By Peter Dazeley, Getty Images
Currys, British technology products retailer, has selected Accenture and Microsoft to deliver its core cloud technology infrastructure.
The partnership aims to help the retailer leverage the latest AI technologies to enhance operations and elevate the shopping and colleague experience.
Accenture and Microsoft will use their joint venture, Avanade, to modernize and simplify Currys’ technology estate, enabling the company to accelerate the adoption of Microsoft AI technologies such as Azure OpenAI Service.
By leveraging these Microsoft AI technologies, Currys’ customers are poised to benefit from an easier shopping experience through personalized product information and tailored suggestions, on top of an improved post-sales experience and warranty services.
Currys’ employee experience will also enhance by faster and easier access to information such as product availability, delivery costs and add-on services.
Additionally, the transition will accelerate Currys’ progress toward achieving net zero emissions by 2040. This involves migrating nine current data centers, housing over 2000 servers and 200 applications to Azure, thereby establishing a more energy-efficient infrastructure.
Alex Baldock, group CEO of Currys, said: “AI is the biggest technological leap of our lifetime. Currys exists to help everyone enjoy amazing technology, so as well as bringing the benefits of AI to millions of customers, we’ll do the same to our own business. We couldn’t have better partners for this, and together we aim to put Currys at the forefront of digital transformation in retail.”
Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, also commented: “Building a strong digital core will enable Currys to take its customer service and employee experience to the next level, and more quickly harness the potential of AI and generative AI to drive its ongoing reinvention. Together with Microsoft, we are helping Currys raise the bar in the retail industry, reach new frontiers of performance and efficiency and create new value and growth.”
Ralph Haupter, president, EMEA at Microsoft, said: “By deploying the latest cloud and AI technologies, Currys can enhance the shopping experience for millions of customers, both in-store and online, whilst ensuring its 25,000 employees have the insights at their fingertips to unlock value across the entire business.”
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