On the Platform | Podcast Series

Consumers love ride-sharing. But they don’t necessarily love the brands that provide it. In a fast-evolving market, brands need to focus on building consumer trust.

Listen as Robin Murdoch, Global Industry Lead, Software & Platforms, Accenture and Jessica Lessin, Founder and CEO, The Information, steer through the key issues and evolving technologies shaping this dynamic landscape, and reflect on where Accenture’s latest research suggests the industry needs to drive to next.

As the boundaries defining retail experiences continue to blur, platform companies can redefine what shopping is all about.

Listen as Accenture’s Software & Platforms’ Georgia Costa, Senior Manager and Kevin Collins, Managing Director, explore how online, physical and social media channels are converging to create a whole new world of opportunity for platform companies to reimagine retail.

Shopify is one of the largest and fastest-growing ecommerce platforms. How have they grown so fast and what do they see as the next frontier for their business?

Listen as Kevin Collins, Managing Director, Software & Platforms, Accenture interviews Maia Benson, Global Commercial Head of Shipping & Fulfillment, Shopify, to explore where ecommerce is heading – and how Shopify plans to empower retailers to compete in a radically different marketplace.

Digital platforms are reaching out into the physical world with new services. But how do consumers feel about them?

Listen as Accenture’s Martin Stoddart, Principle Director, Accenture Software & Platforms and Paul Johnson of Accenture Research, discuss consumers’ perceptions of services at the edge of physical and digital worlds.

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 Accenture’s Jacqueline Morgan, Principal Director of Platform Adoption, Accenture Software & Platforms and Danielle Moffat, Offering Lead, Growth Performance Services, reveal a new, connected approach to the SMB market that’s delivering some exceptional results.

Platform companies must reinvent how they sell to SMBs. That means replacing sales funnel approaches with continuous, human+ support.

Listen as Accenture’s Jacqueline Morgan, Principal Director of Platform Adoption, Accenture Software & Platforms 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.

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 & Platforms 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.

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 & Platforms 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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).

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 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.

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, 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.