How a local AI system is revolutionising the service world

Alan Turnley-Jones

The truth is that dealing with outdated data around client satisfaction and systems health has always been something of a challenge in the services world.

Until now.

A feat for AI development in South Africa, Dimension Data is successfully using an intelligent system that revolutionises our approach to both client and employee satisfaction. The ground-breaking services ecosystem, which is called Feebee, continuously learns, adapts and acts autonomously by collecting and analysing key service, computer asset, configuration and client feedback data. This data is then combined to formulate visually immersive and interactive insights.

Basically, Feebee provides feedback in real-time; so we know how our clients feel, how their machines are performing and how we can make their experience better.

Home-grown Feebee is a world-first

As a system, Feebee is so unique that when the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) conducted a global assessment of Dimension Data between June and July, they rated the system as a ‘differentiated practice’. TSIA is of the opinion that it “empowers the right people to make the right decisions at the right time.”

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So while globally Gartner is predicting that the use of AI to reinvent customer experience will be the primary driver of digital initiatives through to 2025, South Africa is already successfully using AI to promote happy clients, happy employees and healthy systems.

Issues are addressed quickly

Feebee is unique because it’s immediate. Clients have a real-time representation of their systems which they can carry on their phone or tablet – they are literally able to view all of the elements in their IT eco-system anytime, anywhere, anyhow.

But beyond this, it’s what we are able to do with that real-time information which makes it so powerful. Because we can immediately identify machines which are not up-to-date with software and security patches, we can escalate requests for improvement to our engineers. This drastically reduces the time it takes to resolve potential issues.

Accurate feedback is generated instantly

And once we’ve resolved a service request, we send an e-mail to clients asking one simple question: did our service make you happy? Clients are then prompted to give feedback by clicking either a happy or sad emoticon to indicate their perception of our service. Each click is immediately recorded and displayed on our advanced analytics dashboard.

We then combine that data with compliance information so that if the client isn’t happy we can determine why. Perhaps the engineer has done a good job, but the machine they are working on has too little memory. In other words, we are no longer looking at information in silos, but rather real-time to address problems.

And we find that in having made it so simple for clients to provide feedback, our response rate has jumped from 2% to 20%, double the industry average.

Clear value for clients

Most importantly, our clients are already witnessing the value which Feebee brings to their IT systems and services. Murray and Roberts finds that the tangible evidence provided by Feebee has enabled it to understand how well its IT services fit its organisation, enabling it to tailor those services to ensure the company delivers better value. Group IT Manager, Hilton Currie, says the ability to access verbatim feedback from users can be used to reconstruct the organisation’s services, ensuring that IT transitions from a cost centre to strategic partner.

Employees feel valued

Employees also receive instant feedback based on their performance. And assuming that both the client and the systems they service are happy, they get instant points which they can redeem for rewards like a cup of coffee or movie tickets. They can track their feedback on a points dashboard and are helped to identify areas for potential improvement.

Basically, we are drawing on gamification principles to help our employees feel valued while also making sure our clients feel appreciated.

And possibly the best thing about an intelligent ecosystem like Feebee is that it will grow and learn alongside our clients’ needs. As we identify new areas where it can add value, we will be able to evolve the ecosystem.