Contact management solution provider Sansan on Wednesday launched its Eight app in India. The new app, available for both Android and iOS platforms, is designed to help users digitise their large pile of business cards and connect with their professional contacts while on the go. The Japanese company is targeting its business card scanning solution to various co-working spaces, chain shops, and facilities that have a footfall of over 100 visitors a day. Also, the Tokyo-based company is planning to partner with business process outsourcing companies in the country to build a joint operation to digitise business cards.
The Eight app uses artificial intelligence (AI) driven technologies alongside human efforts to combine its native business card scanning features with social media functionality. It uses the camera sensor on Android or iOS devices to store information from business cards to eventually help users organise their business contacts under one roof. Once a card is scanned, it gets digitised into a unique Eight profile. Each of these Eight profiles build a social network where the users can instant message their contacts as well as share news and updates. Further, the profiles can be organised with notes and tags.
Eight app
Similar to what is offered by Microsoft's LinkedIn to its users, the Eight app also provides recommendations for new connections and comes with an integration of email and phone conversations.
While the Eight app is available for free download on Google Play as well as Apple App Store, its Premium version can be opted to add additional features including the option to export the scanned data. The app was initially launched in Japan, where it so far has more than two million users and 5,000 daily downloads. The company also claims that the app digitises around 300,000 business cards on a daily basis.
Getting back to the India launch, as mentioned, Sansan says it will launch a business card scan partner programme in India. With the programme, the firm will provide its business card scanner to co-working spaces, chain shops such as coffee or tea chains, and facilities where more than 100 people visit per day. An Eight user can bring their large pile of exchanged business cards and save time to digitise them. Sansan is also looking for business process outsourcing companies to create a joint operation to scan cards for Eight users. Finally, Sansan says it hopes have one million registered users in India in the first six months.
"More than 10 billion business cards are exchanged a year, and with Eight, we plan to not only streamline this process but also add more value to it so that every connection counts for an individual. India represents a huge market for us due to its large English-speaking working population. We are focusing on India to help us reach our ultimate goal of creating the future of "no paper" business cards," said Chika Terada, CEO, Sansan, in a statement.
The Eight app is claimed to have 99.8 percent of accuracy in its transcription process - with more than 200 million business cards transcribe in a year. Sansan has endorsed Bollywood celebrity Gul Panag to start its journey in India.
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