The Future of Collaboration: Towards Hyperconnectivity
The future is mysterious! The eventual symbiosis of Artificial Intelligence (AI), connected objects, quantum computers and Blockchain technology will shape new models of collaboration. These new models will simplify our lives. This merger, which is already under way, makes a lot of opportunities possible.
New technologies all have a common denominator: the creation, management or storage of data elements. Data, like fuel for an engine, is the source of energy to make the processes of many companies work. Think, for example, smart insurance that will have access to different connected objects at home or companies that want to have access to my Apple Watch to make machine learning. Big Data keeps growing. Large corporations are currently engaged in a “data war”.
In some cases, storage and management of this data will be done using Blockchain logic. Blockchain purists agree that there will be a single Blockchain network for each industry. For my part, I would say that only certain markets are likely to work this way and that a significant level of digital collaboration will be required between the various players in an industry to achieve this.
For example, in September 2017, a London-based company programmed a distributed network for diamond management. Shortly after, there were already 1.6 million diamonds registered on the network. It is understandable that this type of implementation requires a great deal of collaboration from the main players in the sector.
What kind of collaboration will our businesses need to develop to succeed? The main challenge when creating a Blockchain network is to standardize the data sharing model. Collaboration is therefore essential.
Working together around a shared vision
There are many ways to collaborate when you have a common vision. The largest open innovation competition in the world is us; we are a generator of hope, wehave to be smart together.
How can we achieve better digital collaboration by being smarter together?
Governments and large corporations need to make their non-sensitive data / data more available. The creation of research and development consortia can help define new collaborative business models. But the simplest is that the big players collaborate more with start-ups, who are often more agile.
As far as governments are concerned, the emergence of “e-governments” has recently been noted around the world. There are different phases of evolution to arrive at a connected government. In some countries, many citizen services and business services are now available online. Following the establishment of a virtual identity and these more connected processes, new and simplified services have emerged. Especially since with the arrival of “conscious entrepreneurs”, we see very beautiful models, such as the recycling of plastic in exchange for points, services or cryptocurrency.
This makes me think of another area where data management is also crucial. Flinks, a Montreal-based company, recently made it possible to connect to bank accounts. In other words, Flinks allows you to connect different types of applications to many financial institutions. In my opinion, this is one of the first digital bridges and one of the most important. This digital bridge eventually allowed the creation of companies like Mylo, Wealthsimple and others. This concrete example demonstrates that David and Goliath’s collaboration can enable the creation of new business models, the simplification of certain processes and the optimization of the user experience.
It will collectively develop this kind of digital bridge for other services of scale that are less flexible.
The SAAQ , for example, would benefit from becoming more “trendy”. This would create new business opportunities and offer new services that make life easier for users. This cluster of related services could include Blockchain technologies. Among other things, in the context of smart contracts related to the automotive sector, the data needed for fuel will come from entities such as the SAAQ and financial institutions.
To build good Blockchain applications, data sources must be more open, master entities must collaborate by providing digital bridges, data standardization must be done upstream, and the user experience must be fluid.
The Blockchain ecosystem is strongly transformed by global exploratory projects. The hyperconnected new businesses that will emanate from this technological evolution can profoundly influence our current processes.
That’s why it is important to understand this new technology, to explore the possibilities and especially to analyze the opportunities for collaboration offered.
