1. What are the most important issues/drivers of business today?
Every business aims to ensure profitability to continue providing a product or service. To do this effectively, they must keep up with technological advancements—especially when it comes to fighting fraud. We know through experience that companies who fail to keep up with tech security innovations will go well above accepted fraud thresholds. This leads to financial losses through theft, and spending big on ineffective anti-fraud measures, resulting in a poor reputation among customers.
2. ... and what are the biggest challenges?
Failing to keep up with tech advances can be detrimental to businesses, the biggest effect being to fall behind competitors and leaving them to sweep up your market share. In e-commerce, we have encountered companies apprehensive about introducing new tech (in our case, advanced fraud prevention solutions) for fear of impacting the customer’s user experience (UX). Of course, not keeping up can inevitably impact UX and lead to financial losses. Closely related to this is the challenge of having effective communication. Pre-COVID-19, many brick-and-mortar retailers were apprehensive about e-commerce. With the advent of the pandemic, they then suddenly found themselves going online to survive. They did so without fully understanding the tech or fraud risks, which is why communication and education are key to helping businesses overcome challenges.
3. Which innovations and tech trends do you find particularly exciting?
We work in Fintech, with data scientists, programmers, and developers making up a big part of our team. We are excited about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models—the core of our proprietary software fraud solution. The reason for our fascination is because this field is continually evolving, becoming more advanced and effective when applied to real world problems. We are continually learning and adapting; the educational element is exciting for both us and our clients.
4. What idea/product/thought leader has excited/inspired you lately?
I recently read how Ben Horowitz, founder of Andreessen Horowitz, saved his software as a service (SaaS) company LoudCloud from bankruptcy during a net bubble burst. By pivoting to Opsware in 2002, they were able to retain their disgruntled main customer, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), by appeasing them with a quality, customer-focused approach: acquiring an inventory software EDS desired, Tangram, that was then included in their SaaS bundle. This approach, to have the client at the heart of the business relationship, serves as a shining example for customer service teams today. Andreessen Horowitz’s business fortunes were turned around, and they eventually sold the company to HP in 2007 for $1.6 billion.
5. Why do cultural change and digital transformation go together in your opinion?
While some may promote the idea that cultural change is needed to proceed with digital transformation, the same could be said for digital transformation leading to cultural innovation. The truth is likely in the middle, with the two going hand-in-hand. This intersection leads to exciting changes that can result in a positive adjustment of mindset and the development of business processes and company fortunes.
6. In one sentence, what is one topic we shouldn't be discussing in five years?
Ideally, rule-based fraud management systems (unless speaking in the past tense) as we are already seeing the positive results of advanced ML backed fraud solutions that are much better than any legacy systems.
7. What makes companies or leadership successful in the long term?
Successful leadership is just one part of a successful company. Great leaders must be empathetic and engage with their employees in order to have a motivated team behind them. The same principles must be at the core of any customer and client successes to ensure a positive experience. Effective communication and education for internal and external processes are also essential. When the need arises, a business must be able to adapt to any new technologies or challenges to stay ahead of the competition.
