Financial service providers too often miss opportunities by overlooking clients' personal life situations, while pushing a high volume of irrelevant messages causing marketing fatigue

A new comprehensive report from Optimove on client perceptions of the financial services industry has been released, shedding light on critical issues surrounding trust and marketing fatigue. Titled " The Optimove Financial Services Provider Survey & Report: Harnessing Data for Client-Centric Growth and Lasting Loyalty," the report delves into two crucial sections: "Trust" and "Awareness," uncovering significant gaps that financial advisors and providers must address to enhance client relationships. 

The "Trust" section highlights the paramount importance of trust in the financial services sector. While a considerable percentage of clients express "high" or "very high" trust in their financial institutions, the report reveals notable gaps that affect client satisfaction and loyalty. One crucial concern is the missed opportunity by financial service advisors, who often lack insight into their clients' personal life situations, such as weddings, graduations, and the birth of a child. The report emphasizes that understanding these life events is pivotal to offering personalized and timely financial advice, and advisors must prioritize this aspect to build trust and seize opportunities. 

For example, while 63% of respondents state that their financial services provider knows them well, 41% report that the service provider lacks awareness of significant life events. These life events present valuable connections and sales opportunities for financial service providers. (See Chart 1)

Marketing fatigue caused by irrelevant messages 

Another significant finding is the impact of marketing fatigue caused by financial services providers. Clients are increasingly inundated with generic and irrelevant marketing messages, leading to disengagement and frustration. Case-in-point is that more than three-quarters (76%) say they get too many messages. Forty percent of respondents that get too many messages noted they would like the messages to be more personalized. The report underscores the need for client-centric strategies to tailor communications, understand individual needs, and ensure marketing efforts resonate with clients on a deeper level. 

“It is clear that financial services providers' clients often experience trust gaps and marketing fatigue due to an overload of irrelevant messages," stated Pini Yakuel, CEO of Optimove. "To tackle these challenges, financial institutions can adopt a proactive and agile approach through predictive and prescriptive analytics. Our experience shows that the most powerful starting point is client data. By leveraging zero- and first-party client data, providers can deliver relevant AI-driven solutions and orchestrate cross-channel campaigns while combining real-time triggers and predictive next-best actions. Starting with the client data also is the backbone to create omnichannel experiences that connect digital with in-person meetings to create personalized client experiences. These analytics enable financial service advisors to accurately anticipate client needs, being there at critical moments in a client's life to build trust and loyalty.” 

The report advocates for financial services providers to prioritize personalized engagement, stay informed about their clients' personal life situations, and implement data-driven strategies. Leveraging customer data effectively and adopting client-centric approaches are key to strengthening trust, driving customer loyalty, and fostering long-term business growth. “The bottom line is that financial services providers can harness data for client-centric growth and lasting loyalty,” Yakuel concluded. 

The report also underscores that zero- and first-party data derived from Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are a powerful tool for accessing valuable customer information, enabling financial institutions to deliver personalized solutions that address specific needs and foster stronger client relationships.

Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT), a leading TV network in Brazil, has partnered with Amagi and AD Digital to launch, distribute, and monetize its first FAST channel, TV Zyn, on Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) platforms. The channel, which focuses on the teen demographic, was first launched on Samsung TV Plus in June, and it will be launched on other FAST platforms in the coming months.

SBT is a known brand in the media and entertainment (M&E) market, with great reach and popularity among Brazilian audiences. The group has established international reach through pay-TV distribution, and FAST comes as an opportunity for SBT to further expand distribution.

"SBT takes another important step in its digital transformation strategy with the launch of its first FAST channel," said SBT CTO Roberto Grosman. "The partnership with AD Digital and Amagi was fundamental for this movement."

Through an ongoing partnership with SBT, Amagi provided the technology backbone for the group's pay-TV distribution model. To kickstart its digital journey, SBT has chosen to deploy Amagi's key cloud solutions for channel creation, distribution, and monetization: Amagi CLOUDPORT and Amagi THUNDERSTORM. Amagi CONNECT will enable SBT channels — TV Zyn and SBT International — to connect with a plethora of platforms in the global CTV-led FAST universe and to boost viewership and ad revenue using its content. AD Digital joins the partnership as an accelerator on FAST channel initiatives.

"It's wonderful to see celebrated TV networks such as SBT taking their premium channels to the next level," said Amagi Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Srinivasan KA. "We're eager to help them to build an engaged and loyal audience in the FAST universe using our best-in-class content distribution and monetization solutions."

"SBT is one of the most important communication groups in the Brazilian market; it is a company that has been constantly seeking innovation and going through transformations inside our digital ecosystem," added AD Digital Senior Vice President Daniela Souza. "We at AD Digital are very happy to be able to contribute to this new movement that has been having huge growth year after year in the North American and European markets and with this acceleration that we are now seeing in the Latin American market."

Amagi delivers linear channels in over 40 countries around the world, with the majority of clients from the American market. Amagi's customer list includes ABS-CBN, AccuWeather, A+E Networks UK, Cinedigm, Cox Media Group, Crackle Plus, Fremantle, Gannett, Gusto TV, NBCUniversal, Tastemade, The Roku Channel, and numerous other global companies.

Captello, a leading provider of event technology solutions, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Candice Bakke as the new Senior Director of Strategic Global Partnerships. Bakke, a seasoned industry expert with a rich history of strategic growth and partnership management, will be instrumental in driving Captello’s global expansion and partnership strategy.

Captello, a leading provider of event technology solutions, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Candice Bakke as the new Senior Director of Strategic Global Partnerships. Bakke, a seasoned industry expert with a rich history of strategic growth and partnership management, will be instrumental in driving Captello’s global expansion and partnership strategy.

"Candice’s exemplary track record in technology sales, coupled with her expertise in fostering strategic partnerships, makes her the ideal fit for this pivotal role," said Ryan Schefke, CEO. "Her experience and passion for driving growth will undoubtedly contribute to Captello’s success and fortify our position in the market. We are excited to welcome her to our team."

Bakke comes to Captello with an impressive history of transforming sales strategies, driving growth, and leading teams to exceed their targets. She has a proven ability to leverage technology to optimize sales operations, and her knack for building successful, long-lasting partnerships aligns perfectly with Captello's growth strategy.

Bakke’s key achievements include securing $5.6 million in bookings with a $10.3 million ARR pipeline, amplifying annual channel revenue by over 200%, and multiple awards recognitions, including winning the President’s Club Award six times and the 2023 Smart Woman in Meetings - Rising Star Award.

At Captello, Bakke will leverage her wealth of experience to build and execute strategies that drive partnerships, sales, profits, and retention. She will focus on shaping data-based strategies for the company, navigating enterprise account intricacies, and creating new pathways for ARR gains. Her capabilities extend to recruiting, developing, and mentoring top talent, and she is known for her ability to build strong internal cultures and business cadences.

Captello is renowned for its innovative software solutions, including their award winning lead capture app, event engagament and gamification platform, and a unique scavenger hunt builder as well as event management, marketing and sales automation solutions with a free CRM called One Focus.

With Bakke at the helm of Strategic Global Partnerships, Captello is poised to continue defining the future of event technology and universal lead capture solutions.

“The team at Captello is excited and optimistic about the potential that Bakke brings. Her engaging personality, business acumen, and drive make her a perfect addition to the dynamic team at Captello.” - Brad Froese, Director of Marketing.

With the rapidly evolving digital landscape, IT departments often find themselves struggling to keep up with the ever-changing demands of businesses. Meanwhile, communicating what users with minimal technical know-how need from IT teams creates roadblocks and time-sucks. Bridging the gap between IT and business users is a necessity, one that Neptune's newest expansion in their offerings succeeds in providing.

Neptune App Builder facilitates a combination of design thinking, rapid prototyping and frontend development, allowing both business users and IT specialists to collaborate to go from an idea to a fully working digital user experience within hours.

"Our no-code app builder empowers users to showcase their app requirements from a user perspective," said Ole-Andre Haugen, Chief Technology Officer at Neptune Software. "By providing capabilities that are easily understandable to non-technical individuals, our tool enables them to effectively communicate their needs to technical teams. This bridge between the two worlds encourages collaboration, leading to more aligned and successful app development projects."

With the no-code app building feature, users can quickly start a fast app development journey, even with minimal technical knowledge. A simple drag-and-drop designer, coupled with pre-made application building blocks, enables true rapid application development, allowing users to build applications for mobile, tablet, and desktop simultaneously, once, and ensuring a seamless user experience across devices.

Neptune app builder also allows the user to seamlessly transition from the app development stage to production. Forward-compatible technology ensures that everything developed within Neptune app builder can be reused, eliminating the need for re-engineering or switching to other competitive no-code mockup tools.

And, Neptune app builder helps transform user ideas into functional prototypes and mock-ups within seconds that are compatible with the rest of the Neptune DXP platform. This allows IT teams to involve business users early on to collaborate and provide immediate input on how the solution can better work for them, resulting in a more effective end product.

An intuitive toolset that's user-friendly and time-saving, Neptune No-Code App builder is a game-changer for collaborating teams across developers, IT and users with minimal technical experience to turn their enterprise app ideas into reality. By empowering business key users and fostering collaboration with IT departments, this tool bridges the gap between technical and non-technical teams.

New AI features will automatically summarize timelines and Zoom meeting transcriptions, enabling users to gather the most important details about conversations and understand the context of customer relationships in seconds.

Nutshell, a leading provider of easy-to-use, all-in-one CRM and growth software, is thrilled to announce the launch of its new product tier, Power AI. This innovative offering is designed to empower businesses with the transformative capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their sales processes. With Power AI, Nutshell customers can expect a range of AI-charged features that provide valuable intelligence and streamline workflows, ultimately saving time and boosting productivity.

“At Nutshell, we believe that artificial intelligence has serious potential to help our customers enhance their relationships with their leads and customers,” said Andy Fowler, CEO of Nutshell. “With Power AI, we’re helping our customers quickly get the information they need to connect with leads more effectively, better serve their customers, and build stronger relationships that lead to business growth.”

One of the most exciting features included in Power AI is timeline summarization, which eliminates the need to scroll through extensive logged activities and email threads spanning years to find relevant information. Nutshell's timeline summarization uses AI technology to deliver concise summaries of people, company, and lead timelines on demand. Users can quickly gain insights into their relationships, including the duration of their customer status, key interactions within their team, common discussion topics, and potential areas of interest.

Another time-saving feature included in Power AI is Zoom transcription summarization. Nutshell seamlessly integrates with Zoom, allowing users to log Zoom meetings in Nutshell. With Zoom transcription summarization, users gain access to meeting recordings and summarized transcriptions automatically after logging the activity. This feature enables sales teams to effortlessly keep track of conversations with prospects, ensuring no important details are missed.

In addition to these features, the Power AI plan also includes all of the functionalities available in Nutshell Pro, enabling customers to leverage Nutshell's comprehensive suite of tools to optimize their sales processes, enhance collaboration, and drive business growth.

Recognized for completeness of vision and ability to execute

Veritas Technologies, the leader in secure multi-cloud data management, today announced it has been positioned as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions (EBRSS). Veritas is the only vendor that Gartner has named a Leader in each of its last 18 enterprise backup and recovery software reports.

A trusted partner of 95% of the Fortune 100, Veritas remains at the forefront of innovation in data protection, application resiliency and data compliance and governance. Having supported enterprises throughout every major IT transition, Veritas is helping organizations navigate a new world – where data lives across environments, cyberthreats loom, cloud costs and regulatory fines are rising, and organizations often lack the in-house technical expertise to address these complexities.     

Lawrence Wong, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Veritas, said: "Veritas has an unparalleled track record of persistent innovation aimed at resolving our customers' data resiliency challenges. Throughout this journey, Gartner has consistently recognized us as a leader in its enterprise backup and recovery software solution Magic Quadrant reports. Today, businesses face unprecedented cyber threats to their increasingly heterogeneous cloud environments. We believe that our position in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for EBRSS reflects our ability to counter those threats with the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of cloud-native cyber recovery solutions."

Veritas believes that it is recognized in the Gartner Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions Magic Quadrant because of these three key areas:

• Veritas Alta – A secure, unified and cloud-native data management platform that brings together a broad array of enterprise-class data services. The platform features data protection with unmatched ransomware resiliency and enables customers to manage their entire data protection estate via the Alta View single-pane-of-glass console. Veritas Alta also provides the highest levels of application resiliency, application portability across clouds and optimization of storage consumption. Veritas Alta additionally allows enterprises to illuminate and remediate information risks with data compliance as-a-Service. 
• Cloud Scale Technology – A secure, next-generation architecture designed to operate natively in the cloud, Cloud Scale Technology powers a containerized, elastic and AI-based microservices architecture that provides unified data management services across any cloud. Cloud Scale Technology helps enterprises improve operational agility, data security and efficiency, while also achieving cost savings in multi-cloud environments.
• Autonomous Data Management (ADM) – With Cloud Scale Technology serving as the foundation, Veritas has outlined a product vision to transform the future of data management and empower enterprises to regain control over their data through ADM. This groundbreaking approach leverages automation and AI/ML technologies to dramatically reduce operational complexity. The shift from manual processes to ADM-led self-optimizing, self-healing and self-provisioning will redefine data protection and recovery in the age of multi-cloud and beyond. 

The built-in, integrated CDN utilizes Cloudflare's 280+ points of presence worldwide to lower latency and save bandwidth

Nexcess, the premium hosting provider optimized for WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento, today announced the launch of an integrated CDN powered by Cloudflare and available free of charge for all Nexcess fully managed hosting customers.

Fully managed hosting customers can also choose to add on Nexcess Performance Shield, a bundled feature set for customers seeking even stronger website performance and security.

With its vast network of servers to quickly and efficiently deliver content to users worldwide, partnering with Cloudflare was the clear choice for Nexcess. Beyond Cloudflare's proven track record of providing reliable and secure services, they also offer a variety of enterprise features that help protect websites from attacks, including DDoS, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting.

Nexcess Performance Shield customers will also benefit from reduced bandwidth costs through advanced content compression and improved page load time with Cloudflare's Argo Smart Routing, which delivers content through optimized internet routes. Users can also expect improved website security thanks to Cloudflare's Web Application Firewall (WAF) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protections, built into the Cloudflare network and always on 24/7/365.

"We're thrilled to partner with high-quality solutions like Cloudflare to enable better performance and profitability for our customers. Our mission is to make website management easier for SMBs and enterprises alike, and part of that is taking performance concerns off the table," says Ryan MacDonald, VP of Engineering at Liquid Web. "It's a great example of how we're using our expertise to drive continuous innovation so that Nexcess remains the best place to build, launch, and grow online sites and stores online — something we've helped customers achieve for more than 23 years."

Nexcess Performance Shield starts at $5 per month per site and can be purchased directly from the Nexcess customer portal.

First-of-its-kind developer tool visualizes and generates system architectures, facilitates design reviews and enables real-time collaboration

Multiplayer, a collaborative tool for teams that work on distributed software, emerges from stealth with $3M in funding. The round was led by Bowery Capital with participation from Okapi Venture Capital, Mitch Wainer, co-founder of DigitalOcean, and Edith Harbaugh, founder of LaunchDarkly.

Conceptualized and built by developers to fill a gap in the market, Multiplayer provides a visual collaborative tool for the multi-layered system architecture that underpins a company's operations. Until now, development teams have relied upon makeshift solutions to collaborate on backend software design, such as whiteboards or poor diagramming tools. Multiplayer visualizes system architecture holistically and in its component parts with software built for this purpose.

Key features of Multiplayer:

• AI Assist generates everything teams need for distributed software, including: system architectures, APIs, service implementations, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), documentation and more.
• Visualizes system architecture at the highest level and enables detailed views of specific features and changes in real time.
• Communicates design intent by pulling together multiple document types (i.e. platform diagrams, APIs, sketches, rich-text docs, source code) Enables formal design reviews including  feedback from all parties (team leads, developers, QA, CTO's DevOps, etc.) before moving to implementation.
• Facilitates real time collaboration among distributed teams (akin to Figma but for the back end).
• Enables version control + branching.
• Ensures that system architecture will be recorded in a company-owned space where the evolution of the platform is retained.
• Tames the SaaS sprawl by integrating with source control providers, SaaS and cloud providers with a centralized system dashboard for teams.

Says CEO and co-founder Steph Johnson, "Having been immersed in the developer world for years at DigitalOcean and MongoDB, I've observed the communication gaps within development teams. There needs to be a better way to visualize and communicate architectural design decisions when working on distributed software. Surprisingly, in a world with so many dev tools, nothing facilitates seamless collaboration on backend software like Multiplayer, which we built specifically for this purpose."

Adds CTO and co-founder Thomas Johnson, who brings 20 plus years as a developer at companies like Citrix, "This is an idea whose time has come. With distributed software being the norm today and teams being more spread out than ever, the gap in the market for a tool like Multiplayer has become very clear. Developers no longer need to bypass design reviews because they are 'too much trouble.' Multiplayer gives them an easy, organized way to share ideas and information before final implementation."

"Companies all over the world are developing distributed software. These systems are becoming more complex and harder to change without breaking things," says Mitch Wainer, co-founder of DigitalOcean. "There's a dire need for a dev tool that helps teams visualize and collaborate when making changes to their backend software. Multiplayer makes design reviews and feature development easier and more collaborative, targeting a massively underserved market in the dev tool space."