Between the Retail Technology Show and the AWS Summit, it’s been a busy but brilliant week for Qudini. Now it’s time to catch our breath and recapp the fascinating things we learned at the AWS Summit.
4 Things We Learned at the AWS Summit
On the 27th of April, ExCel London hosted the AWS Summit. We had a great time exhibiting our software and sharing the latest on our market-leading AWS partnership.
Here’s a recap of some of the day’s biggest developments:
1. Ocado’s powering on with automation
During his keynote presentation, Ocados’s CTO, James Donkin revealed that the company are now focussing permanently on online grocery shopping.
Currently, Ocado’s using thousands upon thousands of bots to automate their operations in their fulfillment centers. They plan to deploy many more AI bots in the coming months.
As they continue to partner with AWS, we can’t wait to see how their exciting tech solutions evolve.
2. Software is the driving force of the digital revolution
It’s a debate as old as the computer itself: software or hardware?
As AWS’ Dr. Matt Wood pointed out, hardware manufacturing has its downfall. Once you release your hardware, it freezes in time. Within a few years, it will be outdated.
Software on the other hand is, by nature, always in vogue–it’s much easier to regularly update. It naturally lends itself to innovation. Perhaps that’s why Wood calls software an “engine for driving ideas”.
3. Covid-19 was a catalyst for the cloud
In the wake of social distancing rules and lockdown restrictions around the world, business leaders had to rethink their entire retail strategies. AWS’ UK and Ireland VP Darren Hardman noted that he’s “seen more companies turn to the cloud” in the pandemic’s wake.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, several mobile operators from Verizon to Vodafone recently decided to leverage AWS’ cloud services and data processing capabilities. In 2021 alone, AWS launched an estimated 3,000 capabilities which the world’s biggest businesses are already deploying.
In addition, data was a hot topic and AWS continues to add new functionality and improve existing products to help customers gain insights from their data. A number of improvements to Redshift (which powers Qudini’s Analytics tool) will allow us advance our analytics platform and keep delivering powerful insights to retailers.
The digital transform is speeding up and AWS is in the driver’s seat. That’s why we’re so honored to have received a Silver Software Award recognizing all the work we’ve done with AWS.
4. Cazoo reaches unicorn status
During his keynote speech, Bob Gregory, an engineering coach for British automotive retailer Cazoo, revealed that his company had achieved unicorn status (privately owned, new and worth over $1 bn). In fact, they were the fastest British company to ever do so–the company was founded less than four years ago.
The company definitely offers convenience. They advertise the ability to buy a used car online and have it delivered to your doorstep in just 3 days.
Cazoo’s back-end is equally as impressive–they’ve been working with AWS since day one. And, to quote Gregory, they have “a lot of software” to power their customer offering.
Ultimately, to win the modern customer’s loyalty, you need to offer better, more convenient and technologically-advanced initiatives than your competitors.
Where Can You Find Qudini Next?
Qudini’s next big event is ShopTalk Europe, which is taking place on 6-8 June in Excel London. If you’re in town, get in touch with our team–we’d be happy to catch up and demo our Retail Choreography solution suite.
That’s it from AWS. If you want to learn about 10 more retail trends in 2022, we’ve got you covered.
