Accenture LLP supports 91 of the Fortune Global 100 and three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500 companies. And its message to all of them is simple: Get good at managing data and digital technology, or fall far behind.

“Information is the new basis of competition,” said John Matchette (pictured), managing director of applied intelligence platforms at Accenture. “There is going to be no basis of competition in the future except for artificial intelligence and digital. If you want to move quickly into new spaces, you only have one choice. And that is to get really good at managing and harnessing digital technologies, inclusive of AI.”

Matchette spoke with Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Accenture Executive Summit at the AWS re:Invent event in Las Vegas. They discussed the broad range of companies that are embracing the use of digital technologies and how AI is also transforming the pharmaceutical industry. (* Disclosure below.)

Beer makers use AI

With its broad enterprise portfolio, Accenture has seen digital transformation affect companies in every industry, including many that have not traditionally embraced technological change. This includes businesses in the liquefied natural gas space, which use AI to monitor sensors on processing equipment, and even makers of craft beer. Brewery owners are now using digital tools for marketing, customer research, and to formulate new brands, according to Matchette.

“Industries you wouldn’t think are digital companies are now digital competitors,” Matchette said. “No one would think of brewing as a digital business. They’re all about machine learning and AI.”

One industry where AI and machine learning have made a major impact is in the pharmaceutical business. A company that Accenture follows — Numerate Inc. — is using AI to transform the process of small molecule drug design by analyzing vast amounts of data.

“Every pharma company I know of is using some sort of machine learning or AI to create better pharmaceuticals,” Matchette said. “The result is we’re able to come up with new HIV drugs in six months. It’s really changing the way humans live.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Accenture Executive Summit during the AWS re:Invent event. (* Disclosure: Accenture LLP sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Accenture nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE