There’s an exciting new cast of innovators and founders in the blockchain ecosystem. And these emerging disruptors are approaching blockchain differently than legacy organizations.
This Deloitte report explores the biggest trends enabling the future of blockchain and how new industry players are using the technology to push boundaries.
Blockchain's Smart Contracts: Driving the Next Wave of Innovation Across Manu...Cognizant
By eliminating intermediaries and by enabling smart contracts with embedded, trusted business rules, blockchain offers extraordinary opportunities for manufacturing on every level of the supply chain. To profitably ride this wave of disruptive innovation, any stakeholder in the manufacturing value chain should be familiar with the basics and guidelines for proceeding.
How Retirement Services Providers Can Tap Blockchain Thinking and TechnologyCognizant
Blockchain's peer-to-peer transference technology offers numerous benefits - digital trust, operational improvement and cost reduction, enhanced customer experience, and business resilience. We offer a vision of blockchain technology's potential applications - experimental use cases - for the retirement services industry.
The distributed ledger technology underlying cryptocurrency is advancing quickly, requiring banks to take the initiative or risk falling behind in the next generation of digital commerce.
Distributed Ledgers: Possibilities and Challenges in Capital Markets Applicat...Cognizant
Distributed ledgers - blockchain technology - stands to make numerous financial services activities more secure, autonomous, and efficient. Here's a walk-through of a range of potential use cases: IPO issuance, trade agreements and settlements, confirmations, etc. and a strategy for transition.
This thought leadership is a report detailing how Blockchain can be industrialized in ASEAN and how its potential can be unlocked across organizations.
The report also clearly illustrates the implications of Blockchain, its key developments, how it impacts countries across ASEAN and a five-point test for assessing the fit of Blockchain for specific processes, all serving to provide meaningful insights into the current state of the FinTech industry in the ASEAN region.
"This thought leadership is a report detailing how Blockchain can be industrialized in ASEAN and how its potential can be unlocked across organizations. The report also clearly illustrates the implications of Blockchain, its key developments, how it impacts countries across ASEAN and a five-point test for assessing the fit of Blockchain for specific processes, all serving to provide meaningful insights into the current state of the FinTech industry in the ASEAN region."
This thought leadership is a report detailing how Blockchain can be industrialized in ASEAN and how its potential can be unlocked across organizations.
The report also clearly illustrates the implications of Blockchain, its key developments, how it impacts countries across ASEAN and a five-point test for assessing the fit of Blockchain for specific processes, all serving to provide meaningful insights into the current state of the FinTech industry in the ASEAN region.
For, those companies, who are involved in the process of creating products and offering services to other business organizations, for them blockchain can be some sort of a new bank. Utilizing the blockchain technology, one can seamlessly handle the process, involving along sending and receiving of cash, signing contracts, accepting the deposits and significantly more
Blockchain's Smart Contracts: Driving the Next Wave of Innovation Across Manu...Cognizant
By eliminating intermediaries and by enabling smart contracts with embedded, trusted business rules, blockchain offers extraordinary opportunities for manufacturing on every level of the supply chain. To profitably ride this wave of disruptive innovation, any stakeholder in the manufacturing value chain should be familiar with the basics and guidelines for proceeding.
How Retirement Services Providers Can Tap Blockchain Thinking and TechnologyCognizant
Blockchain's peer-to-peer transference technology offers numerous benefits - digital trust, operational improvement and cost reduction, enhanced customer experience, and business resilience. We offer a vision of blockchain technology's potential applications - experimental use cases - for the retirement services industry.
The distributed ledger technology underlying cryptocurrency is advancing quickly, requiring banks to take the initiative or risk falling behind in the next generation of digital commerce.
Distributed Ledgers: Possibilities and Challenges in Capital Markets Applicat...Cognizant
Distributed ledgers - blockchain technology - stands to make numerous financial services activities more secure, autonomous, and efficient. Here's a walk-through of a range of potential use cases: IPO issuance, trade agreements and settlements, confirmations, etc. and a strategy for transition.
This thought leadership is a report detailing how Blockchain can be industrialized in ASEAN and how its potential can be unlocked across organizations.
The report also clearly illustrates the implications of Blockchain, its key developments, how it impacts countries across ASEAN and a five-point test for assessing the fit of Blockchain for specific processes, all serving to provide meaningful insights into the current state of the FinTech industry in the ASEAN region.
"This thought leadership is a report detailing how Blockchain can be industrialized in ASEAN and how its potential can be unlocked across organizations. The report also clearly illustrates the implications of Blockchain, its key developments, how it impacts countries across ASEAN and a five-point test for assessing the fit of Blockchain for specific processes, all serving to provide meaningful insights into the current state of the FinTech industry in the ASEAN region."
This thought leadership is a report detailing how Blockchain can be industrialized in ASEAN and how its potential can be unlocked across organizations.
The report also clearly illustrates the implications of Blockchain, its key developments, how it impacts countries across ASEAN and a five-point test for assessing the fit of Blockchain for specific processes, all serving to provide meaningful insights into the current state of the FinTech industry in the ASEAN region.
For, those companies, who are involved in the process of creating products and offering services to other business organizations, for them blockchain can be some sort of a new bank. Utilizing the blockchain technology, one can seamlessly handle the process, involving along sending and receiving of cash, signing contracts, accepting the deposits and significantly more
MTBiz is for you if you are looking for contemporary information on business, economy and especially on banking industry of Bangladesh. You would also find periodical information on Global Economy and Commodity Markets.
The Blockchain Imperative: The Next Challenge for P&C CarriersCognizant
Blockchain, a universal ledger and data-storage platform, can help P&C carriers address some of their most critical business challenges and significantly alter the way they operate. Although the technology has yet to achieve widespread adoption in the insurance space, the time is ripe for carriers to begin thinking about, exploring and experimenting with blockchain.
The Internet of Things: A Prime Opportunity for Merchant AcquirersCognizant
For merchants, the Internet of Things’ vast connectivity makes it easy for consumers to purchase within an environment that is intuitive, familiar and comfortable. For acquirers, there is the opportunity to provide various interfaces for accepting payments from all connected touchpoints -- creating an omnichannel experience for customers.
Dentsu Aegis Network’s Innovation Center of Excellence 2019 Blockchain Trend ...Dentsu Aegis Network
The Innovation Center of Excellence (CoE) is a group of inter-agency Innovation Councils helping DAN to innovate the way brands are built.
The Innovation CoE's aim is to be go-to subject matter experts on a variety of technology and sectors, with a focus on thought leadership and active collaboration.
How Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain TechnologySolunus, Inc.
Blockchain is one such technology that has given us a brand new reason to be happy and feel secure in this data-driven era. Learn more about how Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain Technology.
How Will Blockchain Transform Digital Signage Advertising?Pixel Crayons
Read the full blog here: https://bit.ly/3nEPaOO
Connect with us through:
Contact us : https://bit.ly/2IpPX7w
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/PixelCrayons
Twitter : https://twitter.com/pixelcrayons
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixelcrayons
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/pixelcrayons/
Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/pixelcrayons/
Blockchain-based systems have the potential to transform the advertising supply chain through its unique properties. Blockchain can improve efficiency, and trust and to some extent, privacy across the advertising industry. Trust is the initial area of focus for blockchain and many use cases inside and outside of advertising consist of replacing bodies like institutions, firms and even jobs to build trust. Traditionally trust is created through reputation, experience and achieving scale. But there is a difference with blockchain i.e, it doesn't rely on reputation, experience or credentials but blockchain delivers security, transparency and immutability inherently.
e-Book Transforming the external value chain and back office with Digital Ec...Pablo Junco
Read this eBook “Start thinking like a digital company” for a peek into how Microsoft Services can help your business transform its external value chain and back office with Digital Ecosystem and Operations.
Topics include:
• Supply chain
• Trade finance
• Know your customer
• Digital DNA
• Open API
Fintech and Transformation of the Financial Services IndustryRobin Teigland
Slides from our FinTech day as part of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Concentration in the Stockholm School of Economics Exec MBA program in Stockholm, Sweden.
Blockchain is one such technology which is already disrupting numerous industries as it enables users across the globe to transact in a secure and transparent environment in a decentralized setup without the need for a middleman. Some of the industries which have embraced blockchain technology are insurance, car sales, voting, real estate, sports management, manufacturing, transportation, e-commerce, healthcare, etc.
Upcoming trends start to show significant impact in the field of HR also. Blockchain has a wide scope in HR management, especially in maintaining a proper record. This is one of the major issues in HR management. Migrating to the best blockchain can solve this hurdle to a greater extent. HR resource holds large data in relation to the employee and the employer.
Blockchain is one of the biggest and most interesting technologies out right now. The Federal Government is putting in a ton of resources trying to figure this puzzle out. MongoDB is already being utilized by Federal Government Agencies today for Blockchain initiatives. Take a moment to read this white paper on how to build an enterprise Blockchain database with MongoDB. Harness the power of innovation!!!
PM me if you are interested in learning more!
The economy of the entire world is changing. Businesses that stick to the innovation flow will save money and generate a reputation in the modern, trusted digital world.
Source: https://www.moontechnolabs.com/blog/how-blockchain-development-companies-can-help-businesses/
You often hear tech experts discussing how powerful blockchain technology is. Today, you’ll find out exactly how influential it can be in transforming traditional businesses.
Source: https://www.moontechnolabs.com/blog/how-blockchain-development-companies-can-help-businesses/
MTBiz is for you if you are looking for contemporary information on business, economy and especially on banking industry of Bangladesh. You would also find periodical information on Global Economy and Commodity Markets.
The Blockchain Imperative: The Next Challenge for P&C CarriersCognizant
Blockchain, a universal ledger and data-storage platform, can help P&C carriers address some of their most critical business challenges and significantly alter the way they operate. Although the technology has yet to achieve widespread adoption in the insurance space, the time is ripe for carriers to begin thinking about, exploring and experimenting with blockchain.
The Internet of Things: A Prime Opportunity for Merchant AcquirersCognizant
For merchants, the Internet of Things’ vast connectivity makes it easy for consumers to purchase within an environment that is intuitive, familiar and comfortable. For acquirers, there is the opportunity to provide various interfaces for accepting payments from all connected touchpoints -- creating an omnichannel experience for customers.
Dentsu Aegis Network’s Innovation Center of Excellence 2019 Blockchain Trend ...Dentsu Aegis Network
The Innovation Center of Excellence (CoE) is a group of inter-agency Innovation Councils helping DAN to innovate the way brands are built.
The Innovation CoE's aim is to be go-to subject matter experts on a variety of technology and sectors, with a focus on thought leadership and active collaboration.
How Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain TechnologySolunus, Inc.
Blockchain is one such technology that has given us a brand new reason to be happy and feel secure in this data-driven era. Learn more about how Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain Technology.
How Will Blockchain Transform Digital Signage Advertising?Pixel Crayons
Read the full blog here: https://bit.ly/3nEPaOO
Connect with us through:
Contact us : https://bit.ly/2IpPX7w
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/PixelCrayons
Twitter : https://twitter.com/pixelcrayons
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixelcrayons
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/pixelcrayons/
Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/pixelcrayons/
Blockchain-based systems have the potential to transform the advertising supply chain through its unique properties. Blockchain can improve efficiency, and trust and to some extent, privacy across the advertising industry. Trust is the initial area of focus for blockchain and many use cases inside and outside of advertising consist of replacing bodies like institutions, firms and even jobs to build trust. Traditionally trust is created through reputation, experience and achieving scale. But there is a difference with blockchain i.e, it doesn't rely on reputation, experience or credentials but blockchain delivers security, transparency and immutability inherently.
e-Book Transforming the external value chain and back office with Digital Ec...Pablo Junco
Read this eBook “Start thinking like a digital company” for a peek into how Microsoft Services can help your business transform its external value chain and back office with Digital Ecosystem and Operations.
Topics include:
• Supply chain
• Trade finance
• Know your customer
• Digital DNA
• Open API
Fintech and Transformation of the Financial Services IndustryRobin Teigland
Slides from our FinTech day as part of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Concentration in the Stockholm School of Economics Exec MBA program in Stockholm, Sweden.
Blockchain is one such technology which is already disrupting numerous industries as it enables users across the globe to transact in a secure and transparent environment in a decentralized setup without the need for a middleman. Some of the industries which have embraced blockchain technology are insurance, car sales, voting, real estate, sports management, manufacturing, transportation, e-commerce, healthcare, etc.
Upcoming trends start to show significant impact in the field of HR also. Blockchain has a wide scope in HR management, especially in maintaining a proper record. This is one of the major issues in HR management. Migrating to the best blockchain can solve this hurdle to a greater extent. HR resource holds large data in relation to the employee and the employer.
Blockchain is one of the biggest and most interesting technologies out right now. The Federal Government is putting in a ton of resources trying to figure this puzzle out. MongoDB is already being utilized by Federal Government Agencies today for Blockchain initiatives. Take a moment to read this white paper on how to build an enterprise Blockchain database with MongoDB. Harness the power of innovation!!!
PM me if you are interested in learning more!
The economy of the entire world is changing. Businesses that stick to the innovation flow will save money and generate a reputation in the modern, trusted digital world.
Source: https://www.moontechnolabs.com/blog/how-blockchain-development-companies-can-help-businesses/
You often hear tech experts discussing how powerful blockchain technology is. Today, you’ll find out exactly how influential it can be in transforming traditional businesses.
Source: https://www.moontechnolabs.com/blog/how-blockchain-development-companies-can-help-businesses/
How Blockchain
Will Change Organizations
if there were an internet of value — a secure platform, What ledger, or database where buyers and sellers could store and exchange value without the need for traditional intermediaries? This is what blockchain technology will offer businesses.
[OPINION]
How Blockchain Will Change Organizations
What if there were an internet of value — a secure platform, ledger, or database where buyers and sellers
could store and exchange value without the need for traditional intermediaries? This is what blockchain technology will offer businesses.
BY DON TAPSCOTT AND ALEX TAPSCOTT
or the last century, academics and business leaders have been shaping the practice of modern management. The main theories,
F
tenets, and behaviors have enabled managers to build corporations, which have largely been hierar- chical, insular, and vertically integrated. However, we believe that the technology underlying digital currencies such as bitcoin — technology com- monly known as blockchain — will have profound effects on the nature of companies: how they are funded and managed, how they create value, and how they perform basic functions such as market- ing, accounting, and incentivizing people. In some cases, software will eliminate the need for many management functions.
Sound far-fetched? Let us explain. The internet
vastly improved the flow of data within and be- tween organizations, but the effect on how we do business has been more limited. That’s because the internet was designed to move information — not value — from person to person. When you email a document, photograph, or audio file, for example, you aren’t sending the original — you’re sending a copy. Anyone can copy and change it. In many cases, it’s legal and advantageous to share copies.
By contrast, if you want to expedite a business transaction, emailing money directly to someone is not an option — not only because copying money is illegal but also because you can’t be 100% certain the recipient is the person he says he is. As a result, we use intermediaries to establish trust and maintain integrity. Banks, governments, and in some cases big technology compa- nies have the ability to confirm identities so that we can transfer assets; the intermediaries settle transactions and keep records.
For the most part, intermediaries do an adequate job, with some notable exceptions. One concern is that they use servers that are vulnerable to crashes, fraud, and hacks. Another is that they often charge fees — for example, to wire money overseas. They also monitor customer behavior and collect data, and they exclude the hundreds of millions of people who can’t qualify for a bank account. And sometimes, they make terrible mistakes, as the 2008 financial crisis made evident.
What would happen if there was an internet of value where parties to a transaction could store and exchange value without
the need for traditional intermediaries? ...
Blockchain Beyond the Hype. A Practical Framework for Business Leaders. This common sense and practical framework is designed
to assist executives in understanding whether blockchain
is an appropriate and helpful tool for their business needs.
It starts from the premise that blockchain is merely a
technology – much like many others that are already used
in society – and like other technologies it is as much about
change management and careful attention to the economics
and business models of industries and companies involved
as it is about technology evangelism. For any organization,
blockchain technology should not be a goal in itself but a
tool deployed to achieve specific purposes.
Blockchain in Europe: Closing the Strategy GapCognizant
According to our recent research, European businesses need to break through old mental models of company boundaries and markets to grasp the full potential of blockchain and how it will shift entrenched views of institutional power.
Retailers increasingly recognize blockchain’s transformative ability to streamline operations, ensure product authenticity and enable tighter supply chain collaboration, our latest study reveals. However, most are still working to fully understand how to harness its potential inside their four walls and beyond.
Digital assets are on the verge of becoming the next big thing in the market. Companies are getting prepared for digital assets with Blockchain technology. Blockchain technology will help companies to manage and keep control over digital assets. This technology will help in transacting and trading digital assets in real-time.
Enterprise blockchain| Blockchain as a Service| Blockchain Disruption| Blockc...Fluence.sh
In most of the cases, the experiments with blockchains will never become a part of a company’s operations. The question is what challenges projects have to be faced during the blockchain adoption and how to reach the successful end of the deployment of the decentralized technologies.
Financial Services: Building Blockchain One Block at a TimeCognizant
Financial services firms need to move aggressively in developing a blockchain strategy. Our primary research shows that companies lingering in the experimentation phase will be left behind by the rapid pace of innovation.
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Blockchain beyond the hype: What is the strategic business
value?
Carson, Brant
Romanelli, Giulio
Walsh, Patricia
Zhumaev, Askhat
McKinsey Quarterly. 2018, Issue 4, p118-127. 10p. 1 Color
Photograph, 1 Diagram.
Article
*BLOCKCHAINS
*DECENTRALIZATION in management
*TRANSPARENCY in organizations
*BUSINESS models
*COST control
*STRATEGIC planning
The authors discuss their study on the strategic business
value of blockchain to major industries. They described a
structured approach that companies can follow to examine
blockchain strategies. The core advantages of blockchain are
decentralization, cryptographic security, transparency, and
immutability. It is said that the value of blockchain will shift
from driving cost reduction to enabling entirely new business
models and revenue streams.
Partner, McKinsey's Sydney office
Associate partner, Melbourne office
Consultant, Melbourne office.
2881
0047-5394
133693412
Business Source Premier
Blockchain beyond the hype: What is the strategic business value?
Blockchain can generate meaningful value for many companies. The key is figuring out what
strategy makes sense, given your customers' pain points and your company's market
position
Blockchain is all the rage. Bitcoin-the first and most infamous application of the technology-has
grabbed headlines for its rocketing price and volatility. Predictions such as the World Economic
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Forum survey suggesting that 10 percent of global GDP will be stored on blockchain by 2027 have
inspired government task forces, breathless press reports, and a multitude of conversations at
Davos and in corporate conference rooms.[ 1]
Tellingly, large investments are being made. Last year, venture capitalists put more than $1 billion
into blockchain start-ups.[ 2] Initial coin offerings (ICOs), the blockchain-backed sale of
cryptocurrency tokens in a new venture, raised $5 billion in 2017. Leading technology players are
putting money and people into blockchain: IBM has invested $200 million and more than 1,000
employees in the blockchain-powered Internet of Things (IoT).[ 3]
Yet the fact remains that blockchain is an immature technology with a nascent market and no clear
recipe for success. No wonder many corporate leaders are asking themselves a lot of questions. Is
blockchain a disruptive threat? Is it a fad? Most importantly, can blockchain have strategic value for
my company?
To help answer these questions, we embarked on an industry-by-industry analysis of existing
blockchain strategies, interviewing a range of experts including the executives overseeing these
efforts at a number of companies. We evaluated the strategic importance ...
The ecosystem supporting blockchain technology has matured to the point where the rollout of multiple enterprise blockchain solutions is imminent. This is technology that cannot be ignored by any industry as it poses both a threat and an opportunity for organisations. This paper outlines the potential of blockchain technology.
First Word: Unfurling the Blockchain BlueprintCognizant
Organizations worldwide see blockchain as a significant force for their business and industry, and are well on their way to developing a strategy, with an eye on reducing operating costs, automating key business processes and enhancing trust and transparency, our latest study reveals.
Excited about the future of the internet? So are we! Dive into our latest eBook, "Empowering Entrepreneurs with Web 3.0" – your ultimate guide to navigating the transformative world of Web 3.0 technologies. 📘✨
What's Inside?
The Fundamentals: Master the core technologies - blockchain, smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs.
Success Stories: Be inspired by real-world applications and interviews with trailblazing Web 3.0 entrepreneurs.
Overcoming Challenges: Navigate the complexities of the regulatory landscape, technical hurdles, and market adoption.
Kickstart Your Venture: From ideation to funding, building your team, and engaging the community – we've got you covered.
Using blockchain to get ahead of the game: Creating trust and driving operati...Accenture Insurance
The rise of blockchain promises to bring disruption to commercial insurance by fundamentally reshaping principles and processes that have governed the industry since the 17th century. Blockchain offers a more efficient alternative to the processes the insurance industry developed as an answer to the absence of mutual trust between affected parties and a lack of end-to-end transaction transparency.
In this report we address how blockchain can create trust and drive operational excellence, and we assess its wider implications for commercial insurance brokers.
For more than 20 years the Internet was narrowed down to the usage
of a few tech-savvy that knew how to navigate it. It’s only in 1993-94
that it became mainstream when Marc Andreessen created
the Mosaic browser while studying at the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and brought the Internet to the
general public allowing them to navigate the web comfortably with a
positive user-friendly experience. And, for the first time user could
establish an active presence over the internet by loading their own
documents, photos, sounds, video clips, and hypertext “links” to
other documents. And just like that, navigation of the internet started
to have a meaning and it made sense to a layman.
In the blockchain world, Bitcoin (2008) was the first application of the
technology, the most disruptive, and its first wave of users, just like in
the first internet era, was also more on the technical savvy
side. Despite significant immunization of capital into the blockchain
space, we have not had yet an incredible app or project that could
compare to Mosaic or Netscape.
For more than 20 years the Internet was narrowed down to the usage of a few tech-savvy that knew how to navigate it. It’s only in 1993-94 that it became mainstream when Marc Andreessen created the Mosaic browser while studying at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
The world stands to lose close to 10% of total economic value by mid-century if climate change stays on the currently-anticipated trajectory, and the Paris Agreement and 2050 net-zero emissions targets are not met.
Many emerging markets have most to gain if the world is able to rein in temperature gains. For example, action today to get back to the Paris temperature rise scenario would mean economies in southeast Asia could prevent around a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) loss by mid-century that they may otherwise suffer. Our analysis in this report is unique in explicitly simulating for the many uncertainties around the impacts of climate change. It shows that those economies most vulnerable to the potential physical risks of climate change stand to benefit most from keeping temperature rises in check. This includes some of the world's most dynamic emerging economies, the engines of global growth in the years to come. The message from the analysis is clear: no action on climate change is not an option.
Promise and peril: How artificial intelligence is transforming health careΔρ. Γιώργος K. Κασάπης
AI has enormous potential to improve the quality of health care, enable early diagnosis of diseases, and reduce costs. But if implemented incautiously, AI can exacerbate health disparities, endanger patient privacy, and perpetuate bias. STAT, with support from the Commonwealth Fund, explored these possibilities and pitfalls during the past year and a half, illuminating best practices while identifying concerns and regulatory gaps. This report includes many of the articles we published and summarizes our findings, as well as recommendations we heard from caregivers, health care executives, academic experts, patient advocates, and others.
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2020.
As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; judgements; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; media reports; and, for a limited number of countries, other civil society organizations.
Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation. In many countries governments do not publish information on their use of the death penalty. In China and Viet Nam, data on the use of the death penalty is classified as a state secret. During 2020 little or no information was available on some countries – in particular Laos and North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) – due to restrictive state practice.
Aviva’s first How We Live report was published in September 2020 when the world was firmly in the grip of a global pandemic. In the UK the vaccination programme is well underway and the mood of the nation is hopeful. This latest How We Live report looks at the long-term effects of the Coronavirus outbreak and considers its impact on our future behaviours.
We interviewed 4,000 adults across the UK to gather their views on a wide range of lifestyle decisions including property priorities, home-working, green living, career paths, vehicle choices and holiday plans. We also asked whether people had experienced any positive outcomes from the Covid pandemic. This report considers the practical and emotional skills which have been fostered as a result. Since the beginning of 2020, the UK has seen immense change. As we look forward to a sense of “normality” it remains to be seen which aspects of life will return to their previous states, and where we can expect changes to become permanent fixtures.
The life insurance industry provides protection against the financial consequences of the premature death of a family breadwinner, disability, or outliving one’s retirement assets. But how are life insurance products actually designed and priced?
Product committees comprising agents, underwriters, actuaries, and senior management sit and discuss what new products should be offered. The agents have vast experience visiting with policyholders to determine their needs. Underwriters set the guidelines on which policyholders will be accepted and/or rated. Smart actuaries (while most would find this redundant, some would call it an oxymoron) assess the potential risks in these products and set a potential price. Senior management listens to agents, underwriters, and actuaries and helps finalize the product design, the guidelines for accepting risks, and the price. The programmers will also have to be contacted to determine the cost of administering the products. Many iterations of these discussions may take place before a product is ready for sale. The entire process could take up to a year.
Some of these products are quite complex, taking into account long-term interest rates and probabilities of death/survival, disability, and lapse. With this lengthy and rigorous process, one would imagine that few mistakes are made. However, this is not the case. What follows are a few examples of major product mistakes which cost the life insurance industry a lot of time, money, and bad publicity.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns forced many insurers to accelerate the transition to digital business models. In many countries, this transition has been remarkably successful, however, the crisis also highlighted the critical role played by national regulatory frameworks in both hindering and facilitating the shift to digitalisation in the insurance industry. COVID-19 lockdowns highlighted the critical role of national regulatory frameworks in both hindering and facilitating the shift to digitalisation in the insurance industry. Digitalisation is not a goal in itself, but provides insurers and their customers with benefits that are particularly useful in situations where in-person interactions cannot take place, played out in its fullest form during the COVID-19-induced lockdowns. Digitalisation drives an increase in speed and efficiency, irrespective of where the customer is located, and promises improved customer service and satisfaction.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has been developing over the last 20 years and is often referred to as Industry 4.0 or the “fourth industrial revolution.” It is an umbrella term for all the digital assets and entities connected to the internet. Many of these are intangibles, such as data, human capital via artificial intelligence (AI), intellectual property (IP), and cyber; as such, they need to be made tangible to address value on a balance sheet. Others are connected entities, such as sensor devices, collecting and receiving information in an intelligent fashion across networks.
The rapid rise of online political campaigning has made most political financing regulations obsolete, putting transparency and accountability at risk. Seven in 10 countries worldwide do not have any specific limits on online spending on election campaigns, with six out of 10 not having any restrictions on online political advertising at all.
Highlights
• On average, concerns over Innovation was ranked highest, followed by Implications of Covid-19 • Respondents indicated innovation is important, but are mostly in process
• Respondents were mostly confident in implementing their innovation plans.
• Nearly half of respondents indicated their focus was on the customer experience • Most respondents expect some negative impact from Covid-19, with decreased profit indicated most, followed by decreased sales effectiveness, which are likely related
• The most common change in response to the Covid-19 impact were workplace and staffing changes, followed by technology investments
• Of the respondents, 92% indicated cyber security was important or very important.
• Continuous effort was ranked highest, and Mitigating internal threats, Identifying external threats, and Prioritizing identifying cyber risks were ranked next.
• While 95% of respondents indicated emerging threats were important or very important, 28% Indicated they were very good at responding to them
• For resiliency and sustainability, corporate ESG and R&S for internal operations were ranked as the highest priorities
iis the institutes innovation covid-19
What North America’s top finance executives are thinking - and doingΔρ. Γιώργος K. Κασάπης
Each quarter (since 2Q10), CFO Signals has tracked the thinking and actions of CFOs representing many of North America’s largest and most influential companies. All respondents are CFOs from the US, Canada, and Mexico, and the vast majority are from companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue. The 1Q 2021 survey was open from February 8-19, 2021. A total of 128 CFOs participated, 69% from public companies and 31% from privately held companies.
Democratic watchdog organization Freedom House has released its annual ranking of the world's most free and most suppressed nations.
The report is a key barometer for global democracy and this year's edition found that global freedom has declined for the 15th straight year. 2020 was a turbulent year with the pandemic, violent conflict and economic and physical insecurity leading to democracy's defenders sustaining heavy losses against authoritarian foes which has resulted in a shift in the internatioal baance in favor of tyranny.
A total of 195 countries and 15 territories were analyzed on their levels of access to political rights and civil liberties with the number experiencing a deterioration in their freedom scores exceeding the number that saw improvement by the widest margin since 2006. In 2020, nearly 75 percent of the world's population lived under a government that saw its democracy score decline in the past year.
Women, Business and the Law 2021 is the seventh in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. Amidst a global pandemic that threatens progress toward gender equality, the report identifies barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages reform of discriminatory laws. This year, the study also includes important findings on government responses to the COVID-19 crisis and pilot research related to childcare and women’s access to justice.
Strong competition undoubtedly contributes to a country’s productivity and economic growth. The primary objective of a competition policy is to enhance consumer welfare by promoting competition and controlling practices that could restrict it. More competitive markets stimulate innovation and generally lead to lower prices for consumers, increased product variety and quality, more entry and enhanced investment. Overall, greater competition is expected to deliver higher levels of welfare and economic growth.
Long-erm Care and Health Care Insurance in OECD and Other CountriesΔρ. Γιώργος K. Κασάπης
This report carries out a stocktaking of what systems have in OECD and non-OECD countries for longterm care and health care, as well as the types of insurance products that are made available in these countries. It is part of a broader project that examines the complementarity of the social security network with the private insurance market, which examines how insurance could support the public sector longterm care and health care systems, as well as considering the financing of long-term care and health care.
This tenth edition of Global Insurance Market Trends provides an overview of market trends to better understand the overall performance and health of the insurance market. This monitoring report is compiled using data from the OECD Global Insurance Statistics (GIS) exercise. The OECD has collected and analysed data on insurance in OECD countries, such as the number of insurance companies and employees, insurance premiums and investments by insurance companies, dating back to the 1980s. Over time, the framework of this exercise has expanded and now includes key items of the balance sheet and income statement of direct insurers and reinsurers.
Does AI threaten and undermine human value in the workplace more than any other technology? There have been significant advances in AI, but will their impact really be different this time?
This literature review takes stock of what is known about the impact of artificial intelligence on the labour market, including the impact on employment and wages, how AI will transform jobs and skill needs, and the impact on the work environment. The purpose is to identify gaps in the evidence base and inform future research on AI and the labour market.
The OECD has estimated that 14% of jobs are at high risk of automation.
•Despite this, employment grew in nearly all OECD countries over the period 2012-2019.
•At the country level, a higher risk of automation was associated with higher employment growth over the period. This might be because automation promotes employment growth by increasing productivity, although other factors are also at play.
•At the occupational level, however, employment growth was much lower in occupations at high risk of automation (6%) than in occupations at low risk (18%).
•Low-educated workers were more concentrated in high-risk occupations in 2012 and have become even more concentrated in these occupations since then.
•The low growth in jobs in high risk occupations has not led to a drop in the employment rate of low-educated workers. This is largely because the number of workers with a low education has fallen in line with the demand for these workers.
•Going forward, however, the risk of automation is increasingly falling on low-educated workers and the COVID-19 crisis is likely to accelerate automation, as companies reduce reliance on human labour and contact between workers, or re-shore some production.
Prescription drug prices in U.S. more than 2.5 times higher than in other cou...Δρ. Γιώργος K. Κασάπης
Prescription drugs cost an average of 2.56 times more in the United States than they do in 32 other countries, according to a new report from RAND Corporation.
That disparity is even greater for brand name drugs, with U.S. prices averaging 3.44 times those in comparison nations. The study also found that prices for unbranded generic drugs — which account for 84% of drugs sold in the United States by volume but only 12% of U.S. spending — are slightly lower in the United States than in most other countries.
‘A circular nightmare’: Short-staffed nursing homes spark Covid-19 outbreaks,...Δρ. Γιώργος K. Κασάπης
Nursing homes have suffered grievously in the coronavirus pandemic. Chronically understaffed, that’s getting worse, a new US Pirg Education Fund analysis says. The shortage of direct-care workers rose from 20% of U.S. nursing homes in May to 23% in December. Too few workers raises stress among staff, the authors argue, making them and the residents they care for more vulnerable to Covid-19 infections, reducing staff further in “a circular nightmare.”
Keeping the lights on, the water running, and the landlord at bay could turn out to be good ways to control Covid-19 infection, a new NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) analysis suggests, based on the idea that social distancing is easier for people who can stay home. When utility shutoffs and evictions were halted, Covid-19 cases in certain counties across the country fell by 8% from March through November 2020, the report says. The study can't prove cause and effect, but the authors venture that if such measures had been implemented nationwide, eviction moratoria would have resulted in a 14% decrease in Covid-19 cases and up to a 40% decrease in deaths. Utility shutoff moratoria would have cut infections by 9% and deaths by 15%, the study estimates.
Improving profitability for small businessBen Wann
In this comprehensive presentation, we will explore strategies and practical tips for enhancing profitability in small businesses. Tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by small enterprises, this session covers various aspects that directly impact the bottom line. Attendees will learn how to optimize operational efficiency, manage expenses, and increase revenue through innovative marketing and customer engagement techniques.
RMD24 | Retail media: hoe zet je dit in als je geen AH of Unilever bent? Heid...BBPMedia1
Grote partijen zijn al een tijdje onderweg met retail media. Ondertussen worden in dit domein ook de kansen zichtbaar voor andere spelers in de markt. Maar met die kansen ontstaan ook vragen: Zelf retail media worden of erop adverteren? In welke fase van de funnel past het en hoe integreer je het in een mediaplan? Wat is nu precies het verschil met marketplaces en Programmatic ads? In dit half uur beslechten we de dilemma's en krijg je antwoorden op wanneer het voor jou tijd is om de volgende stap te zetten.
RMD24 | Debunking the non-endemic revenue myth Marvin Vacquier Droop | First ...BBPMedia1
Marvin neemt je in deze presentatie mee in de voordelen van non-endemic advertising op retail media netwerken. Hij brengt ook de uitdagingen in beeld die de markt op dit moment heeft op het gebied van retail media voor niet-leveranciers.
Retail media wordt gezien als het nieuwe advertising-medium en ook mediabureaus richten massaal retail media-afdelingen op. Merken die niet in de betreffende winkel liggen staan ook nog niet in de rij om op de retail media netwerken te adverteren. Marvin belicht de uitdagingen die er zijn om echt aansluiting te vinden op die markt van non-endemic advertising.
[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey throu...dylandmeas
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey through Full Sail University. Below, you’ll find a collection of my work showcasing my skills and expertise in digital marketing, event planning, and media production.
3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
Putting the SPARK into Virtual Training.pptxCynthia Clay
This 60-minute webinar, sponsored by Adobe, was delivered for the Training Mag Network. It explored the five elements of SPARK: Storytelling, Purpose, Action, Relationships, and Kudos. Knowing how to tell a well-structured story is key to building long-term memory. Stating a clear purpose that doesn't take away from the discovery learning process is critical. Ensuring that people move from theory to practical application is imperative. Creating strong social learning is the key to commitment and engagement. Validating and affirming participants' comments is the way to create a positive learning environment.
Cracking the Workplace Discipline Code Main.pptxWorkforce Group
Cultivating and maintaining discipline within teams is a critical differentiator for successful organisations.
Forward-thinking leaders and business managers understand the impact that discipline has on organisational success. A disciplined workforce operates with clarity, focus, and a shared understanding of expectations, ultimately driving better results, optimising productivity, and facilitating seamless collaboration.
Although discipline is not a one-size-fits-all approach, it can help create a work environment that encourages personal growth and accountability rather than solely relying on punitive measures.
In this deck, you will learn the significance of workplace discipline for organisational success. You’ll also learn
• Four (4) workplace discipline methods you should consider
• The best and most practical approach to implementing workplace discipline.
• Three (3) key tips to maintain a disciplined workplace.
Company Valuation webinar series - Tuesday, 4 June 2024FelixPerez547899
This session provided an update as to the latest valuation data in the UK and then delved into a discussion on the upcoming election and the impacts on valuation. We finished, as always with a Q&A
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to ma...Lviv Startup Club
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to make small projects with small budgets profitable for the company (UA)
Kyiv PMDay 2024 Summer
Website – www.pmday.org
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/startuplviv
FB – https://www.facebook.com/pmdayconference
"𝑩𝑬𝑮𝑼𝑵 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝑻𝑱 𝑰𝑺 𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑭 𝑫𝑶𝑵𝑬"
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 (𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬) is a professional event agency that includes experts in the event-organizing market in Vietnam, Korea, and ASEAN countries. We provide unlimited types of events from Music concerts, Fan meetings, and Culture festivals to Corporate events, Internal company events, Golf tournaments, MICE events, and Exhibitions.
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 provides unlimited package services including such as Event organizing, Event planning, Event production, Manpower, PR marketing, Design 2D/3D, VIP protocols, Interpreter agency, etc.
Sports events - Golf competitions/billiards competitions/company sports events: dynamic and challenging
⭐ 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:
➢ 2024 BAEKHYUN [Lonsdaleite] IN HO CHI MINH
➢ SUPER JUNIOR-L.S.S. THE SHOW : Th3ee Guys in HO CHI MINH
➢FreenBecky 1st Fan Meeting in Vietnam
➢CHILDREN ART EXHIBITION 2024: BEYOND BARRIERS
➢ WOW K-Music Festival 2023
➢ Winner [CROSS] Tour in HCM
➢ Super Show 9 in HCM with Super Junior
➢ HCMC - Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Festival
➢ Korean Vietnam Partnership - Fair with LG
➢ Korean President visits Samsung Electronics R&D Center
➢ Vietnam Food Expo with Lotte Wellfood
"𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬."
Implicitly or explicitly all competing businesses employ a strategy to select a mix
of marketing resources. Formulating such competitive strategies fundamentally
involves recognizing relationships between elements of the marketing mix (e.g.,
price and product quality), as well as assessing competitive and market conditions
(i.e., industry structure in the language of economics).
2. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
2
Table of contents
Introduction
Commerce is evolving
Driving change with blockchain
Smart contracts at work
Protecting and accessing intellectual property
A token approach toward privacy
Linkage to the evolved physical world
Stablecoins as a means of exchange
The best of both worlds; emerging
disruptors entering the mainstream
Navigating the complexities
Trends enabling the future
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4
5
6
8
9
11
12
13
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3. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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Introduction
Blockchain is changing the face of business today. It is pushing the
boundaries of what is possible, allowing dynamics between businesses and
consumers that were previously unimaginable because of the immutability of
shared data transacted broadly across an ecosystem of multiple parties. Right
now, someone, somewhere, is creating a blockchain solution to drive innovation
and disruption of traditional business models. This is occurring in virtually every
industry and in most jurisdictions globally. Indeed, we are now witnessing an
evolution in commerce.
Last year, Deloitte conducted its 2018 Global Blockchain Survey, which
focused on blockchain adoption among enterprise organizations looking to
transform legacy-constrained business solutions to remain—or become—more
competitive in global markets. More than 41 percent of respondents said they
expected their organizations to bring blockchain into production within the next
year. Our 2019 Survey cast a wider net to capture the opinions of “emerging
disruptors,” the new entrants who build their businesses around blockchain
from the start. Our findings suggest that these entrepreneurial innovators play
a critical role in shaping the larger blockchain ecosystem.
According to our 2019 survey, 45 percent of emerging disruptors have already
brought blockchain to production, while slightly less than one quarter of
enterprise respondents say they have. In a similar regard, 90 percent of
emerging disruptors are actively hiring blockchain talent, in contrast to less than
half of enterprise respondents. What these and other data points from our
survey suggest is that the focused energy of emerging disruptors is a key factor
driving innovation within the blockchain community.
In the blockchain ecosystem, there are new characteristics of innovators and
founders. Deloitte sees an increasing number of entrepreneurs, frequently
paired up with industry veterans, starting new organizations with bold ideas
who leverage their experience to execute. These “emerging disruptors” are
approaching blockchain differently than their legacy competitors. Emerging
disruptors are not thinking incrementally about change, rather they are
fundamentally changing how business is being conducted across industry
sectors around the world.
4. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
4
In nature, plants and animals that can’t adapt eventually
wither away and become extinct. The same is true in
business, where companies that can’t adapt get pushed aside
in favor of new organizations with fresh ideas, approaches, and
solutions. The companies that adapt and thrive are known as
emerging disruptors. These companies are drivers of change
when it comes to the adoption—and advocacy—of disruptive
technologies, such as blockchain. As expected, many of these
organizations are startups, but possess the potential for rapid
growth. Others that are further along the curve in evolving
their concepts have already recorded demonstrable results
disrupting the legacy companies in their markets.
In either case, these organizations and the executives behind
them share similar traits: the ability to recognize, and then
ignore, the longstanding norms of legacy business models.
While legacy enterprise organizations, by their very nature,
may be slow to change, emerging disruptors are fast, agile,
and willing to fail fast to devise and implement game-changing
business solutions.
Often well-funded and managed by seasoned executives, well
connected to key stakeholders, and well versed in the potential
value offered by commerce re-imagined by blockchain, many of
these organizations operate with few boundaries and possess
a vision without gravity, unconstrained by legacy challenges,
with a realistic view of a different future.
In comparison, many legacy organizations approach blockchain
from the opposing direction, trying to redefine legacy business
models by implementing new technology into their existing
operations. While these organizations look at operational
efficiencies or some revenue generating use cases, many fail
to grasp the fundamental tenets of blockchain’s potential.
Blockchain-enabled business model change is a seismic shift in
how business will be conducted in the future—especially given
that the global economy is becoming more digital, and the
decentralization of business models and stakeholders allowed
by blockchain allows for a new dimension of innovation.
Commerce
is evolving
Everything evolves to fit a
constantly changing environment.
Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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5. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
5
Driving change
with blockchain
On the surface, blockchain technology seems
rudimentary since it shares similar attributes to
familiar things like databases. However, blockchain can
simplify how organizations transact broadly with one another,
and retain privacy and security for their data. Blockchain may
change the way in which users interact with data, enabling
transactions to be handled differently than they have in the
past. Blockchain may also reduce the number of people
required to process and verify the information being passed
between individuals and organizations.
The benefits of
blockchain adoption:
disintermediation
immutability
transparency
near-real time
frictionless transactions
—may be realized when organizations
build their solutions around
blockchain’s potential.
6. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
6
Using blockchain, entrepreneurs are disrupting how
online transactions are processed through the use
of tokens and smart contracts. These mechanisms are
designed to ensure that content creators are properly paid for
their work, no matter how many times it is resold or reused. A
smart contract can identify the parties to a contract, along with
any third parties that may have rights to a transaction involving
services or intellectual property, like a song or movie.
Blockchain | Inspiring an Evolution in Commerce
Why is this important? Because today, online advertisers rely
on data provided by individual site publishers to determine the
success of their advertisements. This data is used to determine
how much to pay publishers for the online exposure. The
current model may be error prone and unreliable, given that
much of the data being provided to publishers is fraudulent.
The use of bots to view ads instead of real people can be a
significant business challenge.
Using its blockchain-based technology, Brave is working to
mitigate this challenge by linking the advertising contract,
in a smart contract fashion, validating the data, and helping
ensure the advertiser is paying the proper amount for the
actual viewership the ad is receiving. This system can also
provide the advertiser with additional data that delivers
further insight into the person who viewed the ad, as well as
additional data for analytics.
When it comes to online advertising, for example: Brave is building a
blockchain-based validation protocol to authenticate and compensate real
humans who engage with online advertisements, instead of bots, which are
pretending to be viewers.
For example: A person who clicks on an ad for a Black Friday sale on
furniture may provide the advertiser with some information on her
history—a snapshot of where she has been online, and what other items
interested her. At the same time, by clicking on the ad, the viewer may
receive a Basic Attention Token for her time and “attention.”
Smart contracts
at work
Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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7. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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By following the token and querying the databases where it
appears, the issuing agent can develop a better understanding
of where it is being used and, in turn, determine potential new
sectors in which to advertise in the future.
In a similar vein, we can look at the development of digital asset-
focused protocols, such as Tari, which enable digital asset issuers to
program rules related to the management, use, and transfer of such
assets. The project’s backers are contributing to the development
of Big Neon, an open source mobile ticketing application that aims
to enable the resale markets of tickets for concerts and sporting
events, to demonstrate the protocol’s capabilities.
Currently, when someone buys a ticket to a popular show or the
latest concert world tour, the stakeholders—artists, promoters
and venues—get paid when the original ticket is sold for, let’s say,
$200. If the buyer then turns around and resells that same ticket
on the secondary market for $500, the buyer-turned-reseller
receives a $300 profit while these stakeholders don’t see any
additional funds.
The programmable rules attached to Big Neon’s Tari-enabled
tickets will follow the tickets through the sales chain.
When such tickets are re-sold, the resale rules agreed-upon among the
event stakeholders will be enforced by the Tari blockchain, including any
applicable revenue share terms. Similarly, the application plans to leverage
the Tari-protocol to verify the legitimacy of the tickets being sold and resold
in primary and secondary markets, reducing the sale of fraudulent and
counterfeit tickets.
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8. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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Protecting
and accessing
intellectual property
Much like how tokens can help ensure that musical artists
are paid for their concert performances, these tokens
can also help other content creators receive the proper
compensation for their work. Rights to intellectual property
are protected by contract law, formalized agreements, and a
lot of legal references. Tracking these rights is labor intensive
and frequently the subject of debate, especially as rights to
property evolve or the parties change. With blockchain and
tokens, a legal owner can lock down rights and restrict access to
intangibles (songs, movies, etc.) embedding all contractual terms
into a smart contract. While most attorneys agree that a smart
contract does not replace the need for a formal legal agreement,
smart contracts can provide an effective means to track current
terms and interact with real-time transactions. Smart contracts
allow the right parties to get paid on a timely basis.
When enabled via a smart contract, and paid using a native
token, the revenue attributed to a specific transaction can be
split among multiple people, ensuring that each person with the
rights to be paid for a piece of work is properly compensated,
no matter how that work is used or repurposed. This happens
because of rules coded into smart contracts that require little
need for human intervention.
By attaching the IP to a blockchain, RNDR can protect access
and specify, on a real-time basis, who has the rights to use the
IP. Native tokens to the RNDR platform are required to access IP,
which is otherwise locked down. If one person is granted access
and then modifies the hologram, the rights to that IP are now
shared between the original creator and the one who modified.
If a third party emerges and wants to use the new IP, the tokens
used for access are then split among those individuals who
have rights, providing an appropriate revenue share on a near
real-time basis to the correct parties. As content is added and
enhanced, these rights are further tracked, adding parties
and stipulations in the smart contract and remunerating the
modified group on a prospective basis.
Let’s look at OTOY’s RNDR Network as an example. Holograms are quite
complex and take massive amounts of computing power to produce and host.
Because holograms are digital, they are importable, which means the intellectual
property (IP) is susceptible to being copied and even modified without permission.
Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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9. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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While the use of blockchain-based technologies like Tari
Tokens offer several advantages for the issuers, they
do raise privacy questions and concerns among some
consumers, who are concerned with what personal data
is being collected and how it may be used.
Consumers expect full transparency associated with personal
data and are disturbed when businesses monetize the use of
personal data without explicit permission. However, attitudes
quickly change when consumers are paid for the use of this
same information.
A token approach
toward privacy
We are also seeing an evolution in the
regulatory environment with the introduction
of new laws and regulations like the General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which
applies to personal data stored or transmitted
on blockchain. However, it is unclear how data
subjects would be able to exercise their rights
under GDPR to delete or rectify their personal
data on a blockchain network. Additional
challenges in applying the law to blockchain
include determining who would be considered
data controllers and processors, and who would
be liable for data breaches.
The question then becomes, why has it taken until now for companies to take
this approach? For one thing, many companies didn’t think they needed to consider
their customers’ privacy concerns until recently; they simply assumed that if the data
was available, it was theirs to use. That attitude changed, however, as customers
became more savvy and began to understand the true value of their data.
10. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
10
As solutions involving tokens become more common,
companies can now address concerns about privacy and
unauthorized data sharing by explicitly offering their users
a payment in exchange for their data. Consumers may readily
agree to allow their data to be shared so long as they believe the
company they are dealing with is being transparent about its
intentions, and is compensating them appropriately.
Digital identity solutions have also been developed to give people
confidence about who they are interacting with online. Civic is a
digital identity company that offers to help businesses and individuals
control and protect personal information with blockchain-based
identity verification solutions. Through their platform, Civic offers an
identity verification API, as well as assistance with login credentials,
age verification, and know your customer (KYC) compliance.
The Civic App, enables users to verify their identity once, store
their verified credentials on a mobile device, and provide
verified credentials on-demand to requesting parties to prove
their identity.
In 2018, Civic partnered with Anheuser-Busch InBev to create a
crypto beer vending machine showcasing anonymous age verification
technology. With that a credential, the app user can scan a Civic QR
code on the beer vending machine to verify the app user is over
21, without sharing any additional information, like age or identity
documents. Civic’s platform also allows businesses to implement
secure private sign-up and login, giving users the ability to log in to a
web or mobile app without a username and password.
These solutions may gain enough to generate an interoperable Digital Identity.
An identity that can be created by the user and then used anywhere with
reliable attributes.
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11. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
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Linkage to
the evolved
physical world
With this evolution in digital commerce, we are seeing
linkage and greater emphasis on a subset of physical
assets. Companies such as Rivetz Corp. are using blockchain to
provide a store of value for devices to pay for, and control, cyber
security services. Steven Sprague, Rivetz’s co-founder and CEO,
says the blockchain provides a new model to deploy and manage
global key management and device integrity. Rivetz’ vision is to
extend the software-defined network to include the endpoint
device, and provide provable cybersecurity controls. A vision
where only known devices in a known condition are connected
to sensitive data.
Assets like real estate, in many cases held by
private equity funds, are illiquid.
Tokenization of fund ownership interests is
looming on the horizon. This will allow added
fractionalization, tradability, and thus added
value for owners of the tokens. Issuers of tokens,
supported by blockchain platforms, will gain
administrative efficiencies and transparency in
many categories, including KYC/AML compliance
and even financial and tax reporting. Moreover,
some believe tokens will become the preferred
expression of fractional ownership very broadly,
given the precision and transparency features.
12. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
12
1
“Stablecoin” in this article refers to reserve-backed stablecoins. This article does not
address less proven types such as “algorithmic” stablecoins that are not backed by
reserves but are controlled by an algorithm that adjusts the number of stablecoins
available in tandem with consumer demand.
The issuer maintains the underlying asset, and the coin
stability generally requires users to trust that the issuer
is properly managing the underlying assets. Issuers of
stablecoins use blockchain to track and confirm the balance of a
user, lock down KYC requirements, and track the data associated
with historical usage.
Stablecoins tied to fiat allow traders on exchanges the ability to
quickly move in and out of cryptocurrency positions, instead of
waiting days for fiat movement to or from a bank. Enterprises
that accept stablecoins may incentivize users by offering an
enhanced experience, better access, or additional benefits.
Users can also move money across borders to a relative in
need or to put a deposit on a rental property without the time
and expense of a wire transfer or the value fluctuations of
cryptocurrency. Residents and businesses in countries with
hyperinflationary currencies can now protect their assets and
conduct business in a normal fashion. By being pegged to
traditional currency, stablecoins may prove to be the bridge to
mainstream adoption of blockchain technology in insurance,
lending, and other industries. Issuers like Circle, Gemini and
Paxos are attempting to reduce friction for businesses and
consumers around the globe.
Stablecoins as a
means of exchange
Another important trend
is the emergence of
reserve-backed stablecoins1
Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
Stablecoins are meant to address an effective means of exchange without
the worries of volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies. Much like paper
money used to be linked to the gold standard, a stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that
is pegged to the value of an underlying asset, such as USD or Euro.
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13. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
13
Emerging disruptors
entering the
mainstream
One of the key reasons for this eventual convergence is related
to inspiration and the differing outlooks that each party brings
to the worktable. For legacy organizations, the freedom of thought
and “anything’s possible” attitude of emerging disruptors are key
drivers behind their motivations. The ability of emerging disruptors
to approach problems and opportunities in a new, gravity- and
boundary-free manner may simply be too tempting to ignore.
Because these newer players are experimenting and building new
business models without the constraints of legacy processes, they
are innovating at a rapid pace by focusing on what is possible using
blockchain, and then dealing with challenges as they arise. In many
cases, these companies are using blockchain to change the very
nature of what “transactions” represent, and are changing how
consumers and enterprises perceive a transaction or a company’s
value proposition.
For the emerging disruptors, on the other hand, the inspiration
is about scale. While their ideas and approaches may be
unconstrained, many of the companies currently exploring the
limits of blockchain are challenged by the complexities involved in
scaling their solution. Their big ideas have not yet translated into “big
business” in the same way as achievements for digital enterprise
organizations. For these organizations, the ability to scale and
build a reliable infrastructure could allow their becoming a global
brand and enough of a draw to lead to future partnerships with the
organizations they are currently trying to disrupt.
The flipside of inspiration is fear, which is also impacting new
partnerships between legacy organizations and emerging
disruptors. For the legacy organizations, business transactions,
ecosystem structure and customer engagement models will
change. Some of the newer, more agile players will be instrumental
in redefining the playing field, and those who do not grasp the new
realities of a blockchain-driven enterprise could be left behind.
For the disruptors, the fear may lie in being too late to the table.
As legacy organizations begin to recognize and accept the new
realities they face, they may look to partner with – or acquire –
those emerging companies they believe will help them remain
competitive. The emerging disruptors who hesitate to plan for a
more consolidated future could struggle, no matter how innovative
their solutions.
As blockchain continues its evolution
(and especially its move into the corporate
mainstream), it may only be a matter of
time before the tenured entrepreneurs and
enterprise digital executives begin working with
the emerging disruptors to further redefine
traditional business models and create new
blockchain-centric solutions.
14. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
14
Navigating the
Complexities
Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
Technology
Technology consultants are now in the
business of debunking the blogs, and
educating and debating what blockchain
does and doesn’t do. We see new vernacular
in the debates as to what is “on-chain versus
off-chain,” or how “tokenomics” need to
encourage good behavior. The advent of
new protocols and platforms requires re-
imagining an appropriate technology stack
– one which continues to evolve at both the
core and the edge, as innovative solutions
emerge across developer communities to
help bridge the technology from its current
nascent form to an enterprise-grade
future. Scalability, accessibility, and ease of
operation continue to pose challenges to
wider-scale adoption and ecosystem-wide
implementation. Orchestrating a simple
and intuitive user experience that abstracts
the technical aspects – wallet, addresses,
certificates, gas, etc. – making blockchain
invisible to the user and focusing instead on
the business process and terminology may
be key to wider acceptance and success.
While building a scalable blockchain solution
is complex, processes deserve ongoing
consideration. Blockchain has inspired
many legacy businesses to re-evaluate
their technology platforms and processes,
and while they may not end up with
blockchain, it has inspired creative thinking
and questioning apparent barriers. With
emerging commerce, it is important to think
strategically about where the business is
likely to go and how it is different rather
than merely being the same business on an
upgraded technology platform.
Tax
Tax advisors in this space are asking
questions like “What’s the thing?” referring
to the technical analysis required to
determine what a token or cryptocurrency
represents under a tax lens. Determination
of cryptocurrency as a security, commodity,
debt, inventory or cash equivalent bears
significant consequence to income tax,
indirect tax, and payroll tax analysis.
This varies by state and by country,
with a constantly evolving point of view
by regulators and little authoritative
guidance. Commerce enabled by tokens
and cryptocurrency brings us into a
world of barter transactions requiring
determinations of character (capital vs.
ordinary) and basis tracking of fungible
assets. It may be necessary to chart out new
transaction flows among stakeholders and
question what each transaction represents,
the application of sales tax or VAT,
informational reporting requirements (e.g.,
1099s), and how to report on a tax return.
With innovative business models comes the need to engage thoughtfully
on the regulatory environment, best practices and strategy. Professional
advisors are left with dated rules and age-old playbooks, as they
evaluate the application to this new age of innovative commerce.
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15. 15
Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
KYC/AML
It is widely acknowledged that financial
services is among those industries
facing the most significant disruption by
blockchain technology. As an early enabler
for virtual currencies, such as bitcoin, and
early associations with illicit actors, such
as Silk Road and the dark web, blockchain
was initially viewed by regulators with
considerable skepticism. Among other
things, its inherent qualities, such as speed,
cross-border functionality, irreversibility,
and pseudonimity caused concern that
they would likely be deemed attractive to
money launderers and sanctions evaders.
Regulatory uncertainty with respect to
the applicability of AML requirements
such as Know Your Customer (KYC), have
been blamed for stifling innovation among
the players in the ecosystem. Ironically,
blockchain may prove to be an effective
tool for satisfying regulatory requirements
as a trusted repository of information, a
mechanism for verification of identity, and a
record of transactions.
Traditional solutions for KYC and transaction
monitoring cannot effectively address the
risks presented by market forces driven
by blockchain. To fill the void, emerging
disruptors in the AML compliance space
have developed blockchain solutions
challenging the dominance of legacy
verifiers of identity, such as of credit bureaus
and sanctions/watch list providers.
Audit
For Certified Public Accountants (CPAs),
and specifically the CPA Auditor, the
nature of blockchain technology being a
distributed ledger will inherently impact
their profession. In collaboration with
regulators and professional standard-setting
bodies, the CPA Auditor must embrace
the opportunities and challenges in having
clients who have adopted blockchain
technology in their operations and financial
reporting process. There may be increased
transparency and the ability to automate
routine audit tasks. However, inaccuracies
due to error or fraud can occur in both
traditional and blockchain operations.
Additionally, we have seen the introduction
of new risks for blockchain adopters to
maintain proper custody of the private
keys that enable the owner to perform
transactions.
In the future, blockchain may provide the
CPA Auditor opportunities to provide both
enterprise organizations and the emerging
disruptors with new service offerings, such
as blockchain platform assurance, digital
asset validation services, and smart contract
assurance, as well as the traditional financial
statement review and audits.
Controls
Regardless of how organizations may work
with blockchain or cryptocurrencies, they
will need to have certain internal controls
in place to ensure the reliable and secure
operation of the technology. One of the
most critical areas centers on the granting,
reviewing, and removal of access controls
to encryption keys or other system settings.
Access controls are also dependent
on appropriate delegation of authority
and segregation of incompatible duties.
Another important area of internal control
to ensuring the maintenance of adequate
books and records is timely reconciliations
between transactions recorded on the
blockchain and transactions recorded in the
entity’s financial and tax records. The exact
nature of the blockchain technology, and the
financial and tax policies will determine what
reconciliations are necessary. Other areas
of internal control to be considered include
change management, business continuity,
and processing integrity of transactions.
An entity’s knowledge of the individuals or
organizations they are transacting with can
be important to ensuring the appropriate
accounting for transactions and to ensuring
that the entity is not unknowingly facilitating
unlawful transactions. This should be
considered in the context of internal
controls over customer acceptance and
transaction monitoring, in addition to other
regulations that apply to the business that
may drive additional controls that must be
implemented.
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16. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
16
Trends enabling
the future
Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
Can anyone recall a time when there wasn’t some form of common carrier, like
a postal service that provided a service in the collection, transport, and delivery
of goods? The advent of a postal service served as an intermediary to move goods,
and it inspired an evolution in commerce, including the launch of larger private
companies to compete and offer premium services in the delivery of goods. However,
up until the 1990s, the speed of commerce and communication was a function of
highly manual processes and cursed by the limitations of traditional methods of
transportation.
In the 1990s, the Internet, based on a vast interconnected global network and a new
application called “email” that harnessed the power the Internet, enabled global
commerce and communications at a velocity previously thought to be impossible.
Today, the boundaries of commerce once again are being pushed, as evidenced
by innovations from companies like Brave, Otoy, and others. These companies are
helping to redefine business models, commerce, and the relationship between
businesses and consumers. These companies may be the founding members of the
next stage of evolution in commerce.
The role of the intermediary is also changing given blockchain
technology. The immutability of data is being impacted by
cryptography, shared open platforms to connect ecosystems,
and fewer dependencies on humans to verify the transaction
or record. However, while technology can’t capture every edge
case, old and new business models can benefit from blockchain
technology. And it seems impractical that a sophisticated and
dynamic smart contract will bridge all of the gaps needed
to satisfy our complex legal system that governs contracts.
As such, we are likely to see an emerging industry of dispute
resolution services specific to smart contracts.
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17. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
17
We are witnessing a decreased level of utility in funds that
only serve as a means of exchange across legacy financial
systems lacking traceability or the ability to interact with
technology. By contrast, we see tokens which can unlock features
on a platform and also provide near real-time remuneration traced
to the appropriate parties with rights to intellectual property. Digital
funds management has more utility than cash. Much like written
notes on a dollar bill in circulation, we now witness cryptocurrency
which may track the history of its users, immutably, and be available
for all to see. It is an interesting time for regulators and enforcement
agencies as they apply analytics in tracing and documenting
nefarious activities. And the data attached to this history tells a story
about the users providing value to modern enterprise.
Traditional asset classes previously thought to be illiquid are now
trading in small pieces on decentralized exchanges. This is changing
the world of investing, with a much broader segment of the
population now having access to a fraction of real estate in New York
or a fraction of a famous painting.
Decentralized ledgers are housing
data, verifying transactions,
and confirming dependencies in
contractual relationships with
few requirements of any human
touchpoints. We are entering a world
where the humans design and agree
to transaction types, not individual
transactions. With blockchain, we see
an increasing need for strategic thinking
among humans, while we leave the
process to the machines.
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18. Blockchain | Inspiring an evolution in commerce
18
The authors wish to acknowledge and thank the many
contributors to this article
Brendan Eich
Brave
Jordan Fahle and Mike Marron
Civic
Tim Davis and Peter Taylor
Deloitte Touche LLP
Nakul Lele and Ajit Prabhu
Deloitte Consulting LLP
Jarick Poulson, Nicholas Cerasuolo,
Larry Varellas, Wendy Jackson,
Dan Mendes, and Scott Stewart
Deloitte Tax LLP
Prakash Santhana and Alexi Von Keszycki
Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP
Apryl Krakovsky
OTOY
Steven Sprague
Rivetz
Naveen Jain
Tari
Acknowledgements
Rob Massey
Partner
Deloitte Tax LP
rmassey@deloitte.com
Linda Pawczuk
Principal
Deloitte Consulting LLP
lpawczuk@deloitte.com
Authors