Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada’s editorial team!
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What’s new this week
Ocrolus launches comprehensive fraud detection solution for lenders
Ocrolus, a document and data analysis platform, has announced the launch of Ocrolus Detect, a fraud detection solution for lenders. The solution offers decision-ready data that can help lenders minimize risk and prevent losses.
Rather than performing manual review of documents to inspect for file tampering and suspicious activity, Ocrolus Detect automates anti-fraud workflows, providing clear visualizations of fraudulent activity.
Detect indicates where file tampering has occurred on a document, what fields were modified, and how they were changed, providing context for more informed lending decisions. Detect can also visualize file tampering on documents received and can recover the original document so fraud analysts can easily spot the modified fields.
“As the lending industry shifts to digital loan application processes, fraud is rapidly increasing and becoming more difficult for humans to catch,” said John Forrester, senior vice president of product at Ocrolus. “Detect enables lenders to quickly and confidently process more loans by proactively providing them with clear and reliable fraud signals.”
During a customer beta program, the company said that Detect accurately uncovered four times more potential fraud than a leading competitor.
Zoho opens Canadian office in Cornwall, Ontario
Zoho Corporation, a global technology company, has announced the opening of its Canadian office in Cornwall, Ontario.
The new office will help build on Zoho’s regional approach to sales, support, marketing, and partner management. This includes bilingual sales and marketing, which will help facilitate a greater regional understanding of the specific needs of local customers, and create closer relationships with surrounding businesses, the company said.
Zoho’s success in Canada has seen 35 per cent and 15 per cent growth in revenue and customers, respectively, and the company has plans to grow the Cornwall office as those numbers rise.
The new office in Cornwall is part of Zoho’s global Transnational Localism strategy, which was first introduced over a decade ago as a means to create self-reliant local communities and economies. The initiative has since grown to include new global offices, local hiring, and partnerships with local organizations and government bodies to lower the technology adoption barrier for businesses.
Mastercard SpendingPulse: Canadian consumer spending increased by seven per cent in August ahead of back-to- school
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales, Canadian spending, excluding automotive, increased by seven per cent year over year (YOY) in August, indicating spending has well surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
Mastercard SpendingPulse accounts for nominal spending and is not adjusted for inflation. In-store sales increased by 7.8 per cent YOY, with a significant surge in clothing and apparel (37.4 per cent YOY) ahead of the back-to-school season.
Fuel and Convenience increased as well, by 18.5 per cent YOY, as consumers took their final summer road trips.
Additionally, home furniture and furnishings continued to see growth, with sales up by 12.8 per cent YOY and with home improvement sales up by about 11 per cent YOY.
Walmart Canada rolling out computer vision AI solution for on-shelf availability
Walmart Canada stores are getting an automated AI-assist to keep shelves stocked and provide better customer and associate experience, in-store and online.
After a 70-store pilot, a computer vision AI solution from Focal Systems that uses cameras to automate out-of-stock detection, is launching in stores.
This technology, which is integrated with Walmart’s existing inventory systems, automatically detects real-time availability concerns (out-of-stock or low-stock) and directs store teams to replace items.
“We know it can be disappointing for customers when we don’t have products they want available on our shelves. That’s why we initiated this pilot using technology from Focal Systems that takes the guesswork out of knowing when a product is out of stock,” explains Robin DeMers, director, store optimization. “This leading-edge technology provides real-time, automated alerts for replenishment in key priority areas within our stores. It also empowers our associates with cool tech that makes a big difference in the way they are able to work and provide the best possible customer experience.”
This investment in technology to automate out-of-stock detection is the most recent in a series of in-store innovations to improve the associate and customer experience.
More to explore
AI and wine are not that different, says SAS’s director of AI ethics
At the SAS Innovate Roadshow, held in Toronto on Sept. 9, 2022, Reggie Townsend, director of AI Ethics at SAS, compared artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) risks and rewards to that of wine. And just like wine, Townsend said you can’t talk about AI without talking about its risks and rewards.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 review: it has its charms, but is not for everyone
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has its charms. It’s a compact, lightweight machine adequate for most basic tasks, including document creation, web surfing, and playing videos. However, it’s not for everyone (few machines are); we took a look to see where it would suit.
Gartner reveals four key customer service technology trends
Based on a survey of customer service and support (CSS) leaders around the world, Gartner has shared four key trends, using five technologies, to watch in customer service.
Ukraine has managed to implement an astonishingly comprehensive set of digital government services, with 70 key public services available, half the adult population participating, and a goal of digitizing all government services by 2024 – despite the fact that the country is fighting for its very existence in a war with Russia.
Attorney General of California announces lawsuit against Amazon for anti-competitive practices
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the company is causing increased prices across California with anticompetitive practices, in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Cartwright Act.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
Uber says compromised credentials of a contractor led to data breach
Uber has added more detail to the narrative of its latest breach of security controls, saying the compromise of an external contractor’s credentials was the starting point for the attack. It also believes the attacker was linked to the Lapsu$ extortion gang.
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
TikTok’s search engine is delivering users videos with misinformation, new study shows that children under 12 are losing sleep due to excessive social media use, U.S. customs are storing duplicates of travelers’ sensitive data.
Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today
This episode reports on a ransomware attack at a Bell Canada unit, why users should avoid a browser spell check utility and more
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances (Hosted by Direction Informatique)
If you live in Quebec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.