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ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
IN ACTION
Artificial intelligence is ready to be used by businesses. Machine learning is a ready-to-roll solution capable of automating processes and thereby enhancing their quality. Reply applies the results of research on artificial intelligence to real-life application scenarios in different sectors. It does this by means of projects that integrate cutting-edge technologies into company systems. Such technologies include deep learning, cognitive computing, recommendation systems, predictive engines, data robotics and conversational systems. Reply uses real-life use cases and scenarios to describe the key points involved in accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence solutions within companies.
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BLOCKCHAIN
Over the last few years, blockchain has shown itself to be a revolutionary Internet technology with the potential to bring about a paradigm shift in the concepts of trust, ownership and exchange. The disruptive potential of blockchain protocols lies in the opportunities they create for cutting out the middleman in virtually any process currently regulated by a trusted third party and for enabling new business scenarios. Today, the high potential of blockchain technology is already being applied across multiple industries. The presentation will also cover two of the main blockchain initiatives being driven by Reply in an Italian context, within the payments and insurance arenas respectively. The initiatives also rely on the company’s collaboration with universities, institutional players and industry regulators.
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CLOUD
COMPUTING
For 10 years now, Reply has acted as an accelerator for cloud services, both in terms of its advisory and architectural expertise and through its technological partnerships with leading cloud vendors in the global market. This track deals with the ways in which a successful cloud strategy can be implemented, as illustrated by dozens of important projects completed with our customers. It also describes ways of migrating effectively from major architectures. There will also be an outline of the new challenges and opportunities likely to arise in the near future, not only in traditional areas but also in relation to data-driven business, IoT, cloud automation and cloud brokerage.
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CONNECTED
PRODUCTS
& IOT PLATFORMS
Connected products are the means by which businesses can access their customers and now often represent an integral element within digital transformation programmes. Reply, which has always supported its customers in their product transformation strategies and go-to-market activities, currently manages hundreds of thousands of devices and connected products. Our customers have commercialised innovative and well-designed use cases, thereby creating a real competitive advantage. With reference to connected products and the business models created, we will explain how to apply a structured and practical approach to connected products. In this session, we will demonstrate how an object can add value by virtue of its connected status and will illustrate the state-of-the-art technologies and platforms involved in delivering end-to-end IoT solutions.
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CYBER
SECURITY
Cybersecurity represents one of the most important areas of development and investment for businesses. With this focus, we will discuss ways of responding to the new cybersecurity paradigms, analysing both their impact on traditional architectures and the new technologies available in the cloud, IoT and industrial safety arenas. We will also discuss the emerging issue of cyber insurance: How, for example, can cyber risks be evaluated and quantified, and how can we enable companies to mitigate and protect themselves in the event of a cyber attack?
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DATA
DRIVEN
BUSINESS
What is the right price for a product? How can we make the production chain more efficient by optimising the processes as well as product and service quality? How can we turn customers’ use of social media to our advantage? And what accuracy can we currently achieve in predicting customer behaviour patterns? These are just some of the questions that Reply will answer, together with its customers and partners. We will also present a selection of successful cases taken from different industries over the last year, evaluating the results from the perspective of our customers’ businesses. We'll look at the methodological and organisational approaches associated with data-driven development and at the advanced combination of mathematical and informational tools used, which offer distinct value compared to traditional analytical methods.
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DATA
ROBOTICS
Data robotics comprises the set of technologies, methods, and applications that are needed to design and implement a new level of business process automation based on machine learning and artificial intelligence. In this session, Reply will first demonstrate the transformative value of data robotics within a company, notably in terms of its impact on the organisational model and the efficiency and the effectiveness of processes. Then it will describe how the adoption of data robotics solutions requires a strong synergy and collaboration between IT and business.
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FACTORY
&
LOGISTICS 4.0
Logistics 4.0 and Factory 4.0 are the two pillars of the fourth industrial revolution. Both of these build upon the digital transformation of production and distribution processes. The Industry 4.0 project represents a unique opportunity for companies to rethink their products and their business model. To clarify the route that companies can follow in implementing this plan, Reply will describe a number of specific case studies that demonstrate the importance of adopting digital platforms and that show how disruptive technologies, such as additive manufacturing and VR/AR, can be used.
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FUTURE
TRENDS
We are currently in the midst of a new wave of revolutionary technology. Automation, speed and improvement of life are the current buzzwords. But how can the new trends improve quality of life for employees? For example, can an “exoskeleton” prevent accidents within a factory? Is it possible to increase the speed of certain complex processes? And can humanoid robots develop empathic communication with humans? Reply attempts to answer these and many other questions.
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HUMAN
CENTRIC
DESIGN
Digital experience designers are always searching for the perfect interaction. How, for instance, can an actual human relationship be realistically emulated? Nowadays, users have become the true stakeholders in relationships: in their role as customers, employees, suppliers and partners, they are able to declare the life or death of a brand or of a particular project. In this scenario, the “perfect experience” has to be consistent across all channels, ensuring the best possible delivery in a way that is pervasive, conversational, intuitive and – most importantly – human. Working with its customers, Reply has developed a methodology based on human-centric design and identified some trailblazing projects capable of triggering a major corporate transformation and achieving immediate success.
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NETWORK
EVOLUTION
We envisage a world in which everything interconnects and communicates, a new ecosystem: a repeatedly presented idea that will become reality only if it responds to a number of technological challenges. The most significant and most difficult of these involves the willingness to change, to have the courage to embrace a new vision, to be able to reshape one’s expertise. It is against this background that we can discuss how to achieve more flexible, effective and efficient architectures; how to simplify our perception of infrastructure; how to reach a massive new group of users; and how to bring our services closer to those users.
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NEXT
GENERATION
CX
CX represents the full range of all the interactions between a company and its customers, tracing a route from advertising and marketing, via the physical or digital purchase of a product or service, to the management of the various post-sale activities. The challenge today is that of successfully assisting our clients to become customer-centric companies that are able not only to fulfil end users’ needs but also to predict those needs, while making every interaction simple, effective and personal. Reply will outline its vision in this area and its support methodology for implementing an optimum experience. CX is incorporated into a multi-dimensional model that can combine technical expertise, in terms of processes and industries, with a multidisciplinary vision.
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OPEN BANKING
&
PAYMENTS
New trends and regulations (PSD2, Mifid2 and so on) are pushing financial institutions towards greater transparency and openness, by looking beyond mere compliance to identify new business opportunities. This new era also creates an opportunity for banks to compete as technological innovators, using powerful analytics to extract valuable information from their vast stores of proprietary data. Market dynamics and customer attitudes are potentially favourable for banks, which should therefore seize the opportunities quickly and effectively. Reply suggests that these major shifts should be guided by deploying innovative technologies and bringing “data” to the forefront of any new initiatives.
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TEST
AUTOMATION
AS A SERVICE
Against the background of a constantly evolving market that is increasingly competitive and technologically complex, the ability to optimise time to market and improve product and service quality constitutes a key element of differentiation. The session presents the distinctive components of Reply’s offering in the field of quality assurance services. In particular, it is aimed at companies that wish to automate the testing of products and services using “as a service” methods and a “pay per use” model. Such techniques for carrying out testing are a perfect match for the current and future needs of companies and make it simpler, safer and faster to adopt new products and services at a global level.