Alliance expands access to specialized talent –
including 60,000+ women crowdtesters – to meet client
requirements;Accenture Ventures also makes minority investment in
Applause
Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has formed an alliance with Applause, a
leading provider of software testing tools and services,
strengthening the capabilities and geographic scope of its own
testing services. With an initial focus on digital application
testing, the new alliance provides organizations with access to
crowdsourcing services as part of their broader testing program, in
order to accelerate software releases and ensure more seamless
customer experiences.
As part of the alliance relationship, Accenture Ventures also
made a minority investment in Applause.
The testing market is exploding as the number of devices,
operating systems and applications keeps growing. In addition,
countries have varied security requirements, privacy laws, and
other regulations, making testing requirements more
complex—creating an ideal scenario to tap into the testing
capabilities provided by Applause’s global, diverse crowd of
testers.
The Applause crowd community features more than 250,000
experienced quality assurance testers around the world. They
complement Accenture’s 35,000 testing professionals to provide an
unmatched scope of testing services and geographic coverage.
Accenture is already working with Applause to test, secure and
monitor digital applications for a seamless customer experience
across mobile devices, desktops, kiosks, smart TVs, and wearables.
Working with Accenture and Applause, companies can also access
specialized crowds of testers that match the profile of their users
and customers. For example, the 60,000 women testers in the
Applause crowd can be tapped to effectively test applications for
products and services specifically targeted for women.
“Crowdsourcing will supplement, not replace, traditional
staffing capabilities and provide flexible access to in-demand
talent that can help clients improve the end-to-end performance of
their websites, mobile applications and Internet of Things
devices,” said Bhaskar Ghosh, group chief executive, Accenture
Technology Services. “By working with a crowdtesting leader like
Applause, we will be better positioned to help our clients build a
more liquid workforce that addresses the constant need for new
skills, accelerates speed to market and enhances the customer
experience.”
“Digital experiences today are the front door to any type of
business,” said Doron Reuveni, Applause founder and CEO. “Applause
has the know-how, communities and crowd to help companies test
across multiple devices and get results very quickly. Working with
Accenture, we’ll help companies test their applications in the wild
on real devices and configurations, beyond the confinement of a
lab. Together, we’ll be able to help deliver a truly innovative and
delightful experience for customers and users.”
“As organizations are moving toward the As-a-Service economy
with the goal to achieve higher agility and to accelerate time to
value, testing services have to be able to support those
strategies. By blending crowdsourcing of testing talent with other
innovations such as automation and artificial intelligence,
organizations are able to respond to the ever increasing complexity
of technology while still speeding up deployments,” commented Tom
Reuner, Research VP at HfS Research.
By 2018, 80 percent of development organizations supporting
digital transformation will incorporate crowdsourcing into their
projects as a regular practice, according to IDC1. This represents
a sea change in the way organizations design and staff projects. In
one recent project, Accenture turned to Applause to help test
mobile applications on devices across more than 30 countries, with
over 50 percent of the countries staffed on an as-needed basis.
This staffing flexibility helped the client achieve significant
cost savings, in addition to dramatically improved application
quality and speed to market. With effective project and work flow
management and scheduling, the overall testing efforts were reduced
by over 30 percent.
“Our new alliance with Applause is a game-changer for our
clients, who will benefit from unprecedented access to a global
network of testing talent, including more than 60,000 women
crowdtesters, to improve application quality, accelerate software
releases, and deliver an enhanced customer experience,” said
Kishore Durg, Accenture managing director and executive sponsor of
the Applause alliance.
The Applause community is also integrated into the Accenture
Omni-Channel Testing Platform, a first-of-its-kind platform that
helps testers focus on improving user experiences and delivering
business impact.
1 @IDC, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide CIO Agenda 2016 Predictions,
November 2015
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries
and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business
and technology to help clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 375,000
people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Ventures partners with and invests in growth-stage
companies that create innovative enterprise technologies. Using an
open innovation approach, Accenture Ventures identifies the most
promising sources of innovation in the market, working with
start-ups, accelerators, entrepreneurs, investors, academic
institutions and corporate R&D groups around the world.
About Applause
Applause empowers companies to deliver great digital experiences
– from web and mobile to wearables, IoT and beyond. By combining
in-the-wild testing services, test automation and a global
community, Applause helps the world’s most recognized brands
achieve the digital quality they need across every device,
operating system, carrier, location and other criteria that
their customers value. Thousands of companies – including Google,
FOX, Amazon, Concur and Runkeeper – rely on Applause to ensure
great digital experiences for their users. Learn more at
www.applause.com and follow @applause on Twitter.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914005353/en/
AccentureJulie Bennink, +1-312-
693-7301julie.I.bennink@accenture.com
Accenture (NYSE:ACN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Accenture (NYSE:ACN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024