That was the NAVAX Innovation Day 2024

Data-driven marketing: synergy of data warehouse, CRM and e-mail automation

AI & Co. - an innovative mindset for leadership

In her keynote speech, Prof. Dr. Silke Finken, Professor of Innovation Management, highlighted the many opportunities and challenges of new technologies. Artificial intelligence gives employees the opportunity to take their work to a new level, while allowing managers to focus more on strategy and leadership. At the same time, however, the renowned keynote speaker also sees risks such as incorrect information, biased recommendations and discrimination in models - challenges that will occupy management teams intensively in the coming years.

The Professor of Innovation Management emphasizes that an innovative mindset is crucial in order to successfully and efficiently exploit the opportunities that arise and to lead organizations and employees through the transformation. “Everyone in the organization can contribute to advancing innovative projects and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies,” summarizes Prof. Dr. Finken.

Data-driven marketing: synergy of data warehouse, CRM and e-mail automation

Lukas Prügger, Digital Sales Manager at Bühnen Graz and long-standing NAVAX customer in the area of customer experience, provided exciting insights into the topic of data-driven marketing. The largest provincial theater group records around 470,000 visitors at 1,400 performances every year. In order to use this valuable data specifically for marketing, service and customer management, the company relies on the close integration of data warehouse, CRM and email automation. This synergy makes it possible to create personalized and seamless customer experiences and make marketing measures more efficient.

“The key for us is the integration and real-time use of data,” emphasizes Lukas Prügger. Central company data from various sources is brought together and processed in a structured manner in the data warehouse. The customer relationship management system (CRM) manages all customer relationships in one central location and offers a comprehensive 360-degree view of visitors. This integration enables a highly personalized approach instead of a “one-size-fits-all” solution.

This is how data-driven marketing works in practice: after purchasing a ticket, visitors to Bühnen Graz automatically receive all relevant information - from travel instructions and event details to recommendations for hotels, restaurants and event trailers. Real-time interfaces and dashboards enable employees to view customer feedback on a daily basis and use it to make targeted decisions.

A brief insight into the cloud from an IT security perspective

At the NAVAX Innovation Day, one central and highly topical subject was not to be missed: IT security in the cloud. This knowledge is particularly crucial for managers, as hacker attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and social engineering attacks such as phishing are increasingly being carried out via social media. IT forensic scientist and IT security expert Michael Meixner gave an impressive demonstration of how quickly an access token that we use every day can be stolen: “Today I'm going to show you live how easy it is to get hold of an access token.”

In his presentation, Meixner explained the phases of a cyber attack using the cyber kill chain, from vulnerability scanning to remote control of compromised systems, and explained the need for a zero trust model. He showed how targeted monitoring and suitable protective measures can help to detect attacks at an early stage and minimize damage.

Leading the era of AI - ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilots are changing business and society

Generative AI has great potential to make companies competitive - 87% of companies believe in this advantage. However, the challenge is to translate the potential into concrete use cases in order to turn the initial enthusiasm into sustainable results.

In his presentation, Yves Underwood, Senior Sales Executive Business Applications, Microsoft Austria, showed how Microsoft is using Copilot to bring AI features directly into business applications (e.g. CRM, ERP) so that employees can complete tasks faster using natural language and companies can use a secure solution. "It's important for managers to keep this in mind: If I don't provide my employees with a secure environment like Copilot, I have to expect that they will use the consumer variants and that this will be to the detriment of the company," warns Underwood.

In contrast to public AI tools such as ChatGPT, data protection is maintained when using Microsoft's enterprise solutions, as company data does not leave the company's own tenant and is not used for model development. The expert describes how skills such as “prompt engineering” are becoming increasingly important and open up new opportunities for employees to participate in digitalization.

The power of data: Quality and strategy as the key to success in the AI era

Data continues to increase in value and is generated every second in social media, online retail or through smart devices. A clear data strategy is crucial for companies in order to collect and manage information in a targeted manner and use it for business success. In his presentation, Oliver Wesely, Senior AI Consultant at NAVAX, showed how a good data strategy improves decision-making processes and creates competitive advantages. Data quality is particularly important here, as incomplete or incorrect data can result in incorrect decisions and financial losses.

With tools such as data cleansing, standardization and solid data governance, your company will be equipped for the data-driven future - supported by cloud-based solutions such as Microsoft Fabric and AI applications. "Together we are taking the step into the future. Your data will decide what this step will look like," summarizes Wesely aptly.