictIT is perfectly suited to the software as a service (SaaS) model because it means that the massive processing needed can be handled in the cloud,” Salic says in conclusion.

“As with most cloud-based SaaS purchases, this means that the expense is recognised on the operational rather than the capital budget, and is highly scalable.”

Source: IT Web

Argility Technology Group acquires Skydata Communications

ajustus Sep 20, 2018

Last year the group revealed the finalisation of a partnership deal with SkyData to complement its comprehensive IoT framework that enables local enterprises to integrate, manage and optimise their growing IoT ecosystems.

This move is in keeping with the Argility group’s expansion strategy and is its fourth acquisition in the past 12 months.

Currently the group is comprised of: Argility; Cquential Solutions, Fleet Domain and Indaba Mobile. All are leading technology innovators and well established in the provision of customised enterprise software solutions.

Argility Technology Group chief operating officer Steve Mallaby, notes that the real value of the acquisition lies in the platform which was developed in response to growing industry trends and opportunities in the market.

He says the addition of SkyData Communications to the Argility group is significant as IoT is delivering substantial opportunities and is achieving efficiency, risk management and compliance returns for industries across all sectors. These include areas such as predictive maintenance, logistics, security, smart metering, asset tracking and connected operational intelligence.

“This latest acquisition places the Argility Technology Group in a very strong position in the SA technology market. As the infrastructure in South Africa has evolved, so has the need to collect huge amounts of data while digitising and optimising processes.

“As the price of sensors and devices fall, and machine to machine communication standards are rapidly advancing, everything around us will need to exchange data, becoming one big Internet of Things (IoT),” says Mallaby.

He says the group is now positioned to enable South African enterprises to integrate the broad spectrum of their IoT devices into a single management platform to support advanced workflow, compliance, analytics and reporting.

“The scalable, low latency Argility SkyData platform is capable of sending and receiving messages from thousands of connected sensors and devices, within a secure and resilient environment.”

Mallaby notes the platform has multiple integration levels, allowing organisations to collect and process data from any machine or sensor, merge it with transactional data and unstructured information, and set up rules to trigger alarms and notifications to manage the device or machine.

“Businesses need to have real-time visibility of their operations and assets for quick and informed decision making. With IoT, it is now possible to connect machines and devices to achieve this, and with SkyData, it becomes possible to manage and enhance the value of the entire IoT environment.

“Traditionally, enterprises seeking to harness IoT typically had to roll out multiple platforms to manage each suite of IoT endpoints. Argility now simplifies the ecosystem with our SkyData platform. This latest acquisition further strengthens our drive to become a leading technology partner of choice in Africa,” says Mallaby.

Source: IT Online

IoT – Its moment has come

ajustus Jun 29, 2018

IoT – Its moment has come

For years, there has been talk of the wonders of the Internet of Things (IoT). Enabling machines to send and receive data has long been touted as the next big thing, but although it has held a lot of promise, IoT never really seemed to get out of the starting blocks. This seems to be changing. As devices are becoming ‘smarter’ and cheaper, networks are being configured to handle large quantities of data.

Has the moment arrived for the IoT? Or does the ecosystem still need to be developed?

Brian Sangudi, principal strategy consultant, Ericsson Middle East & Africa: The ecosystem still has to evolve, but having said that, I definitely think the moment has arrived. Those who want to take advantage can already do so. The building blocks, the infrastructure, is already there.

Alain du Toit, Intelligent Cloud Business Group lead, Microsoft SA: One of the underlying challenges the IoT still has to face is uptake of IPv6 from an enterprise perspective. We are running out of IP addresses. As millions of devices come online, they are going to gobble up an already depleted IPv4 addressing scheme, and if enterprises don’t deal with this, they are going to run out of IP addresses in terms of building this ecosystem.

Vishal Barapatre, CTO, In2IT Technologies: The statistics don’t lie. We are sitting with 22 billion devices now, and by 2025, it will be three times this number. There’s not only more connectivity, but the falling prices of sensors are also playing a role.

Dr Mark Nasila, head of advanced analytics for consumer and retail, FNB: From what I’ve seen, the IoT is already ‘the business’ for a lot of organisations. This is especially true in the financial sector, where many firms have already invested a lot in their data strategies. As they now understand their customers a lot better, they are also better at being proactive in providing them with services and goods. This has seen a lot of organisations move from providing a single service, to being a multi-service provider.

Greg Vercellotti, executive director, Dariel: Our research has shown that the layers of the IoT have matured sufficiently, and you can go right from a sensor to artificial intelligence. Because of this, we are seeing uptake in the business world. We are starting to see IoT becoming part of the business processes, the decision-making and the transactions. With the weaving of IoT into these processes, we are seeing its arrival into the business world.

Steve Mallaby, COO, Argility Technology Group: It has undoubtedly arrived. It’s been around for many years, the concept of devices being connected to each other. If you look at the rapid growth that’s taken place, you are even starting to see fragmentation across the industry. The key development will be how the mature players in the sector start working together. But this is something that’s still a work in progress.

Warren Green, governance, risk and compliance expert, CURA Software Solutions: I think the moment has arrived. But I do think the ecosystem will continue to develop. For me, this will be from a governance, risk and compliance perspective.

Phathizwe Malinga, CEO, SqwidNet: We view the IoT ecosystem as a symphony in four parts. Locally, we have about ten device makers, there are also two connectivity providers, as well as several application providers. The last part is industry, which is starting to realise that IoT is not a fringe thing or a complementary thing; it’s a core part of their operations. Industry needs to make its assets sweat, but in order to do so, it needs to know where they are, which is what IoT allows it to do.

Is there demand for IoT? Or do you still need to educate prospective customers?

Deon Oosthuysen, senior product manager: IoT, Vox: No one understands the buzzword, IoT. We have to put it in terms they understand. This means not even putting it in terms like ‘machine-to-machine’, but, rather, frame it on issues like ‘agri security’. IoT is still a buzzword among technologists, but the people in the trenches don’t know what it means.

Greg Montjoie, COO, Comsol: I agree with Deon. The question depends on what vertical you are addressing. We find there’s a big disjoint between the ICT sector and the ‘sensor guys’ – the electricians and the plumbers – who will be inserting IoT sensors. Some of the industry verticals are really efficient at getting things done, but there are also guys who don’t know how to go about it.

The key point is where there are skills, we are going to see a fast uptake of IoT adoption. And for those clients who don’t know how to get sensors in the field, we will have to walk that journey with them.

Phathizwe Malinga, SqwidNetAlain du Toit, Microsoft SA: Just to carry on from what Greg is saying, some industries are just geared to take up IoT faster than others. If you look at the manufacturing sector, it’s almost a natural progression for those kinds of businesses, to empower themselves with IoT, as they grow into the future. The health sector comes a good second, but for retailers, IoT is a niche application. Some industries will still need some education.

Rodney Taylor, CEO, Activate Group: I represent two companies, one is a platform and the other is a systems integrator. We are sort of getting everyone to come to us. Networks are coming to us to integrate into our platform, systems integrators want to talk to us about application builds and we have people creating devices, wanting to connect these devices and the sensors to platforms so they can create ‘big data’.

The demand is strong. When we had an IoT event, over the two days we had it, 198 people attended, varying from a guy building stuff in his garage to CIOs. From an adoption perspective, it has been insane. We can’t keep up at the moment.

Brian Sangudi, Ericsson Middle East & Africa: I just want to add that when it comes to education, it should be about what value IoT gives to the customer.

Greg Montjoie, ComsolPeople have a hard time figuring out what kind of value IoT will create for their business. It could be cost savings or some additional revenue. The other side is the risk. If these devices break, who maintains them? So there has to be some education around the value and the risk.

Roger Hislop, senior research engineer, Internet Solutions (IS): What needs to be remembered is that there are two distinct types of customers. There are the operational people, who have seen IoT types of technology for 30 to 40 years. And then there are the IT people, and this is all new to them. The goal of IoT is to provide information to the operational people, but this means getting it from the IT people, who are not used to their technical requirements.

This is where a lot of education to the end-users has to come in, in that the operations guys need to understand the IT guys’ issues, and they, in turn, need to understand the operations guys.

Greg Vercellotti, Dariel: There is a small element of IoT being a big hammer looking for a nail. But on the fl ip side of that, as businesses digitise, they are looking for the opportunity to automate, which creates an opportunity for IoT to underpin that.

Phathizwe Malinga, SqwidNet: I want to agree with Greg here. If we look at the word ‘demand’ in terms of your question, why all of sudden is there demand? It comes down to competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is something you can no longer go to a business school to get. The only way you can now get it is by understanding your context better – what are your assets doing, how are your customers behaving? This is where IoT comes into its own. It’s such an enabler for this. The harder it is to find a competitive advantage, the higher the demand.

What else is driving growth?

Roger Hislop, Internet Solutions (IS)Dr Mark Nasila, FNB: Another driver will be the cultural shift in business. Organisations are realising that for them to get a competitive advantage, they will have to collaborate with other service providers. This is because no organisation will have the resources to meet the demands of their use cases like real-time offerings. At the same time, customers are loyal to the organisations that provide most of what they need in life, and we are seeing a lot of collaborations between organisations, systems and technologies, which are in line with use cases that will meet customer needs.

Greg Palmer, sales director, Sage Enterprise, Africa division: One of the things we have not spoken about regarding increased demand, is the new asset class we all have to deal with – data.

This means, how do you manage this data flow between IoT devices, how do you start managing the consumption of that data, and how do you use that data in your business? A lot of the time, CIOs leave these questions to the operational people. But to me, the bigger question is where does the CIO see this demand coming from?

Vishal Barapatre, In2IT Technologies: If you look at IoT, many industries were using it before the term was coined. What has changed is that people are getting more out of it in terms of stuff like analytics. It’s one of the reason demand for IoT is on the rise.

Even so, in my view, adoption of IoT is still hazy. This is where business education can still play an important role in growing it as it can bridge the gap between IT and IoT. They use two different processes and come from different mindsets. They need to work together so IoT adoption can happen in a disciplined way.

Nico Steyn, IoT.nxtNico Steyn, CEO, IoT.nxt: For me, it really comes down to business value. A lot of discussions with CIOs come down to strategy. So rather than going down a line of selling them on the wonderful tech that’s available to us, the tech is actually secondary. What it comes down to is what business leaders want to do things differently in the business, and technology enables that.

David Slotow, CEO, Trackmatic: In my view, IoT has arrived and in my industry – supply chain and logistics – it arrived a few years ago. Although there have been sensors in vehicles for a while, the disconnect between IT and logistics means IoT has not lived up to its potential. For instance, even with all of this technology available, you still can’t tell what time the delivery will happen. We are seeing a lot of people building solutions, but we are not seeing a tangible effect on operations.

Nico Steyn, IoT.nxt: You’re right. This is where the true unlocking of this technology actually happens. It has to be end- to-end. It has to be in the entire ecosystem. Take a cool drinks maker. This business comprises fridges, trucks and bottling plants, but what it really is, it’s about a whole lot of fridges holding stock. The whole goal of the business is to keep drinks cool.

If you could reverse-engineer this concept into the value chain, this is where you will see massive disruption taking place.

Jargon Buster

IPv6: Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), which provides a way to locate and identify devices on the internet. It takes over from IPv4, the first publically used version of IP.

Source: www.brainstormmag.co.za

Adopt AI and avoid the fate of the dodo

ajustus Feb 22, 2018

Marko Salic, CEO of the Argility Technology Group, one of South Africa’s leading technology development corporations, tells us about the impact artificial intelligence has on our everyday lives.

It can pose a small dilemma knowing where to begin a discussion around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and all it brings with it – but having thought about it I feel it is best to start at the beginning so – What is Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning?

Good old Wikipedia defines it as: “The ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn. It is also a field of study which tries to make computers smart.”
This is not a bad definition, but it just goes nowhere near explaining the full impact AI will definitely have on business and all aspects of our lives.
AI brings with it the newly acquired magic of machine learning. Once strictly in the realms of science fiction movies – today it is all around us.

We are all aware that digital technologies are transforming our world at an exponential rate. Personal computers, servers, internet, smartphones, tablets and social media have established the foundation of the current digital world in which we live.

New digital technologies like cloud, big data, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, virtual reality, robotics, 3D printing, machine learning and AI are featured not just in technical journals but are increasingly highlighted on daily news and popular TV programmes.

This is because of the enormous potential to impact all industries, businesses, lifestyles and the very fabric of our society. Start-up operations working with these technologies are estimated to be a more attractive venture funding target. Many businesses are furiously developing new business models leveraging these technologies.

Businesses around the world are working on enhancing their understanding of the capabilities of AI in order to leverage it in their drive to achieve digital transformation – AI is pivotal to achieving this as other digital technologies essentially feed into it.

They supply data to enable AI via: sensors, social media, connectivity, security, data storage, communication, analytics, transactions and more.

AI is now at the top of the digital technology stack extracting meaning from all available data and intelligently prescribing the best action that every situation requires. It has application in every sphere of the commercial world: manufacturing, heavy industry, health sector and public sector etc.

A digital make-over

It is inevitable that AI will be widely deployed with immense benefits being gained by exploiting the opportunities associated with it which include cost reductions and enhanced productivity.

Examples of the development and disruptive capabilities of AI abound. The use of AI for future competitiveness and indeed survival is crucial. For most traditional businesses developing and finalising a robust business value proposition and a business model based on a new direction – takes a long time.

It often requires bold decision making at C-suite level as a number of organisational changes and change management are required if a company is to transform in order to deliver to a new business model based on new disruptive technologies. Companies ready to tackle transformation through the implementation of disruptive technologies, like AI, will thrive, whereas those who procrastinate are doomed to the fate of the dodo.

Source: Intelligent CIO

9 out of 10 businesses fail. What’s the formula then for success? Resilience and Ability to Recover

Resilience and the Ability to Recover

ajustus Feb 22, 2018

https://www.argility.com/blog/resilience-ability-recover/

By Tanya Long, Human Capital Executive, Argility

9 out of 10 businesses fail. What’s the formula then for success?

This is the last in our series on what the formula for success is in businesses. In previous articles we have covered:

The #4 key success factor: Resilience and the Ability to Recover

We all know that things go wrong and there are times when even the expression ‘pear-shaped’ will not do the situation justice.

It’s not only about having the courage and facing the music but about being resilient and versatile. Versatility doesn’t only relate to skillsets and systems within your business but also the mindset. This will get you through tough times. Drawing upon your current support systems and partnering with suppliers who can provide different solutions and give options makes this so much easier.

The thing to keep in mind is – To Ask.

You’d be surprised by the insight and knowledge of the people within your business and your network. Once again we come back to the concept of ‘working smart’ by exploring options and possibilities and having a versatile team who is open to change (always underpinned by building a culture of accountability within your business).

When confronted with this, the best approach is to:

Focus on the facts with a view on how to go forward
Don’t ask why – rather ask “What can we learn from this and how can we do it differently?”
How can we do this better? More effectively? Smarter?
What do we need to cut or add to this process?
Get inputs from different sources. There’s a famous quote from Einstein which says: ‘We cannot solve problems with the same kind of thinking that created it’
Listen and most importantly take action

Resilience is “About how hard you get hit and keep moving forward” (Rocky Balboa). A team that is able to recover together also has the ability to evolve and be able to work harmoniously together through tough times.

Conclusion

Sure there are success stories, which are a product of luck. However, there are far more businesses which attribute their success to being smart and hard work. Those are the ones that have a product that meets their markets need, they pay attention to every aspect of their business, they focus on continuous growth and they recover quickly from the hard knocks of the retailing life. If you focus on these four factors, you’re sure to enjoy the sweet taste of success.

[divider_tc style=’solid’ animation=’none’ duration=’1100′][/divider_tc]

For more information contact Sales on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit the Argility Website.

Article contributions are taken from Neil Patel, Forbes Magazine.

Biography – Tanya Long, Human Capital Executive, Argility

Tanya Long is a Qualified Performance and Business coach, with over 25 years’ experience in Software Development for Retailers. The fusion of her retail, software and coaching knowledge is used by many to uplift businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals in achieving the results that they desire. She currently serves as Human Capital Executive for Argility and works with various organisations to design and implement their Culture Strategy aligned to enhancing their Employee Engagement to drive business results.

Focus on Growth

ajustus Feb 21, 2018

Focus on Growth

By Tanya Long, Human Capital Executive, Argility

9 out of 10 businesses fail. What’s the formula then for success?

So far we have spoken about:

The #3 key success factor: Focus on Growth

I’m always amused at the moans and groans from staff that erupt when they walk out of an annual planning session regarding the next year’s targets. You’ll overhear remarks like: “It’s impossible!”, “What is our leadership team smoking?” Then fast forward to the next annual review and lo-and-behold, barring dire circumstances beyond the businesses control and the focus from the team on the right things, the growth and targets have materialised (if not exceeded, then a close second).

What is needed for owners and managers is to keep pushing for growth? There’s a saying that ‘Growth leads to more growth’ – and if so surely constant focus is imperative.

In order to get this right, keeping ones finger on the pulse is the key. Utilising data and software is the tool, and if your software doesn’t provide this, then change quickly is my advice. Some things you should be getting and analysing is:

Stock movement and stock turn
Supplier history specifically on orders and pricing
Cash flow management and control
Sales history – top and bottom sellers viewed not only from Gross Profit but also from quantity sold and turnover value
Shrinkage and variances in stock takes
Price override, promotions and discount information
Ability to push sales to in place customers with basket increase options and promotions… to name but a few

Setting targets for growth needs to be focused in the right places and prioritised. Often retailers focus a lot on their weaknesses – but it should not stop there. Managers and owners should apply just as much focus on the strengths of their business, thus spending more energy on moving forward. Focusing on the possibilities and looking for opportunities. Without a doubt, growth in a business inspires not only staff but customers, and helps to keep the passion alive.

[divider_tc style=’solid’ animation=’none’ duration=’1100′][/divider_tc]

For more information contact Sales on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website: Argility

Article contributions taken from Neil Patel, Forbes Magazine.

Previous: Pay Attention to Everything – Success Factor #2

Biography – Tanya Long, Human Capital Executive, Argility

Indaba Mobile – Argility Technology Group announces new acquisition

ajustus Feb 19, 2018

Indaba Mobile – Argility Technology Group announces new acquisition

Indaba Mobile – Argility, a leading innovator of enterprise software solutions, has announced its latest acquisition following on the heels of its formation of the Argility Technology Group late last year.

The acquisition of Indaba Mobile from Capital Eye Investments, concluded at the end of January 2018, brings the number of companies in the newly formed group to four, with holding company Argility, Cquential Solutions and Fleet Domain.

Indaba Mobile is a social mobile commerce platform which delivers content, chat and transacting capabilities via a social network. Argility CEO, Marko Salic, said that Indaba Mobile leverages social commerce in a way that enables people to use the platform on various levels.

“For example, businesses can engage in chat with their customer base and also deliver digital content while enabling the distribution of vouchers and coupons to facilitate transactions,” he said. “Any organisation, large enterprise or SME, can use this platform to connect with customers but most importantly in a secure, private, closed loop in which to deliver information and transact.”

Salic said that this is the latest step in the group’s acquisition drive.

“We are actively seeking to invest in companies capable of adding to the already rich portfolio of products, services and IP that exists in the group,” he said.

Source: Intelligent CIO

Argility Technology Group plans expansion after January acquisition

ajustus Feb 19, 2018

In January enterprise software solutions firm Argility acquired Indaba Mobile from Capital Eye Investments for an undisclosed amount, adding another venture to the Argility Technology Group established late last year.

Argility describes Indaba Mobile as a social mobile commerce platform that delivers content, chat and transacting capabilities via a social network.

Argility CEO, Marko Salic, says that Indaba Mobile leverages social commerce in a way that enables people to use the platform on various levels. “For example businesses can engage in chat with their customer base and also deliver digital content whilst enabling the distribution of vouchers and coupons to facilitate transactions. Any organisation – large enterprise or SME – can use this platform to connect with customers but most importantly in a secure, private, closed loop in which to deliver information and transact.”

This brings the number of companies that form part of the tech Group to four, with holding company Argility, Cquential Solutions and Fleet Domain.

According to Salic, the Group’s focus and structure means that it is well positioned to secure and raise funding for investment in other businesses.

“There is a deliberate strategic drive to identify suitable businesses in which to investment. The areas are IOT, AI and Blockchain,” said Salic.

He says investment offers the Group an opportunity to grow, to leverage off a fast start into technology instead of having to build it themselves, access to a potential client base and cross sell, as well as the opportunity to future-proof solutions.

“We are actively seeking to invest in companies capable of adding to the already rich portfolio of products, services and IP that exists in the group. This move is another step in the execution of our broader strategy aimed at establishing the Argility group as a formidable and uniquely positioned industry player. This will ultimately make the group an even more attractive investment proposition,” says Salic.

Argility Group COO and CEO of Cquential, Steve Mallaby explained that the companies in the group are operating in various markets including the expansive retail sector.

“We are actively driving our strategy to expand our investment in the development of disruptive technologies in these areas. The businesses within the newly formed group will retain their brand and identity, with existing management structures remaining intact,” he said.

Salic added that the company has plans to expand in Africa and to date investments have typically been IP-based business with good recurring revenue potential.

“Given our group structure and access to strong, financial, commercial, and legal teams plus infrastructure, we are well positioned to bring in business that may not have always been able to invest in such an infrastructure. This could also give target acquisition companies an opportunity to target much bigger opportunities as they are now part of the Argility Technology Group.”

Source: IT Web