Blog
2024: A year of reinvention for Software & Platform companies
Companies are striving to achieve greater success than ever while doing more with less.
5-minute read
February 19, 2024
Blog
Companies are striving to achieve greater success than ever while doing more with less.
5-minute read
February 19, 2024
The conditions that shaped Software & Platform (S&P) companies’ growth in recent years have now evolved. High growth rates, strong customer demand, and access to a pool of eager top-tier talent are no longer given. Competition has reached a fever pitch. Employees are looking for better experiences. Customers now want personalized products and services and end-to-end solutions that deliver real value. And growth is tempering. Accenture’s analysis shows that the sector’s compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2026 will drop to 11%, down from 15% and 21% in the two previous three-year periods.1
In this environment, S&P companies need to evolve; what has made them special and successful in the past will not work going forward. It is time for reinvention. According to our research, nearly half of S&P businesses (43%) are already embracing reinvention. That’s more than any other segment. However, many S&P companies are not executing their strategies holistically or fast enough. To move forward and ensure future success, S&P players should consider the following three guiding principles.
S&P companies are striving to achieve greater success than ever while doing more with less. It’s quite a challenge. That’s why we think 2024 should be the year S&P companies take a step back and think strategically about what they do and how they generate value. Everything needs to be on the table. The goal? To be able to reprioritize investments on an ongoing basis, stop non-value-adding programs at the right time, identify new opportunities for growth, and regularly restock their product/service/experience pipeline. Three actions can put them on the right course:
Software & Platform companies need to evolve; what has made them special and successful in the past will not work going forward.
S&P businesses, like many others, have scrambled to cut costs and protect profits against a strained economic backdrop. They’ve made tough decisions, which came with two major consequences: the erosion of customer experiences and customer trust. For example, only 14% of people feel that their favorite tech brand has their best interest at heart. And 37% of people believe companies no longer prioritize customer care. 2024 is the year S&P companies can reclaim the narrative by delivering winning user experiences. To do so, they need to:
43%
of Software & Platform businesses are already embracing reinvention, more than any other industry segment.
19-27%
the potential productivity increase from Generative AI for S&P companies.
S&P companies have bold expectations for Gen AI to reimagine processes, cut operational costs, and provide better support to end users. In fact, their expectations for productivity gains are higher (19-27%) than their peers (14-20%). As they move quickly to experiment with Gen AI, we urge them to be cognizant of three factors that can impact the potential value:
We believe Software & Platform companies that take these three actions will be better positioned for success in 2024 and beyond.
1 Accenture Software & Platforms Market Model, Q1 FY24.