On the Platform

COVID-19 has accelerated the massive growth of platform businesses. As platforms play an increasingly integrated role in how people live and organizations operate, trust is non-negotiable. But in such a dynamic and fast-moving environment, maintaining trust requires platform companies to keep up with new threats and continuously adapt.

Robin Murdoch is a guest speaker on The Information’s 411 Podcast series with Jessica Lessin. Listen as he discusses what hypergrowth companies can do to win customer loyalty from the ride-hailing sector.

Exploring committee-based governance for ethics and AI and the issues confronting companies and governments as it relates to ethics and technology rules out artificial intelligence.

Accenture’s Software & Platforms discuss the impact platform companies have on commerce – online and offline.

Accenture and Shopify discuss platform business models trends.

Digital platforms are extending into a range of new services in the physical world. For some new services, the digital interaction is the most important, for others it’s the human touch that matters most. The key for digital players creating new services is to understand what consumers value at every point – and then design and deliver the experiences that meet those exact needs.

As drones evolve from sensing the world to carrying and doing things in it, whole new vistas of opportunity open out. Businesses need to keep scanning the horizon for these high-flying technologies. Listen as Matthew Quinlan, Principal Director of Geospatial Platforms, Accenture Software & Platforms and Geospatial Platforms Lead at Accenture, is joined by Antoine Martin, Autonomous Systems Practice Lead at Accenture, to discuss the applications of drones and unmanned autonomous vehicles and the economic opportunities and lessons for a more autonomous age. In this podcast, you'll hear how drones are leveraging new technologies like edge-computing and GPUs to become more autonomous and smarter than ever. Their applications are expanding rapidly and have exciting implications for companies in every industry. From delivering vital medical supplies in hostile terrains to new forms of passenger transport and revolutionizing logistics, these powerful 'flying computers' offer endless possibilities. Learn more: accntu.re/2rcahwW

Consumers are hungry for content. Platforms must feed that appetite. And they're using AI to manage the huge volumes of content as efficiently as possible. The challenge? Making AI act responsibly. Listen as Martin Stoddart, Principal Director of Platform Experience, Accenture Software & Platforms’ and Principal Director for the Software and Platforms group, and Rumman Chowdhury, Accenture's Responsible AI Lead, explore some of the ethical risks and opportunities that companies face when introducing AI into their content operations. AI can have a huge impact on the productivity of content operations. But those gains can be seriously damaged if the work AI does to review, label and moderate content replicates and entrenches human bias. Responsible AI aims to eliminate that threat. In this podcast, you'll hear how platforms can make sure they design their AI to act in the consumers' and platform's best interests. Learn more: accntu.re/2rcahwW

Extended reality is reshaping our world, from watching a movie to visiting the doctor. And it's only just started. How can companies take advantage and make the right investments in the 3D future? Listen as Martin Stoddart, Principal Director of Platform Experience, Accenture Software & Platforms’ and Principal Director for the Software and Platforms group, and Rori Duboff, Accenture's Extended Reality Practice Lead, explore some of the challenges and opportunities that platform companies face when preparing for the explosion of extended reality (ER). In this podcast, you'll hear how companies and users are adopting new immersive experiences into their daily habits. But the market is still young, and many questions remain. Not least of which is backing the wrong ER platform. The priority? Thinking about the entire ER space strategically. That means pinpointing the new opportunities it creates, exploring new content formats and, crucially, understanding how to monetize innovation in this new world. Learn more: accntu.re/2rcahwW

Computer vision is like human vision with superpowers. From autonomous vehicles to new retail applications, it's opening new vistas of opportunity. But to realize them requires rigorous training. Listen as Matthew Quinlan, Principal Director of Geospatial Platforms, Accenture Software & Platforms and Principal Director of Geospatial Platforms, Accenture Software & Platforms and Global Geospatial Platforms Lead at Accenture and Daryn Nakhuda, CEO of Mighty AI, explore the challenges involved in making sure that computer vision algorithms are trained using the data and machine learning techniques they need to operate in complex visual environments. In this podcast, you'll hear about the wide range of factors that need to be considered when it comes to realizing computer vision's potential. Identifying the terabytes of data required for a specific use case is just the start. Synthetic data can augment visual information captured from real world environments. And all that data has to be labelled precisely, and at scale, before it can be loaded into a deep learning framework to start creating models for testing.

Consumers love the convenience of connected lifestyles. But they value their privacy just as much. Platform companies need to get the balance right. Those that do, earn the biggest prize of all: trust. Listen as Mark Egner, Senior Manager, Accenture Security, and David Cooper, Accenture's North America Privacy Lead, examine some of the key privacy issues that companies must bear in mind as they develop new digital products, services and experiences. Privacy is often viewed primarily as a compliance issue. But its implications go far deeper. Software and platform companies need to shift the conversations they have about privacy. The focus needs to be on the wider impacts that protecting consumers' privacy has on product design and the wider business. Enabling consumers to manage and control their data is critical. That will gain their trust. And in the digital world, that's a must. Learn more: accntu.re/2rcahwW

Smart speakers are listening to 40 million Americans each day. But they don’t always understand what they hear. That can open the door to cybercrime. Listen as Mark Egner, Senior Manager, Accenture Security, and Malek Ben Salam, Accenture’s Cybersecurity R&D lead, examine some of the unexpected security issues that smart speakers can create. Voice-controlled devices are making our lives much easier – with the range of tasks they can address expanding all the time. But, depending how they’re trained to recognize speech, they can misinterpret commands and generate the wrong outcomes. Different regional accents and patterns of speech, as well as skills that have very similar names, can lead to bad outcomes. Cyber criminals can often predict these and by “skill squatting” insert themselves in a conversation to access users’ credentials. Platforms providing voice-related services must take a number of key steps to keep users secure and maintain that most precious commodity of all: trust. Read more about our capabilities here: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/software-and-platform-essentials

Often seen as one group, SMBs are anything but. To win their business, platform companies must understand SMBs’ variety – and different digital needs. Listen as Jacqueline Morgan, Principal Director of Platform Adoption, Accenture Software & Platform and Growth Principal for Accenture and Shannon Kinney, founder and Client Success Officer, Dream Local Digital, unpack the hugely diverse SMB landscape and focus on how platform companies can provide the digital solutions these companies crave. In this podcast, you’ll learn about the incredible nature of the SMB sector and characteristics of the different companies that make it up. These are essential insights for platform companies seeking to tap into the world of opportunity SMBs represent. It’s a tough market to serve well. SMBs are inundated with sales pitches and they have increasingly limited time to respond. Platforms need to make sure that their signals can cut through the noise. And with 80% of SMBs yet to take advantage of digital tools, engaging with them effectively is essential. Read more about our capabilities here: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/software-and-platform-essentials

There’s often a big gap between SMBs’ digital dreams and reality. To bridge it, platform offerings must be hyper-relevant and ROI-focused. Listen as Jacqueline Morgan, Principal Director of Platform Adoption, Accenture Software & Platform and Growth Principal, Accenture and Shannon Kinney, Founder and Client Success Officer, Dream Local Digital, explore what SMBs want from new technology and how platforms can build engagement with this vital market. Too much choice, too complex and too little time. That’s SMBs’ verdict on platform offerings. They know they need them. But DIY implementations seldom work, integration’s hard to handle and in-house resources are scarce. It’s why 40% of SMBs abandon new tech soon after purchase. Platform companies that solve these challenges will build trust and grow revenues. The keys to success? Relevance, guidance, support – and keeping a laser focus on ROI from day one. Read more about our capabilities here: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/software-and-platform-essentials

Platform companies must reinvent how they sell to SMBs. That means replacing sales funnel approaches with continuous, human+ support. Listen as Jacqueline Morgan, Principal Director of Platform Adoption, Accenture Software & Platform and Growth Principal, and Danielle Moffat, Offering Lead, Growth Performance Services, explore how platform companies need to reinvent how they engage with SMBs – from sale to service and beyond. The old linear sales funnel is failing. SMBs are 70 percent through their decision process before they even engage with a sales agent. Platform companies need a new model. The key to success in this vital market? A new honeycomb approach, multi-layered, with continuous engagement across every channel – all built on new roles with human+ capabilities. And none of this stops when a sale is made. SMBs buy more than once and they’ll reward platform companies that support them as they grow. Read more about our capabilities here: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/software-and-platform-essentials

Platform companies are under pressure to drive revenue growth in the SMB segment. Now there’s a targeted solution that does exactly that. Listen as Jacqueline Morgan, Principal Director of Platform Adoption, Accenture Software & Platform and Growth Principal, and Danielle Moffat, Offering Lead, Growth Performance Services, reveal a new, connected approach to the SMB market that’s delivering some exceptional results. Right now, many platform companies struggle to drive growth in the SMB market. The old sales funnel approach is failing. It’s tough to convert leads. Talent’s in short supply. And there’s a disconnect between marketing, sales and service. The key to outperformance? Moving to a customer-led, integrated engagement approach that provides the best CX on the planet – continuously relevant, at every touchpoint, throughout the SMB customer lifecycle. The name of the solution? Growth Performance Services. Built on a human+ approach, with people augmented by smart machines, it’s unleashing new growth – from lead generation and conversion to long-term customer retention. Read more about our capabilities here: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/software-and-platform-essentials