The Arch Summit is next week and the Webhelp team will be there in Luxembourg. It’s a two-day event that is bursting with innovation and ideas, and major brands such as Amazon and Vodafone will be there, alongside some of the newest and most innovative start-ups. We’ll have our own stand, and our Innovation Director, Dave Pattman, will share his views on artificial intelligence at one of the experts’ roundtables.

There is no comparable event across Europe with such a strong focus on both innovation and bringing the corporate world together with start-ups. The event is strongly supported by the government of Luxembourg – the Prime Minister will speak about local investment and innovation – and there will be €250,000 of business finance available for new start-ups to pitch for. The audience will be able to literally watch new start-ups compete for investment, so I’m sure that start-up founders across Europe will be sharpening their elevator pitch at this very moment!

A common reason for companies to invest in emerging technologies today is because they want to improve the customer experience (CX). Customer expectations are not just driving a wave of innovation globally, they are often the inspiration for innovative companies to develop exciting new CX technologies.

We’re already seeing that, in many industries, collaboration between traditional, established companies and start-ups is increasing. Large brands that understand that they need to ‘connect’ more effectively with customers, are often finding it more effective to find a start-up partner than trying to attempt purely in-house innovation. I believe that this collaboration will rapidly become mainstream, especially for companies that truly value the ability to differentiate through CX.

To conclude, the Arch Summit is a great place to understand innovation approaches in:

  • The corporate world; what are big companies doing to differentiate their service and products? They have the budget, but do they have the flexibility and ideas?
  • Start-ups; which new ideas are seeking funding? Are there any trends with several small companies all seeking investment in a similar area?
  • Mobile; with companies such as Vodafone, Nokia, Blackberry, Huawei, and NTT all presenting their latest ideas, we’re sure to gain valuable insights here.

For all these reasons, it makes complete sense for the Webhelp team to be there – to help us continue to anticipate what our clients will need in a constantly evolving landscape. If you are planning to be at the Arch Summit on May 3 and 4, please visit our stand or get in touch directly via my LinkedIn profile.