A new study from outsourcing giant Accenture has revealed that fast-paced developments in technology are blurring the lines between businesses and the personal lives of their customers.
The report emphasized how artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics, the cloud, and others have not only let companies create innovative products, but also integrate into people’s daily lives.
JP Palpallatoc, Accenture’s digital lead in the Philippines, explained at a press conference on Tuesday, February 20, that companies need to redefine their relationships with their customers to capitalize on the growth offered by technology.
“We need to have trust,” he said. “What does the enterprise or company stand for? What are there values? And are they aligned to the customer’s priorities and values?”
The report highlighted five emerging technology trends that companies should take into account when building the partnerships they need to succeed in today’s digital economy.
First is “Citizen AI”. Businesses will substantially benefit from the opportunities opened to them by AI. Yet, as this technology develops and its reach lengthens, companies who want to maximize their human-machine collaboration have to be transparent about their AI’s decision-making process.
“There is a responsibility for companies to raise AI to be responsible and explainable,” Palpallatoc stated.
Second is “Extended Reality”. In other words, this is virtual and augmented reality. Different industries are using these technologies to remove the distance between people and experiences. For example, Lancaster, a real estate company in the Philippines, is giving virtual reality tours of their properties.
Third is “Data Veracity”. “Companies are now more data powered,” Palpallatoc revealed. “However, they do not have the system to verify the accuracy and the quality of the data.”
While businesses may have access to more data than ever before because of technology, they are also vulnerable to inaccurate, manipulated, and biased data. This is information that could lead to corrupted insights and skewed decisions, the report said.
Fourth, is “Frictionless Business”. Companies now depend on technology-based partnerships for greater growth. Their legacy systems, though, are not built to support partnerships at this scale.
Companies have to redesign their infrastructure to promote these relationships using micro-services architecture and block chain, the report emphasized.
Fifth and lastly, is the “Internet of Thinking”. Businesses are investing in intelligent technologies, but they may not have the environment or the systems required by these technologies.
Companies have to focus on adding keys skills and workforce capabilities, as well as modernizing current enterprise technology infrastructure, the report stressed.
Palpallatoc summarized the report by saying, “The point here is that all of this technology is building on top of each other. The trends is not a revolution, it’s actually an evolution.”
