NEC Corporation, a global business with over 300 group companies worldwide and 110,000 employees, was driving a cloud shift to enable work style innovations and digital transformation (DX). The company aimed to provide comfort and security simultaneously when connecting to the cloud. The challenge was to migrate their network infrastructure, including the internet gateway, to a secure cloud environment. This was necessary to realize a work style that was not constrained by time or place. The company faced difficulties in detecting cyberattacks and malware downloads due to the encryption of web traffic. About 90% of their web traffic was SSL, and approximately 80% of malware communication used SSL, which was often used for cyberattacks. Traditional security solutions that did not support SSL visualization could not detect malware. The company also aimed to ease internet traffic by significantly shifting the IT environment from on-premises to the cloud, ensuring application performance was not interrupted by security regulations and maintaining a user-friendly state even when traffic drastically increased.

Northgate Market expanded to 40 supermarkets through market growth and strategic acquisitions. Its ambitious expansion goals included additional services and capabilities intended to deliver exceptional service to its customers. However, these ambitions were hindered by its aging infrastructure with limited and failing network and security capabilities. Northgate Market was operating on an MPLS network with two T-1 network connections and limited 3Mbps capacity at each location. A wireless 3G LTE network served as a backup when the primary terrestrial network failed. Unfortunately, the network was slow and experienced frequent outages. All internet-bound traffic was backhauled from the individual supermarkets to the two corporate data centers and secured through web content filtering appliances before going out to the internet. This created bottlenecks and negatively impacted user experience as well as the ability for Northgate Market’s associates to deliver excellent service to its customers.

National Oilwell Varco (NOV), a Fortune 500 company supplying technical equipment and services to the global oil-and-gas industry, faced a significant challenge when the entire company had to move to remote access. With operations in over 600 locations and a large computing workforce of 25,000 employees, 70% of whom are mobile with laptops, the shift was not straightforward. The company's fortunes are tied to fluctuating global commodities markets, and after oil prices plummeted in the mid-2010s, the IT team was tasked with doing more with less. They needed to reduce the burden of legacy technical debt, lower historically high costs, add more capabilities, and improve security for their worldwide organization. The company began its transformation in 2016 with a shift to the cloud, away from what CIO Alex Philips describes as 'security appliance hell.'

Powerco, a leading electricity and gas infrastructure business in New Zealand, was faced with the challenge of modernizing its corporate IT infrastructure. The company aimed to transition from a traditional wide area network (WAN) architecture to an internet-only, zero trust strategy across its office locations. This required finding a replacement for legacy web filtering and virtual private network (VPN) capabilities. Additionally, Powerco wanted to change the way its applications were deployed, moving away from the intranet and publishing them behind a secure portal. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to accelerate its deployment plans, adding an additional layer of complexity to the situation.

Sandvik Group, a global high-tech and engineering company, was facing significant challenges with its traditional virtual private network (VPN) approach to connecting and securing remote workers. The VPN technology was causing productivity and user experience hurdles, as it hadn't evolved much since its introduction. The company was looking for a technology that removed connectivity hurdles and reduced attack surfaces to improve its security posture. The challenge was further intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated a rapid transition to a work-from-anywhere (WFA) model. The company needed to establish zero-trust network access rapidly and smoothly to enable this transformation.

SICK AG, a global leader in sensors, systems, and services for industrial automation technology, was facing a challenge in modernizing its IT security and driving digitization. The company, which has a significant international presence with over 50 subsidiaries and approximately 10,000 employees, was heavily reliant on sensor intelligence for Industry 4.0 processes. However, the existing four internet gateways in Europe, Asia, and North America were a limiting factor for a cloud-first infrastructure. The company needed a solution that would allow secure internet breakouts at each location and facilitate the exchange of data recorded by sensors via the cloud. In 2015, SICK decided to stop using its existing security hardware and sought a cloud-based solution to drive digitization and modernize its IT security.

Stolt-Nielsen Limited, a global leader in the transportation and storage of specialty chemicals and other bulk liquids, was facing challenges in maintaining a quality user experience for its offices and remote users due to its traditional WAN with MPLS connections. The company found this system to be inefficient and inconsistent with its overall cloud strategy. The MPLS contracts were expensive, had long-term commitments, and made new locations difficult to deploy. The company’s on-premises gateway security solution lacked the flexibility to handle cloud and SaaS traffic, had limited security monitoring functionality, and provided no protection for local breakouts, remote employees, or road warriors. Moreover, the company funneled traffic to a data center in Europe for egress to the internet, causing latency issues for locations in other parts of the world. This resulted in a poor user experience and growing frustration among employees in many locations across the Americas and the AsiaPacific region.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, the oldest pharmaceutical firm in the world, faced a significant challenge following its merger with Shire PLC. The merger resulted in a 'quite-disjointed' network architecture that needed to be integrated and secured. The company's IT team, led by CISO Mike Towers, was tasked with managing systems for a global workforce of over 70,000 employees spread across 110 countries. The company had begun rolling out Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) in late 2018 to secure employee internet egress via the cloud and provide a consistent user experience. However, the merger accelerated Takeda's migration to the cloud, pushing the company to move towards a Zero Trust, user-to-destination model as quickly as possible. The challenge was to provide secure employee connectivity for every type of worker via local internet breakouts, while maintaining a consistent policy across all locations.

TT Electronics, a global provider of engineered electronics, was facing challenges with its existing network infrastructure. The company had set up a global MPLS network with web scanning, email scanning, and VPN in 2010, and renewed its contract in 2015, increasing its bandwidth and user count. However, the increased bandwidth proved to be inadequate due to the rapid transition to cloud apps. Furthermore, the company was struggling to secure its transition to cloud apps and an increasingly mobile workforce. The situation was further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated remote work. The company's existing remote access VPN was proving to be inflexible and limited in bandwidth, causing difficulties for users in China.

Watercare Services, a public utility company in Auckland, New Zealand, faced significant challenges in securing its network and optimizing work-from-anywhere (WFA) and remote access for its IIoT and IoT devices. The company had initially weathered the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns using a combination of security solutions, including a secure cloud gateway and virtual private networks (VPNs). However, during the second lockdown, these solutions proved insufficient. The company's existing secure cloud gateway was obtrusive and unpopular among users. Furthermore, Watercare's primary VPN product collapsed just before the second lockdown, leaving the company in urgent need of a more reliable and comprehensive solution. The company was committed to adopting a zero trust security approach and needed a platform that could deliver exceptional user experiences while also providing robust security.

Goulston & Storrs, an Am Law 200 law firm, faced several challenges in securing its client data. The firm needed to continually increase its level of protection to keep up with evolving threats. Operational inefficiencies due to outdated security mechanisms that did not align with modern applications were also a concern. The firm's security measures were complicated by policy management issues. The firm's private and public clouds, which are data-rich targets for cybercriminals, were often secured with firewall-based controls. These controls allowed malicious communications to piggyback on permitted network policies due to a lack of visibility beyond primitive network attributes. The firm needed a solution that could provide application-level enforcement and continuous trust assessments for gap-free security coverage.

Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services firm, faced a significant challenge in providing a secure, responsive network that offered a uniform experience to its users, regardless of their location. The company's employees relied heavily on software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings like Workday, Salesforce, and Microsoft 365, both in offices and on the go. However, the traditional hub-and-spoke WAN architecture was not meeting the company's needs. This was particularly problematic as the company was focusing on its growth strategy through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Integrating new companies into the Cushman & Wakefield network meant bringing technology, software, networks, processes, and people on board as seamlessly and quickly as possible. The existing WAN architecture was not suited to handle this rapid onboarding.

AirAsia, a global leader in customer experience in the travel industry, was facing challenges in maintaining its high-quality customer service due to rapidly increasing passenger numbers. Despite having over 3.3 million active users on their app, the lack of a self-service solution meant that customers were required to engage a live agent for support, leading to an average wait time of 45 minutes. This was particularly problematic for time-sensitive and urgent inquiries. Additionally, the reliance on voice-based call center teams that operated within local hours and languages made it difficult for AirAsia to support its international client base, create new connections, and drive new sales.

Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB), a popular dating app, was facing a significant challenge in managing customer service as the company grew. The support team was overwhelmed with thousands of new email tickets every month, leading to an average wait time of 12 hours for the first response. This was negatively impacting the customer experience, as agents were spending their time addressing straightforward questions that could have been handled without live support. The reliance on human connection for customer service was proving to be a hindrance rather than an advantage.

LiteBit.eu, a Netherlands-based cryptocurrency broker established in 2013, provides a platform for buying, selling, and storing 55 different types of cryptocurrency. The company prides itself on delivering a high-quality customer experience, as evidenced by its impressive NPS score of 93%. However, the surge in cryptocurrency popularity in 2017 led to a significant increase in customer inquiries, more than doubling the workload for LiteBit.eu’s live support agents. This sudden growth threatened the quality of customer support, a core pillar of LiteBit.eu’s brand value. Although the company introduced Zendesk ticketing software to streamline agents’ efforts, it was not able to provide real-time responses, which was crucial for maintaining the personalized experience that LiteBit.eu was known for. The company needed a solution that could scale powerful automation without compromising its industry-leading NPS.

Qapital, a mobile-only banking service, was facing a significant challenge in managing customer service inquiries. Despite being recognized as 'the Most Innovative App of the Year' by Google in 2017, Qapital's reliance on Zendesk live agents for customer service was proving to be a bottleneck. The company was experiencing long wait times and an ever-growing ticket list, which was not only frustrating for customers but also made it difficult for the agents to focus on more complex questions. As a company that aimed to digitize the conservative banking industry, Qapital was keen on bringing the same level of innovation to its customer support.

Before the implementation of Ada's solution, the client, a rapidly growing Canadian telecommunications company, was struggling to manage over 30 million yearly inquiries from its 13 million+ customers. The company's customer service strategy relied heavily on live support, which was only available from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. This resulted in increasing customer wait times and a high volume of repetitive, low-value tickets that stalled agent productivity. Even basic tasks such as payments and upgrades required live human support, further straining the system. To continue providing excellent customer experience and meet the evolving expectations of its customers, the company needed an enterprise-grade, scalable solution that would reduce customer effort, boost agent productivity, and save overhead cost.

The client, a rapidly growing educational app used by over half of the schools in the United States and in over 150 other countries, was facing a challenge in managing its customer support. The small customer support team was struggling to keep up with the increasing number of monthly email tickets, especially during peak back-to-school seasons. The reliance on manual responses from agents was negatively impacting the user experience, with customers waiting up to 28 hours before their first contact. Furthermore, the U.S.-based customer service team working North American hours was unable to support the growing international client base, limiting the potential for brand building and sales-driving conversations.

Square, a digital payment company, was facing challenges in providing efficient and personalized customer support. The company needed a solution that could act as the first point of contact for Global Customer Success, providing personalized self-service, triaging seller questions and product issues, and routing the seller to the ideal contact channel when necessary. The goal was to reduce customer effort and demand for support, while increasing the efficiency and impact of Customer Success. The company also wanted to optimize support channels by leveraging seller profile data to display optimal support paths and reduce customer frustration. Furthermore, Square aimed to reduce seller effort and increase advocate efficiency by providing greater context to enhance advocate efficiency when handling common issues.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a global airline serving over 30 million passengers annually, was facing a challenge in providing a personalized and convenient booking experience for its customers. The average customer flies with KLM 1.4 times per year, and many of these customers do not download the airline’s mobile app to book a flight. KLM wanted to create a new entry point for these customers, one that provided opportunities for conversational interactions using voice or text. The goal was to bring warmth and personality to conversations with their customers, enhancing the overall customer experience.

Ticketmaster, the world's leading live-event ticketing company, was seeking ways to provide faster and more personalized services for ticket buyers. They recognized the potential of natural language processing in enhancing customer experience but had little experience in this field. The challenge was to find a technology that was easy to implement, scalable, and provided a good developer experience. They also needed a system that could understand and respond accurately to the names of thousands of different musical artists, a crucial aspect of their business.

Domino’s, a global pizza restaurant chain, has been at the forefront of digital innovation, offering customers the ability to order pizzas via 'Dom', an ordering bot available online and through the company’s mobile apps. However, with the changing consumer behavior and the need to innovate, the company faced the challenge of building rich conversational experiences powered by natural language understanding (NLU) and machine learning. The company needed a solution that could scale and accommodate the number of intents needed for a complex ordering process. The challenge was to account for the numerous directions a customer could take when ordering from their extensive menu.

FintruX Network, a leading start-up in Asia, faced the challenge of explaining their highly sophisticated technology to four different audiences within a limited time frame on a static website. The average duration of a user on a website is between 90 to 150 seconds, depending on whether it's a B2B or B2C website. Within this short span, users typically cannot read all the content on a website, leading to a drop in conversion rates. If users experience friction or cannot find answers to their questions, they are more likely to abandon the site. FintruX needed a solution that could answer common questions from different audiences, educate visitors, and speed up their conversion cycle without having to change any of the content on their website.

TSI, an Inc. 5000 Hall of Fame consumer logistics company, was facing a challenge in increasing leads that drive significant growth in a competitive sector. The company offers customers a variety of ways to connect, with live chat being a key channel. However, due to a redirection of resources, the live chat experience was going to be largely removed from the site. This was a concern as testing and customer feedback indicated that complete removal of an interactive, conversational option would have a negative impact on revenue. Additionally, during the limited hours resources were available for live chats, it was increasingly important to disqualify certain leads that were not a fit for TSI to increase efficiency. TSI was using Intercom as their live-chat solution, but as chat volume grew, so did the price tag. The additional fees for using Intercom's bot product, on top of the hefty monthly fees TSI was already paying made it an untenable solution.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian menswear retailer Harry Rosen experienced a significant shift in its business to the digital realm due to lockdowns and changing customer behavior. This transition led to a sharp increase in digital customer service tickets, stretching the customer service department thin. The company initially tried to manage the surge by reallocating in-store associates to digital customer care. However, this approach proved to be insufficient and unsustainable, as the volume of tickets continued to rise, especially during peak seasons like the holiday shopping period.

Latin America's digitalization and eCommerce boom presented a significant challenge for EBANX, a Brazil-based company that facilitates payments for global companies in the region. As the company's merchant base expanded rapidly, the customer success and support team struggled to keep pace with the growth. The volume of customer support tickets across chat, email, and voice-based messages reached approximately 55,000 per month. The EBANX team found it increasingly difficult to maintain response times, leading to higher than usual queues in the customer support chat room. This resulted in sessions often being abandoned by customers due to the lack of timely responses from agents. The challenge was to ensure equal growth and scalability of their support team to best serve their users and the burgeoning market.

Megabus, an intercity bus service operating in the United States and Canada, was faced with a significant challenge when the global pandemic hit. The company had been making significant strides in improving its customer experience, but the sudden halt in travel caused a massive influx of customer queries. Customers were confused and anxious, leading to a surge in calls and emails to cancel or reschedule trips, request refunds, and understand changing policies. This situation resulted in 'ghost contacts', with the same customer reaching out on multiple channels, leading to a massive backlog in ticket volume and response time. The customer service team was overwhelmed, and the company's efforts to improve its Net Promoter Score (NPS) and lower customer contacts were severely impacted.

WestJet, a leading airline, was facing the challenge of meeting the rising customer expectations for immediate, accurate, and effective resolution of their queries. The company was expanding its operations with new destinations, impressive additions to its fleet, and global partnerships. With this expansion, the customer base was also growing, leading to an increase in customer support tickets. The company was finding it difficult to manage the surge in customer queries and provide superior support. The situation was further exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic when the airline was inundated with requests for rebooking or cancelling flights, and a barrage of questions including flying restrictions and cancellations.

Singtel, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Singapore, was facing a challenge in providing a positive customer experience to its over 640 million customers. The expectations of the customers for effortless, immediate, and convenient support were rising rapidly. The company was struggling with a high volume of email tickets, which had an average resolution time of over 24 hours. Many of these tickets were highly repetitive scenarios. Furthermore, certain tasks, such as activating a new plan on a customer's account, required agents to access multiple systems and engage in back-and-forth interactions to confirm various details, taking over 10 minutes per request.

Zinus, a globally recognized online mattress and furniture brand, was facing a significant challenge in managing its customer service operations. With an average of 5,000 tickets per month, the customer service team was overwhelmed with issues related to warranty claims, product queries, and order status. The situation was exacerbated by the pandemic, with customers waiting for 30-40 minutes, and sometimes even days, for a response. As the company planned to scale internationally and demand continued to rise, Zinus needed a solution that could help them manage the increasing volume of customer queries and maintain high customer satisfaction.