In collaboration with Agoria’s StartAI Program, Faktion partnered with EventPay, a prominent provider of cashless payment solutions for festivals and events, to define and accelerate a strategic AI roadmap. Through structured workshops, comprehensive use-case analysis, and targeted ideation sessions, the collaboration identified multiple impactful AI opportunities to streamline operations and enhance client satisfaction. Among these outcomes was a detailed proposal for a high-impact AI-powered Text-to-SQL solution, aimed at providing dynamic and personalized insights to EventPay’s diverse client base.

Challenge: Complex Data Needs Limit Growth

EventPay provides cashless payment solutions for festival organisers through RFID wristbands, terminals, and a centralised transaction management dashboard. The company seeks to deliver frictionless festival experiences, avoiding registrations, apps, or complicated user interactions. To maintain its competitive edge, EventPay recognises the necessity of transforming its current data-reporting capabilities into actionable and personalised insights for diverse client needs, ranging from small events seeking basic sales figures to large-scale festivals demanding advanced analytics.

The primary challenge facing EventPay is the growing complexity and customisation requirements in client reporting, which significantly impact the operational efficiency and scalability of its services. Underlying factors contributing to this challenge include:

  • Highly fragmented client reporting demands, ranging from simple sales tracking to advanced accounting and predictive analytics.
  • Difficulty standardizing insights due to a lack of uniformity in client expectations and sophistication levels.
  • Manual processing of varied data formats (Excel, PDF, JPEG, handwritten menus) from clients.
  • Time-intensive handling of customer queries across multiple communication channels (WhatsApp, email, phone) causing internal bottlenecks.
  • Absence of automated anomaly detection mechanisms to effectively identify transactional irregularities or fraud.

Solution: Adaptive AI-Driven Intelligence Layer

Faktion designed and developed a comprehensive AI Pathfinder and Strategy Track for EventPay, delivering a clear AI implementation roadmap with targeted, high-impact solutions addressing EventPay’s specific operational challenges:

  • AI-powered Chat Assistant integrated within EventPay’s existing communication channels (email, WhatsApp, and chat widgets) automates responses to repetitive customer queries, significantly reducing manual workload.
  • Text-to-SQL Agent enables festival organisers to effortlessly query EventPay’s transaction databases using natural language. This allows non-technical stakeholders to independently generate tailored reports and visualisations without direct SQL expertise.
  • A Metadata Automation Engine streamlines the processing and interpretation of technical connectivity logs, offering critical insights to improve connectivity reliability and reduce unnecessary investments in redundant backup infrastructure.
  • Automated Menu Configuration Module employs custom-trained GPT models to extract structured information from diverse, unstructured client menu submissions, reducing manual configuration overhead and improving accuracy.

Approach: Strategic AI Roadmap Delivery

Faktion engaged EventPay in the Agoria StartAI Track, employing a structured five-day engagement model:

Initially, Faktion conducted two intensive preparation days to deeply understand EventPay’s operational workflows, existing infrastructure, and client segmentation. Subsequently, a tailored workshop was delivered by two senior Faktion AI consultants, structured around three targeted lightning talks that identified core pain points, validated prioritised use cases, and crystallised EventPay’s unique operational and market context.

Within the interactive session, the following frameworks and methodologies were deployed:

  • Use Case Matrix for structured prioritisation, categorising tasks based on ease of AI implementation and business impact potential.
  • AI Opportunity Canvas, clarifying critical data inputs, desired outputs, and strategic alignment for each prioritised use case.
  • User Experience Profiling to align the AI-driven enhancements precisely with client-facing workflows and internal processes, ensuring adoption through an intuitive and responsive design.
  • Comprehensive UX Requirement Mapping, capturing detailed specifications for intuitive user interfaces, accessibility considerations, and iterative feedback mechanisms.

Iterative feedback loops facilitated swift refinement of identified solutions, resulting in a phased AI implementation roadmap aligned with EventPay’s strategic objectives.

Outcome: Strategic Clarity and AI Readiness

The strategic AI roadmap co-created by Faktion and EventPay has delivered immediate clarity and tangible value, positioning EventPay to implement multiple AI-driven enhancements effectively: A clear, actionable roadmap that prioritises high-impact AI initiatives—including a Chat Assistant, Metadata Automation, Automated Menu Configuration, and the notably impactful Text-to-SQL solution.

Additionally, Faktion also delivered a detailed roadmap and analysis for the AI-powered Text-to-SQL solution. This solution is designed to dynamically translate natural-language queries into precise SQL statements, empowering festival organisers to effortlessly access customised, real-time analytics without technical expertise. According to the comprehensive Return-on-Investment analysis performed, the Text-to-SQL solution alone is projected to deliver a first-year return on investment of approximately 161%, clearly demonstrating value that drastically surpasses the initial implementation costs.

Overall, the structured AI Pathfinder engagement provided EventPay with robust, data-driven solutions, enabling the company to significantly enhance operational effectiveness, differentiate its market offering, and sustain continued growth.

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