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Trois façons dont la technologie peut sauver le retail

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À moins que vous ne vendiez des survêtements, qui se sont vendus 80 % plus vite en avril qu’en février de cette année, la plupart des détaillants de mode sont confrontés à un printemps et un été difficiles.

J.C. Penney est la dernière victime parmi les géants de la vente au détail, rejoignant Neiman Marcus, Macy’s et d’autres qui ont déposé leur bilan. Pendant ce temps, les ventes au détail d’avril aux États-Unis ont chuté de 17,8 % par rapport à 2019.

Les magasins dans certaines régions des États-Unis rouvrent, mais pas complètement. Le nombre de clients autorisés à l’intérieur des magasins pourrait être limité, et de nombreuses personnes continueront à se tenir à l’écart des commerces non essentiels.

Pour survivre aux retombées financières, les retailers doivent trouver de nouveaux moyens de rester virtuellement proches des clients.

Ici, deux fondateurs de start-up et un expert de SAP décrivent comment la technologie peut aider les détaillants à survivre et à se rétablir – tout en gardant leurs marques et le suivi de leurs clients intacts.

 

La réalité augmentée fait entrer le magasin chez vous

Ashley Crowder, co-fondatrice et directrice de Vntana, pense que les solutions de 3D et de réalité augmentée (RA) comme celles développées par son entreprise peuvent augmenter les taux de conversion pour les achats en ligne.

« Vntana permet de prendre facilement des fichiers de conception de fabrication existants et de créer immédiatement des expériences 3D et de RA qui ont prouvé qu’elles pouvaient plus que doubler les taux de conversion et réduire les retours de 40 % », a-t-elle déclaré.

Vntana travaille avec des clients comme Shah Jewelry pour créer des versions virtuelles de produits qui permettent aux clients d’ »essayer » les articles à la maison. Même avant la pandémie, Vntana a constaté une augmentation du taux de conversion des navigateurs en acheteurs parmi les entreprises qui offrent des expériences 3D à leurs clients. Par exemple, selon M. Crowder, Ikea a connu une augmentation de 30 % de ses revenus lorsque les consommateurs pouvaient placer virtuellement des produits dans leur maison.

Crowder pense que la technologie de Réalité Augmentée (RA) et de réalité virtuelle (RV) est là pour rester : « Artillery Intelligence, une publication de recherche sur la RA et la RV, a réalisé une étude de consommateurs qui a révélé que 45 % des consommateurs veulent essayer les achats en RA/RV. Trente pour cent ont déclaré que si cela pouvait leur fournir suffisamment d’informations pour prendre une décision d’achat, ils ne voudraient plus jamais aller dans un magasin de détail. Les gens veulent donc ce contenu et ils veulent cette option ».

Elle s’attend à ce que l’adoption s’accélère en raison de la crise du coronavirus et souligne que les entreprises qui agissent rapidement maintenant seront mieux positionnées pour survivre et se développer à l’avenir.

 

Le commerce électronique hyperlocal dynamise le retail physique

Sandeep Bhanote a cofondé Radius8, une start-up qui améliore les interactions des acheteurs en ligne en leur proposant des expériences hyperlocales et personnalisées. Comme Crowder, Bhanote participe au programme d’accélération de SAP.iO Foundries à New York, qui soutient actuellement une cohorte d’entreprises axées sur l’expérience client.

Radius8 résout ce défi. Le commerce électronique est le même, quel que soit l’endroit où se trouvent les consommateurs, ce qui peut se traduire par des expériences médiocres pour les acheteurs en ligne, en particulier si le détaillant possède de nombreux magasins dans tout le pays.

« Notre technologie prend la localisation du consommateur et détermine sa proximité avec n’importe lequel de ces magasins au sein de la chaîne de vente au détail et modifie dynamiquement l’expérience du commerce électronique pour refléter l’endroit où il se trouve », a expliqué M. Bhanote.

 

  1. Bhanote pense que l’unification de l’expérience numérique et physique des magasins propulsera la vente au détail à un niveau supérieur.

Grâce aux données géospatiales, Radius8 offre aux consommateurs une meilleure expérience en ligne tout en stimulant les ventes en magasin en amenant les gens à se rendre dans des magasins spécifiques. M. Bhanote explique que le point central de l’intégration entre les magasins virtuels et physiques s’est limité à la compréhension de l’inventaire.

« Mais la réalité est que tous ces magasins physiques ont toutes ces choses merveilleuses qui se produisent et qui ne sont presque jamais communiquées numériquement – même pas dans le rayon de ce magasin physique », dit-il.

 

  1. Bhanote a ajouté que les clients – dont adidas, Lucky Brand, Snipes USA, Orvis et Eddie Bauer – utilisent déjà Radius8 pour créer de superbes expériences sur des sites virtuels et physiques.

 

L’entreprise intelligente offre des expériences uniques et de l’agilité

Matt Laukaitis, vice-président exécutif et directeur général mondial des industries de consommation chez SAP, estime que le maintien de l’intimité avec le client est primordial pour les détaillants.

« C’est la capacité à continuer à renforcer ce lien avec les consommateurs », a-t-il déclaré. « Nous voyons beaucoup d’innovations de la part de marques, grandes et petites, où les gens font des choses créatives avec des stylistes personnels virtuels et des sessions individuelles de vidéo-shopping pour donner aux clients une expérience unique ».

Qu’il s’agisse d’une expérience en ligne ou traditionnelle, les gagnants du futur maintiendront la cohérence de la marque tout en augmentant la pertinence et la fidélité des clients. « C’est ce qui va leur permettre de réussir leur réouverture de magasins », a déclaré M. Laukaitis.

L’agilité des détaillants pour répondre à la pandémie les rendra plus ou moins efficaces. « Les entreprises qui pourront le mieux naviguer dans la crise sont celles qui peuvent être créatives et agiles dans l’environnement actuel », a-t-il déclaré.

Les entreprises qui ont déjà adopté la transformation numérique et investi dans une infrastructure d’entreprise intelligente auront une longueur d’avance sur leurs concurrents. Elles disposent de la rapidité, de la simplicité et de la flexibilité nécessaires pour adapter leurs modèles d’entreprise tout en répondant aux attentes des consommateurs.

Une chose est sûre : le commerce électronique se développe rapidement. Le taux de croissance récent des recettes du commerce électronique aux États-Unis a atteint près de 80 % d’une année sur l’autre.  Et la crise a accéléré le besoin des gens de vivre de meilleures expériences numériques.

Les nouvelles technologies comme la RA et le géospatial, combinées à un noyau numérique solide et aux technologies traditionnelles de l’expérience client, permettront aux détaillants de pivoter rapidement et de conserver leurs clients.

https://youtu.be/rFiopsB5JzA

 

Publié initialement en anglais sur news.sap.com

The post Trois façons dont la technologie peut sauver le retail appeared first on SAP France News.

Source de l’article sur sap.com

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Should We Be Designing For Voice?

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Voice is one aspect of technology that is getting bigger and bigger, and showing little sign of relenting. In fact, 2019 data revealed that 22% of UK households owned a voice-controlled digital home assistant device such as an Amazon Echo or Google home. This is double the figure recorded in 2017 and it is predicted that over the next five years nearly 50% of all homes will have one. Smart home adoption rates are increasing, and it shows how voice control is something we are all becoming more accustomed to.

With these high figures, does it follow that voice should be something web designers build into sites? Or is it merely a gimmick that will die out and render sites with hardware and complex design issues? You only have to look at the failed introduction of Google glass to see that certain technological advancements don’t always have the outcome that might be expected.

Multiple Voices

One of the first issues with voice is establishing whether you want sites to recognise everyone’s voices, or just those who have registered. If you’re using the site in a crowded room will it pick up on snippets of conversation from others and think these are instructions? Google Home has a feature whereby you have to register your voice with its app to use more personalised features such as the shopping list. Is this the sort of thing websites would need?

Accents

The implementation of voice is complex, not only does it need to understand certain languages (such as English), but all the accents and variations too. With 160 English dialects alone, that is a lot that the technology needs to understand – not including mispronunciations, slang, and colloquialisms. Also, if a site is used all over the world (which many are) how many languages will it need to know?

Privacy Issues

if there are clips of your voice out there on the web…it can easily be imitated

If a website involves a feature such as online shopping or other functions which require sensitive details to be input, this could put people off using voice. Users need to know where this saved data is being stored, how it will be used and if it is secure. In 2018, HMRC had signed up about 6.7 million people to its voice ID service and HSBC said over 10,000 were registering each week. This shows many trust the service, but experts say that if there are clips of your voice out there on the web (such as in a podcast) it can easily be imitated. Bringing with it security and privacy issues.

According to futurologist Dr Ian Pearson, who invented the text message back in 1991, it won’t be long until we can complete a financial transaction with just a few words and a gesture. This can be a time-saver for things such as online shopping, but we need to ensure there are the correct security steps in place.

Users Don’t Talk The Way They Type

When speaking we tend to use shortened and more colloquial language as opposed to when we type. The voice function on a website will need to be able to adapt for this. One example is if you are filling in a form or comment box by voice for a website, you will need to tell it what to punctuate, letting it know where to add a comma, exclamation mark etc.

Website Processes Need to be Simpler

With the web as we use it now, we often browse through pages, reading other snippets of information before clicking through to the page we want. With voice recognition it will cut out these middle steps. For example, if you are looking for a recipe of something specific, you will just say the command “Show me the … recipe” and it will take you straight there. This direct access to what we are looking for could lead to a simplification of websites.

Regular Updates

With websites as they are now, they need updates semi-regularly, depending on how they are built, how complex they are, and what features we have built into them. A voice-based site will need updating regularly, whether to add new words or processes or to keep up with the fast-adapting technology. It might end up being quite a complex process.

Mistrust

While there are more of us now than ever using voice control via tech such as Alexa, Google, and Siri, there is still a level of mistrust over it. It’s still not quite clear where data is being stored, if it is being stored, and how easy it could be to abuse.

Larger Storage and Bandwidth

If a site is built for voice, will it utilise a ready-built plugin or will it have its own software built by developers? Will this feature require a greater amount of storage and bandwidth to cope with it? These are further factors to consider when thinking of the future of implementing voice to websites.

We Still Don’t Know Where It Will Go

Voice technology while working in some respects, is still a bit of a grey area when it comes to future use. Will it be the next big thing as many have predicted, or will it simply die down?

Look at Google Glass – highlighted as the big new technology, they soon died down and were eventually discontinued. Smart watches were another thing. You can see their initial downfall by reading an article published in 2017 about smartwatches – how major smartwatch makers such as Apple and Samsung rushed into the market before the technology was ready and they subsequently failed. Motorola exited the smartwatch market, Pebble and Jawbone shut down and Fitbit sold 2.3 million fewer devices than in their previous quarter. It was perceived as being a fad. However, fast forward to 2020 and more people than ever are wearing and using smartwatches. The smartwatch market was valued at shipment volumes of 47.34 million in 2019 and is expected to reach 117.51 by 2025, reaching a growth of 15.4 over the next five years.

Will voice follow a similar trend?

No More Impulse Buying

People enjoy browsing websites and many businesses rely on user’s impulse buying and ask their websites to be designed to reflect this. With voice taking you directly to the page’s users want to find, will they bypass these potential selling traps and just buy what they want – rather than added extras? Will it end up being a negative for businesses and see users not as satisfied for the experience?

Voiceless Still Matters

You will also have to remember that not all devices might work with voice, or people might be browsing somewhere where voice cannot be used. This means in the design process it needs to work both for voice instruction and manual use. It needs to work just as well for both to ensure the customer journey isn’t affected.

There are many ways voice can affect how we design websites in the upcoming future. It’s important to take note of market trends and usage – seeing how people use voice and thinking of the customer journey. It’s vital we don’t forget the end goals of websites – whether it’s to inform or to sell, the implementation of voice needs to assist this process not make it harder.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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Barclaycard étend son partenariat avec SAP pour inclure l’accès à sa plateforme de paiement

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La plateforme Smartpay de Barclaycard est désormais disponible sur SAP Commerce Cloud

LONDRES – SAP annonce que Barclaycard Payments a étendu sa collaboration avec SAP pour mettre son produit de plateforme de paiement, Smartpay, à la disposition des clients SAP dans toute l’Europe.

À partir d’aujourd’hui, toute entreprise inscrite sur SAP Commerce Cloud pourra accéder à Smartpay et profiter d’avantages tels qu’une expérience client sans friction, des défenses renforcées contre la fraude et une offre de paiements cohérente sur les canaux en ligne et hors ligne.

L’un des principaux avantages de Smartpay est sa capacité à permettre des paiements rapides, fluides et flexibles. La plateforme permet d’effectuer des achats en un seul clic et permet aux acheteurs d’utiliser une variété de cartes, de devises et de méthodes de paiement. En plus, Smartpay utilise les dernières approches anti-fraude – telles que l’apprentissage automatique – pour détecter les transactions frauduleuses en temps réel et réduire les faux positifs. Cette approche protège les finances de l’entreprise et minimise les expériences négatives des clients telles que les baisses de paiement.

La mise en œuvre de Smartpay est rapide et facile pour les entreprises qui s’appuient sur SAP Commerce Cloud pour la vente. Il n’est plus nécessaire d’avoir de multiples intégrations avec différents fournisseurs de paiement. Cela signifie que les entreprises peuvent offrir la même expérience de paiement à leurs clients sur tous les canaux physiques, numériques et mobiles.

Proposer la plateforme Smartpay de Barclaycard aux clients européens de SAP est le dernier développement du partenariat entre les deux leaders du secteur. En février 2019, une collaboration était dévoilait l’intégration de la solution de paiement interentreprises de Barclaycard, Precisionpay au sein de la marketplace SAP Ariba Network.

Marc Pettican, président de Barclaycard Payments, a déclaré « Cette extension de notre partenariat avec SAP ouvre de grandes possibilités non seulement pour nous, mais aussi pour les nombreuses entreprises qui utilisent le SAP Commerce Cloud à travers l’Europe. Elles auront accès à une plateforme de paiement de premier plan et pourront offrir à leurs clients une expérience de paiement fluide, sûre et transparente ».

Charlie Platt, vice-président et responsable des clients stratégiques de SAP UK, a déclaré : « Cet accord novateur démontre la puissance de notre partenariat avec Barclaycard et notre alignement continu sur sa stratégie à long terme. Les clients de SAP Commerce Cloud peuvent désormais déployer une solution de plateforme de paiement fiable et leader du marché qui peut les aider à développer leurs activités ».

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L’Ecole by Capgemini s’associe avec SAP et emlyon business school pour former au métier de consultant « Transformation Digitale ERP » dans les domaines de la supply chain et de la finance

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Paris, le 26 août 2020 – Capgemini choisit SAP et emlyon business school pour la création de sa deuxième filière d’excellence : « Future of Supply Chain and Finance ». Dédiée à la gestion de la chaîne d’approvisionnement et à la finance, elle s’appuie sur SAP S/4HANA®, l‘actuel ERP Intelligent et les expertises métier d’emlyon. Alors qu’on estime que 85% des métiers de 2030 n’existent pas encore[1], cette filière permet aux apprenants d’accéder à un programme de formation unique qui les mènera vers des métiers d’avenir.

Cette filière est un accélérateur de carrière pour les profils expérimentés qui bénéficient d’une approche pédagogique structurée autour de trois axes : le renforcement des compétences personnelles (les « soft skills »), la spécialisation métier et la dimension technologique. Ce cursus d’une durée de 4 mois se clôturera au mois d’octobre, avec la remise des diplômes en cas de réussite

L’amélioration des processus et la maîtrise de la donnée sont des enjeux majeurs de performance pour les entreprises, parce qu’elles doivent notamment prendre des décisions rapides et fiables au sein d’environnements complexes. Le métier émergent de consultant « Transformation Digitale ERP » vient répondre à cette demande.

Jérôme Siméon, Président de Capgemini France, précise : « L’Ecole by Capgemini est un programme de développement des compétences. Chacune de ses filières est élaborée en collaboration avec des écoles de renom et des partenaires technologiques leaders du marché. Ces formations sont différenciantes car elles permettent d’acquérir des compétences rares et recherchées. Le retour de nos apprenants est d’ailleurs très positif, ce qui nous conforte dans nos ambitions de former à terme chaque année 400 consultants et ingénieurs par ce biais ».

Gérald Karsenti, Président de SAP France, précise : « Avec la digitalisation de la société et la transformation numérique des entreprises, de nouveaux métiers se créent ou font leur révolution. Se former à ces nouveaux métiers et aux dernières technologies de pointe est plus qu’une nécessité, c’est une chance. Celle de donner ou redonner un élan à sa carrière au travers d’une formation qualifiante dans un domaine passionnant où les débouchés sont importants. Développer ses compétences sur ces solutions est indiscutablement une opportunité d’aller plus loin ».

Pour sa part, Aude Henou, Directrice des Relations Entreprises d’emlyon business school, indique : « Le développement des compétences et de l’employabilité, à tous les âges de la vie professionnelle, est au cœur de la mission d’emlyon business school ; et nous sommes ainsi ravis de pouvoir contribuer par nos expertises fonctionnelles et pédagogiques à des projets aussi audacieux et innovants que L’Ecole by Capgemini ».

A propos de Capgemini

Capgemini est un leader mondial du conseil, de la transformation numérique, des services technologiques et d’ingénierie. A la pointe de l’innovation, le Groupe aide ses clients à saisir l’ensemble des opportunités que présentent le cloud, le digital et les plateformes. Fort de plus de 50 ans d’expérience et d’une grande expertise des différents secteurs d’activité, il accompagne les entreprises et organisations dans la réalisation de leurs ambitions, de la définition de leur stratégie à la mise en œuvre de leurs opérations. Pour Capgemini, ce sont les hommes et les femmes qui donnent toute sa valeur à la technologie. Résolument multiculturel, le Groupe compte aujourd’hui 270 000 collaborateurs présents dans près de 50 pays. Avec Altran, le Groupe a réalisé un chiffre d’affaires combiné de 17 milliards d’euros en 2019.

Plus d’informations sur www.capgemini.com. People matter, results count.

Contact presse Capgemini : Hélène Delannet – helene.delannet@capgemini.com – 01.57.99.44.51

A propos de SAP

SAP est le leader du marché des applications d’entreprise : 77% des transactions financières mondiales passent par un système SAP. L’entreprise accompagne les organisations de toute taille et de tout secteur à mieux opérer. Nos technologies de machine learning, d’Internet des objets (IoT), d’analytique avancée et de gestion de l’expérience aident nos clients à transformer leur activité en « entreprise intelligente ». SAP dote les professionnels d’une vision approfondie sur leur activité et favorise la collaboration pour garder une longueur d’avance sur leurs concurrents. Pour les entreprises, nous simplifions la technologie afin qu’elles puissent utiliser nos logiciels comme elles le souhaitent, sans interruption. Notre suite d’applications de bout en bout et nos services permettent à plus de 440 000 clients d’opérer de manière rentable, de s’adapter en permanence et de faire la différence. Avec son réseau mondial de clients, partenaires, employés et leaders d’opinion, SAP aide le monde à mieux fonctionner et à améliorer la vie de chacun.

Plus d’informations sur www.sap.com

Contact presse SAP : Daniel Margato – daniel.margato@sap.com – 06.64.25.38.08

A propos de emlyon business school

Fondée en 1872 par la CCI de Lyon, emlyon business school accueille cette année 8 600 étudiants de 110 nationalités et plus de 6 000 participants à des programmes de formation continue. L’École, qui compte 6 campus dans le monde (Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Casablanca, Shanghai, Paris, Bhubaneswar), s’appuie sur un réseau de 190 partenaires académiques internationaux et anime une communauté de 32 000 diplômés dans 120 pays. La mission d’emlyon business school est de révéler des « makers », des acteurs de la transformation qui anticipent, relient des mondes, construisent et positivent, privilégient le passage à l’acte, apprennent par l’action, portent des valeurs, dans une démarche collaborative. Cette notion de « maker » reflète la vision de l’entrepreneur d’emlyon, qui essaie, expérimente, se trompe, recommence, apprend en marchant. emlyon business school propose de développer ces compétences dans le cadre d’un enseignement de nouvelle génération, qui associe la production et la diffusion d’une recherche académique d’excellence et l’élaboration de parcours d’apprentissage innovants.

Plus d’informations sur www.em-lyon.com. #earlymakers

Contact presse emlyon : Julie Guillot – guillot@em-lyon.com – 06.45.23.23.04

[1] Institute for the Future for Dell Technologies, The new era of man/machine partnerships

The post L’Ecole by Capgemini s’associe avec SAP et emlyon business school pour former au métier de consultant « Transformation Digitale ERP » dans les domaines de la supply chain et de la finance appeared first on SAP France News.

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Interview: Redesigning the Empire State Building’s Website

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In 2019, to keep pace with an interior redesign of its visitor experience, the Empire State Building decided to redesign its website. Blue Fountain Media were engaged to deliver the project. With the new site launching, we spoke to Head of Design, Tatyana Khamdamova about designing for the world’s most famous building.

Webdesigner Depot: The Empire State Building is probably the most iconic building in America, if not the world. Were there any points at which you thought, “Oh God, this is too much pressure”?

Tatyana Khamdamova: Yes, of course, it was a lot of pressure knowing that people all over the world will be looking at your work. But with the pressure, we also felt excitement and pride that we got to work on such an iconic project. Just thinking that we are doing the site for Empire State Building made us feel proud of all that other work we did during our whole life that gave us the opportunity to be a part of this project.

WD: Blue Fountain Media is a large agency. Did you utilize the whole company, or was there a smaller, dedicated team tasked with creating the site?

TK: On a project like this one, you need the expertise of the team members from all departments in the agency. You want people to work together from the beginning to ensure that their knowledge helps to shape the project and produce the best possible outcome. It’s important for designers and marketers, for example, to be a part of the strategy and UX phase to provide their input which minimizes tunnel vision and generates more ideas. You can only achieve the best results if every single detail from strategy to design to development is done right.

WD: That’s a lot of people to coordinate. Did any roles naturally come to the fore, or is design leadership a quality that varies from person to person?

TK: Some people are natural leaders in their fields. But, sometimes a certain project requires people to take responsibility and show their leadership skills within the team. So I would say that it’s a quality that varies from person to person and doesn’t depend on a role or a title at all.

WD: What were the central aims of the redesign?

TK: ESB’s previous website did not reflect the level of design to match their iconic brand, UX was not user friendly, the content was outdated, and they wanted to grow online individual and group ticket sales. In addition to competing with global and NYC based tourist attractions, ESB was also faced with growing competition in the NYC Observatory market with Top of The Rock, One World Observatory, and Edge at Hudson Yards.

While the building underwent a $165 million renovation, BFM was tasked with creating a best in class website that reclaimed their iconic brand identity while providing an intuitive, and enjoyable user experience for both domestic and international visitors looking to learn about the building, exhibits, and the many ticket experience packages that they offer to visitors.

WD: How do you approach researching a unique project like this?

TK: We went to the source! First, we spoke to visitors of the Empire State Building while they were in line. What was their experience, did they use the website, what made them choose to visit the observatory instead of or in addition to some of the other competing observatories in the city. We then looked at other key tourist towers worldwide to see how they are positioning themselves globally to draw inspiration. We did in-depth stakeholder interviews that included folks working at the building every day and the types of interaction and questions they field from visitors. We conducted surveys of international travelers to understand their motivations and concerns. Finally, we dug into the website itself by testing using various protocols and platforms to understand the visitor paths, what they were able to easily do, and what tasks they may have found challenging. Drawing from all of those insights, we planned and designed the site using an iterative process.

WD: ESB visitors come from all over the world; how did you tackle designing for an international audience?

TK: People across the globe speak different languages, have different cultures and needs. Our goal was to learn about the audience and give them a site that looks and feels like it was created for them. Luckily we were working for the iconic building that is well known internationally and capturing the design aesthetic of the building itself already made the site recognizable across the globe. When working on the project we also were making sure that all users can see the information in their local language when they land on the site and have easy access to the language selector in case they want to change it. When you translate from one language to another the number of words and characters is not always the same. It was important to make sure that the site is designed and developed with an understanding of how the content will be displayed in other languages. With the localization help of our parent company Pactera EDGE we successfully translated the site in several languages and tested it to ensure that it looks right for the local and international audience.

WD: The famous view of the ESB is the external view, but your design feels more in keeping with the experience of the building’s interior. Was that a conscious decision?

TK: It was a conscious decision to create a site that makes you feel like you are visiting the building. Our goal was to make the visitor excited to buy a ticket and see all that beauty with their own eyes. But, if someone doesn’t have an opportunity to come to NY we wanted to make that online experience as close to the real one as possible. We understand that nothing will replace the actual visit to the Empire State Building but we wanted the website to feel real and by using the great photography and amazing Art Deco design elements, we were able to do so.

WD: How did you interpolate such a complex style as Art Deco into a functional site?

TK: Fortunately for us, our office is located a couple blocks away from the building and we had the opportunity to go there and see some of the details. We also had access to the great photos of the renovated hallways, exhibits, and observatory decks, which gave us the idea of how the Art Deco elements were used in the interior design of the building. We all know that interior design and web design have different needs and goals so it was an interesting challenge to design a site that makes you feel like you are inside the building without overwhelming users and that content is easy to read and the ticket purchasing process is simple and clean. We re-created a lot of design elements used on the ceiling, walls, and floor of the building simplified those elements and made them part of the website design. A lot of those elements were used in the background, call to actions, icons, and maps, and combined with the brand colors used in both interior and web designs we were able to give the site the Art Deco look.

WD: There’s been speculation in the design community recently that Art Deco may re-emerge as a trend in the 2020s. Having worked with the style, do you think it could benefit the wider web?

TK: This was a very specific design approach for a very specific project that takes us back to the 1920’s and emphasizes that era through modern twists in web design. I do not see how it can be applied on the web in general unless the client specifically asks for it, for example, architecture website, real estate, or furniture site. Every project is unique and has its own goals and style and there is no one solution that will fit all. As of today, The ESB is Art Deco in a sense and it truly owns that style.

WD: Can you share some details on the technology stack you employed?

TK: The site was built on the Drupal CMS, integrates with Empire’s partner Gateway Ticketing System, and is hosted on Acquia.

WD: Why Drupal? Does it have qualities that suit a project of this scale, or is it simply the case that BFM had the pre-existing expertise of Drupal to facilitate the build?

TK: BFM is a dev-agnostic production team and we always ensure we’re making the best recommendation to our clients. In this case, the previous website was built on Drupal, so in order to decrease the effect of a new platform rollout that would be unfamiliar to the internal ESB teams, we decided to keep the site on the Drupal platform. Luckily, Drupal is an extremely flexible CMS and the needs of the site perfectly align with what Drupal provides.

WD: With visitors from around the world, the range of browsers and devices you had to consider was vastly larger than most projects. Did you draw a line for support? If so, where was it?

TK: BFM constantly updates our list of supported browsers and devices to stay in line with changing technology trends and device usage around the world. We’re extremely lucky that our larger organization, Pactera EDGE, has deep roots in globalization and localization, so we leveraged their team to help us with all aspects of website visitors from the many regions around the world, including translation services and testing. Since this was a complete overhaul, we ensured the baseline standard for all devices was met and will continue to enhance as the future technology needs become apparent.

WD: The Empire State Building gets millions of visits each year, what sort of server resources do you need to throw at it to guarantee uptime?

TK: BFM is a partner of Acquia, and Empire State Building is hosting their new site with them. Acquia is a wonderful ecosystem built specifically for high performing drupal websites and provide many tools for their hosted sites to be able to handle fluctuations in visitors, traffic surges, and with the 24/7 support offered, they can easily manage the changing needs of worldwide visitors.

WD: Now it’s live, how does the new ESB site relate to its real world presence?

TK: The Empire State Building defines the New York City skyline. The world’s most magnificent Art Deco skyscraper, it’s a living piece of New York history and an instantly recognizable symbol of city culture today. The old site did not reflect the amazing interior and exterior design of the building and we had a chance to showcase the redesigned interior and bring more attention to the beautiful Art Deco design elements. We wanted to create the site to make you feel like you are visiting the building. By showcasing the exhibits, renovated halls, and observatories through compelling photography and architectural details, our goal is to make the visitor excited to buy a ticket and see all that beauty with their own eyes.

We’d like to thank Tatyana for taking the time out of her day to talk to us.

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Web Design for Seniors: UX From a Mature Perspective

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It’s no secret that the senior population is growing. By 2030, people over the age of 65 are predicted to make up 20.6% of the population of the US. 

Around the world, people are living longer and remaining more active in the later years of their lives. What’s more, despite what you might have heard in the past, seniors aren’t as wary of the internet as they used to be. In 2019, the Pew Research institute revealed that 73% of people over the age of 65 were connected to the web. 

So, what does that mean for web designers?

your main focus needs to be on ability…people age differently

Well, first of all, it’s time for all of us to start thinking about user experience from different perspectives. We need to stop expecting our audiences to be made up entirely of iPhone-using millennials and start thinking about the needs of seniors too. After all, designing websites for seniors opens you up to a wide selection of potential visitors in the future.

What’s more, according to the US Census Bureau, people over the age of 65 generally have the highest household wealth figures of any age group. That’s a big deal. 

So, how do you adapt UX for seniors?

Creating Senior-Friendly Web Designs

When it comes to designing websites and applications for seniors, your main focus needs to be on ability. Age is just a number, and people age differently. 

That means that one person in their 70s might have no problem browsing through Netflix to watch the latest shows, while someone else wouldn’t be able to tell you what ‘streaming’ means. 

Rather than worrying specifically about age, think about how different people in older age groups might have different requirements when it comes to things like movement control, hearing, vision, and even device bias. 

Get the Visual Elements Right

Vision loss is by far the most common disability reported by elderly individuals in the US. Around one in six people over the age of 70 have some manner of visual impairment. That’s why UI designers need to think carefully about visual accessibility when creating the right websites. 

For instance, text and button sizes should always be kept large. Anything that needs to be read or clicked needs to be scaled up, to ensure that everyone can see the information clearly. For instance, on the Sandinmysuitcase.com website, you’ll find clear typography, combined with big buttons that tell you to “Start Here” so you know exactly what to do next.

Remember to stick to icons that are clearly labelled wherever possible. Stay away from anything that your customers might not understand. “Start Here” is easier to read and understand than “Submit”. 

It’s also worth sticking to the color and contrast guidelines laid out by basic UX design when you’re creating something for optimal visibility.  Colors that are too close together might create a nice pastel or gradient effect on a website – but they’ll also make things difficult to read. 

Concentrate on Usability

Over the age of 55, motor skills and coordination can begin to decline for some people. These changes make it harder for people to interact with complex UIs. The mouse on a computer can be a particular problem for people with diminishing motor skills – as can the touchscreen of a tablet or smartphone. 

When you’re working on the perfect UX, think about how you can make things as easy to click as possible for people who have a hard time hitting their targets. For instance, in this website for people traveling over the age of 50, you’ll see not only fantastic large font choices but big buttons that are descriptive and easy to understand too: “Click here to start planning your trip”:

The scrollbar can also be a bit of a problem for people with impaired motor skills. Because of this, it’s best to keep your focus on designing above the fold. Make sure that users don’t need to scroll far to find the information that they need and keep scrollbars simple in terms of their look and feel.

While you’re working on usability, remember that it will be important to keep interactions to a minimum wherever possible. Where you can engage younger audiences with double-taps, swiping and scrolling, it’s much easier to connect with seniors through simple one-tap interactions. The less actions your user needs to take to reach their goals, the better. 

Deliver Smooth Navigation 

Navigating from point A to B on your website needs to be as simple as seamless as possible. Remember, crowded pages on your websites and apps are often overwhelming – even for younger browsers. Seniors are generally just searching for “must know” information, so they don’t want anything to get in their way as they navigate through their website. 

As you work on your site or app design, ask yourself if every element on the page absolutely has to be there. If it doesn’t deliver value, then get rid of it. 

Additionally, remember that seniors don’t always have the best memories and concentration levels. That means that they need your navigation experience to be as simple as possible. Basic horizontal menu bars that show everything at once are often a good idea – even if they’re not very exciting.

Look at this helpful navigation experience from RetireMove.com, for instance. Everything you need is located at the top of the page, and you can even just enter your postcode to get started:

Cognitive decline happens regularly with age. Although not all older adults will have issues with their memory and concentration, it’s important to be prepared for an audience that might process information a little more slowly. It’s worth double-checking that your viewer’s attention isn’t being diverted to multiple parts of the page at once.

Get to the Point Quickly

While younger generations have quickly implemented technology into every aspect of their lives, older consumers use tech a little differently. These people don’t want to spend forever fiddling around with different parts of your website. They want to get the answers to their questions as quickly and easily as possible. 

Applications that are complicated or difficult to access are usually instantly rejected by seniors. Even if you’ve offered everything that we’ve covered above, from seamless navigation to minimalist design, you still won’t get the interactions you’re looking for if older adults don’t consider your design to be useful. 

Because of this, you need to highlight the point of a website or application to your seniors as quickly as possible. Avoid worrying about things like gifs, animations and gamification. Instead, focus on making sure that your designs are useful and simple. 

For instance, from the moment your senior user arrives on a web page, they should have instant access to clear instructions on how to use the application or service, and what they need to do next. Keep in mind that this is particularly important when you’re creating mobile apps, as apps are still a relatively new concept to older generations. 

On the “When They Get Older” website, you can instantly find the information you need in a well-organized navigation bar that’s labelled clearly:

A clear interface like this, combined with simple, step-by-step guidance that shows elderly individuals how to get the information that they want is the key to keeping these users coming back for more. 

Bringing a Mature Perspective to Web Design

These days, most designers focus heavily on younger audiences when creating websites and apps. After all, it’s these users that allow us to experiment more with the latest tools and concepts, like augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and robust animations. 

However, there’s still a market out there for the seniors of the world that want more opportunities to get online. This audience often goes ignored and under-served. However, as the value of older consumers grows, and their ability to interact online increases, you’ll find that more businesses begin to search for web designers who can provide immersive experiences for a more mature audience. 

The steps above will give you an excellent insight into how you can start designing for a different kind of customer base. However, remember that the best way to make sure that you’re delivering the right solution for any customer, is to test. User testing will provide you with the exclusive insights that you need to determine whether your senior UX is really working, or whether you’re still struggling to get into the shoes of an older user. 

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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Quality Sense Podcast: Mobile App Performance With Sofia Palamarchuk

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In today’s Quality Sense episode, Federico Toledo sits down for a chat with a colleague and friend, Sofia Palamarchuk. She’s a Director and Board Member of Abstracta and the co-founder and CEO of Apptim, a tool that helps you to test and analyze native mobile app performance.

After beginning her career as a performance engineer at Abstracta, she led our expansion to the United States – heading up business development. After seeing the challenges that mobile development teams face, in 2019, she embarked on a mission to transform the way global mobile teams create quality apps.

Source de l’article sur DZONE

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Diversity Initiatives in Web Design

Web developers have been the bedrock of any company’s business strategy for some time, and the industry is continuing to thrive and grow at a rapid pace. This is why it’s surprising that it is so lacklustre when it comes to diversity.

A recent study revealed 80% of those in the design industry are male, and more specifically 79% within the field of web design. According to WISE, just 23% of the people working in STEM roles (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) are female and women currently account for just 15.8% of the UK’s current generation of engineering and technology graduates.

Why the Lack of Diversity in Web Design?

The main reason for this, as cited by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that women still lack the confidence to pursue these careers, despite their school results being as good as (or better) than their male counterparts. Research has found that the professional and technical services sector has the fourth-highest gender pay gap of all UK industries. If more women were to join these higher-paid sectors it could help reduce the gender pay gap as a whole, as well as help female economic empowerment.

This division is seen in ethnic minority groups too. The numbers for BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) employees in the British tech industry are unknown but is estimated by the British Computer Society to be at 1-2%, a ridiculously low number in this day and age. This is why groups and organisations are cropping up designed to promote an industry that reflects all of society rather than one part of it. Here are some of the organisations to pay attention to who are bridging the diversity gaps in web design.

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code are working to create opportunities for women within tech, aiming to deepen their computer science skills and confidence. They run a range of programs designed to equip women with the necessary computing skills to pursue opportunities in the field and to give chances that are often shunned due to society. Founder Saujani states that women are socialized to seek perfection, and this is something that needs to be overcome. One way to break that mentality at an early age, she says, is coding:

[Girls] walk into these classrooms and they feel like they will never be good at it, and when they learn how to create something, whether it’s a website or app, it changes their mindset and they stop giving up

Adobe Design Circle

Adobe Design Circle is another initiative aiming to introduce all members of society to design. They want to create more visibility for design as a viable career path for anyone that might be considering it, and to help with youth entering the field. This is opening the opportunities of working in tech and web to aspiring designers at a young age who aren’t necessarily yet conditioned by the pressures of society and showing them it can be a realistic career path.

They have their own scholarships and mentoring initiative to support these goals too. The faces behind the team of Adobe Design Circle range through multiple ethnicities and have a fairly even male-female divide. This equal representation alone is inspiring. One of Adobe’s core missions is to offer youth the opportunity to learn and express themselves through creativity and technology, regardless of their economic or cultural backgrounds. With this they specifically encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply and offer many other opportunities from mentoring to internships.

Ladies that UX

Ladies that UX are a collaborative community of women in UX aiming to “support each other, push the UX boundaries and promote female skill and talent.” It is a European-based initiative where each city involved runs slightly different events and groups decide together what they would like to get from their meetups. They assist each other with UX challenges, discuss topics, and brainstorm ideas. Ladies that UX was created in 2013 by Georgie Bottomley and Lizzie Dyson with the aim of bringing together women in the industry, offering support and creating connections around the world.

Xuntos

Xuntos is aiming to create the largest community of ambitious and talented individuals from under-represented groups in the technology industry. It works to nurture university students and recent graduates that are often overlooked in the tech industry by the means of educational workshops, university hubs, events and an active community. The very name “Xuntos” is a Galician word which means “together” and this is their most important factor. They want people to realise they are not alone and just because the representation isn’t there, doesn’t mean their capabilities aren’t.

Colorintech

Colorintech is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 2016. It aims to close the gap and shorten the learning curve, with a strong community designed to help each other. The company was founded by Silicon Valley tech executive Dion McKenzie and ex-Googler Ashleigh Ainsley after they became frustrated at the few black individuals in the field. Since its inception 30,000 students, professionals, volunteers and tech companies have been impacted by their work, and over 450 minorities graduated from their programs in 2019 alone.

UKBlackTech

UKBlackTech are on a mission to create the most diverse tech sector in the world. Their aim is to encourage more ethnic minorities to enter the UK’s technology workforce and make an impact. To help with this, they design and implement different initiatives to help them get employed and retain employment, put on bespoke events that target aspects such as specific job roles or tech topics and promote different opportunities for members to apply to.

Witty Careers

Witty Careers was created with the aim to support women from black and ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK and equip them with the skills to build a career in the tech industry. They run different practical skills workshops and events which in the past have included visits to a Microsoft store, Uber, and Pivotal. They open doors for communications, networking and future career prospects for those in the minority. They also have a handy range of resources designed to help you get into the career you want. From CV writing advice to industry insights, they are all free of charge.

Featured image via Unsplash.

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La mairie de Rosny-sous-Bois utilise le chatbot de SAP pour converser avec ses habitants et anticiper sa croissance démographique

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Rosny-sous-Bois, ville dynamique de Seine Saint-Denis, anticipe les nombreuses transformations engendrées par le Grand Paris notamment sur son nombre d’habitants. Déjà desservie par le RER E, la commune de 45 000 habitants entrée dans la métropole du Grand Paris en 2016, verra s’ouvrir trois nouvelles stations de la ligne 11 en 2023, et une station de la future ligne 15 en 2025. Ainsi, la mairie anticipe sa croissance démographique pour devenir un ville phare de l’est parisien. Pour anticiper ces changements, le numérique est un atout du futur Rosny-sous-Bois. La ville a donc choisi la solution SAP Conversational AI pour accueillir au mieux ses futurs citoyens.

La mise en place d’un chatbot, première pierre vers une vocalisation des services de la ville

Depuis janvier 2019, un chatbot développé par la solution SAP Conversational AI fait office d’interface privilégiée avec les habitants de Rosny-sous-Bois. L’objectif est d’assurer un premier niveau de service public différenciant par rapport aux villes voisines en proposant un service simple d’utilisation capable de répondre aux questions des citoyens de la commune en 24/7.

« Nous avons choisi la solution SAP car elle était la seule à pouvoir couvrir l’ensemble de nos services. Son caractère langage agnostique nous permet également de prendre le tournant de la vocalisation des services. En effet, Nous souhaitions également pouvoir répondre en plusieurs langues pour répondre à des populations non-francophones et offrir des services publics de qualité pour tous les habitants », explique Menahd Ouchenir, Conseiller Municipal délégué à la ville numérique.

Une solution rapidement adoptée par les habitants de la ville

En l’espace d’un an, le chatbot de SAP est rentré dans le quotidien des habitants de la ville de Rosny-sous-Bois. Ils n’hésitent pas à lui poser des questions impactant leur quotidien : les jours de collecte des poubelles, les transports fonctionnant en période de grève, les services disponibles pendant le confinement ou encore les dates des élections municipales.

« Les habitants de la ville ont rapidement fait du chatbot un outil de leur vie quotidienne : nous comptabilisons maintenant 2 500 utilisateurs uniques par mois, 4,5 messages par utilisateur, un taux de compréhension de 74%, et un taux de précision de 0,878. Pendant la période de confinement, cela nous a permis de maintenir un lien supplémentaire avec les habitants de la ville et de répondre à leurs interrogations. En complément, le chatbot est un atout de communication et pousser les utilisateurs à aller vers les contenus du site. Cela nous permet donc d’aller plus loin dans notre rôle de service public », ajoute Menahd Ouchenir.

Améliorer constamment la solution pour accueillir les futures populations de la façon la plus efficace possible

Avec 300 intentions et 2 700 tournures de questions comprises par le chatbot, la solution proposée par SAP est largement opérationnelle. Toutefois, les équipes communication et événementiel de la mairie analysent constamment les questions posées par les habitants afin d’enregistrer de nouvelles tournures de phrases et de nouveaux sujets pour que l’IA les comprenne de manière optimale par la suite. L’objectif final est maintenant d’arriver à soulager les différents pôles de la mairie en déléguant l’ensemble des questions quotidiennes au chatbot, et ainsi faciliter l’emménagement des nouveaux rosnéens.

L’avantage de cette solution est sa capacité à adresser des périmètres et métiers hétérogènes, et ainsi de répondre à des questions sur un grand nombre de domaines.

« Le résultat de cette intégration à notre site web est très satisfaisant. Nous souhaitons à long terme enrichir notre socle de données technologiques grâce à SAP pour pouvoir nous diriger vers une vocalisation toujours plus sophistiquée », conclue Menahd Ouchenir.

The post La mairie de Rosny-sous-Bois utilise le chatbot de SAP pour converser avec ses habitants et anticiper sa croissance démographique appeared first on SAP France News.

Source de l’article sur sap.com

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CERTFR-2020-ALE-012 : Multiples vulnérabilités dans SaltStack (04 mai 2020)

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De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans les deux versions 2019 et 3000 de la solution SaltStack. Elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire et un contournement de la politique de sécurité.

Plusieurs incidents de sécurité ont été relayés …
Source de l’article sur CERT-FR

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