Deloitte is a global professional services and technology consultancy firm delivering audit, tax, legal, risk, financial advisory, and consulting services to all types of businesses and public bodies.
Deloitte’s South West team works in the heart of Bristol and we pride ourselves on delivering an outstanding impact on the reputation and success of our clients, and in pursuing this, we benefit our region’s economy and community.
Our story:
Innovation is no longer an option. To stay ahead, organisations seek exponential innovation—the power to shape disruption for strategic advantage. We disrupt and deliver solutions every day, helping our clients unlock possibilities and navigate complexities. Here are a few examples about the work we’ve been doing.
Digital skills
Against the backdrop of Government’s commitment to level-up society, digital skills remain at the heart of the industrial strategy for the future of the UK economy in a post-pandemic, post-Brexit world.
We’re working with universities so students here and abroad can feel confident about safely resuming their studies thanks to simulation and digital capacity planning to access classrooms and facilities. Campus activity can be integrated with intuitive and engaging distance learning delivered through the latest immersive video collaboration tools.
To support our own workforce, we use experiential, online and interactive resources for training. This delivers structured support and an environment for lifelong learning, and we receive positive feedback from our people.
Closing the digital skills gap will be vital to ensure digital innovation initiatives are a success. Online courses will be key in helping many of those out of work to develop new skills and find new employment. This will require access to online services and support in finding appropriate training, and appropriate regulation to increase confidence and protect the vulnerable.
At Deloitte, we are supporting FutureDotNow, which aims to help the digitally excluded, including the 1.7 million households in the UK who do not have access to the internet. We are also working with the Institute of Coding on STEM skills to provide high-quality training which will help develop their skills and increase employability.
Artificial intelligence
We recently teamed up with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to help them launch its first public-facing AI-enabled digital service. The technology is designed to assist trademark applicants by ensuring that they have all the information they need to make a valid and successful application for a trademark.
The IPO’s customer feedback told them that when applying for a trademark it isn’t always clear what types of trademarks can be registered, how and why applicants must describe their goods and services when applying, and how much an application will cost. This confusion makes it difficult for small businesses to protect their brand and identity.
In the 12 month period before the IPO engaged us, its classification team received more than 4000 emails, 2000 calls and 500 visits from customers that needed clarification and guidance. The IPO knew this wasn’t acceptable and needed to act fast.
By assembling a multidisciplinary team, who worked alongside IPO staff and developers, we progressed the AI driven tool from POC to full production.
We applied state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to ensure that the tool will highlight potential issues that can lead to an application being rejected; and it will surface any existing trademarks that may be too similar.
We engaged with both trademark examiners and novice users to iterate the tool over the outcomes of these sessions. The result of the process culminated in a the launch of a public beta in October 2020, which means that potential applicants now have access to easy to understand and relevant information which allows them to check their application before submission.
Space-enabled drones
We’re really enjoying working with clients to advance projects using unmanned aviation and drones. We are proud to work with drone delivery service provider Skyports and telecoms giant Vodafone to collaborate on drone deliveries for NHS in Scotland in response to a COVID-19 funding initiative. The flights use mobile connectivity and space-based technology.
Pick-ups that previously took up to 48 hours to be transported between healthcare sites now takes only 30 minutes and with a much higher frequency.
NHS staff are able to make on-demand and scheduled requests for supplies, via a customer web interface developed by Deloitte. Live tracking of the drones is available via the web application.
The drones are remotely piloted from the Skyports’ Operations Centre in Argyll and Bute and fly automatically along predefined routes.
Communication between the drone and the ground control station is provided using Vodafone’s 4G network and satellite communications to ensure connectivity coverage is provided at all times for safety reasons.
This project is a powerful example of the value that drones could bring to communities and wider society in the coming years, as businesses collaborate to further develop the technology.
Our TechWorks team:
TechWorks is home to Deloitte’s technology delivery capabilities in the South West & Wales. Our multi-skilled creative engineering and design team based in the region also includes individuals with National Security Clearance. This makeup enables us to deliver end to end solutions, testing, DevOps and Cloud, UX/UI design, product strategy and research, business analysis and delivery management.
We provide a local face to the scale, depth and breadth of Deloitte’s global technology delivery and wider expertise. Our close proximity to clients in the region allows easy access to the project team, quality collaboration and a more agile way of working.
We partner with clients across all sectors including Public, Private, Financial Services with particular experience in Defence & Security, Higher Education and Space.
