Recent Posts by Sasha Banks-Louie

Oracle is rolling out a revamped program to court startups, offering free cloud credits and software discounts, plus online mentoring resources and migration assistance to startups of all sizes and stages worldwide. Unlike an earlier startup initiative that required an application and admitted a cohort of select startups for an onsite program, this effort, Oracle for Startups, lets any startup sign up online and start developing immediately. Once enrolled, startups gain access...

Attracting customers and keeping them happy requires companies to do more than just churn out new and innovative products. It requires them to build a deeper understanding of how customers will consume those products, whether to grow their businesses or enrich their personal lives. "This is the essence of the 'experience economy, '" says Oracle Executive Vice President Rob Tarkoff, who is in charge of Oracle’s CX strategy and development. Unlike the industrial and service...

As rapid adoption of digital banking services supplants the need for physical branches, small community banks like Boston-based Radius are finding new ways to bring their high-touch, personal customer service online. I sat down with Chris Tremont, vice president of virtual banking, Kathleen Barrett, vice president of marketing, and Christina Shortall, vice president of customer experience to learn how Radius Bank is using emerging technology to redefine the role of a community...

With demand for environmentally friendly building products surging, fierce competition from niche manufacturers has prompted established firms like Construction Specialties to upgrade their business models and application infrastructures. I sat down with Mike Weissberg, director of digital marketing and Arthur Cosma, the company’s enterprise automation manager, to learn more about how the company’s new approach is taking on challengers by creating tailored and “frictionless”...

Rafael Dives does more than manage KidZania’s global loyalty marketing program, he also helps the run the company’s Ministry of CitiZenship, processing paZZports for the millions of kids that visit KidZania’s 27 vocational-style theme parks every year. We caught up with Dives at Oracle Modern Customer Experience 2019, and found out just what it takes to turn casual park visits into long-term CitiZen advocates. So, what is KidZania, who are its citiZens, and what’s a paZZport? Ki...

You might have thought that acquiring new customers was hard, but earning their trust and keeping them happy has gotten a lot harder, too. It requires that small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) do more than just churn out new and innovative products. It requires them to build a deeper understanding of how customers will consume those products, whether to grow their businesses or enrich their personal lives. “This is the essence of the ‘experience economy,’” says Oracle Executive...

Rising pharmaceutical drug prices and declining reimbursements have made it difficult for US-based hospitals to prescribe medicines that their uninsured or under-insured patients can afford. Even with the government’s 340B program, which requires drug makers to discount some of their prescription medicines, hospitals struggle with rigorous regulatory requirements and complex procurement contracts, which make it hard for them to qualify for the discount program. It’s also hard...

Despite growing demand for rugged laptops, tablets, and smartphones, the Toughbook strategic business unit (SBU) of Panasonic Europe struggled to defend its 30% price premium compared with consumer-grade alternatives. While the SBUs rugged computers are manufactured to withstand vibrations or shocks and to function at full capacity in extreme temperatures, a common misperception is that consumer-grade devices “ruggedized” with protective cases or waterproof screens are just...