10 • Tech, Software & Marketing


Te new frontier T


he power of modern artificial intelligence tools has unleashed a tsunami of


new innovations, with platforms leapfrogging one another into uncharted territory. This means the ‘new shiny thing’


can become obsolete overnight. How can business owners know which developments will truly revolutionise their business — and which won’t?


GO LEAN OR GO HOME The consensus is a move towards using AI to run leaner, more competitive companies. “It’s a race to reduce overheads, not value,” explains Rohit Parmar-Mistry, founder of Pattrn Data, which helps clients automate their processes using AI. When you strip out a time-


consuming or repetitive process, you’re freeing up people to focus on higher-value tasks. “We use workflow automation soſtware N8n to weave AI directly into our workflows,” says Rohit. Samuel Mather-Holgate, financial advisor and founder of Mather & Murray Financial, says: “Providers like Salesforce and Hubspot that link all lines of the business with cutting-edge AI will


revolutionise efficiencies”. Rather than sitting in a separate window, tab or app, AI models like ChatGPT will be integrated into most soſtware packages as standard.


COMMUNICATION UNLEASHED The way businesses of all sizes communicate with customers is changing. According to James Stokes, head of enterprise and BFSI Western Europe at Infobip, 2026 will usher in a new era of personalisation and convenience. “We’ve seen a huge spike in business adoption of WhatsApp and RCS [all singing, all dancing messages delivered to your SMS inbox], which allow you to include company branding and show menus on carousels, and even allow customers to complete purchases within a messaging app,” he says. AI and automation are powering


this shiſt, he adds: “You can run A/B tests, use AI to deliver different responses to customers, even trigger WhatsApp conversations directly from social media to answer questions or take bookings.” The trend is being primarily


driven by Gen Z. A 2024 Uswitch


New Year Business Guide - brought to you by APL Media • Wednesday 14 January 2026


Pioneers at the coalface of the technological revolution discuss which tools will become ubiquitous in 2026. Words: Rebecca Burn-Callander


survey of 2,000 people found that nearly 70% of 18- to 34-year-olds prefer texting to phone calls.


INTEL EXTREME Business owners are handing AI agents the keys to the castle — using them to garner insights from their enterprise resource planning (ERP) soſtware. “We’re super excited by the evolution of Unit4’s AI-enabled ERP platform, ERPx,” says Emma O’Brien, founder of Embridge Consulting. “Its integration of generative AI, machine learning, smart automation and natural language agents is helping redefine what intelligent enterprise systems can be.”


BYE BYE, ENERGY GUZZLERS AI for business intelligence is great, argues Andrea Mica at Oxford Technology, but not when it costs the planet. “Business leaders increasingly want more than impressive-sounding outputs — they need systems that deliver robust, reliable answers without consuming vast amounts of energy,” he says. They’re looking for tools that get to the answer quicker, using less resource to do so.


SMS MESSAGING/GETTY


ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE A new era of field marketing


How Acosta Europe is leading the shift to hyper-agile, tech-enabled field sales and marketing solutions for global brands and retailers


THE CHALLENGE: A STATIC INDUSTRY MEETS MODERN COMPLEXITIES For years, the agency industry has been static, providing retailers and brands with essentially unchanged services. When facing modern complexities, such as cautious consumers, rising operational costs and the need for new channel growth, the static service became demonstrably too slow and inflexible. The workers themselves,


now part of the agile gig economy, had evolved their capabilities to be flexible and on-demand, but the static management system around them had not. To thrive, the industry required a breakthrough in agility and intelligence.


TECH, DATA AND TALENT Acosta Europe is closing the gap with a hyper-agile, tech-enabled workforce that’s equipped for today’s retail challenges.


AI-driven technology serves as Ready to maximise ROI?


Acosta Europe provides the scalable growth and


commercial innovation to transform your brand’s performance. Get in touch


the catalyst for Acosta Europe’s strategy, which is fundamentally built to leverage the power of technology, data and AI. The organisation is focusing their investments in the ‘magical intersection’ of these tools with the industry’s best people, resulting in a disproportionately


beneficial outcome. Acosta equips teams


with hyper-dynamic, data-


enriched call files and uses predictive models to anticipate customer behaviour. This allows for hyper- personalised conversations and smarter territory management, using data to pinpoint the right action, for the right store, at the right time. Efficiency and effectiveness aren’t just goals — they’re built into the system.


TECH CAPABILITIES


THE NEW WORKFORCE MODEL: CONSISTENCY MEETS FLEXIBILITY People power has been redefined. And Acosta is leading the industry by fusing its highly trained traditional workforce with a scalable, flexible gig force. This hybrid model is managed


FIELD SALES IN ACTION


through technology, data and AI, which deliver both unmatched scalability and essential consistency and compliance. These powerful tools make roles


easier and more effective, providing all associates with data-enriched


workflows and valuable insights for the perfect human interaction. Gig workers are no longer stop-gaps, but proven brand builders driving rising retail ROI, secured by Acosta’s continuous investment in data and technology.


For further information Visit: acosta-europe.com E: enquiries@acosta-europe.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28