Accenture launches tech-developing hub

CEBU, Philippines - Accenture launched on Thursday a tech-developing hub called the "Liquid Studio" in Manila as it continues to promote technological innovations in Philippines amid the potential of the country’s tech ecosystem.

The tech hub, housed in the Uptown Place 3 in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, helps Accenture clients take advantage of new technology innovations and accelerate software application development cycles.

"The Philippines is a significant and strategic part of Accenture’s global operations and the new Liquid Studio in Manila will help our clients navigate the digital revolution and stay competitive in today's challenging marketplace," said Ambe Tierro, Accenture technology lead in the Philippines.

In the technology world, liquid means being faster and more adaptable.

The tech studio helps the company's clients as well as its workers experiment disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation, augmented and virtual reality, cloud, Internet of  Things, and blockchain.

The 2,000-square-meter facility, the first to be co-located in an Accenture delivery center, features an open environment where clients co-innovate with the company's engineers to turn concepts into applications and solutions with speed and agility.

In a press briefing, Bhaskar Ghosh, group chief executive for technology services, said the Liquid Studio will enable more advanced innovations as the technology landscape is continuously changing.

"The Philippines is one of our largest global delivery centers. We have the talent here," Ghosh said.

"[This studio] will act as a catalyst to drive innovation," he added.

It will also help the firm's clients create real-world solutions at speed and at scale through rapid prototyping, testing their viability in real-time.

Tierro underscored the availability of talents in the Philippines which she described as "trainable and adaptable".

The tech-developing hub will also be used to train and rotate Accenture professionals, exposing them to emerging technologies and new ways of working.

It aims             to give employees an environment where they can experience emerging technologies first-hand and adopt and experimental culture.

The global technology services company has also designed the studio to collaborate with promising start-ups and students in its goal towards future-proofing talent, fueling their potential to develop innovative solutions that will help solve real-world problems.

Accenture’s Liquid Studio is one component of its innovation architecture, which brings together the firm's capabilities–from research, ventures and labs to studios, innovation centers and delivery centers–to develop and deliver disruptive innovations for clients and to scale them faster.

The Manila tech hub will collaborate with other studios around the globe including those located in Singapore, Silicon Valley, London, Milan, Paris, Kronberg, and Sydney, among others.

Tierro said the company is open to expanding the studio outside of Manila in the future, depending on how it's able to utilize the Manila tech facility.

"We're very open to expand," she said. (FREEMAN)