Interviews

Super-Apps Revolutionizing Industries with Streamlined All-in-One Platforms: Brillio CTO

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Chander Damodaran, Chief Technology Officer at Brillio, a global digital transformation company

Q1. What are super-apps, and how can organisations harness their potential today? 

Super-apps are multifunctional applications that amalgamate several services on to one integrated platform. They aim to provide consumers with an all-encompassing range of services, including social media, travel, cab services, movie tickets, utility payments, insurance, food, fashion, marketplaces, content, and more. Often, these services are linked through a common account and a robust in-app payment system. Super-apps offer users the ability to choose component tools (mini apps) that suit their requirements.

Super-apps are favoured by the smartphone generation that is always looking for mobile-first, user-friendly, and powerful experiences. Super-apps have been developed in response to the growing digital expectations of end-users. According to Gartner, super-apps blend the features of an app, a platform, and a digital ecosystem, resulting in a comprehensive user experience. Forward-thinking organisations are adopting composable application and architecture strategies to discover new digital business opportunities in their respective industries or adjacent markets. Businesses can harness super-apps to deliver personalised experiences, recommendations, and promotions, cultivating a highly immersive user journey. Large corporations such as Walmart are building super-apps for their workforce to streamline and automate complex operations. Ultimately, super-apps present a ground-breaking answer to the mounting call for inclusive, multifaceted applications that fulfil the ever-changing requirements of consumers in the digital era.

 

Q2. Why do enterprises need to explore super-apps in addition to other emerging technologies in 2023? 

In the fast-paced modern workplace, it is crucial for applications to seamlessly integrate with workflows rather than causing interruptions. According to a recent Slack study, employees spend approximately four hours per week — equivalent to 47 minutes per day — solely on transitioning between different applications. One in five respondents said they wasted up to ten hours each week. This figure is alarming as it amounts to ten working weeks of lost productivity per employee annually. As more applications become available, they create isolated pockets of data, information, and processes.

With individuals experiencing app fatigue, major conglomerates and aggregators are taking advantage by offering a comprehensive digital experience through super-apps. In business and technology, all-in-one applications have emerged as innovative solutions for streamlining digital activities and consolidating multiple services into a single platform. They not only provide convenience to users but also offer new opportunities for revenue generation by enabling direct sales of products and services within the application. Companies that own these super-apps benefit as they can keep the users locked in their ecosystem, increase user engagement, and raise the potential value per customer. Most super-apps have a payment system incorporated to generate income or charge a commission for third-party activities such as marketplace purchases.

It is estimated that over 50% of the global population will use multiple super-apps daily by 2027. As super-apps continue to expand, they are also expected to include enterprise mobile and desktop experiences such as workflow, collaboration, and messaging. Organisations can further leverage the technology to streamline internal processes and enable remote work, fostering greater collaboration and innovation. Named by Gartner as one of the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2023, super-apps represent significant opportunities for digital transformation. Some such super-apps have already been downloaded billions of times worldwide with one in three people in the world using super-apps and 15 popular super-apps accounting for 2.68 billion monthly active usersIn the future, we expect businesses to become super-aggregators of multiple services, offering value-based solutions to consumers and employees on a single platform.

 

Q3. How will super-apps revolutionise industries such as gaming, e-commerce, education, banking, and healthcare for businesses and consumers?

Super-apps are poised to revolutionise multiple industries such as gaming, e-commerce, education, banking, and healthcare by streamlining processes and providing a single, all-inclusive platform for users. They are becoming an extension of the consumer — a digital equivalent of a personal assistant, enabling an easy and convenient user experience. In the gaming industry, super-apps can centralise game discovery, player connections, and in-game purchasing, enabling gaming companies to reach a wider audience and monetise their products more effectively. E-commerce can benefit from super-apps by streamlining the shopping experience, expanding customer bases, and offering personalised shopping experiences. A recent report suggests that conversational commerce spending is poised to grow significantly, reaching $135 billion by 2027, fuelled by the rise of super-apps.

Banking through super-apps can create significant value for customers and financial institutions, allowing for cross-selling and upselling opportunities. According to a recent global study by Paypal, 41% of consumers would likely increase their banking activities if they had access to a super-app.

In the healthcare industry, super-apps can facilitate access to healthcare services, such as health insurance, telemedicine, and digital health records, and enable better communication between payers, patients, and healthcare providers, resulting in more convenient, efficient, and affordable healthcare. The seamless integration of multiple functionalities in super-apps will drive their impact and popularity across other industries, including transportation, logistics, social media, messaging, and more. As super-apps continue to gain momentum in emerging and developed markets, businesses are recognising their potential to transform operations and gain a competitive edge.

 

Q4. Can you elaborate on Brillio’s experience with super-apps?

As a digital-first organisation, Brillio is committed to harnessing the transformative potential of multiple emerging technologies, such as Generative AI, Metaverse, Digital Twins, and super-apps, among others. In the realm of super-apps, we are currently exploring distinct use cases in payments by offering an integrated payments hub, bringing in multitudes of billers and service providers with a variety of payment options. We are also seeing an uptick in its adoption in the healthcare industry, which is patient-centric and provides a mechanism for connecting patients with payers and providers to offer the best value-based health services at affordable prices. Super-apps are well-positioned to prioritise preventive and wellness care services.

Additionally, super-apps harness the power of cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to analyse user data, enabling them to deliver highly personalised recommendations and interventions. This personalisation can significantly benefit users by tailoring services to their needs and preferences. We are excited to continue exploring the many opportunities that super-apps hold across industries and look forward to helping our clients navigate this emerging landscape.

 

Q5. How can concerns around the privacy and security of super-apps be addressed? 

As emerging technologies gain widespread adoption across industries, addressing concerns regarding user data privacy and security becomes imperative. While super-apps offer undeniable conveniences and functionalities, it is vital to acknowledge the valid apprehensions surrounding data privacy. Integrating multiple functionalities within a single app presents a heightened risk of data breaches, necessitating stringent security measures. A report by Pymnts and Paypal suggests that 45% of consumers worry about being hacked when using a super-app.

Businesses must embrace a holistic approach encompassing technical and organisational aspects to tackle these concerns. These measures include establishing a pragmatic security posture that implements segmentation, multi-layer security, data encryption and anonymisation, multi-factor authentication, conducting regular security audits, and providing cybersecurity training to employees. Moreover, businesses should exhibit transparency in communicating their data privacy policies and obtain explicit user consent before collecting and processing data. Regulatory bodies play a pivotal role in ensuring compliance with data protection laws and enforcing penalties for non-compliance. By adopting these measures, businesses can establish trust with users and mitigate the risks associated with utilising super-apps. This will help enhance daily lives with superior privacy.

 

 

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