Today, we’re in the age of usage-based insurance. With modern automobile technology and new data-gathering methods, insurance companies can answer many questions about drivers: How fast does a person accelerate? How hard does he brake? What time of day does she typically drive? Using AI and data analytics, insurance carriers can correlate this data with the likelihood of a driver filing a claim, leading to personalized pricing, safe-driver discounts and more.

Cisco has been hard at work to deliver features and enhancements to the Webex Calling product portfolio. Here are the biggest and best announcements from Cisco’s recent Connect Cloud Calling Summit that make Webex Calling a more appealing and complete communications service in the cloud.

For many years, technologists and healthcare providers have made great strides in applying IT to patient care. The healthcare industry has successfully deployed solutions ranging from large-scale electronic record systems to personal, connected devices that monitor people’s vital signs. But until recently, the industry hadn’t gotten far in applying technology to improve the in-person patient experience. For most of us, sitting in an exam room waiting our turn with the doctor, for example, has been the same throughout our lives.

Increasingly, healthcare companies are using VR for multiple purposes, including to treat anxiety and even manage pain — here’s how.

Practically the entire retail industry may be using AI by the end of 2020. And yet, AI is still in its infancy in most deployments, with many retailers uncertain about exactly how the technology can improve their businesses.

That’s why I’m looking forward to a number of AI-focused sessions at this year’s annual convention of the National Retail Federation.

As more companies look to migrate services to the cloud and embrace OPEX subscription billing, how does this relate to the contact center? As the contact center technical architect of CDW’s research and development group, I spend all my time looking at products and where they fit. Cloud contact center has been at the forefront of my more recent research and development. In this blog series, I will take a deep dive into several solutions, their options in the market, and how they may fit into your business.

Until someone invents a crystal ball, business analytics tools are the best way to achieve a deeper understanding of business trends, such as emerging opportunities and changes in customer expectations and habits. The latest BA tools also enable organizations to unlock insights that otherwise would require hiring data scientists.