Published on the 21/05/2024 | Written by Amperity
Takeaways for Aussie innovators…
Derek Slager, co-founder and CTO of Amperity, a customer data platform for enterprise consumer brands whose clients include Alaska Airlines, Planet Fitness, Under Armour and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, recently visited Australia, meeting with key partners, customers and other enterprise businesses.
He sat down to discuss how the region can transform given rapid advancements in genAI.
Gen AI: The Catalyst for Digital Transformation
According to McKinsey’s new report, Generative AI and the future of work in Australia, “Australia’s economy has proved robust through challenging times, and shifts from genAI could unlock benefits for Australia – including higher job demand and productivity. However, this potential may only be realised if employers, governments, and educators are able to adopt the technology in a bold and thoughtful way.”
“Australian Privacy Principles are impacting how brands think about and approach data management and privacy.”
Slager believes the way to do this is to go all in.
“Dive in. You always want to be investing in these things before you feel like you have to. Channel your most confident self, lean in and avoid all the excuses.”
He says genAI, in particular, is, in many ways, a catalyst for digital transformation.
“Our AmpAi platform gives people the excuse to lean in a little bit more in their digital transformation. Some brands don’t feel that digital transformation is something they must engage in to survive here. It isn’t 100 percent necessary to their survival at this time.
“But when they see what’s possible with this technology, it almost forces them to ask themselves a follow up question, which is, ‘do I really want to not be doing this? This feels like a really important thing’.”
“AmpAi makes it easier for them to give themselves permission to really dive in,” Slager continues. “The people who do that will be rewarded for that in the medium term because the reality is, if they don’t do it, they risk falling behind. Diving in now will be an accelerator, and if they don’t make the leap, their competition will.”
Slager’s three key takeaways for Aussie innovators
From his meetings on the ground, Slager distilled three key takeaways. They are:
The struggle to achieve a unified data foundation isn’t unique: When I talk to a customer in the US or in Europe or somewhere else – they all have the same problem. They’re all struggling to have a unified data foundation. Yet, in all of these conversations, they tend to think that their problem is unique. But it’s not unique at all. They have the same problems as everybody else. This problem is ubiquitous and spans the globe.
The one exception to this rule is the role that the Australian Privacy Principles play. This is certainly impacting how Australian brands think about and approach data management and privacy.
There’s less pressure to digitise in Australia: Australia is a smaller market with a smaller number of players. So digital feels a little bit less essential here. It doesn’t feel like you have to digitally transform to survive – yet.
For example, one popular Aussie retailer is very well liked by consumers, but it’s been a bit tepid in its steps forward on digital. In a market like this, it has that luxury – but that’s going to change. Recognising this and the importance of a clean data foundation, it’s taking steps now to be more proactive for the future.
AI is top of mind: AI is on people’s minds here as much as it’s on people’s minds everywhere else. It was very clear that a lot of people are asking questions about what this means for their business and what it means for their tech stack and the world, in general. I certainly saw AI front and centre in all of my conversations.
About the Author
Derek Slager is the co-founder and CTO of Amperity, a leading customer data platform for enterprise consumer brands, designed to give marketers and analysts access to accurate, consistent and comprehensive customer data.
