Artificial Intelligence

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. is enacting a restructuring plan to simplify its organization and align the recently acquired Nokia mobile devices and services business with the company’s overall strategy. These steps will result in the elimination of up to 18,000 positions in the next year.

Montreal - In-store mobile device integration and e-commerce solutions, as well as inventory management and predictive analytics software, are the biggest technology priorities for independent brick-and-mortar retailers. According to the first annual Retail Tech Forecast of 640 independent retailers from commerce platform provider LightSpeed, the percentage of retailers deploying tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices for checking out shoppers (currently 17%) is expected to increase a whopping 170% in the coming years.  

Walmart chief information officer Karenann Terrell will headline a first of its kind technology conference next month in Northwest Arkansas organized by the Bentonville Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.

San Francisco - Visa Inc. is opening One Market, a 112,000-sq.-ft. innovation center and office space at One Market Street in San Francisco. The move provides Visa technologists, clients, partners and the Bay Area tech community an innovative space to jointly develop the next generation of commerce applications.  

New York -- At first glance, the IBM-Apple partnership may seem to do little more than formalize a connection between two technologies that are mainstays of most retailers’ infrastructures. The fact is many retailers already use Apple iPhones and iPads as devices for in-store activities like product lookup, checkout and inventory management. And IBM is a leading provider of retail data analytics technology.
 

New York -- IBM, and Apple have entered into a comprehensive partnership to spread advanced mobile and data analysis technology in the corporate world. The deal brings together two historic competitors.

The two companies are jointly working on, and will release, more than 100 mobile applications tailored to work with IBM’s data analytics and cloud services developed exclusively for Apple’s iOS operating system and for use on iPhones and iPads.

Denver – Eloyalty is packaging its omnichannel customer experience cloud technology solution as a white label offering, making its solution available to select partners across a range of industries. The white label offering can be delivered through a private, hybrid or public cloud.

ELoyalty's infrastructure delivers a range of tools to enhance companies' relationships with customers and improve internal workforce operations. The new white label offering extends functionality in the following areas:

Profitero, a leading global provider of online insights and e-commerce intelligence for retailers and brands, has appointed Keith Anderson as VP, strategy and insights, as part of its strategy to further expand into North America.

In this newly created role, Anderson will lead the continuous innovation of Profitero's online solutions, helping retailers and brands gain a deeper understanding of their online presence to optimize their online and in-store sales.

IID, a cybersecurity company that provides the platform to easily exchange cyber threat intelligence between enterprises and governments, has expanded its executive team with the addition of Bob Dunne as VP of sales.

Dunne will oversee IID's global sales team, which is focused on helping support the growing demand for its platform to exchange cyber threat intelligence, ActiveTrust.

The concept of “programmatic shopper marketing” is transforming the ways brands engage with shoppers to drive sales, and creating a new set of skills for marketers to master.