Accenture Joins Salesforce to Drive AI Differentiation in Life Sciences Firms

This partnership will use the generative AI acceleration hub to develop inventive solutions and practical applications for the Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.

Accenture, a global professional services company, and Salesforce, a cloud-based software firm, have formed a strategic partnership aimed at assisting life sciences organisations in achieving sustainable growth and value.

Together, these two industry leaders are investing in the development of the Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud, which will introduce new innovations, assets, and accelerators driven by data and AI, as announced by Accenture.

This collaboration will leverage their generative AI acceleration hub to create innovative solutions and use cases for the Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.

Further, the companies will harness the capabilities of the Salesforce Data Cloud and Einstein AI, Salesforce's generative AI technology for customer relationship management, to enhance productivity and improve experiences for healthcare professionals and patients.

Accenture Research highlights that the accelerated adoption of data and analytics capabilities for decision-making and operational improvements is a top investment priority for 58% of life sciences companies.

According to Emma McGuigan, senior managing director at Accenture, "The rapid pace of science and technology advancements is making treatment decisions more complex. Data and AI will drive differentiation around how life sciences organisations engage with their customers."

The primary objective of this collaboration is to help organisations establish a digital foundation that supports omnichannel experiences across sales, service, and marketing, with data and intelligence at the core, noted McGuigan.

Amit Khanna, general manager of Health and Life Sciences at Salesforce, underlined the significance of Accenture's expertise in the pharmaceutical and medtech sectors. He noted that Accenture's ongoing work in transforming patient experiences will play a pivotal role in innovating for life sciences companies and the development of the Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.

Accenture and Salesforce have a track record of collaboration with Cencora, a pharmaceutical solutions provider that offers integrated support throughout the pharmaceutical development and commercialisation journey. With the introduction of the Life Sciences Cloud, the partnership aims to assist Cencora in modernising patient engagement with a scalable, digital-first capability by leveraging data and insights.

"Cencora will leverage technologies like generative AI to deliver solutions that reduce potential barriers along the treatment journey and meet the needs of our biopharma partners, healthcare providers and the patients they serve", said Shannon Coven, senior vice president of Cencora.

Additionally, Accenture and Salesforce have jointly developed various assets and accelerators. One of these is the patient services Health Cloud assessment framework, which evaluates legacy pharmaceutical patient services solutions, generating insights and a value proposition for the Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.

The partnership has also introduced the pharmaceutical Data Cloud and Einstein AI accelerator, which utilises generative AI to provide a comprehensive view of provider and patient data, suggesting the most important messages to be delivered during the next patient interaction.

Accenture claims to continue developing complementary tools and methodologies, allowing clients to test and pilot the new capabilities of the Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud. This collaborative effort promises to bring about significant advances in how data and AI technologies can transform and enhance the operations of life sciences organisations, ultimately benefiting both healthcare professionals and patients alike.

In another development, Accenture recently acquired Nautilus Consulting, a leading digital healthcare consultancy based in the United Kingdom. The financial terms of the acquisition, however, remain undisclosed.

Reportedly, this move by Accenture will substantially reinforce its capabilities in digital transformation, implementation, and optimisation, particularly within the healthcare sector, both in the United Kingdom and globally. Renowned for its Electronic Patient Record (EPR) solutions, Nautilus Consulting will join Accenture's Health Strategy & Consulting team in the UK.