ATLANTA, Nov. 30, 2017 – Sionic Mobile, a cloud-based connected commerce provider, today announced it has partnered with NorthOut, Inc., a leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technology experiences firm, to enhance its ION Commerce Engine® (ICE) platform with advanced analytics and data-driven dashboards powered by IBM Watson Analytics. Incorporating actionable data including customer spending traits, loyalty, transaction trends and market demographic data, the latest version of the platform will help merchants better engage and connect with millions of consumers through their vehicle dashboards and their favorite mobile apps.

Featuring next-generation AI features and capabilities, the latest release of the ICE platform (available Q1 2018) will provide retailers the tools needed to accelerate business growth, drive organizational efficiency, create better outcomes and deepen customer relationships.

“Retailers and merchants in today’s market are facing fierce competition and for many, especially small businesses, the struggle to simply survive, much less thrive is daunting,” said Eric Healy, CEO, NorthOut. “Most business owners recognize the transformative power of artificial intelligence, but lack the necessary resources or expertise to successfully leverage the technology. Sionic Mobile’s sophisticated, connected commerce engine will disrupt this industry, providing not only a robust mobile payments and loyalty platform, but now also featuring data-driven components providing a clear market advantage.”

Sionic Mobile’s dynamic platform, ICE, powers connected cars, the Mobile Rewards Marketplace? ,the ION Rewards? consumer app, and is integrated with popular payment terminals and POS systems.

It leverages Sionic Mobile’s proprietary three-digit code checkout process, enabling merchants to accept mobile payments in a matter of minutes with no upfront costs, complex integrations or expensive technology upgrades.

“NorthOut’s unique blend of strategy, modern experience design and cognitive computing skills will be instrumental in taking our ICE platform to the next level,” said Ronald Herman, CEO of Sionic Mobile. “Working with their team, we’ve taken a very complex set of features and delivered them in an intuitive, automated manner that positions any merchant, regardless of size or location, to succeed. Despite the continued hype, most of the platforms touting AI capabilities provide little to no value, providing users with cryptic, often inaccessible data. The enhancements we’ve made to ICE will be a game changer for retailers.”