Forbes. Why transparency is the biggest opportunity for technology businesses

Tech companies often tout fairness as a cornerstone of their customer policies. Yet, many a time, this supposed fairness morphs into ambiguity, leading to a veil of opaqueness. Customers find themselves at the receiving end of decisions they neither understand nor can contest. This obscurity not only strains customer relationships but also diminishes trust.

For Forbes Council, Vaclav Vincalek, 555vCTO founder and virtual CTO, talked about why the real game-changer for tech companies in 2021 isn’t fairness - rather, it’s transparency.

Why are tech companies seemingly unfair with customers?

Vincalek cites a telling incident where an entrepreneur, after investing a staggering $46 million in Facebook advertising, was abruptly removed from the platform. The reason? It remains undisclosed. The entrepreneur is left in the dark, and astonishingly, even the ad client representatives at Facebook seem to be unsure of why the decision was made.

As Vincalek points out, this situation doesn’t “seem fair,” because the company is not being transparent about what rules are being applied or violated.

“Often, the lack of transparency surrounding these events is so acute that they wind up being major news stories,” Vincalek adds.

Customers, spanning from individual users to large enterprise clients, frequently grapple with murky transparency in the tools and products they engage with. As Vincalek highlights, "fairness" can be an elusive concept to pin down. Yet, when businesses lay bare their policies, pricing, and procedures, it goes a long way in fostering a sense of fairness and building trust.

Transparency will play an important role in the future of technology businesses

Transparency deficits are escalating, especially for companies leveraging machine learning to bolster their competitive edge. As Vincalek points out: “The computers are making the decisions, and humans are increasingly removed from that process — in which case, who could anyone complain to?”

Rather than pursuing the nebulous goal of "fairness" with mere rhetoric, zeroing in on transparency provides a tangible and achievable target. Vincalek posits that transparency presents a genuine market opportunity. While this doesn't imply that companies like Google should disclose the intricacies of their proprietary algorithms, it does underscore the significance of setting transparency as an aspirational benchmark.

How can businesses enhance transparency?

This notion of fairness and transparency isn't just applicable to large-scale advertising decisions or company policies. It’s crucially relevant to the very features and products tech companies release. Features validation – the process of ensuring that a product's features align with user needs and expectations – is deeply intertwined with building this transparency.

Consider this: When a company introduces a new feature, users need to understand its purpose, functionality, and potential impact on their experience. If these features are not validated, or if their implementation is veiled in secrecy, it can create confusion, dissatisfaction, and mistrust among the user base.

When users know that a feature has been rigorously tested, aligned with their needs, and is backed by clear communication, it not only instills confidence in the product but also in the company's intentions and integrity.  The more transparent a company is about how and why they've chosen certain features, the more it resonates with the broader theme of fairness.

555vCTO is your trusted partner for features validation

With 555vCTO’s expertise and commitment to transparency, we help companies not only validate their features but also instill confidence in their user base. By choosing 555vCTO, you're choosing a partner dedicated to making sure your features are not just new, but genuinely beneficial and in line with user demands.

Connect with us at 555vCTO and let's transform the way your features are developed and received. Let's work together to elevate your product's features, ensuring they resonate effectively with your audience.