• STL launches Estelan, its end-to-end passive enterprise networking solution portfolio, at GITEX 2023

STL, a leading optical and digital solutions company today, announced the expansion of its Enterprise Networking solutions portfolio with the launch of Estelan. Estelan, an end-to-end solution in fibre and copper cable connectivity, enables enterprises to modernise and digitise their large-scale network infrastructure.

Global enterprises will spend $3.4 trillion by 2026 in cloud services, cybersecurity, AI applications, robotics process automation, and Industry 4.0 to create new value sources through digital products and experiences. These digital transformation use cases require an overhaul of enterprise connectivity infrastructure to integrate power and data.

Estelan is an end-to-end enterprise connectivity solution that combines in-office and optical connectivity infrastructure. Its plug-and-play modular system is designed for easy installation and system upgrades and can handle multiple network ports. 

These solutions follow the highest health and safety standards and are certified by leading industry bodies like RoHS, ETL, UL, and CPR. STL's Estelan solution is tailored to suit the needs of multiple industries and offers high flexibility and scalability for their operational environment requirements, be it healthcare, education, retail, banking, oil and gas, and others. With Estelan, enterprises can achieve superior data transmission, upwards of 1000MHz bandwidth and 10Gbps speeds. These solutions have also been designed and developed with sustainable manufacturing practices, high optimisation, and minimal wastage.

This comprehensive solution enables use cases like multi-service premise connectivity, enterprise networking, Wi-Fi, surveillance, Intelligent building management and Power over Ethernet for up to 90W applications. The company has announced that it will go to market with this solution in its target regions of MEA and India.

Launching Estelan, Gavin Faulds, Regional Sales Head, APAC, and MEA, STL, said: "Enterprises are becoming more connected, intelligent, and agile by leveraging various digital technologies. Through Estelan, we offer customised end-to-end enterprise connectivity solutions that are optimised for their specific business needs. From conceptualisation to installation, we want our customers' experience to be seamless. Estelan will help them gain a competitive edge by making connectivity infrastructure competent enough for disruptive technologies and drive business transformation."

The landmark report directed by Wharton Professor Stefano Puntoni takes a closer look at generative AI adoption, perception and investment across industries, as well as emerging applications and barriers

Key Findings At-A-Glance:

• Generative AI investments are expected to surge 25% in the coming year across functional areas.

• 58% of enterprise leaders actively use generative AI – with 37% using it multiple times a week.

• 3 in 4 enterprise leaders are positive about generative AI's future, but reservations persist around accuracy, bias, privacy, cost, and integration challenges.

• Leaders hold mixed views about how generative AI will impact human talent. While 55% agree that it will enhance work quality, 36% expect it to replace employee skills for some tasks.

A new study by GBK Collective, a leading marketing strategy, insights and analytics consultancy, shows that generative AI adoption has reached a tipping point within enterprises. Not only do the majority of enterprise leaders now use generative AI – they are also planning a substantial increase in generative AI investments in the next 12 months.

Conducted with 672 senior leaders from U.S. enterprises, each with annual sales surpassing $50 million, the survey also offers some eye-opening insights on the adoption of generative AI by functional area, emerging applications and use cases by industry, as well as adoption drivers and barriers.

The comprehensive report was directed by AI expert Dr. Stefano Puntoni, Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School and Faculty Co-Director of AI at Wharton, and Jeremy Korst, former technology executive at Microsoft and T-Mobile and now President of GBK. Dan Ives, Managing Director of Equities Research at Wedbush Securities, also collaborated on the report.

“The results of our study show that we’ve passed a critical tipping point with Generative AI,” said Prof. Puntoni. “This isn’t another metaverse. Enterprise decision makers across industries are adopting Generative AI in droves and the wave is only going to grow, with spending set to surge by more than 25% in the next 12 months.”

Summary of Insights:

Generative AI Usage Intensity by Industry and Company Size:

According to GBK’s study, the majority of enterprise leaders today have embraced generative AI, with 37% actively using it weekly and another 21% less frequently. Additionally, 8 out of 10 leaders (81%) confirm having an internal team of 10 or more focused exclusively on generative AI strategy.

Interestingly, small enterprises (revenues between $50M-$200M) lead the pack in frequent generative AI usage (57% at least once per week), while the most untapped potential exists among firms exceeding $2B in revenue—most notably in Retail and Manufacturing.

By industry, Technology dominates with 60% of leaders frequently utilizing generative AI, followed by Industrial/Construction and Finance at 43% and 39%, respectively. Conversely, just 26% of leaders in Retail and 36% in Professional Services and Manufacturing engage with generative AI routinely.

“Our study not only shows rapid adoption of generative AI, but varying levels of maturity,” said Korst. “Some organizations are still in the exploratory phase, while others have seamlessly incorporated Gen AI into their daily workflow. We also see significant differences in usage, overall knowledge, and skills related to generative AI by industry and department.”

Triggers and Barriers to Generative AI Adoption

Three in four enterprise leaders have a generally positive outlook on generative AI, yet caution persists among all respondents, but particularly among those who use the technology less frequently.

The primary motivators for adopting generative AI include boosting employee efficiency, optimizing business operations, enhancing employee creativity, development of new products and services, and reaching new audiences or markets.

Conversely, concerns around inaccurate results, customer privacy, internal pushback, ethical issues and cost are the top barriers to adoption. Companies with $50M-$200M in revenue worry most about data confidentiality, with accuracy being the top concern cited by firms with revenue of $2B+ annually.

“While optimism about generative AI is prevalent, concerns around accuracy, bias, and AI's role in decision-making remain,” shared Prof. Puntoni. “Additionally, there's an underlying psychological concern by leaders around job replacement, especially among those who have yet to use the technology. As generative AI becomes increasingly ingrained across teams, striking the right balance with AI governance and employee education will be pivotal.”

Will Gen AI Replace or Augment Human Talent?

For the moment, the study shows that generative AI is seen as more beneficial to employees than detrimental. Senior leaders currently using the technology are more likely to state that generative AI will enhance employee skills versus replace them (48% vs. 36% strongly agree).

Moreover, most enterprise leaders don’t believe the technology can completely substitute human talent. It can, however, improve work quality (55% strongly agree that AI will enable higher quality with the same employees vs. 43% who strongly agree but with fewer employees).

“Generative AI, while revolutionary, is not immune to errors,” said Korst. “It's crucial for leaders to have strong quality control mechanisms in place to monitor and validate AI-generated output from data analysis to content. This not only ensures accuracy but helps to mitigate risks and maintain the integrity of the brand.”

Investments in Gen AI Poised to Surge

Despite the risks and challenges, investment in generative AI is on track for significant growth with companies across industries planning to increase investments by 25% in the next 12 months led by firms with revenues exceeding $2B (which plan a 28% uptick in spend). Industries currently lagging in generative AI adoption, such as Retail and Professional Services, anticipate the most significant investment increases, with projected growth rates of 27% and 28%, respectively.

Emerging Applications and Use Cases

“Use cases for generative AI continue to explode with enterprises across industries now viewing AI as a major strategic initiative in the coming years,” commented Dan Ives, Managing Director at Wedbush Securities and a collaborator on the report. “We continue to view AI as the most transformational tech trend since the birth of the Internet in 1995.”

When asked what use cases and applications would be most prominent for generative AI, enterprise leaders overwhelmingly point to a future where these AI models become indispensable co-pilots in the workplace. In the next 3-5 years, decision-makers across the board agree that generative AI will be broadly used for generating data analysis (89%), marketing content and creation (text, images, video) (87%), as well as researching customer & competitive insights (84%).

Other top applications include document editing and summarization (84%), customer support or internal help desk functions (82%), and automated email generation (82%). The least popular uses for generative AI are expected to be legal contracts (57%), recruitment (67%) and supply chain management (71%).

“The results of our survey show a dynamic future for generative AI, with investment and applications expanding rapidly,” notes Prof. Puntoni. “And yet not all approaches are created equal. While AI can analyze mountains of data in seconds, human oversight and asking the right questions is vital to ensure accurate and responsible use of AI-generated outputs.”

In some cases, generative AI investments will be prioritized differently depending on the size of the firm. Smaller firms ($50M-$200M) are heavily investing in generative AI for sales content (91%), while mid-sized companies ($250M-$2B) focus more on email generation and internal support (86%). This reflects not just varied priorities, but also the unique strategic challenges faced by companies of different sizes.

Writesonic, a Y-Combinator-backed Generative AI platform, today unveils Botsonic, a revolutionary AI chatbot set to reshape the landscape of customer communications. Enriched with cutting-edge generative AI and large language models – including OpenAI's GPT-4 – Botsonic offers an unprecedented level of autonomous decision-making and personalized user experiences that will revolutionize the way businesses and organizations use chatbots across retail, travel, real estate, education and many other industries.

"We're thrilled to introduce Botsonic, a milestone for Writesonic and a new era in AI-powered customer interaction. Botsonic redefines how businesses engage with customers, offering unprecedented autonomy and personalization," said Samanyou Garg, CEO and Co-Founder of Writesonic. "Powered by cutting-edge AI, Botsonic reflects our commitment to efficiency and customer satisfaction. With this launch we will be able to help businesses seamlessly transform customer communications across industries."

A Leap in Chatbot Intelligence and Intelligent Brand-Consistent Interactions
Botsonic marks a significant advancement in chatbot technology, transcending the limitations of traditional rule-based systems. Utilizing generative AI, it delivers intelligent, autonomous interactions in over ten languages, ensuring personalized and contextually accurate experiences for a global user base. For example, when customers encounter issues with online checkout processes, they can immediately interact with Botsonic using detailed questions and specifications to provide a tailored solutions in real-time.

For complex queries that require a human interaction, Botsonic can provide seamless transitions to human agents and facilitate automatic calendar integrations for meetings while ensuring interaction aligns with a company's unique brand voice, guidelines, and communication style.

Enhancing Operational Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction
The tool's ability to create a personalized and seamless experience for users is a true embodiment of Writesonic's commitment to boosting operational efficiency and fostering customer satisfaction. With the capability to reduce support volume by up to 80%, it enables support teams to concentrate on high-value interactions, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

User-Friendly Training and Widespread Adoption
From the start of implementation, training Botsonic is a breeze for users with options to upload files like PDFs, Docs, Excel, and more, as well as the ability to integrate website links and connect to various tools like Salesforce and Google Docs. The bot is designed to learn and adapt swiftly, showcasing its effectiveness across diverse industries. Its rapid adoption by numerous companies is a testament to its versatility and ability to meet varied communication needs. Botsonic is set to offer private hosted models for enterprise customers, further expanding its suite of customizable solutions.

The investment enables expansion of Scope3’s emissions measurement and collaborative sustainability platform to accelerate the decarbonization of the digital media ecosystem

Scope3, the collaborative sustainability platform decarbonizing media and advertising, today announced a $20 million Series B funding round led by GV. The investment will be used to accelerate the development of Scope3’s collaborative sustainability platform (CSP), a first-of-its-kind platform that visualizes the massively interconnected ad ecosystem while powering meaningful carbon reduction. Scope3 will also use the funding to grow its global team of advertising, tech, and sustainability experts and further expand its data and measurement capabilities.

As global brands and advertisers continue to make carbon commitments, prepare for regulatory requirements, and partner with companies like Scope3 to guide them on their sustainability journey, this investment makes it clear — sustainability is here to stay.

“The climate crisis is an urgent and global problem. With all eyes on the world’s largest brands, advertisers, and businesses to solve it, these companies are embracing sustainability as an opportunity that is both good for the planet and good for business. Sustainable advertising is inevitable,” said Brian O’Kelley, Co-Founder and CEO, Scope3. “At Scope3, we’re building a business that will serve as the foundation for the next generation of media and advertising. This investment gives us the resources to put decarbonization tools into the hands of the industry, while attracting the talent needed to build a more sustainable ad ecosystem and deliver on our mission.”

O’Kelley continued: “Every major company is going to have a sustainability platform for media and advertising 24 months from now. I'm grateful for the support of GV and our other investors, as well as the many clients, partners, and industry leaders who have helped us get to this point. GV’s climate tech focus and extensive knowledge of the nuances of advertising technology make them the perfect fit.”

“We look for companies developing technology that can drive real-world innovation and impact, and we’ve been impressed with Brian’s leadership and Scope3’s early momentum,” said Erik Nordlander, General Partner at GV. “The company’s focus on measurement and reduction takes the right approach to decarbonization and we’re confident in their ability to move the entire digital ad ecosystem toward climate progress. We are delighted to support their business expansion.”

Founded in December 2021, Scope3 introduced a comprehensive emissions model that maps and calculates the carbon footprint of the entire digital advertising supply chain. The model enables every company in the ad ecosystem to see carbon emissions and then make data-driven decisions that optimize toward carbon reduction. It also powers the carbon reduction products brands and marketers are using today to reduce their emissions.

Scope3 works with stakeholders across every part of the media supply chain, including verification partners, DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science; dozens of brands and publishers, including Sanofi, MasterCard, Insider, and Microsoft’s MSN; and nearly every global agency holding company, including GroupM and IPG.

Additional investors in this round include Room40 Ventures and Venrock.

Left Field Labs Joins Constellation Network, Brings New Bench of 'Human-Centric' AI Solutions

Stagwell, the challenger network built to transform marketing, has acquired Left Field Labs (Left Field), a digital agency inventing at the intersection of technology and human-centric design. Left Field has spent over 15 years building a comprehensive digital offering and joins Stagwell's Constellation Network to help guide clients in designing and implementing responsibly designed AI systems, digital transformation initiatives, and immersive consumer experiences.

Left Field will amplify the Constellation network's offering with end-to-end services encompassing strategic innovation, user experience design, adept prototyping, and cutting-edge technological engineering. Left Field partners with industry pioneers like Google, Meta, Amazon, Uber, and Cisco.  

"Left Field has spent 15 years crafting experiences that never existed before, with an exemplary track record of steadily innovating with AI and building what's next with partners like Hasbro, Unity, and DataRobot," stated Mark Penn, chairman and CEO, Stagwell. "We're pleased to welcome Left Field as an integral part of our long-term growth strategy, helping us lead AI -based digital transformation in marketing." 

As part of the Constellation network, Left Field will launch an expansive suite of offerings that seamlessly weave together AI, digital transformation, and immersive experiences to help companies foster organizational growth and enterprise-wide change. These offerings will guide clients in harnessing AI capabilities adeptly while maintaining enterprise security; transforming product strategy; and creating solutions that enhance workflow efficiencies.  

Left Field is resolute in its mission to not just anticipate the future of digital experiences, but to actively shape them, heralding an era of transformative synergy and boundless innovation. Notable client engagements include:  

• Responsible AI for Enterprise: For a major technology company, harnessing AI to automate existing internal processes. 
• Experience Design in Automotive: Concepting, prototyping, and rapid consumer testing to reimagine the driver and passenger UX for the Ford Mach-E, resulting in a foundational set of features and interactions for the in-car OS: Sync 4.0.   
• Harnessing 5G in Telecommunications: Serving as Verizon's innovation partner to help define, communicate, and commercialize the telecom's emerging technologies. Through concerted collaborative workshops, experiential design, VR prototypes, and 3D city design and creation, Left Field seeks the most beneficial strategies to harness 5G and telecommunications, fostering advancements that stand to reshape our connected future positively and productively.  

"As part of Stagwell and as an innovation partner for Constellation, we will pioneer an era of transformation that champions responsibility, fosters evolution, and puts humanity at its core. Our commitment is clear — a future that's profoundly human in every digital stride we take," said Sarah Mehler, CEO, Left Field Labs.

"Left Field blends digital, immersive, and emerging technology to solve complex business problems and does not compromise on the human-centric nature of its work," said Justin Lewis, chair, Constellation. "Together we can be co-creators of the positively disruptive products and services that will guide brands over the next decade while continuing to drive the purpose-filled work that defines our network."  

O2 Web agency, expert in the development and growth of integrated e-commerce solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of a new B2B accelerator in partnership with commercetools, thus revolutionizing the deployment of e-commerce solutions. By harnessing the power of this new accelerator, mid-to-large enterprise companies benefit from a new way to expeditiously create and implement a tailor-made and high-performing commerce platform.

Leveraging its expertise and deep industry experience, O2 Web designed this game-changing accelerator to meet the growing needs of B2B companies wanting to deliver exceptional online shopping experiences to their customers, while facing complex and unique challenges to the B2B industry.

Featuring a full suite of pre-built features and seamless integrations with essential third-party services, the O2 Accelerator enables companies to dramatically reduce development and go-live time for their e-commerce platforms. This innovative solution aims to free development teams and entrepreneurs from technical challenges, in order to focus on building strategies for growth and optimizing the customer experience.

"O2's B2B commercetools accelerator embodies innovation by giving businesses remarkable online shopping experiences and exponential growth, while gaining access to a complete and turnkey solution" - Charles Guimont, President of O2 Web.

Huawei's mobile advertising ecosystem, Petal Ads, had a productive time at DMEXCO 2023, unveiling cutting-edge solutions for crafting effective digital campaigns. The event drew 800 international speakers, 40,000 international trade visitors, and 650 exhibiting companies.

Petal Ads hosted a masterclass and booth to showcase their strategies and services and participated in a panel organised by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) on engaging high-value audiences.

Jaime Gonzalo, VP of Huawei Mobile Services Europe, said, "Petal Ads was thrilled to feature their two key business priorities at DMEXCO: helping brand advertisers craft compelling digital campaigns, while imbuing them with the tools to connect with high-value international audiences, mainly from China."  

Petal Ads Masterclass 

Helmed by Jaime Gonzalo, the Petal Ads Masterclass emphasised the need to target high-quality users, and highlighted industry leaders across sectors, including retail and automotive, who successfully blazed trails into China.  

He explained that Petal Ads can help companies enter the Chinese market, given Huawei's deep understanding of it, exclusive ownership of a large amount of high value users, and significant influence in this market. Huawei commands top spot for popularity in China according to YouGov Global Best Brand Ranking 2022, features a 47.4% market share in foldable smartphones, and offers exclusive access to over 500 million active users in China monthly. Furthermore, the platform offers comprehensive support with a dedicated team in Europe, from language and visuals to setup. 

MMA Panel 

The MMA panel featured industry experts who discussed the value of connecting with high-value audiences, explaining that using first-party data is crucial for achieving a highly granular segmentation. Petal Ads was represented by Alessandro Schintu, the Director of Ecosystem Development & Operations at Huawei.

Petal Ads Booth 

The Petal Ads booth buzzed with expert discussions on branding, app campaigns, and overseas expansion tactics, attracting hundreds of visitors. Guests experienced Huawei's latest innovative devices and learned about their successful partnerships with top global brands.  

Prime Day isn’t just big for Amazon; Attentive empowers companies to drive 13% more revenue year-over-year through use of personalized SMS

Attentive, the world’s #1 conversational marketing platform, has released new data from over 3,500 U.S. brands on how leading businesses used Prime Day to engage with their customers and drive revenue ahead of Black Friday/Cyber Monday. As the holiday season kicks off, SMS is a critical lever to drive revenue, helping brands break through the noise and reach shoppers where they are.

Based on Attentive’s internal data, brands sent personalized text messages leveraging the Prime Day event as a way to connect with their customers on mobile and convert browsers into buyers. This year, rather than sending mass generic texts to reach as many subscribers as possible, brands are honing in on delivering relevant messages based on customers’ shopping and browsing behaviors. These timely and tailored texts help customers stay engaged with the brand throughout their shopping journey, building loyalty and driving more revenue.

Findings show that brands:

• Sent out nearly 40% more text messages this year than last year.
• Know personalization is now table stakes, and sent out 33% more behavior-based SMS messages than last year, encouraging two-way interaction with their customers.
• Achieved 13% more revenue with personalized texts within the two Amazon Prime days compared to last year.
• Drove purchases by using SMS strategically. Deal announcements were sent earlier in the day (10am - 1pm), and behavior-based personalized texts were sent as follow-up with customers late afternoon/post work hours (4pm - 9pm).

“While Amazon is the obvious destination for Prime Day, savvy shoppers know there are best in class products both on Amazon and in other places to snag deals to kick off their holiday shopping, so they are especially responsive to limited-time offers, exclusive promos, and more,” said Amit Jhawar, CEO of Attentive. “Major brands used Attentive’s SMS platform to take advantage of this seasonal shopping moment to send more two-way SMS messages, allowing them to drive more revenue and build brand affinity by delivering the right offer at the right time, turning browsers into buyers.”