Have a look around, and you might notice that chatbots and voice assistants have permeated our lives — bringing an air of excitement and efficiency to manual tasks and chores. Considering the amount of time and effort we expend at the office, it’s about time that assistants make their way to the workplace.

Although IT and security leaders are making ongoing strides to ensure their workers are enabled with the most cutting-edge technology, the employees they support continue to dedicate countless hours to basic tasks that could otherwise be delegated to an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered sidekick.

It can also be a struggle for workers to overcome learning curve challenges or get on-the-go help with support-related issues. Think about the number of requests and tickets that could be avoided if users had the ability to get this level of support from an AI voice assistant.

Why Mobile Employees Could Use Some Assistance

It can be frustrating trying to find a specific email or attachment when on a mobile device, oftentimes leading to multiple searches and dead ends. Think of how many times you’ve said things like, “Sure, I’ll pull that up and send it over when I get back to my laptop.”

It’s even more frustrating attempting to schedule a meeting when the organizer is forced to look up the availability of all the participants, type out the title and define an agenda. Something that is seemingly simple is anything but when put into practice.

Smartphones and tablets are designed to provide everything you need in the palm of your hand, but sometimes there’s too much in front of you to know how to prioritize. Imagine the headaches that could be avoided if employees had a helper that could constantly query their emails, calendars and contacts for them and notify them when they’ve let an email response to an important person — such as their boss — slip a bit too long.

There also can be times when devices just don’t work the way they’re supposed to. Perhaps you’re having trouble figuring out how to do something, like how to reset your passcode or turn on notifications, for example. In times like these, employees want on-demand support, but without a viable alternative, they turn to their IT helpdesk team to answer the call.

Join the Aug. 23 webinar: Help is on its way! A Sidekick For Your Mobile Workforce

Say Hello to an AI-Enabled Voice Assistant

IBM MaaS360, an industry leader in unified endpoint management (UEM), is pleased to introduce MaaS360 Assistant, the latest addition to its unique assortment of AI offerings. Enabled by chat and voice, MaaS360 Assistant is available for use by mobile employees today through open beta.

Programmed to improve productivity and deliver the best possible user experience, MaaS360 Assistant is now at the ready to respond to common questions across email, corporate contacts and calendar using natural language processing (NLP) capabilities.

An Even Better MaaS360 Assistant Tomorrow

Assistant was developed with AI capabilities that enable it to learn, evolve and become more accurate over time. In fact, it’s already begun learning.

Soon, this intelligence voice assistant will deliver notifications and insights that improve user awareness and prioritization surrounding their everyday activities, making it possible to follow up with the click of a button. For example, if your boss emailed you a week ago and you haven’t responded, you’ll get a nudge.

It’ll also be able to provide expert support and guidance, eliminating the user’s need to depend on the support team to resolve common issues.

Finally, the solution will integrate with third-party enterprise apps (e.g., human resources, customer relationship management and content management). Instead of swapping between enterprise apps, users can now rely on AI and NLP capabilities to perform tasks and get information.

Get Acquainted With Assistant

MaaS360 customers with Secure Mail are all set to enable their mobile employees. Just check in with your account manager to learn how to take full advantage.

To see MaaS360 Assistant in action and learn more about what it has to offer, register for the live webinar, “Help Is On Its Way! A Sidekick for Your mobile workforce,” on Aug. 23 at 11 a.m. EST.