Janssen-Cilag adds reminding service to medication offerings
We are pleased to welcome Janssen-Cilag as a new client. Janssen-Cilag is a leading research-based pharmaceutical company and a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
The ASK solution consists of providing reminding and information services that invoke increased awareness and loyalty among patients. Studies have indicated that correctly following medical advice, including drug compliance, contributes to accelerated recovery and improved living conditions. Continue reading...

Lifesavers manage their availability by phone and web
The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (abbreviated as KNRM in Dutch) has rescued over 78,000 people since its formation in 1824. As a result of a successful pilot, all its 1,100 professionally trained volunteers will be using ASK by the end of this year.
ASK will be permanently monitoring the occupancy rate for all 42 KNRM  rescue stations. The system takes into account individual preferences with regard to employability and provides targeted multichannel process guidance and support information. This enables instant readiness in case of emergencies. Continue reading...

Roll out at Netwerk VSP
Following a successful pilot period, ASK continues to safeguard the delivery process quality at Netwerk VSP. Netwerk VSP is the Dutch market leader in Advertising Mail. This project is featured in this issue's spotlight section. Continue reading...

Almende: researching future technologies
Judging from the ever growing ASK customer base, the concept of an intelligent communications platform has been widely accepted. Behind the scenes, research partner Almende B.V., based in Rotterdam, is involved in state-of-the-art research projects. Investigating novel ways for ICT to be used to organize communication networks, which will add to the intelligence and effectiveness of tomorrow’s ASK platform. So what may ASK customers expect in a nearby future?

One feature involves the visualization of complex communication networks. Who is interacting with whom? Visualizing the interactions between people and groups of people provides more insight into communication and knowledge networks within organizations.
From this follows a second feature, which allows you to interface directly from any communication network visualization. There is compatibility with ASK as all means of communication are supported in the ASK platform.
Two projects of Almende specifically focus on the development of advanced matching algorithms. Current ASK technology provides simple and immediate interaction with the right people based on explicit feedback. Instead of explicitly asking users for feedback, Almende looked at new algorithms which use implicit feedback. The result is a set of algorithms which discover user-preferences just by looking at communication patterns, as monitored by ASK. Over time, this information is used to make predictions as to who should be matched to whom.
A last feature Almende is working on makes it possible to connect any of two databases. This application serves as a mediator: it looks at the structure of one database and translates it to the structure of the second. Connecting to ASK has never been simpler!

Sounds promising? Check www.almende.com or contact Research Manager Jan Peter Larsen for additional information.

ASK enters into its third era
We are glad to announce the birth of ASK 3.0! The third ASK product comes with a newly designed web interface, which greatly increases user friendliness. The new version also features multiple new functionalities. ASK 3.0 is the first release that incorporates ASK Apps, a toolkit to create easy-to-use interfaces for the ASK platform within a few mouse-clicks. By combining separate modules, ASK is able to serve each clients’ needs easily. It also allows for a quick setup, which is beneficial for our partners and strengthens our leading position in terms of implementation speed.

Please contact Johan Reis or Oscar Leurs if you have any questions related to ASK 3.0.

Product improvements follow each other quickly
Development has been undergoing a major change in terms of release management. The development team has managed to shorten the release cycles by redesigning the production process and standardizing testing procedures. As a result bug fixes, new features and performance upgrades will be available for our customers much sooner from now on.

Please contact Ludo Stellingwerff for additional information.

Quality of Delivery assurance
Delivering an impressive amount of 6,000,000 seal bags a week, Netwerk VSP is the largest distributor of advertising leaflets, free papers and mail samples in the Netherlands. Every single week, mail carriers confirm delivery completion by calling ASK. Also, in order to keep the delivery process operational during the holiday season, ASK will contact 48,000 people to inform whether they are willing to replace absent mail carriers. The solution is effective in offering Netwerk VSP:

• Timely and accurate data on deliveries: Netwerk VSP can improve on delivery time and continuously monitors the quality of their deliveries;
• Intensified contact with mail carriers: Netwerk VSP aims to increase the amount of communications with mail carriers;
• Added value for the customer: from a commercial point of view it is interesting to provide them insight into the current delivery status or performance indicators.

For more information on this project, please contact Patrick Nesse.

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