In April 2017, the total market cap of the cryptocurrency market was US$25 billion. Nine months later, on January 8, 2018, the market cap reached its highest point of US$813 billion. A staggering increase of 3252% in just nine months. However, one month later, as of February 6, 2018, the market cap dropped to US$308 billion. A drop of 62% in just one month. End of November 2018, the market dropped to US$ 122 billion, another drop of 60% since February 2018. Since then, it has sort of stabilised around this market cap. It is clear that we are in a crypto winter. For many investors in the [...]
2019 promises to be the Year of Truth, with a lot of new exciting developments. Blockchain will become the gold standard for supply chains, and crypto currencies will slowly start to increase in value again (though not bitcoin). There will be significant developments in quantum computing and machine learning, creating new opportunities to advance research. However, not all will be positive this year, as we will see new major security breaches this year. With so much happening in the coming year, it is important as an organisation to be prepared. Technology is developing faster and faster, [...]
Last year, I called 2018 the Year of Transition because technological developments are accelerating, but they had not yet reached the state of full maturity. Indeed, artificial intelligence did leap forward, with Uber developing a new machine learning technique and AI beating humans in the game Dota 2. As I correctly predicted, the ICO hype came to a near standstill. Among others due to the crypto bear market and additional scrutiny from regulators such as the SEC. We saw a new approach to data ownership with the launch of Solid PODs by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Finally, we saw that quantum [...]
For the past years, blockchain has been a huge buzzword. Especially after the crypto hype of 2017, organisations were convinced that they had to do something with blockchain. If only it was changing your company name to include blockchain in it. Although we have are in a bear crypto market, blockchain remains a buzzword. It reminds me of 5 or 6 years ago, when big data was the buzzword of the days. Back then, every organisation thought they had to do something with big data, but they had no idea. There was even a famous slide stating: “Big Data is like teenage sex; everyone talks about [...]
As the year comes to an end, it is time to look ahead to see what the next year will bring us. Last year, I predicted that 2018 would be the Year of Transition and a lot has happened indeed. The crypto market crashed with 60% since its peak at the beginning of the year. In addition, as I predicted, a new approach to data ownership is coming with Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s launch of Solid PODs. Now for the 7th year in a row, I offer you my two cents on the most important technology trends for 2019 to help you, and your business, prepare for the next year. As we approach the end of the second [...]
In a world where dataism has become the new normal for organisations, security has become a high priority. Or at least, it should be a top priority for organisations. Unfortunately, the reality is different, and every year, many consumers still become the victim of one of the hundreds of data breaches. Any organisation can be hacked, and without sufficient security measures in place, it can become very expensive. The breach of Equifax, the consumer credit reporting agency that exposed the personal data of some 143 million Americans in June and July 2017, is among the biggest hacks with the [...]
Global supply chains are complex processes. Different companies, with distinctive objectives, are working together to achieve a common goal; to bring something from A to B. For a supply chain to work, partners have to trust each other. To do so, there are multiple checks-and-balances, extensive documents and different checkpoints all interacting in a web of bureaucratic processes. Knowing the amount of paperwork required to send a product from farm to plate, it is remarkable that we have managed to develop global supply chains. However, the processes in place are time-consuming, expensive [...]
A smart business is one that runs on the numbers. Today, open communication means more access to customers and competition than ever. Even small companies have world-wide customer lists, in part due to the increasingly streamlined logistics companies that help with shipping. In a business world of static customers and increasing competition, staying ahead of the curve often means staying on the leading edge of technology. Smart businesses leverage technology for direct gains, and that all comes down to the data. Efficiency improvements, trend tracking, smooth workflows and dozens of other [...]
Descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics can each provide insights into the business and as such improve and optimise your performance and increase your competitive advantage. Descriptive and diagnostic analytics enable organisations to learn, sense, filter, shape and calibrate opportunities by providing insights as to what has happened in their environment. This will allow your organisation to better sense opportunities than the competition. Predictive analytics can improve your decision-making across your organisation to help you understand which opportunities are best [...]
Using AI to automate processes means substantial efficiency improvements in nearly any business function. Now, that same solution is being deployed to create better, faster and smarter AI technologies. Think of IBM Watson Studio as an AI that trains other AIs. It helps automate the Deep Learning process, so you can train your system to handle independent tasks much more rapidly. After all, some of the biggest barriers to entry with AI technology are the availability of skilled programmers, standardized formats for easy deployment and the sheer complexity involved in training any AI. With IBM [...]
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