Thanks for visiting the future…
Machine learning, Microsoft Azure and Marmite – just three of the topics under discussion at our latest Inspiration Evening event on the future of digital agencies.
It was a full house on the banks of the Thames this week, as Microsoft, BIMA and Wirehive and guests crammed into the suitably inspirational surroundings of OXO2 to take a brief journey into the future.
Mark Smith, Cloud & Enterprise Business Group Director at Microsoft began by exploring the opportunities for agencies to operate as next-gen partners with Microsoft in driving digital transformation.
Wirehive’s Rob Belgrave took us on a trip through the new digital landscape that’s disrupting agency business models. He considered how data and Ai are helping agencies find new ways to add value and fulfil client needs in a way that still aligns with their underlying skills and passion.
The Digital Agency Panel saw BIMA Managing Director Holly Hall chair a conversation looking at the various ways in which the changing face of technology is affecting agencies, the way they work and the projects they complete.
– Miguel Alvarez, Director of Technology Services at Analog Folk spoke about the tech at the heart of Unilever’s Marmite #tasteface project.
– Nat Gross, Managing Partner of TH_NK and President of BIMA discussed TH_NK’s experiences as an early adopter of Microsoft’s Azure platform and its impact on the agency’s enterprise-level projects.
– And Peter Barker, CTO, Rufus Leonard revealed how using Azure to build a new IP that harnesses machine learning, cognitive services and bot frameworks has opened up an entirely new and repeatable offer for the agency.
The panel finished with a consideration of what agencies need to do to grow and remain competitive before the room turned its attention to networking over drinks and canapes.
Thanks to all our speakers and panellists (and special thanks to Microsoft and Wirehive for sharing the event with us as part of London Tech Week). And thanks to everyone who joined us and made this one of the best attended events of the year.
If you couldn’t make it, there are more BIMA events just around the corner. You can find them here.