{"id":28096,"date":"2018-11-13T19:08:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T00:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa\/"},"modified":"2018-11-13T19:08:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T00:08:19","slug":"open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The next big shift in technology that will transform the way we communicate information and interact with our surroundings, including smart objects within the internet of things(IoT) framework, is here: The voice interface. Amazon\u2019s Alexa, launched in 2014, is at the forefront of the ongoing innovation. As a cloud based voice service platform, Alexa powers tens of millions of devices, both from Amazon (Echo, Fire TV, and Fire Tablet) and third parties.[1] This voice service is expected to become the central piece for the e-commerce and the smart home technology.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Disruptions and expectations [2]<\/figcaption><\/figure>In the future, people will mostly interact with the machine(computer) and the internet(information) using voices as input. It is a most natural form of communication for humanity. The Alexa technology has vast application.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Alexa Service [3]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Outside developers have created more than 30,000 skills for Alexa, allowing the customers to control more than 4,000 smart home devices offered by 1,200 unique brands.[4] Because of the sheer number of possible devices, not necessarily limited to home devices in the future, and the possible skills (or applications, apps), Amazon has to rely on open source innovation to ensure widespread adoption of the platform.<\/p>\n

While Amazon is currently the market leader in smart speakers based on the Alexa platform, Google\u2019s Home service has shown triple digit growth in the first quarter of 2018. In order to maintain market leadership and increase adoption both by the end consumer and other device manufacturers\/content providers, promoting open innovation is the key for Alexa\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
US Smart Speaker User by Brand, 2018 & 2020 [5]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is Amazon doing to promote open source innovation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the short term, because Amazon cannot solely rely on its internal resources to develop all the necessary capabilities, it is relying on open source through collaborative communities and crowd contests[6] to enhance the capabilities of the technology. The resulting functions are called \u201cskills,\u201d being equivalent to apps for smartphones.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alexa Skills can be added to the customer\u2019s Alexa, then activated using voice command. [7]<\/figcaption><\/figure>To generate interest for rapid development of technology intensive skills for Alexa, Amazon organizes annual contests. This year\u2019s theme was the improvement on human-AI voice interaction through the development of a \u201cSocialBot,\u201d in which dozens of university research teams participated. The total prize money was USD 3.5 million.[8]<\/p>\n

Amazon created a collaborative community to actively support the independent and corporate developers creating skills. An array of system called Alexa Skills Kit(ASK) to support the development and launching process is provided.[9] Based on customer engagement, Alexa Rewards are given out as monetary compensation. Developers can also make money through in-skills purchasing and Amazon Pay, which is voice activated purchasing of products and services on the Alexa platform.[10][11]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Skills building community. [12]<\/figcaption><\/figure>In longer term, the deep learning through artificial intelligence is set to overtake the human input in the expansion of Alexa\u2019s skills. Amazon is using deep learning: Alexa takes in all the information and interactions and uses a neural network based on cloud to further enhance its own capabilities. Eventually, Alexa will be able to learn and expand its skills on its own without human supervision.[13]<\/p>\n

Currently, it is using a combination of open source and human crowd sourcing: Multilingual Alexa users are investing their time to teach new languages to Alexa. [14]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommendations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the short term, to increase adoption and hence the appeal of the Alexa platform, Amazon need to enter strategic alliances with key partners to further reinforce the open innovation. While Alexa is leading the home smart speaker market globally, it is experiencing lack of adoption by automobile manufacturers for the smart car infotainment system. It recently announced integration of Alexa with a small number of automakers on a limited scale.[15] Current Echo Auto add-on provides limited functionalities as opposed to Apple Carplay and Google Auto that rely on the networking and processing power of their mobile device. Car infotainment is a crucial piece to the voice service platform dominance for which Amazon is competing against Google and Apple. Because the open innovation is not taking place naturally, Amazon need to make the strategic move to entice auto manufacturers to joint its ecosystem.<\/p>\n

In medium terms, Amazon needs to promote language learning of Alexa with the aim of increasing geographic expansion. Currently Alexa speaks only six languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese)[16] and the ability to speak the language is essential for the voice service product to expand globally.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Competion from Google is fierce and global markets remain largely untapped by Amazon. [17]<\/figcaption><\/figure>To leverage the learning gained from the current large user base and at the same time leverage the local resources for even higher rate of open source innovation, Alexa should adopt new languages and enter the new markets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Questions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

How can Amazon achieve the voice service platform dominance against Google (and possible Apple)? What service\/product does it need to complement to attract more adoption from the developers\/companies\/end-users?<\/p>\n

How can Alexa enter new markets and expand its user base? What can Amazon do to further facilitate market adoption?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[Word Count 800]<\/p>\n

\n

[1] Amazon.com, Inc., \u201cWhy build Alexa Skills,\u201d https:\/\/developer.amazon.com\/alexa-skills-kit<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[2], [3] Innovation at Amazon, \u201cInnovation@Amazon 2017: Alexa, a 3P developer perspective,\u201d YouTube, published Apr 19, 2018, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RZcyZJEcVO0&t=295s<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[4] Day One: The Amazon Blog, \u201c2017 Letter to Shareholders,\u201d https:\/\/blog.aboutamazon.com\/company-news\/2017-letter-to-shareholders\/<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[5] E-Marketer, Inc., \u201cUS Smart Speaker Users, by Brand, 2018 & 2020 (% of smart speaker users),\u201d https:\/\/www.emarketer.com\/Chart\/US-Smart-Speaker-Users-by-Brand-2018-2020-of-smart-speaker-users\/218231<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[6] K. Boudreau and K. Lakhani. Using the crowd as an innovation partner. 性视界 Business Review 91, no. 4 (April 2013): 61\u201369.<\/p>\n

[7] Amazon.com, Inc., \u201cAlexa Skills,\u201d https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/alexa-skills\/b\/?ie=UTF8&node=13727921011&ref_=topnav_storetab_a2s<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[8] Amazon.com, Inc., \u201cAlexa Prize 2018,\u201d https:\/\/developer.amazon.com\/alexaprize\/apply<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[9][12] Amazon.com, Inc., \u201cAlexa Skills Kit\u201d https:\/\/developer.amazon.com\/alexa-skills-kit<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[10] Amazon.com, Inc., \u201cIn-Skills Purchasing,\u201d https:\/\/developer.amazon.com\/alexa-skills-kit\/make-money\/in-skill-purchasing<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[11] Amazon.com, Inc., \u201cAmazon Pay,\u201d https:\/\/developer.amazon.com\/alexa-skills-kit\/make-money\/amazon-pay<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[13] Day One: The Amazon Blog, \u201cHow our scientists are making Alexa smarter,\u201d https:\/\/blog.aboutamazon.com\/amazon-ai\/how-our-scientists-are-making-alexa-smarter<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[14] Day One: The Amazon Blog, \u201cAlexa’s newest teacher is you,\u201d https:\/\/blog.aboutamazon.com\/amazon-ai\/alexas-newest-teacher-is-you<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[15] The Verge, \u201c Amazon\u2019s Echo Auto is another quick fix for the broken state of in-car infotainment,\u201d https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2018\/9\/21\/17887230\/amazon-echo-auto-carplay-android-auto-infotainment<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[16] Amazon.com, Inc., \u201cDevelop Skills in Multiple Languages,\u201d https:\/\/developer.amazon.com\/docs\/custom-skills\/develop-skills-in-multiple-languages.html<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

[17] Canalys, \u201cGoogle beats Amazon to first place in smart speaker market,\u201d published May 23, 2018, https:\/\/www.canalys.com\/newsroom\/google-beats-amazon-to-first-place-in-smart-speaker-market?campaignname=googlechirp<\/a>, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazon is relying on open source innovation to build the capability of its cloud based voice service platform. The voice service is set to be the next biggest technological innovation that will change the way we control devices, interact with machines, and handle information. Amazon is providing a Alexa skills development platform for the third party developers to increase the utility of Alexa and the consequent consumer benefits. What are the next challenges for Amazon's Alexa?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11513,"featured_media":35422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[4365,50,74,2868,4239],"class_list":["post-28096","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artifical-intelligence","category-cloud-computing","category-crowd-sourcing","category-digital-platforms","category-open-innovation","hck-taxonomy-organization-amazon","hck-taxonomy-industry-technology","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2018\/","yoast_head":"\nOpen Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amazon is relying on open source innovation to build the capability of its cloud based voice service platform. The voice service is set to be the next biggest technological innovation that will change the way we control devices, interact with machines, and handle information. Amazon is providing a Alexa skills development platform for the third party developers to increase the utility of Alexa and the consequent consumer benefits. What are the next challenges for Amazon's Alexa?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"598\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/\",\"name\":\"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-14T00:08:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":598},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Amazon is relying on open source innovation to build the capability of its cloud based voice service platform. The voice service is set to be the next biggest technological innovation that will change the way we control devices, interact with machines, and handle information. Amazon is providing a Alexa skills development platform for the third party developers to increase the utility of Alexa and the consequent consumer benefits. What are the next challenges for Amazon's Alexa?","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":598,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/","name":"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png","datePublished":"2018-11-14T00:08:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/Amazon_Alexa_Stacked_RGB_Dark-Color-1.png","width":1400,"height":598},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/open-innovation-at-amazon-alexa-crowd-sourcing-its-way-to-platform-dominance\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Open Innovation at Amazon Alexa: Crowd-sourcing Its Way to Platform Dominance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/28096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11513"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/28096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}