Attrecto: With a new leader and future studies education at the forefront of AI-driven innovation

Attrecto: With a new leader and future studies education at the forefront of AI-driven innovation

Creating business value through new technologies, redefining and expanding software development – that’s the step Attrecto Next Tech Digital Solutions has taken by adding an educational business to its portfolio with the merger of Spark Institute, a company focused on corporate innovation and leadership development, and by hiring a new CEO in Imre Somogyi, a digitalization expert at McKinsey and large corporations. Attrecto prepares domestic and international market players for a new era of AI-driven business models that will radically transform business practices.

Attrecto’s choice to renew is directly linked to what the company’s experts classify as the ongoing second smart revolution, fueled by AI. The integration of artificial intelligence has surged into the business realm, prompting discussions around a notable paradigm shift rather than a mere technological advancement. “We used to say that it’s like 30 or 40 years ago, when computers and software became widespread: completely new perspectives were opened up, and we had to relearn and relearn how to run a business,” as highlighted by Gergely Kiss, one of the founders of Attrecto. “The first smart revolution notably unfolded with the proliferation of smartphones and smart devices. The recent surge in large language models, exemplified by tools like ChatGPT, mirrors this disruptive trend, reshaping the contemporary technological landscape. ChatGPT only needed 2 months to reach its first 100 million users, and today, 43% of university students globally and 80% of Fortune 500 companies use it,” adds Orsolya Galántai, the head of the Spark Institute.

Renewal and novelty are familiar concepts to Attrecto. The mission of Attrecto, founded by former SAP professionals 14 years ago, was always about creating value through the application of the latest technologies in business. Initially, this involved developing innovative smartphone solutions. As early as 2016, well before the global surge and popularization of the technology, they began exploring artificial intelligence applications, particularly in the development of chatbots.

What does the second smart revolution bring?

A prime example of the revolutionary changes AI brings in business processes is the process of requesting price quotes. On numerous websites, sellers do not list the prices of their products or services; instead, customers need to request quotes via email. This requires human capacity and hampers the customer experience by introducing waiting times. According to Kiss Gergely, “the key advantages of applying we can find in generative AI, is in improving the customer experience and offering personalized solutions”.

An AI-based application is capable of generating a customized quote tailored to individual customer needs—furthermore, it does so in seconds. Nevertheless, introducing such a service is not just about developing new software; involvement and understanding of AI technology’s benefits by colleagues are crucial. Without this, or if processes remain unchanged, the impact may be limited.

It is essential to articulate realistic expectations regarding AI. Currently, artificial intelligence primarily handles assistant tasks, excelling in generating reports, summaries, and proposals. While it does not yet grasp deep correlations or manage teams like a human assistant would, its capacity for skill development outpaces that of a human assistant. Consequently, it can swiftly advance within a corporate hierarchy, reaching “expert” levels such as in customer support or data processing.

Serving business innovation

The second smart revolution has also reshaped Attrecto’s business model. “We see that clients are intrigued yet uncertain about the business utility of AI technologies. They might not pinpoint their exact needs, but one thing is certain: they don’t want to fall behind,” says Somogyi Imre, the new CEO. “In response, we’ve reimagined our value proposition: providing end-to-end innovation solutions for companies looking to lead in digital technologies. We do this through tech-innovation-focused executive workshops, inspiring lectures, and structured advisory approaches. All of which significantly aid in executing well-calibrated and focused AI development projects.”

An AI project should be rooted in creating business value. As with any investment, return on investment is paramount. “Not every manager within a company is well-versed in the technological background; they are interested in business value and effectiveness. We must be able to explain how a digital solution assists them and what value it brings in monetary terms,” states Somogyi Imre.

Preparing to the future with education

A comprehensive service involves an innovative methodology-driven product development process, leadership programmes, and developing key skills crucial for the future—something that Spark Institute is dealing with.

In its new form under the name Spark by Attrecto, the institute trains leaders and experts in a transformative manner. “Our team consists of internationally renowned business professionals and thinkers, mainly preparing corporate decision-makers and employees to successfully respond to emerging trends at both capability and knowledge levels,” says Galántai Orsolya, the institute’s leader.

Spark by Attrecto’s programmes revolve around topics such as innovation culture, future organizations, new business models, strategic planning based on disruptive technologies, creative leadership with motivated diverse teams, and effective communication utilizing storytelling. “We delve into the technological aspect of innovation, allowing future-oriented professionals to learn about data-driven thinking, machine learning, and AI solutions. With Attrecto at the forefront, we can now do this with a dedicated tech expert team. It brings me great joy that in partnership with Zséger Ádám, we continue our collaborative work.”

The work of Spark is encapsulated well by a workshop known as Future Scenario Planning, where leaders strategize based on concrete case studies and the latest methods of futures studies for diverse future scenarios differing significantly from today’s environment—from biotechnology to large language models and Generation Z work practices.

Attrecto Next Tech Digital Solutions (Attrecto Zrt.)

Founded in 2010 in Győr by three former SAP professionals, the company specializes in developing mobile, web, and digital software solutions. Their clientele includes European and American companies, encompassing global brands like Audi, Telenor, HBO, PwC, EY, SAP, GE, AIG, Vodafone, Mercedes Benz, and Microsoft. They featured in the Financial Times list of the fastest-growing regional companies in 2016 (Technology Fast 500 EMEA). With over 70 employees, the company’s annual revenue was 1.5 billion forints in 2023. This year, they will open their first foreign office in Amsterdam.

Somogyi Imre

Bringing a robust advisory background, Somogyi Imre assumes the leadership role at the company. Over the past 15 years, he has primarily focused on enhancing corporate processes and digitization. He has worked at EY in Luxembourg, McKinsey in Budapest, and played a pivotal role in establishing the banking segment at the Hungarian PwC. He also has experience from the client side, having led the IT and operations areas at the EXIM Bank. Previously, he lectured at the Budapest Corvinus University and regularly shares his thoughts through presentations and forums.

Galántai Orsolya

Galántai Orsolya, co-founder, and CEO of Spark Institute, an international institute focusing on future skills, also serves as the Head of PR at Attrecto Zrt. and Vice President of the BWN – Business Women’s Network.

She believes that the path to solving the world’s pressing issues lies in innovative solutions, ensuring equal opportunities, and reshaping old, non-perfect rules.

With years spent in adult education and over a decade of experience in the creative sector, particularly in corporate communication, with a focus on IT and education, she brings valuable insights to companies that want to develop innovation. She has presented on sustainable innovation and complex problem-solving at events such as the London Digital Leaders conference, the Young Researchers Symposium at Óbuda University, the StartupGrid Tech4Good, and the ICT Global conferences.

Magyar változat

Attrecto: Új vezetővel és jövőképző ágazattal az AI-vezérelt innováció élére

Üzleti értékteremtés új technológiák révén, újraértelmezve és kibővítve a szoftverfejlesztést – ezt a lépést tette meg az Attrecto Next Tech Digital Solutions azzal, hogy oktatási üzletággal bővítette portfólióját a vállalati innovációval és vezetőképzéssel foglalkozó Spark Institute beolvadásával, valamint  új ügyvezetőt igazolt a McKinsey-nél és nagyvállalatoknál digitalizációval foglalkozó Somogyi Imre személyében. Az Attrecto a hazai és nemzetközi piac szereplőit – az üzleti modelleket gyökeresen felforgató – AI-vezérelt új korszakra készíti fel.

z Attrecto megújulásának oka egyértelműen az, amit a cég szakemberei úgy hívnak: a most zajló második okosforradalom, amelyet az AI fémjelez. A mesterséges intelligencia alkalmazása berobbant a cégek életébe is, olyannyira, hogy mára. nem pusztán technológiaváltásról, hanem teljes paradigmaváltásról beszélünk. „Azt szoktuk mondani, ez olyan, mint 30-40 évvel ezelőtt a számítógépek és a szoftverek elterjedése volt: teljesen új perspektívák nyíltak, újra kellett tanulni és tanítani a vállalati működést”, mondja Kiss Gergely, az Attrecto egyik alapítója. “Az első okosforradalom nyilvánvalóan az okostelefonok és okoseszközök megjelenése volt. A nagy nyelvi modellek (ilyen a ChatGPT) megjelenése és elterjedése éppen ekkora bummot jelent. Közismert, hogy a ChatGPT-nek mindössze 2 hónapra volt szükség az első 100 millió felhasználó eléréséhez, az talán kevésbé, hogy mára globálisan az egyetemi hallgatók 43%-a , és a Fortune 500 cégek 80%-a használja” – teszi hozzá Galántai Orsolya, a Spark Institute vezetője.

A megújulás és az újdonság nem áll távol az Attrecto-tól. A volt SAP-szakemberek által létrehozott Attrecto küldetése már 14 évvel ezelőtti alapításakor is az volt, hogy értéket teremtsen a legújabb technológiák üzleti alkalmazásával. Ez kezdetben az akkor még újszerűnek számító okostelefonos megoldások fejlesztését jelentette. A mesterséges intelligenciával pedig már 2016-ban, jóval a technológia globális megerősödése és divatos beszédtémává alakulása előtt foglalkozni kezdtek, többek között chatbotok fejlesztésének formájában.

Mit hoz a második okosforradalom?

Jó példa az AI által hozott forradalmi változásokra az üzleti folyamatok terén az árajánlatkérés. Számos honlapon láthatjuk, hogy az eladó nem tünteti fel termékei, szolgáltatásai árát, hanem emailben kell ajánlatot kérni tőlük. Ez emberi kapacitást igényel, ráadásul az ügyfélélményt sem segíti, hiszen várakozással jár. Márpedig Kiss Gergely szerint éppen az ügyfélélmény javítása, az egyénre szabott megoldások a generatív AI alkalmazásának legfőbb előnyei.

Egy AI alapú alkalmazás egy árajánlatot képes egyedi ügyféligényre szabottan összeállítani – ráadásul másodpercek alatt. Egy ilyen szolgáltatás bevezetése azonban nem csupán az új szoftver fejlesztéséből áll, hiszen hiába készül egy digitális megoldás, ha a kollégák nem lettek bevonva, nem ismerik az AI technológia kínálta előnyöket, vagy változatlanok maradnak a folyamatok. A hatás korlátozott lehet.

Érdemes realisztikus elvárásokat megfogalmazni az AI-jal kapcsolatban. A jelenben a mesterséges intelligencia tulajdonképpen asszisztensi feladatokat lát el: riportokat, összefoglalókat, ajánlatokat kiválóan képes előállítani. Mély összefüggéseket viszont még nem lát át, és csapatokat sem tud irányítani. Azonban képességeinek fejlesztése jóval gyorsabban halad, mint egy emberi asszisztensé, ezért hamarabb is “léphet előre” a vállalati hierarchiában. Gyorsan eléri a “szakértői” szintet, például az ügyféltámogatás vagy az adatfeldolgozás területén.

Az üzleti értékteremtés szolgálatában

A második okosforradalom megváltoztatta az Attrecto üzleti modelljét is. „Azt látjuk, hogy az ügyfelek érdeklődőek, de egyben bizonytalanok is az AI technológiák üzleti hasznával kapcsolatban. Nem tudják pontosan megmondani, mire van szükségük, de egy dologban biztosak: nem akarnak lemaradni”, mondja Somogyi Imre, a cég új ügyvezetője. „Erre válaszul gondoltuk újra értékajánlatunkat: end-to-end innovációs megoldást nyújtunk azoknak a vállalatoknak, akik élen akarnak járni a digitális technológiákban. Tesszük ezt tech-innováció fókuszú vezetői workshopokkal, inspirációs előadásokkal és strukturált tanácsadói megközelítéssel. Mindezek nagyban tudják segíteni, hogy józanul méretezett és megfelelően fókuszált AI fejlesztési projekteket valósítsunk meg”

Egy AI projektnek is az üzleti értékteremtés kell, hogy a kiindulópontja legyen. Mint bármilyen beruházásnál, itt is a megtérülés a legfontosabb. „A vállalat nem minden menedzsere van tisztában a technológiai háttérrel, őket az üzleti érték, az eredményesség érdekli. El kell tudnunk mondani, hogyan segít ebben és forintban kifejezve mit jelent egy-egy digitális megoldás”, mondja Somogyi Imre.

Oktatással készülni a jövőre

Egy komplex szolgáltatás része az innovatív módszertanokra épülő termékfejlesztési folyamat, a vezetői gondolkodás és a jövőben kulcsfontosságú képességek fejlesztése is – ebben segít a Spark Institute.

Az új formájában Spark by Attrecto névre hallgató intézet vezetőket és szakértőket képez transzformatív módon. „Nemzetközileg is elismert üzleti oldalról jövő szakemberekből, gondolkodókból álló csapatunk elsősorban a nagyvállalati döntéshozókat és munkatársakat készíti fel arra, hogy a feltörekvő trendekre sikeresen tudjanak reagálni képesség-, és tudásszinten is”, mondja Galántai Orsolya intézetvezető.

Programjaik olyan témák köré épülnek, mint az innovációs kultúra, a jövő szervezetei, új üzleti modellek, diszruptív technológiákra épülő stratégiai tervezés, kreatív vezetés motivált diverz csapatokkal, hatékony kommunikáció a storytelling eszközével. „Foglalkozunk az innováció technológiai oldalával, így az adatalapú gondolkodás, machine learning és AI megoldásokról is tanulhatnak nálunk a jövőjüket tudatosan építő szakemberek. Az Attrectóval az élen pedig most már dedikált tech szakértői csapattal tehetjük mindezt. Nagy öröm számomra, hogy Zséger Ádámmal partnerségben, közösen folytatjuk a közös munkát.”

A Spark munkáját jól jellemzi egy workshop, amely Future Scenario Planning (a jövőkutatás-alapú stratégiai tervezés) névre hallgat. Itt a vezetők konkrét esettanulmányokkal és a jövőkutatás legújabb módszereivel stratégiát terveznek a várható, mai környezettől igencsak eltérő jövőszcenáriókra. A biotechnológiától a nagy nyelvi modelleken át a Z-generációs munkavégzésig sok téma szóba kerül.

Attrecto Next Tech Digital Solutions (Attrecto Zrt.)

A győri székhelyű vállalatot három volt SAP-szakember alapította 2010-ben, mobil, webes és digitális szoftvermegoldások fejlesztésére. Ügyfeleik között európai és amerikai cégek szerepelnek, többek között olyan világmárkák, mint az Audi, a Telenor, az HBO, a PwC, az EY, az SAP, a GE, az AIG, a Vodafone, a Mercedes Benz vagy a Microsoft. 2016-ban szerepeltek a Financial Times leggyorsabban növekvő régiós cégeinek listáján (Technology Fast 500 EMEA). A cég 70+ munkatársat foglalkoztat, éves bevétele 2023-ban 1,5 milliárd forint volt. Az idén nyitják meg első külföldi irodájukat, Amszterdamban.

Somogyi Imre

Somogyi Imre erős tanácsadói háttérrel érkezik a cég élére. Elsősorban vállalati folyamatok fejlesztésével és digitalizálásával foglalkozott az elmúlt 15 évben. Dolgozott az EY luxemburgi és a McKinsey budapesti irodájában, majd a magyar PwC pénzintézeti üzletágát építette fel. Ült az ügyféloldalon is: az EXIM Bank IT és működési területét vezette. Korábban tanított a Budapesti Corvinus Egyetemen, rendszeresen osztja meg gondolatait előadásokon, fórumokon.

Galántai Orsolya

Galántai Orsolya, a jövő képességeivel foglalkozó nemzetközi intézet, a Spark Institute társalapítója, vezetője, az Attecto Zrt. PR vezetője, a BWN – Business Women’s Network alelnöke.

Hisz abban, hogy az újszerű megoldásokon, az esélyegyenlőség biztosításán, és a régi szabályok újrarajzolásán át vezet az út a világ égető problémáinak megoldásához.

A felnőttoktatásban eltöltött évei mellett 10+ éves kreatív szektorban szerzett tapasztalattal rendelkezik vállalati kommunikáció, kiemelten IT és oktatási szektorban.

Fenntartható innovációról és komplex probléma-megoldásról adott elő többek között a londoni Digital Leaders konferencián, az Óbudai Egyetem fiatal kutatók szimpóziumán, a SturtupGrid Tech4Good, és az ICT Global eseményén.

The Importance of Personal Touch in Business and Software Development Partnerships

Picture of Attrecto team

Attrecto team


The Importance of Personal Touch in Business and Software Development Partnerships

As of 2020, we have entered into a new, far more digitalized age. Covid forced almost every area of our lives to adapt digital solutions or lag behind and suffer from the severe limitation of in-person interactions.

Before the pandemic, only a few experts had believed that digitalization would accelerate to the pace that we see today. As a result, we’re now living in a hybrid world where it’s still not easy to make sense of increasingly digitalized interactions and relations.

And this has affected sales, cooperation, and partnerships in the outsourced software development niche as well.

In this blog post, I look at how the shift towards more online and remote meetings have changed the way software developers and their customers connect and what ramifications it has on current business strategies, using some of Attrecto’s partnerships as examples.

MORE ONLINE SALES CALLS LEAD TO LOWER CONVERSION

 

Let’s start with the basic premise that we’ve discovered early on:

As the majority of meetings and sales calls were now taking place online as a result of the pandemic, the conversion rate of these calls started to decrease.

It wasn’t the lack of leads or prospects interested in outsourcing the development of their custom software. As the physical, in-person meetings were dropped, only to be replaced by online ones, it became increasingly difficult to convert these companies into partners and customers. Even in cases where a deal was eventually struck, the road leading to the signing of the contract was lengthy with lots of back-and-forth calls. When in-person was still available, one could progress much more smoothly and hammer out details in 2-3 meetings instead of half dozen or more online calls.

While you might already see where this is going, our business development team looked to the bottom of this to find out the underlying cause.

PERSONAL TOUCH STILL TRUMPS DIGITAL CONNECTIONS

 

The business development team managed to gauge our existing partners’ attitude towards online meetings. Then, they cross-referenced the results and what they established based on these observations was not surprising at all:

“Digital connections are tolerated, but neither embraced nor accepted.”

People of all walks of life – most of them without consciously knowing – are desiring the personal touch and are not satisfied or engaged by the illusion that is provided by the online replacements for meeting with and talking to others.

There’s a raw, instinctual need for a personal interactions that can be only realized and felt in-the-flesh. And if this need is not fulfilled, it affects the quality of connections and relationships negatively, even in the more calculated and logic-driven world of business. If the personal touch is not there to catalyse a connection, businesspeople will be less enthusiastic about the prospect of a deal and less trusting about the company they’re negotiating with.

 

THE COUNTERTREND AGAINST DIGITAL RELATIONSHIPS

 

“For every new trend, there’s a countertrend.”

The quote comes from a TED talk. And based on what we’ve seen from the trend of rampant digitalization, its wisdom is especially applicable to this situation.

As people crave connections both in their jobs and private life, and in turn are met with a trend that takes those away, replacing them with virtual ones that appear on screens and come across with slightly distorted voices, a new countertrend has emerged. One that seeks to counterbalance the sheer number of digital connections and online calls.

In business, it manifests as a drive to reimagine how partnerships can work in more natural ways and make business partners stay in touch and connect in-person as regularly as possible.

 

HOW PERSONAL CONNECTIONS LEAD TO BETTER BUSINESS


We have several such examples from the past; partnerships from the previous “age” that existed before the pandemic-induced wave of digitalization, and which show how a software development company can work as closely as possible with its partners.

For instance, our partnership with Telenor Norway dates back to 2013, when we began developing Mitt Telenor for them. We have been in constant touch with the team there as the project is a continues development of the software using our TaaS model. However, as soon as the cooperation began, our teams regularly visited each other’s offices to talk business and discuss the scope and design of the software, as well as the technologies and solutions that would be used to implement it. The product owner was basically working from Norway full-time.

Ultimately, the partnership has led to 120+ successful releases, and today there are more users of this app than that of the main corporate web platform, which offers the same functionalities. Throughout the partnership, we felt that Telenor Norway considers the TaaS team as part of their own team.

They also view Attrecto not as just another service (provider) but as a trusted partner and advisor in anything software related.

We’ve had similar partnerships based on mutual trust and close-knit cooperation. We didn’t know it at the time, but in hindsight, we clearly see that these connections could be formed because the human need for personal touch and interactions was fulfilled, which built trust and demonstrated that the service provider has a full team of likeable and talented professionals who are ready to work on their problems. Just to name two such additional examples, for Aegon Hungary we’ve had an on-site team that worked from Aegon’s offices twice a week, while for E.ON, we’ve had our project manager in their office, constantly keeping touch with our partner and our tech team in our offices.

On the other hand, as I’ve mentioned this in the premise, even with some of the new clients that we’ve started working with during the pandemic, the scope of development was sometimes a lot smaller than with the partners mentioned above. Of course, the vast majority of our calls were online, and thus were mostly devoid of the personal touch. As a result, neither party could build trust as the client didn’t know us well enough to involve our teams in the more challenging projects.

 

CONCLUSION

 

As you can see, that personal touch is not something that’s only required in intimate relationships, as it practically determines the quality of business relationships as well, serving as a catalyst for closing deals and increasing trust as well as cooperation.

When the ability to cultivate these personal connections was taken for granted, we built connections that resulted in more business and enabled a more responsive, authentic, comprehensive, transparent, and real relationship with out partners. We could prove to them every day that some of the most talented individuals of the software development industry work at Attrecto. Professionals whose skills are in line with modern development standards and quality processes; they know them all as their talents have been honed at Attrecto. During the pandemic, because of the countertrend of people only tolerating but not embracing digitalization while desiring human touch, we couldn’t reach the level of trust where we could truly show off our teams’ state-of-the-art expertise.

Fortunately, now that the pandemic is coming to an end and in-person meetings happen more frequently once more, we’ve already seen an increase in enthusiastic engagement and a willingness to work more closely on the success of our newfound clients.

What were your experiences regarding the lack of personal touch in business during the worst months of the pandemic?

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Celebrating Customer Centricity with ARCET Global

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Attrecto team

Celebrating Customer Centricity with ARCET Global

It all started with an apartment purchase.

Mark Hamill, the CEO of ARCET Global met our Chief of Business, Benedek, in our hometown and HQ of Győr. Mark was looking for an apartment to buy, and Benedek was incidentally selling his. Naturally, as business-minded people they discussed work, and they quickly realized that there’s a significant overlap in both organizations’ portfolio: customer experience forms the core of our companies’ mission, and a customer-centric mindset permeates both ARCET and Attrecto. It became obvious that there’s plenty of room for cooperation.

This story occurred last August, and since then much has happened. Yes, Mark bought Benedek’s apartment, but their meeting has set other things in motion as well.

We signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November last year, and today Attrecto is heavily engaged in helping ARCET in setting up two of the largest celebrations of CX in Europe and North America: the European and North American Customer Centricity Awards, organized by none other than ARCET Global

But before we jump into the awards, let’s see who ARCET Global is and what they do exactly!

Helping Organizations Do Better, Customer-Centric Business

 

ARCET Global was founded on the simple yet hard-to-master tenet of aiding organizations of all kinds become better at their business through learning, recognition, and the building of business communities. They enable clients and partners to create customer-centric business practices that lead to amazing, personalized CX, which ultimately makes customers come back for more.

They are a group of professionals celebrated for their expertise in CX-driven and customer-centric solutions; they are truly passionate about improving business through transformational events, awards, and training.

But how do they accomplish all this?

They run recognition programmes across the world and provide training as well as additional CX programmes. In our partnership, for example, recognition plays a major role, as we promote the Awards to our existing customer base, while ARCET promotes Attrecto (and other partners) at the Awards themselves – as well as during the marketing campaigns that lead up to them.

Specifically in Europe, ARCET works with a broad network of companies, including consultancy firms, financial institutions, media and marketing agencies, and even IT companies like us.

Challenges in Central Eastern Europe

 

We asked Mark about the common challenges that companies face in our broader region of Central Europe and Central Eastern Europe. With what sort of problems do companies hailing from around here approach ARCET?

The answer was hard-hitting: it’s the lack of customer-centricity stemming from a systemic and mentality-related structure of roadblocks.

Sure enough, we’re talking about a region that was part of the Eastern Bloc until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Customer focus was never a true concern of any business that operated in the bloc’s unique economic and political constellation. Nevertheless, the issue is rooted deeper than a historical heritage that is slowly being left behind.

When it comes to Customer Experience in the CEE region, it certainly falls flat as a result of a lack of empathy. This is systemic from the management who deem people as ‘workers’ as opposed to people. This lack of empathy is passed onto the customers in almost every customer interaction, which leads to friction and lowers the likelihood of complaints being dealt with properly or professionally, too.

As such, it comes as no surprise that this region is lagging behind in customer-centric solutions compared to the rest of the world. And yet although CX is quite new around here, and organizations still have a lot of catching up to do, they’re going on about it at a relatively quick pace.

And since those decades of experience that the rest of the world gained compared to this region is palpable, there is a desire in most companies in CEE to perform better and become customer-focused. However, another obstacle blocking progress is that CX professionals are still in shortage around here.

Mark told us that organizations from the CEE region come to them to learn how to accomplish a full-scale CX transformation. They want to become customer-centric from marketing through sales to operations in order to bring in a steady stream of customers. The problem is that they often get no qualified support from leadership – not because they don’t want to, but simply because they don’t know-how.

Educating organizations on CX and teaching how to acquire and retain new customers is one of the most sought-after services that ARCET offers. However, success in this regard is not possible without the proper recognition, which brings us to the importance of the Customer Centricity Awards.

The Customer Centricity Awards

 

ARCET Global organizes three Awards annually: the European, the North American, and the World Series Customer Centricity Awards.

In a nutshell, all these events are among the largest virtual CX knowledge-sharing events in both Europe and North America; 2 entire days of celebration filled to the brim with business practice stories, more than 100 real-world case studies, thought-provoking presentations, and incredible networking opportunities.

The idea is to get these organizations together – both big and small – and allow them to learn the best ways from one another and see how a CX transformation can make any company a truly customer-centric organization.

But how does it work exactly?

For each entry, a comprehensive case study is required that describes what the participant organization has been doing lately in terms of customer experience; what was that pioneering new strategy, practice, or trend that they initiated, implemented, and which led to a much more customer-focused operation?

After receiving all the entries, ARCET picks the finalists who are usually announced a month after the entry deadline. The finalists then have to bring their case study to life and show it via a video presentation.

As such, the conference itself becomes a veritable treasure trove of customer experience best practices (with over 30 hours’ worth of video content), stories, and ideas. During the finals, where all the video presentations are exhibited, an independent panel of judges score the finalists’ entries, picking the best of the best in customer-centricity.

With over 400 participants from well over 100 organizations, the conference presents an incredible opportunity to share knowledge and learn from peers from a multitude of industries.

Of course, due to COVID-19, the Awards have been forced into virtual space since last year, but that didn’t take away from the luster of the event. If anything, it made it possible for even more interested CX enthusiasts from across the globe to join the conference and learn. ARCET also brought an award-winning production house on board, who will be directing and producing the Awards Ceremony of both events this year. Furthermore, every video presentation will be accumulated on an online portal and made available for free to attendees for up to 7 days after the event. 

As for us, we will attend both the European as well as the North American Customer Centricity Awards, with a bit more focus on getting ready for the European CC Awards which is coming this September. Last year, the Awards boasted 32 countries from all over Europe, which meant that all European countries were represented. And that is actually not a big surprise, given that the European CC Awards is known as THE CX Awards conference in the continent.

ARCET is expecting the same number of countries, organizations, and participants this year as well from industries such as telecom, utilities, finance, insurance companies, retail, and even hospitality.

And what does the CEO hope from this year’s Customer Centricity Awards series?

Mark explained that education is the driving principle behind the Awards. They are aiming to provide as many opportunities for knowledge-sharing as possible in order to help all participants and organizations level up their CX and gain the recognition they deserve. The idea is to sit down and learn best practices in CX, which they then can use to achieve their business goals. And all the while, the entire conference is meant to be a pleasant, enjoyable, and captivating experience (could it be any other way from grandmaster CX teachers?) where participants can build new business connections.

The World Series Awards

 

That’s the gist of the Customer Centricity Awards that we’re helping to promote to our clients and partners. But what about the World Series event?

It’s the World Cup in customer-centricity.

The World Series Awards hosts winners from the two regional awards in spring each year – this means that the winners of the European and North American Awards in 2021 will have the chance to face off at the World Series event come spring 2022. However, you can also tune in to this year’s World Series Awards next month, on 18 and 19 May.

If you’re interested in any of the CC Awards, make sure to add these dates to your calendar!

 

European Customer Centricity Awards

North American Customer Centricity Awards

World Series Customer Centricity Awards

Registration / Entry Deadline

6 May 2021

3 June 2021

 

Finalists Announced

3 June 2021

1 July 2021

 

Virtual Conference

15 September 2021

27 October 2021

18 May 2021

Virtual Awards Ceremony

16 September 2021

28 October 2021

19 May 2021

Naturally, we are more than excited about the coming months and what they mean for us as well the world of Customer Experience. The scope of these CC Awards is breathtaking; they truly showcase the world’s most customer-centric companies as well as the practices that elevate them above all others in providing amazing CX.

In the meantime, we will be preparing and making sure our own CX-driven solutions continue to meet the high standards of these events.

Visit ARCET’s website to see how they can help you perfect your CX in order to bring in and retain customers!

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