Applause Customer Excellence Awards Honor Companies Delivering Stellar Digital Quality

Applause is excited to present the Applause Customer Excellence (ACE) Awards to companies that truly go above and beyond in delivering stellar digital experiences and services for their customers, and in taking innovative approaches to software development.

As the world leader in digital quality and remote testing, Applause provides leading brands with the authentic, real-world testing results they can’t get anywhere else -- derived from curated teams sourced to match the specific testing needs and unique demographics of each company’s customers.

Applause is proud to honor six companies as this quarter’s ACE Award winners: Expensify, Just Eat, Microsoft, Paysafe, PBS and SimpliSafe. Award winners were nominated by our account management teams, and finalists chosen by a panel of software development and testing experts.

Additional ACE categories and winners will be announced quarterly, and each award winner will be eligible for the top Digital Quality Excellence Award, as voted on by our community of customers and testers, as well as industry thought leaders.

"The ACE Awards help us recognize the amazing companies we support, and showcase their ongoing commitment to delivering true digital quality to their customers,” said Doron Reuveni, CEO and founder of Applause. “With digital properties now critical to daily life, it’s especially gratifying this year to celebrate great software development work. The winners are leaders in their respective fields, who have chosen to leverage real-world testing as part of their process of providing exceptional digital experiences for their customers.”

ACE Winners, Q3 2020

Excellence in Digital Workforce Experiences: Expensify

Flawless mobile experiences are critical to every brand’s success in today’s digital world. That is certainly the case for Expensify, as its mobile app is the go-to place for end users and accounts for roughly 80% of its traffic.

Given the high-profile nature of its apps, it comes as no surprise that Expensify is fully committed to making its digital experiences as user friendly, intuitive and functionally sound as possible, which is why Expensify won the ACE Award for Excellence in Digital Workforce Experiences.

For Tim Golen, director at Expensify, building award-winning digital experiences starts with saving customers time.

“One of the core values at Expensify is that time is valuable. That’s why we say that we’re successful when a customer doesn’t have to use the product at all,” said Golen. “The more the product can automatically do for the customer, the less they have to use the app. If the customer needs to scan a receipt, for example, they simply click “Scan” and then close the app. The receipt will automatically be submitted and reimbursed. In ways like this, we’re giving customers their time back by making the digital experience easy, automatic and straightforward.”

Excellence in Mobile Delivery Experiences: Just Eat

Food delivery services have only become more important as consumer demand increases amid the global pandemic. While it’s become an essential service, it has also become an increasingly competitive market, with each brand looking to separate itself from the rest of the pack. Just Eat has been able to do just that by focusing on its mobile app to provide a secure, seamless and personalized experience for all users.

“We know that each individual customer has their own unique journey when using Just Eat, which is why we’re committed to building a more personal experience,” said Daniel Broad, Senior Technology Manager of Consumer Apps at Just Eat. “When customers open the app, it’s personalized to their requirements – from restaurants they like to personalized orders and recommendations. The navigation also makes the experience simple, so that it’s easy to order what you want, when you want.”

Consistency is key for Just Eat; the company has released software updates every two weeks to 13 countries without fail for the past two years. This regimented release cadence, along with a stringent testing practice, has helped Just Eat get high-quality experiences in the hands of customers quickly – an important practice to keep up with the pace of change today.

Just Eat’s work and attention to detail has continued to pay off as the brand was recognized with the ACE Award for Excellence in Mobile Delivery Experiences.

Excellence in Inclusive Design: Microsoft

As an organization, Microsoft has long been committed to creating technology that can empower everyone to achieve more, strengthen education opportunities, and make workplaces more inviting and inclusive for people with disabilities. A focus on accessibility and inclusive usability is essential to delivering on Microsoft’s mission to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

The Microsoft Cloud & AI Team embodies that commitment. The Cloud & AI team works every day to ensure strong user experiences for people with disabilities, across a large portfolio of enterprise websites and applications. The team embeds accessibility into the full software development lifecycle, with a focus to shift-left and identify opportunities to add an inclusive lens as early as possible.

While achieving conformance with standards such as WCAG are critical, Microsoft’s Cloud & AI Team goes a step beyond. The team understands that user experience for everyone is critical, and can help reduce unemployment for people with disabilities. With responsibility for business critical applications, the Microsoft Cloud & AI team can open up career opportunities for individuals with disabilities by ensuring these powerful tools are truly usable to a broader workforce.

The C&AI accessibility team has established a program including an on-demand Inclusive Design feedback channel, prescriptive inclusive usability reviews by end users with disabilities and an internal webinar series to educate product designers and advocate for the rights of all users.

Applause is proud to announce Microsoft’s Cloud & AI Team as the winner for Excellence in Inclusive Design.

“As the world becomes more dependent on technology for daily functions, we’re working day in and day out to ensure that those technologies are accessible for all users,” said Erica Mohler, Principal PM Manager on Microsoft’s Cloud & AI Team. “We’ve found that the best way to do this is to bring accessibility to the forefront of product design and development. Accessibility is not a one-time fix, and it takes a continuous commitment from all of us to make the world more accessible for everyone.”

Excellence in Payment Experiences: Paysafe

Payments are one of many experiences that went through a digital acceleration in 2020, as less people felt safe shopping in-person or using traditional forms of payment, including cash and credit cards. Digital wallets enable shoppers to pay for goods and services faster online due to their superior convenience feature compared to the classic ways of paying.

Paysafe’s core business purpose is to enable users to easily and safely transfer money and run payments around the world via its suite of products, including paysafecard©, NETELLER© and Skrill©. As Paysafe has become more widely used in dozens of countries, its team has recognized that it is critical for customers to avoid friction with third-party services, and that customer experience was highly dependent on factors such as location and device type.

Paysafe’s product team has taken those considerations into account and leverages an innovative testing approach to put its customers’ feedback at the heart of its product processes. Applause is proud to announce Paysafe as the winner of the ACE for Excellence in Payment Experiences.

“Now more than ever, payment experiences need to be safe and provide a stellar customer experience,” said Bernhard Niebsch, Paysafe’s Head of Product. “Our team at Paysafe considers CX on a daily basis, and we’ve taken steps to ensure our customers feel satisfied and safe when they’re using our products.”

Excellence in Streaming Experiences: PBS

With a 360-degree approach towards learning and reaching children, PBS KIDS leverages the full spectrum of media and technology to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. PBS KIDS believes the world is full of possibilities, and so is every child.

While PBS began as a television station, it is now that and more. PBS KIDS, which features beloved series like “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Wild Kratts,” “Odd Squad,” and more, is available on-air and as a streaming service online and on mobile devices, including iOS, Android and others, and via educational games, apps, and hands-on resources.

PBS KIDS aims to provide children across the United States, especially those who need it most, with access to high-quality content, digital experiences, and resources. Applause is proud to honor PBS with the ACE for Excellence in Streaming Experiences.

“We’re honored to receive this award,” said Sara DeWitt, VP of PBS KIDS Digital. “At PBS KIDS, our mission has always been rooted in making high-quality, educational content accessible to children across the country. We’re proud to continue building on this legacy through innovation in media and technology, meeting kids where they are.”

Excellence in Connected Devices: SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe’s goal is simple: to make every home secure. The Boston-based company fundamentally changed the alarm industry by introducing an affordable, DIY security solution with a mission to make home the safest place on earth for everyone. The company continues to deliver on that mission today, protecting over one million homes from intruders, fires, water damage and more, all while providing customers with an unparalleled user experience.

A wireless and flexible security solution, SimpliSafe is well-suited for homeowners, apartment dwellers and business owners alike looking to graduate from the tired security systems of the past. Customers can arm, disarm and monitor their homes right from their phones, and if their needs or lifestyle changes, customers can add on additional products with ease, whether that be a video doorbell or an extra smoke detector.

SimpliSafe’s functional design and intuitive user experience makes them a stand-out in the home security field, and the winner of this year’s ACE award for Excellence in Connected Devices.

“We believe there is a better way to do home security than the status quo,” said Craig Burger, Software QA Manager, Apps at SimpliSafe. “SimpliSafe’s customizable, DIY approach meets a wide-range of customer needs, making it the go-to system for reliable home protection and monitoring.”

Please join us in congratulating this quarter’s ACE winners on their distinguished achievements and commitment to digital quality. We look forward to honoring more ACE winners in future quarters.