ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Avi Vashistha
True “leadership” can only exist through people, often
entrepreneurs, who have the vision of, conviction about, passion
for, and the fearless, sometimes even selfish zeal to do the “right”
thing. “Stewardship” is sweet and aims to sustain - to mentor
future leaders and entrepreneurs, thus making the world a better
place for the next generation! After all, entrepreneurship and
innovation are the lifeline of digital economy, and there is no future
of the economy without the digital.
Steve Jobs has long been an inspiration for me personally
as an entrepreneur, exemplary innovator, leader and an amazing
steward! He will always occupy a special place in my heart and
soul and inspire my drive, passion and zeal for life.
I am very thankful to my former colleagues at Accenture
and my vast network of friends at leading consulting, tech, Fortune
500 and Global 2000 companies. They have been my closest
partners who have engaged and challenged me, as well as shared
with me the excitement of this journey through technological
transformations in the course of the last two decades - and even
more so over the last five years on digital.
Furthermore, this book would never have been written
without the idea, drive and co-authoring by Ankita Vashistha
Shetty, who is an exemplary leader herself, having formed the first
Women Entrepreneur fund in India (Saha Fund) after an illustrious
career in the UK and US with Aureos Capital and Tholons Capital.

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She brought in irreplaceable knowledge resulting from her
experience of working with innovation platforms globally and with
startups in India, Singapore, Japan, the UK and US.
Special thanks to my trusted colleagues at Tholons,
particularly Anthony Rajesh, my partner in transformational
initiatives, globalization strategies and thought leadership.
My pillar of strength and inspiration has always been my
lovely family - my dad, Ram Kishor Vashistha, on how to be a
visionary leader, my mom, Urmila, on how to raise four kids, each
of whom are now at the helm of their professions. My lovely wife,
Garima (m. 1984), is much wiser than I am, a greater risk-taker, an
excellent decision-maker and an incredible partner always willing
to go along with my adventures. She has been my biggest support
for every remarkable achievement of my life, this book included!
I do learn and shape my thinking and my path based on
what I learn from my three lovely children - Ankita (the global
innovation platform expert and a venture capitalist), Abhay (avid
sportsman, sports entrepreneur and a sports management
professional) and my youngest, Amisha (doing her degree at LSE
in Management/Digital Innovation, but already a chef, fashion
aficionado, and marketing marvel at heart).
Finally, I wish to thank a few of my mentors who are very
close to my heart and to whom I owe my happy professional life.
Kevin Campbell was the reason for my success with my first two
entrepreneurial ventures (neoIT and Tholons) and my most
rewarding career at Accenture. Diju Raha, a trailblazer of
“outsourcing” and services globalization, gave me the pioneering
opportunity to be involved at the foundation and startup of the

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global outsourcing industry phenomenon. Amelia Rowen, at
Nortel, mentored me into an exemplary leader and entrusted me
with an international assignment. I have been incredibly fortunate
to receive such love, guidance and opportunities from so many of
you! A true blessing!

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Table of Contents
Introduction - INNOVATION AT SCALE ........................................ 6
Digital Disruption........................................................................... 8
Customer Experience ................................................................. 28
Enterprise Insights ...................................................................... 38
Powering and Serving Digital Clients .......................................... 51
Transforming into a Digital Business ........................................... 56
People Primacy in a Digital Transformation ................................ 64
Robotics - Artificial Intelligence - Cognitive Computing ............... 70
Digital Industrialization-Internet of Things (IoT) ........................... 81
Cyber Security ............................................................................ 91
Fintech: Unbundling Banking and Finance ................................ 105
Healthtech: Redesigning the future of staying healthy............... 117
Retailtech: Taking shopping experience to the next level .......... 129
Energy Management................................................................. 140
Consumertech: Emergence of Vertical Market Places .............. 151
Edutech: Nirvana of Learning .................................................... 159
Digital Public Citizen Services ................................................... 170
Guided and Predictable Disruption - Open Innovation............... 181
Women Entrepreneurship ......................................................... 190
Digital Managed Services ......................................................... 194
Innovation by Global Leaders ................................................... 199
DIGITAL LOCATIONS .............................................................. 208
Argentina ............................................................................... 208
Australia ................................................................................ 213
Brazil ..................................................................................... 219
Canada ................................................................................. 224

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 Caribbean ............................................................................. 228
Chile ...................................................................................... 236
Colombia ............................................................................... 243
Costa Rica............................................................................. 247
Germany ............................................................................... 250
Hong Kong ............................................................................ 258
India ...................................................................................... 264
Ireland ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.1
Israel ................................................................................... 2741
Italy ..................................................................................... 2791
Japan .................................................................................. 2835
Latin America ...................................................................... 2868
London .............................................................................. 29515
New York .......................................................................... 30222
Peru .................................................................................. 30928
Philippines ......................................................................... 31332
Poland ............................................................................... 31836
Russia ............................................................................... 32240
Silicon Valley ..................................................................... 32543
Singapore ............................................................................ 3301
Sweden ............................................................................... 3356
Switzerland.......................................................................... 3431
Texas .................................................................................. 3475
UAE................................................................................... 35512
Uruguay ............................................................................ 36219
Vietnam ............................................................................. 36723
Conclusion ............................................................................ 37127

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Introduction - INNOVATION AT SCALE

In the past 25 years, the digital revolution has taken

industries by storm - and no sector is immune to disruption. This
technological hurricane is forcing economies to be reshaped
overnight as digital disruption brings down flourishing businesses
to ground zero in no time.
Following along the lines of the initial analogy between the
unpredictability of nature and technology, it should be pointed out
that humans have a knack for creating order out of chaos. New
digital technologies have given birth to a new business age—the
“Age of Innovation.” The advent of new technologies of which
social media, analytics, big data, mobility, IoT, cloud, intelligent
automation, robotics, cognitive computing, as-a-service, artificial
intelligence and virtual reality are only some, overturning
incumbents and reshaping markets faster than ever. Technology is
redefining industries and enabling enterprises to diversify their
product and service offerings. The only means to survive this
competitive business ecosystem is “to evolve.”
The genuine challenges, therefore, lie not in avoiding
doom, but in turning these inevitable digital disturbances into
opportunities, pinpointing the ways in which technology is
revolutionizing industries, and identifying how organizations,

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leaders and economics can react to it. Enterprises need to learn to
develop their digital strategy - protect themselves by embracing
digital evolution before they are outdated by the next start-up. You
definitely cannot beat them, and need to join them. Governments
across the globe are aligning polices, regulations, tax incentive
systems and other initiatives to boost entrepreneurship and the
open innovation ecosystem.
The upcoming book Digital Innovation at Scale co-authored by
Ankita Vashishtha and Avinash Vashistha offers an empowering
approach to instilling the awareness of how industries, countries
and lives of citizens have been reshaped forever. The work
comprises a thorough guide on how to successfully navigate the
sea of abundant new digital technologies across various industry
sectors and outlines a strategic roadmap for countries to evolve as
leaders in this world of new digital technologies and collaborative
innovation at scale.

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Digital Disruption

“We lived on farms, then we lived in cities, and now we’re going to
live on the INTERNET!”
– Sean Parker.

In this day and age, the internet ranks exceedingly high on

the list of things we take for granted in our lives. What is now a
whole universe in itself, comprised of information—data that so
many are able to share amongst each other at a moment’s
notice—had a very humble start. It was by no means intended to
conduct e-commerce transactions for the latest spring collection at
Gucci. It was launched by scientists in Europe in order to share
ideas and concepts with fellow scientists around the world.
In order to get into how the internet and other technologies
changed the way we live, we need to understand how they actually
work. What happens when a customer clicks on the “buy now”
option on Amazon? How does an Uber driver know the location of
the person booking the cab? And how do dating websites know
about my perfect match better than my mother? The answer is a
simple word taught in every 4th grade computer class—
“algorithms.”
Algorithms exist everywhere. If we define economics as a
study of people’s behaviour in a given environment, then

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algorithms are the processes that go into such behaviour. They
are sets of rules that control everything from genetic code to
computer code. We cannot live without them. For instance, back in
the day, we had to step out of the house and go find a cab to use
the taxi service. The first innovation was taxicab callboxes, and
then came two-way radio dispatching which gave way to
computer-assisted dispatching, and now we have companies like
Uber. We can have a cab come to us by the touch of a button. The
person booking the cab does not even have to tell the driver what
their destination is, the Uber App does it for them. The client just
enters the destination from their phone and it syncs with the
driver’s phone. The app uses GPS to navigate the streets and get
the client to their destination via the most time-efficient route.
The best part about Uber is that it is crowd-sourced. This
means that Uber does not own the cabs. People drive their own
cars and get paid for it. Uber saw the cost and hassle of direct
transportation as a problem that it was and decided to solve it.
Most successful businesses in the world work this way. They
identify problems and then provide solutions for it. This process of
identifying and fulfilling previously unmet needs is called value
creation.
Another algorithmic innovation is shaping our daily lives in
a very personal field. India’s Aadhaar is the world's largest
biometric ID system, with over 1.1 billion enrolled members. They
are currently using biometric data to serve the public. People can
access useful services such as mobile phone and cooking gas
connections, as well as banking by having an Aadhaar number.
While in its inception the number was considered only for

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government-run services, the near future will see other similar
services by non-governmental entities come into its fold. The
Aadhaar project has already been linked to many public subsidies
and schemes that benefits citizens. Aadhaar cards are now being
linked to bank accounts and biometric machines at ATMs for
hassle-free payments. In theory, they are aiming to reduce the red
tape to a number. As we can see, even this model is solving a
problem and hence creating value.
However, not all businesses are created out of the need to
solve an issue. Some simply do what they do, and what is now
one of the most and at times the most visited website on the
internet—Facebook—can be used as an example here. Initially,
Facebook was not solving any problems. The public was not
hungry for a new method of communication, and there were other
websites such as MySpace already doing almost exactly what
Facebook was about to do. So what did Facebook do differently
that made it a leader in social media interfaces?
It made its user profiles exclusive. Users would have to
know a person to be granted access to their profile. This is what
we today know as Facebook’s “Friend requests.” Studies have
shown that humans tend to migrate towards things they cannot
have. Facebook’s exclusivity factor allowed the exclusivity
algorithm to work. People would have to know each other to
accept “friend requests,” thus perpetuating the atmosphere of
privacy and exclusiveness. Sort of like a growing fancy party with a
guest list (but you only had to dress up for the picture and have
hours to think of the perfect reply).

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 In later years, Facebook would use its exclusivity factor to
market itself.
Unwanted advertisements accompany the browsing of free
websites. They disrupt the general flow of user experience and
ultimately the very objective of marketing. But the ads, of course,
are there for a reason—they are the company’s source of revenue.
Besides, thanks to digital tracking technology, ads these days are
tailor-made. Marketers no longer have to rely on assumptions
about consumer behavior, but can instead target individuals with
ads based on their actual behavior online. Naturally, this type of
personalized advertising is more effective at generating both clicks
and conversions. Everyone with an internet connection has been
served an ad, prepared for them especially, no matter what they
were using the wonders of the internet for. Google is the largest
online ads revenue generator in the world, and websites like
Google and Facebook have the largest exposure in terms of
customers visiting their site, which makes them prime places for
advertising. Facebook had no ads in the beginning. Mark
Zuckerberg did not want ads to take virtual space that was
intended for communication and connection. So how did they get
so popular? Not so much by solving a problem as by finding a
niche in people’s mentality. In the words of Zuckerberg - “People
can go anywhere on the internet and see pictures of girls. They
came to our website because they wanted to see the pictures of
girls they know. Why not offer a site that does exactly that.” And so
Facebook was born.
Zuckerberg’s basic idea was that people wanted to go
online and look at what their friends were doing when they were

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not with each other. This curiosity he sensed in the general
population (or what is now widely recognized and more
pessimistically called “the fear of missing out”) enabled the rise of
the greatest social network in the history of mankind. Zuckerberg
disrupted the forever old concept of stepping out of home and
talking to other people by using nothing more than his computer.
Oh and his brain, of course.
Many companies have managed to disrupt the established
flow of business by playing with digital frontiers. Amazon is one of
them. Amazon started off when this guy called Jeff Bezos decided
to combine the timeless and physical with the new and digital. He
took orders of books online and then went and delivered the books
to their respective buyers. This small business model has now
grown to be one of the largest sellers of merchandise online.
People are attracted to sites such as these for multiple reasons.
The ease of transactions and time saving are at the top of the list.
People can browse through catalogues on their computer and are
just a click away from purchasing the product. These websites also
offer products for cheaper prices as there is a significant cut-off in
middlemen involvement. The product goes from the seller’s
warehouse to the buyer’s doorstep in a matter of days. While e-
commerce does have its drawbacks like every business model—
and some customers simply prefer to feel out their prospective
purchases and engage in human interaction—it can nevertheless
be said without a doubt that these websites are giving brick and
mortar stores a run for their money and heavily disrupting how
humans shop.

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 And it is not only websites that have excelled in the use of
technology to disrupt daily lives. Some of the products themselves
have been digitally enhanced to perform better and make people’s
lives easier. One such example is the Roomba, the automatic
vacuum cleaner. Not only does it clean for you, it does not even
need to be operated. All it needs is to be switched on and it cleans
the floor on its own. It uses a spatial algorithm integrated with
motion detectors to detect nearby obstacles, adjust its course and
vacuums areas where there is no furniture or other interferences.
Moving off the floor into the air, the highly talked-about drones are
taking various markets by storm. One that has fallen prey to
commercial drone invasions particularly hard is the photography
market. Drones allow photographers to reach new heights
(literally) with their camera skills. Shots can be taken at previously
unattainable angles and elevations with little effort. Drones are
even used to explore nature’s hidden secrets. Researchers and
photographers exploring ancient caves and large holes in the earth
use them to explore the area first; making sure it is safe to venture
further.
Amazon has taken the drone concept a step further and
started deploying drones to deliver packages to restricted areas.
This project is still under testing and it might take a while for it to
become a part of everyday life due to all the risks and red tape
involved. Similarly, Google has been testing cars that could drive
themselves, which seems like one of the biggest diversification
strategies employed by Google. Digital technologies are enabling
enterprises to diversify their products and services, drive higher
revenues and expand their consumer base. And most consumers

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are not aware how busy these companies actually are. Facebook
is testing Terragraph which augments terrestrial cellular networks
with millimetre-wave technology that delivers data 10 times faster
than existing Wi-Fi network technology. An online food ordering
and delivery platform was founded in August 2014 called
UberEATS, which is a subsidiary of Uber. Microsoft’s initiative
“Moon Shoot” has researchers analyzing our genetic code, finding
ways to reprogram the immune system to combat cancer cells
more effectively. Along with it, “Bio Model Analyzer,” a software
tool used to figure out why leukaemia patients respond differently
to different treatments, is used by AstraZeneca and Microsoft.
Zooming out to the global level and going back to the
advent of the digital age, it is clear how the world of international
business has been changed with the advent of the digital age.
Even as early as the 70s and 80s, conducting businesses across
time zones was a hassle, especially between developed countries
like the United States and developing countries like China and
Japan. The time difference alone made it difficult for businessmen
to conduct meetings, not to mention the travel it took to meet
budding clients. A lot of money and time were spent on uncertain
outcomes. Companies like Cisco and Skype succeeded in
changing the way humans communicate for good as people from
different parts of the world can speak with each other via video,
voice call or chat for free.
Not only that, but multiple people on multiple devices can
log in and use the service at the same time, developing effective,
synergistic approaches to problems without having to allocate
resources.

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 Businessmen can also get real-time updates on the state of
markets through various applications. Certain applications are
designed to give its users live updates on stock markets and
market conditions so that brokers can make quick decisions to
improve their chances of success.
Business intelligence is increasingly becoming a necessity
in all workplaces. Big data is the backbone of decision making.
Going digital allows easy calculations and presentation of such
data. Companies like Marketo and SalesForce allow its users to
make smarter decisions in the marketplace by giving them an
edge in decision-making processes. Even the hard core process of
marketing and lead generation is made easier through the use of
these platforms. Both Marketo and SalesForce have a direct email
feature which allows companies to send bulk emails to a large
customer base with the press of a button. It also analyses the
emails and provides information on whether they provoked the
desired response.
And so, in the last ten years, technology has disrupted the
way people behave in their everyday lives. With the advent of
artificial intelligence, users no longer have to go through pages of
data to find what they are looking for. The device does it all for the
user. Some popular examples of artificial intelligence are “Siri” and
“OK Google.” Users can now talk to their computers and give them
instructions. Artificial Intelligence is designed to replicate human
behaviour, making it easier for humans to interact with their
devices, and, in turn, make choices that define their relationship
with their environment.

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 People from around the world have had to change their
lifestyle and evolve to adapt to the changing world of technology
around them. This survey so far pointed to what was already more
obvious to most—the huge level of impact this has had at the
micro level. But what about the macro world? Have the various
big, rigid, yet necessary business systems and economies around
the world been impacted enough to cause disruptions leading to a
change in behaviour?
The short answer is yes. Technology has certainly affected
the way people do business today. A self-funded startup turned
Tech Company promoting accessible education called Study.com
beautifully defines technological change as “the improvement in
the art of making products or developing processes.” It often takes
a lot of creativity to run a business; a technological change
alleviates this by making efficiency increasingly more achievable.
Businesses around the world are thus slowly but surely migrating
towards the capital side of the factors of production and moving
away from the human resource side. Large companies and small
businesses both can use technology as a part of their core
competence. By using computers, servers, websites, personal
digital products and sometimes crowdsourcing—products and
services available to almost everyone—to develop an advantage
in the economic environment through their own competence.
For instance, Airbnb, one of the largest hospitality
companies out there, does not own a single property. It crowd
sources its resources, thus cutting down its own costs immensely.
The company has been disrupting the hospitality industry ever
since it was launched. It is a service operating through a website

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that allows people to rent out their own rooms, apartments and
houses. People seeking temporary accommodation can visit this
online marketplace, type in the desired vacation or temporary stay
location, and filter out the types of houses they do not want to stay
in. The rents at such places ranges from incredibly low to pretty
high, but are always cheaper than your traditional accommodation,
and offer hidden gems and authenticity you could previously only
experience when staying with friends or relatives.
Big hotel chains around the world like the Marriotts and the
Hyatts have lost a significant amount of business to Airbnb as
people tend to opt for the cheaper and more customizable option.
Airbnb was established in 2008 is now valued at over USD 31
billion, overtaking the market value of prominent hotel chains.
Airbnb has also established an online reputation system where
guests and hosts can rate their experience for future reference.
This allows for a very trustworthy relationship among the users
and helps maintain decorum. Uber, whose drivers operate as
hosts of sorts of their own cars, exchange feedback with their
clients in the same way. Crowdsourcing leads to some level of
community.
The use of technology and the resulting increasing ease of
user experience have overflowed into some of the more rigid
business environments. The financial sector is known to be one of
the most rigid business sectors, with stock brokers and bankers
using age old methods to conduct business—until recently, that is.
The arrival of fintech, which is basically the application of
technology in financial processes, the financial industry was
revolutionized for good. Clients do not have to go all the way to the

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bank to check their balance nor do they have to use cash and
chequebooks to conduct transactions.
Businesses and banks around the world are moving
towards a cash-free environment where transactions can be
conducted with ease and in record time. A simple example of this
is PayPal in the United States and PayTM in India. The way that
these systems work is that there is no cash deposit anywhere at
all. Everything is virtual. When a user pays with their PayTM
account, the funds get transferred directly from the “PayTM wallet”
to the selling party. The wallet is just a virtual space keeping count
of the money, but not holding the actual funds. Users can add
money to their PayTM wallets at their leisure simply by using their
credit or debit cards and no liquid cash actually exchanges hands.
The medical industry is another field where technology has
stepped in and disrupted the flow of regular business. The merger
of technology and human medicine has saved countless lives
around the world. Biotechnology and information technology have
played an incredibly significant role in improving the health and
healthcare of people around the world. In the field of medical
research, technology has been allowing scientists to go ever-
deeper. They have been examining diseases on a cellular level
and producing antibodies to fight them with extensive use of
technology.
Physicians, patients and healthcare providers are all
witnessing benefits of new medical technologies. The use of
electronic medical records (EMR), telehealth services and even
mobile technologies like tablets and smartphones is on the rise in
the industry. The integration of medical equipment technology and

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telehealth (the distribution of health-related services and
information electronically) has made robotic surgeries possible and
in some cases eliminated the need for a physician to be in the
operating room with a patient when the surgery is being
performed.
These changes in business behaviour in the medical field
produced ripple effects in the medical law industry as well. As new
technologies get implemented in hospitals and research centres,
the laws of using it need to be repeatedly updated. Regulations
like HIPAA and its Privacy and Security Act target the concerns
about the confidentiality of patient information and the steps that
have to be taken to secure privacy in the digital world. Medical
providers must make sure that any new technology and its
services are “HIPAA approved” before investing in their
implementation.
Even the retail market has fallen prey to innovative digital
disruption. The shift from traditional shopping behaviour and the
rising popularity of online retailers have already been mentioned,
but there is much more to it. There has been a significant rise in
show rooming, the use of social media for product reviews, instant
feedback and access to price comparisons, as well as the
integration of smartphones with other retail technologies. In Steven
Keith Platt’s words, “retailers are striving to target messaging and
marketing to their customer to create a unique, personalized
shopping experience.”
Retailers are also attempting to collect a massive amount
of data on shopping experiences to come up with effective
strategies to increase sales. A major challenge to this approach is

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harnessing big data and carrying out an analysis that makes the
data meaningful. Once the data is harnessed and turned into a
source of usable information, retailers can move forward with a
strategy to build the stores of the future. The traditional way of
shopping has long given way to the on-the-go tech-savvy
shoppers’ way of research, browse, trying on, paying for, and even
exchanging almost whatever, wherever and whenever they please.
That, in turn, demands the retailers to be more sophisticated in the
way they predict demand, manage and move inventory, as well as
integrate their physical, virtual and mobile selling channels.
Among those impacted most by technology was the energy
industry. Energy efficiency is a burning subject, and while old-
school technologies fall to measure up to cost-efficiency and
ecological standards, new technologies are not quite ready to
power everything from our smartphones to our cars.
Consequently, intermediary technologies have been developed to
smooth over the transition in this field of utmost importance to the
human race.
We all know what coal is. It is pencil tip’s and diamond’s
carbon cousin. The reason why most energy companies use coal,
despite it being a cancer to the environment, is because it is
cheap, easy to find and humans have mastered mining it. When
carbon is burned, it releases carbon dioxide which makes the
earth warmer and causes pollution. The silver lining to this black
cloud could be Future Gen 2.0. It is not an app or a website, even
though it sounds like one. It is actually a near zero emissions
power plant being built in Illinois. More than 90% of its carbon
emissions will be captured and stored.

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 Another example of revolutionary technology successfully
implemented in the energy industry is fuel-free cars. Electric cars
used to only be driven by kids, remotely. Some humans dream big,
however. Tesla, for example, is a company that has come up with
a new range of electric cars. The challenge of moving from an
internal combustion engine to no engine at all - consist batteries
not producing enough torque and energy to power a full-sized
vehicle. The game changed when researchers developed the
lithium-ion battery. These batteries store massive amounts of
energy and can do just that.
Harnessing energy using fossil fuels has been the norm in
the energy industry for generations. Due to the harmful effect this
practice produced on the environment, companies are turning to
alternative methods. One such way to generate electricity is to
harness the motions of the ocean. A power plant in Maine, USA,
has installed turbines in the ocean that turn with the movement of
the waves and the tides. The first turbine will operate on its own for
a year, generating 150 kilowatts for the grid as water runs through
the turbine at about 11.3 kilometres per hour. This project is now
generating 500 kilowatts from the turbine generator unit, and is
said to annually generate 2.6 to 3.5GWh.
A very popular use of technological innovation to venture
forward and develop a competitive advantage takes the shape of
engaging with social media. Social media sites are not only ideal
platforms for building and promoting a brand but also the perfect
source of big data and user statistics. Companies like Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn have become an essentials
business package. As Fortune Magazine points out, “to fully

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embrace social media is the ideal way to keep your company
successful. Not incorporating Twitter, Facebook and other social
media channels into your strategy in this era is the equivalent of
insisting the web was just a fad a decade or so ago.” For the
younger generation, there is nothing special about using social
media. They grew up with it, and it is as easy and as
commonplace a pastime as riding a bike. An increasing number of
them are even making a significant profit out of their own personal
brands they have gradually built online. However, for most of the
CEOs and decision makers, social media still remains a confusing
factor. They cannot seem to fathom the far-reaching ways in which
social media can contribute to their business. Here is something
that can make it easy for business owners around the world to get
the hang of the benefits of social media. The presence of
customers on social media is a great opportunity for businesses to
know their customers and create brand awareness among
potential customers. Remember Facebook and the fear of missing
out? People are on social media because they want to know about
each other. Tell them your story. Besides, the competitors will be
present and sharing their story too, which provides for great
opportunities for businesses to develop an informed customers’
strategy and develop their business plan more accurately.
Business can also look into Artificial Intelligence (AI) for
their business needs. AI is commonly implemented as behind-the-
scenes algorithms able to process big data in order to accomplish
a range of relatively trivial tasks far more efficiently than humans.
Startups from all over the world have been developing AI for
various industries. For instance, Kensho is a startup that claims to

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be “the world’s first computational knowledge engine for the
financial industry”—a system that uses massively parallel
statistical computing, natural language inputs, big data and
machine learning to answer complex financial questions posed in
plain English.
Even the medical industry is putting AI to use. IBM’s MSK
trained Watson for Oncology system, for instance, can parse
patient information written in plain English and draw on multiple big
data sources to deliver ranked treatment recommendations with
links to supporting evidence. AI has been seriously challenging the
way humans conduct business by potentially replacing humans in
the business world. However, at the moment, these kinds of
systems seem more likely to synergize with, rather than replace
humans.
The cloud is another tool that companies are looking
towards to make their lives easier through augmenting human
processes in business. The cloud is nothing but “a pool of
computing resources (servers, storage, applications and voice
services) that is provided as needed to businesses from a
provider’s network, eliminating the need for on-site equipment,
maintenance and management.”
Enterprises are adopting cloud computing for many
reasons, primarily business performance resourcing, business
agility, rapid go-to-market and cost reduction. The Open Group
emphasizes that often, “there is no single reason why a company
might choose to use cloud computing. The decision depends on a
complex combination of reasons, rather than being based on a
single factor.” Opting for cloud computing usually delivers greater

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agility but does not always equal reduced costs or a better quality
of service.
The use of cloud computing will change a company’s risk
posture and profile. Using the public cloud, for instance, can let
businesses avoid a large investment in IT resources but, on the
other hand, introduce security risks due to sharing resources with
unknown parties. Even with all the risks associated with cloud
computing, the cloud will definitely be used by businesses for
generations to come.
Since the day man first made tools and weapons, there has
been a constant struggle for innovation. If we can find a better way
to perform a task, we tend to go for it. This not only makes our life
easier but it also disrupts the way we are used to living. Yes, such
innovation of processes and technology disrupts the way business
is conducted, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks in any
given situation. Some of us will like the disruption more than
others, some will initiate it, some will have trouble adapting, but if it
is the better way to perform the task, we should reprogram
ourselves—and grow. Dan Millman wisely said that the “secret of
change is not to focus your energy on fighting the old, but on
building the new.” If we embrace change, we will have more
energy to eliminate the negatives and amplify the positives.

“Digital is the main reason just over half of the companies on the
Fortune 500 have disappeared since the year 2000”
— Pierre Nanterme, CEO of Accenture

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The above quote by the CEO of Accenture should send chills
down the backs of every businessman who is not willing to make
digital innovations a part of their business. It is by no means
necessary to change your business’ core competency and strategy
to digital, but it is necessary to make digital a part of your overall
business strategy.
Digital forces are shaping businesses, cost factor is now
addressed using intelligent automation, cloud technology is
enabling industries to be on top of bigger markets than ever before
and the traditional offshoring model is now shifting towards captive
firm operations. To benefit from these trends, companies need to
upskill their labor pool to work in collaboration with intelligent
machines.
What often happens is that organizations start to address
the digital revolution by digitizing their channels in the front office,
i.e. marketing, sales and services. This, however, is not a
sustainable strategy as the communication with the back office will
inevitably be disrupted this way, which results in the company’s
failure to generate profitable business. It is critical to address both
the front and the back office to achieve growth through a
digitalized business model across the entire organization. Let us
break it down further.
What is a digital business? By definition, a digital business
delivers growth and results by creating unique customer
experiences through new combinations of information, business
resources and digital technologies that produce innovative
outcomes designed to meet new expectations of the digital world.

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Figure 1: Digital Opportunity

These numbers have made industries recognize the World Wide

Web as a platform worth considering. Global digital advertising
spend continues to swell with predictions from Juniper Research
estimating that USD 285 billion will be spent by 2020 on top of the
current USD 160 billion spend. Social media websites such as
Facebook are utilizing their audience knowledge to offer
advertisers highly accurate targeting.
Digital transformations are making a new impossible
possible every day, so keeping up with the changes is imperative
in order to stay on top of things.
For instance, a small marketing company in Bozeman,
Montana, United States is revolutionizing the way brands market
themselves on digital platforms. They do this by using three simple
steps that build around a company’s core competency—Research,
Build and Refine. In the research phase, the company empathizes
with their target audience to understand who they are. After all, if
the target customer is not interested in what they are selling, then
there is no need for the product. Once the data is obtained, it is

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compared to the company’s web analytics, competitive
benchmarks, SEO/SEM data and secondary industry information.
Once all the data is collected, a digital prototype is built to test
ideas with real users. Once the users have been exposed to the
result of the Build phase, feedback is gathered and the entire
process is refined to achieve maximum compatibility.
Digital technologies provide so many opportunities for
generating innovation that even the concept of thinking out of the
box is starting to be considered outdated. “Instead of thinking
outside the box, get rid of the box,” urges Deepak Chopra. If you
have the resources to pull off your ideas, you should worry about
the box later. In the beginning, however, it is important to get those
creative ideas flowing. Set them free of the box once you have
gotten to know your ideas and the box well, both.
Customer-centric businesses are focusing on the customer
experience factor of the project. Fjord’s two cents are that the
“market is not standing still. And neither are we. We have built an
amazing company based on design and innovation. And now we
have added the capability to deliver cutting-edge products and
services into market. Big ideas executed. Products with purpose.
Experience users love.” It is a conversation. Business requires
constant growth, especially in this day and age when technology
affects the business and customer side, as well as their
interaction. Tell your story, ask for theirs. And learn to speak the
digital language. Let’s look at some of the services and tools that
are shaping and mapping customer experience in today’s digital
world.

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Customer Experience

“You have got to start with the customer experience and then work
your way back towards the technology, not the other way around.”
— Steve Jobs

Customer experience (CX), is the product of interaction

between an organization and a customer over the duration of their
relationship. This interaction includes the customer’s discovery,
perception, purchase and use of a service. Companies have long
emphasized touch points—critical moments when customers
interact with the organization and its offerings.
This narrow focus approach of maximizing efforts at touch
points does not result in 100% customer satisfaction. The touch
points divert focus from a much more important aspect of
customer experience—the customer’s end-to-end journey. In order
to understand the entire picture, we must look at customer
involvement at all the different levels, such as rational, emotional,
sensory and physical. Customers respond to direct and indirect
contact with a company in different ways. While direct contact
usually occurs when the purchase or usage is initiated by the
customer, indirect contact implies advertising, news reports,
unplanned encounters with sales representatives, word-of-mouth
recommendations or criticism. Brands like Facebook, Uber and
Nike have been able to incorporate the CX aspect of business into
their daily operations. This is shown by the sheer number of
returning customers they get. At the end of the day, the product a
business is offering tends to remain the same. It is the customer

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experience that can be tweaked and changed to make the product
look more attractive. Technology is enabling businesses to
enhance customer experience in various fields. Let us dig a bit
deeper into each of them.

Shopping
Today’s shoppers have all the options they want—
shopping in a store, shopping online, getting product
reviews/friends opinion or opting for product comparisons. These
benefits are all just a mobile click away, and true of all retailers of
that particular kind. To create a shopping experience that entices
shoppers to come back again and again, businesses need
customer experience analytics that can give retailers
unprecedented insight into shopping experience from shoppers’
perspective.
According to a survey on customer analytics, 51% of
companies rank “improved customer satisfaction” as the primary
reason for adopting analytics. Analytics help gather data and help
the companies understand the needs and expectations of their
customers better. This data allows for informed decision making—
management can take calculated risks and make necessary
changes.
Large retail stores like Macy’s are using big data to offer
more localized, personalized and smarter retail customer
experience across all channels. According to Dataflop, they
“analyse a large amount of different data points, such as out-of-
stock rates, price promotions, sell-through rates etc. and combine
this with SKU data from a product at a certain location and time as

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well as customer data in order to optimize their local assortments
to the individual customer segments in those locations.”
Combining and connecting e-commerce with in-store
shopping is the best way to offer a seamless shopping experience
to customers. Online platforms are now lowering entry barriers by
providing cheap infrastructure to new entrants. Accenture provides
an example: “Bigcommerce now allows anyone to set up an online
store in less than 30 minutes. Since its establishment in 2009, it
has already processed 17 million orders for as many as 35000
clients.”
Retailers have made the process of shopping as simple as
walking into a store, scanning an item and paying for it with a
series of taps on a smart device. On the other hand, online buying
that allows buyers to select a product by drawing comparisons with
other stores combines the best of in-store with the best of online
shopping.
As we progress deeper into the future, the shopping
experience is bound to change even more. New and improved
technology will keep the customer one step ahead of trends and
needs. It is up to companies to keep up with these trends if they do
not want to lose customers. They can do this by harnessing big
data, wherever available—be it through social media, surveys or
just plain old feedback.

Learning
Educational institutions sticking with traditional
methodologies have been experiencing a decline in revenue.

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These institutions must implement digital learning that exceeds
expectations and not just meet expectation.
The demand for expanding knowledge is outpacing supply.
As the world’s population grows, so does the number of
prospective students who enter tertiary education each year. Data
suggests that the number of university students will reach 263
million by 2025, up from 165 million in 2011. Providing education
to such a large number of learners using traditional modes of
delivery would require tremendous amounts of funding and effort,
namely building roughly 4 universities per week for the following
15 years.
In order to educate the students of the future, CX analytics
needs to be put at the service of understanding the mentality of the
student, ranging from their preferences to their needs. Thanks to
data on course enrolments, graduation rates, grades and
feedback, education providers can now develop a much more in-
depth understanding of each student. This will allow institutions to
make changes to their learning techniques accordingly, and
consequently provide an amazing customer, i.e. student
experience. For instance, publishing giant Pearson has recently
acquired a learning analytics startup to strengthen its personalized
learning offerings.
Leading companies are already making the most of the
latest digital tools to propagate, share or acquire knowledge. For
instance, Bank of America recently partnered up with Khan
Academy, a not-for-profit provider of online education courses, to
offer online learning on finance. The United States Navy has done
the same with Institute for the Future, a think tank, to launch a

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massive online gaming tool that will help them craft strategies to
fight piracy.

Staying Healthy
Data is at the centre of a new trend in the healthcare
industry. Medical technology is increasingly becoming connected
to a wide range of secondary devices that allow medical
professionals to treat patients with greater insight, and therefore
more efficiently. Cloud based platforms are improving the overall
treatment of patients through increased transparency. Integrated
data from app-based wearable monitoring devices enables
personalized medical analyses. The explosion of data will not
subside as consumers continue to demand to be better informed
about their healthcare options, costs, short- and long-term
outcomes, as well as other potentially life-changing factors that go
into their treatment.
On a slightly different note, the more tech-savvy portion of
the public is already taking advantage of numerous apps that
promote health by through tracking services or instructions, or
even bring otherwise much more expensive healthcare services
into their homes. An example of this is numerous mental-health
apps that connect people with licenced therapists and allow them
to chat through video, even text. It is cost-efficient and time-saving
for both parties, while it may even be emotionally easier for some.
The bottom line is that the users have an increasing variety of
options, and thus a better chance at a satisfying user experience.
Marjorie Bessel, the VP for Clinical Integration at Banner
Health, shares her view of the future of healthcare: “I think what

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the next ten years will look like for the industry will be lots of
electronic tools, apps, portals that help us engage with the patient
and help the patient engage more in their own health, their own
health outcomes and how they decide to get there.” All this will, in
effect, put patients and consumers in the driver’s seat, steering
wheel in their own hands. They will be calling the shots, while the
tech will make sure their shots at reaching their treatment goals
are higher than ever.

Entertainment
The digital transformation disrupting the traditional value
chain is the key market driver behind the rise of CX in media and
entertainment. Consumers expect digital content that serves to
entertain to be delivered to all of their devices in an engaging way
every time, anytime.
Advertisements and subscriptions are two key revenue
streams for the media industry and both need to be balanced.
Advertising is still depressed, but rates can be increased through
acquiring and managing data, as well as and centring on direct
consumer relationships. Payment/ subscription revenues are not
yet working in digital for many traditional players as they
continuously fail to focus on the customer. The key is to build
models where the customer pays for the value and experience
they receive, not just “for content.” Let us expand on this idea a bit
further.
Graeme Noseworthy, IBM’s senior content marketing
manager, has the perfect analogy: “Where we used to say that
‘content is king’, we can now argue that the consumer audience is

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king and the content is the castle we must build around them.”
Media companies with access to huge data sources are trying to
build close relationship with customer and understand them on an
individual level. They are now able to analyse customer and
behavioural data (who they are and how they act) simultaneously,
creating accurate, detailed and personalized customer profiles
using this information and predictive analytics. Media companies
can now recommend content in real time, and that content can be
developed to have substance that truly connects with their
audience.
Disney has set a benchmark in the entertainment industry
when it comes to perfection achieved. The company extensively
uses technology to improve their customer experience, beyond the
confines of their legendary theme park. MyDisneyExperience, a
website and app that requires one to log in with their personal
Disney account—note the personal—was launched so that
Disney’s customers could thoroughly plan their vacation online:
make dinner reservations and other quick selections, explore the
part using an interactive map, filter activities and check real-time
wait times and show times, buy photos of themselves that were
taken at the park. The website provides information about all of
Disney’s attractions, accommodation, things to do etc. in one place
and in incredible detail, and users can even share their plans with
family and friends.
The management team should always make it their mission
to focus on their customers. The employees, stakeholders and the
overall ecosystem must be aligned to this paradigm shift of
customer experience.

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Travelling
Disney brings us to the next industry in which data analysis
is providing new insights into CX. “Technology is now enabling
people to experience the vacation before they arrive,” IBM’s Bruce
Speechley notes. Experiencing means exploring, and exploring
online means leaving digital traces. How the company uses the
data to provide better customer service is individual. Here are a
couple of examples.
Delta, for instance, through exhaustive customer
segmentation analysis identified that 5% of their customers
accounted for 26% of their revenue. They then employed what
they termed the “listen/respond/listen” model—listen to what it is
that those 5% of customers want, respond with products and
services according to the that information, then listen again to see
if the customers recognized value in Delta’s reactions to their
needs.
On the other hand, hotel chains like the Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Company are managing their customer database centrally, but use
predictive modelling and purchase third-party data, which helps
them, understand what the customer might do next and how they
can target them with the right message at the right time and
ensure they are receiving a personalized Ritz-Carlton service.
The disruptive effects of crowdsourcing companies like
Airbnb and Uber on the travel industry have already been
discussed—though crowdsourcing has an innately innovative,
efficient quality and the already mentioned sense of community to
it, which inevitably result in a focus on the user experience.
However, disruption by digital innovation can be easily traced

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across the travel industry. Today, no company is immune to the
demands for transparency that are a given with crowdsourcing
because of the very nature of the model. Consumers are drifting to
online marketplaces to thoroughly review and compare their
options. In today’s world, all it takes is a minute for travellers to tell
hundreds of people exactly how their trip went, either on social
media or an online review site. Online feedback is the digital
version of word of mouth and can make or break a company.
Businesses these days simply must focus on providing an
exceptional customer experience in order to set themselves apart.
As the rate of customers using digital technologies
continues to grow, companies need to continue to employ blends
of innovative ideas in order to meet their increasingly demanding
needs.

Paying
Leaders in the payments industry are teaming up with
organizations from outside their industry to get the capabilities they
need in order to improve customer experience. For instance,
American Express customers can now use their loyalty points to
pay for taxi rides in New York thanks to the partnership between
the credit card company and VeriFone, a provider of point-of-sale
technology. In Belgium, BNP Paribas joined forces with Belgacom,
a telecommunications company, to pilot a digital wallet application.
Another prominent example of innovation in CX in the payments
industry is the development of pay-at-the table service in
restaurants.

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 In this industry, organizations are trying to innovate new
ways to provide better customer experience and simultaneously
take their brand to the next level. Therefore, excellent CX is critical
to ensuring repeat purchases, positive recommendations and
overall brand loyalty. The Forrester study reveals that the impact
of customer loyalty on revenue among credit card providers
amounted to USD 27 million in word-of-mouth, USD 290 million in
churn reduction and USD 548 million in additional purchases.
A significant change has occurred in transaction banking
due to the digital revolution, and its impact certainly goes beyond
consumer payments and retail banking. Introduction to faster and
more convenient payment options in retail have led to customers
demanding similar conveniences and levels of service from
transaction banking. Transaction bankers, having witnessed these
unusual payment systems in consumer banking, are now aware of
the upsetting menace looming over their comfort zones. As
payment technology and customer preferences evolve, companies
must choose a flexible and secure solution that will handle
alternative payment methods of the future.

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Enterprise Insights

“Speed is the new currency of Business.”

— Marc Benioff, CEO of SalesForce

Quick thinking allows for quick decision making. However,

quick thinking resting on no evidence is just failure in the (quick)
making. Decisions need to be backed up with accurately analyzed
data, and made fast enough to beat the competition. The art is in
the balance, and there is no balance without strong footing.
Today, LinkedIn is the largest professional networking platform
on a global level. LinkedIn offers a wide variety of business-
oriented services integrated in a single platform. It is boosting its
business to business sales through the use of user and prospect
data. Over the past few years, the modern-day giant LinkedIn’s
revenue has steadily grown by 85%.
Data has rightfully been proven to be one of the key driving
factors of business decisions across industries. Modern startups
are targeting this niche of data collection to provide industry
leaders with data analysis tools designed to make them better at
what they do. Consider the example of Saama Technologies,
which used the Partner@Speed Program to attain world-wide
support from prime big data and analytics companies like
Informatica, Hyosung, Cisco, Tableau and SalesForce. Saama
employs its Fluid Analytics Engine accelerators in combination
with their industry-specific consulting services when they provide
solutions pertaining to globally leading big data offerings by the
world’s largest public companies. Consequently, the data and

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analytics are speeding up the outcomes, delivering
transformational business for their world-class clients, and
changing the game.
Mark Ledbetter, VP of Solutions Engineering at
Hortonworks, nicely sums up this need for speed without
compromising on accuracy, and shares his company’s solution:
“Our customers want insights delivered at the speed of business.
The softwares’ that we use in integration with other companies
with a similar strategy has helped us accelerate customer success
with reduced implementation times.” The digital age is infinitely
more about sharing than it seems at first glance, and sharing
promotes efficiency in almost all contexts. Smart factories are an
example of how a business concept with long-established
connotations of rigidity can have a bright future.

Smart Factories
According to Industry Week, the “factory of the future—the
smart factory—is a paradise of efficiency where defect and
downtime, waste and waiting are long forgotten issues of a long
forgotten age.” It is predicted that the newly established factories
will have plant managers and CIOs crafting together in smooth
incorporation of data and production to stay on top of every
movement of every gear in order to deliver like never before.
Combining advanced tools with high-tech workers will result in an
optimal assimilation of technological and manufacturing
advancement. Investigating the Siemens Gadgets Works Office in
Amberg, Germany, feels like walking around tech heaven. With an
area of 108,000 square feet, it is striking in its level of

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technological advancement. The company’s intelligent machines
are used to coordinate the factory production and worldwide
distribution of Simatic Controllers—this includes a custom, made-
to-order process involving more than 1.6 billion parts for more than
50,000 annual product variations. Siemens assembles around
10,000 materials from 250 suppliers to produce 950 different
products in the plant.
The introduction of smart factory technology will improve
the reliability and flexibility of advanced automated machines, thus
changing assembly line production as well. This can cut down the
costs associated with changing production lines and machine set
ups. The smart factory will enable manufacturers to make a wide
variety of products and offer customers products that are more
customizable. Being capable of manufacturing a smaller number of
products at mass production price will give smart manufacturers
significant competitive advantage over their traditional
counterparts.
“The intelligent networking of industrial devices promises to
deliver productivity gains, but not all manufacturers are ready to
make the leap to the smart factory. Connecting efficiency and
productivity is key for the future of the industrial sector,” maintains
entrepreneur Arthur Wisser. The term “Industry 4.0” sneaked into
use. It first appeared at the Hanover Industry Fair and was the
focus of discussion at the 2014 exhibition. The name implies the
current and then climate in manufacturing being the fourth
industrial revolution after mechanization, mass production and
digitalization—the focus would now be on exchanging data and
automation using digital technologies. They believed it had yet to

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determine its direction and become the standard. Over the past
few years, the manufacturing sector saw a lot of IT-integrated
products put onto factory floors, such as autonomous industrial
vehicles, and the same happened with production processes. This
integration included computer aided design, enterprise resource
management and planning. Smart factories are characterized by
adaptability, resource efficiency, and the involvement of business
partners and customers in business and value management
processes.
Integration, along with sharing, is a common theme in the
digital age. Helmuth Ludwig, the CEO of Siemens North America’s
Industry Sector emphasizes that the “future of smart
manufacturing is today. Previously, the industrial value chain
including product design, production planning, production
engineering, production execution and services were implemented
separately. Today, new technologies are bringing these worlds
together in exciting ways.” The fact that made the abovementioned
Amberg Siemens plant successful was combining three specific
and critical technologies, namely product lifecycle management
(PLM), manufacturing execution system (MES) and industrial
automation. Whether a company decides to produce a modern
commercial aircraft or fuel efficient cars or high-performance golf
clubs, the technology used in PLM, MES and industrial automation
is helping manufacturers realize and achieve top-line growth by
increasing productivity and minimizing risk.

Connected Supply Chain

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 For companies and businesses aiming to deliver products
to their customers on time and without compromising on quality,
an efficient supply chain is a must. In this ever-evolving global
marketplace, managers are required to employ a more innovative
and proactive strategic approach to be able to optimize the supply
chain and reduce costs throughout the product life cycle. The
supply chain management strategies needs to change with each
phase of the product life cycle—Launch phase, Growth phase,
Maturity phase and Market Decline phase.
Communication and information are vital to maintaining a
seamless supply chain. Providing a proper access and without
compromising on security can help support an incredible workflow
that promotes innovation and eases collaboration. As an example,
CEMEX faced high transportation costs and spoilage as
customers repeatedly changed their orders and delivery
schedules. Using global positioning system (GPS) sensors
mounted on cement trucks and linked to a central control center,
CEMEX can now reroute trucks dynamically, based on up-to-the-
minute information about changing customer requirements. As a
result, CEMEX reduced delivery time from three hours to 20
minutes, cut the number of delivery trucks by 35 percent, trimmed
operating costs by US$100 million, and improved on-time delivery.
Supply chain performance can be greatly improved through
innovation. Technology and innovation can play major roles in
cutting down production costs by designing products that are easy
to manufacture. The assembling process can be optimized as well
by designing the product to contain a minimum number of

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subcomponents or designing subcomponents that are easy to
assemble.
In order to enable an intelligent, connected supply chain, a
platform that enables a deeper visibility across the value chain
must be in place, providing a comprehensive look at health, risk
(always a crucial factor in decision-making) and profitability. The
platform should securely manage, automate and supervise the
complex network of systems and things that need to access
resources and share them. Collaboration among various people is
key in this context as well, and the platform must allow them to
seamlessly connect with each other and other systems and things,
delivering the right information to the right entity at the right time.
Finally, the platform can be on the cloud in order to reduce cost,
help simplify the management of the infrastructure and accelerate
time to market.
This is what the “Internet of Things” (IoT) is, and it has had
a huge impact on connected supply chain management. As per
Cisco, IDC and Gartner reports, a notable increase in the number
of devices making up the IoT will have an acute impact on how
supply chains operate in the future. According to Cisco, 50 billion
devices will be connected to the internet by 2030 on a global level,
i.e. 6.5 devices per person.
The impact of IoT-supported supply chains will be wide and
significant. IoT has already been incorporated in a number of
commercial operations like commercial telematics are used in
trucking fleets to improve logistics efficiency. The use of IoT-based
sensors like fabric, which collect vital healthcare signs, is growing
at an increasing pace.

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 Here is a piece of wisdom from Accenture that accentuates
the inevitability of transformation if growth is to be achieved—
“Every high performing supply chain is a digital supply chain.” In
this age of digital disruption, every traditional business is
transforming into a digital business to stay in business. Digital
disruption has especially impacted supply chain management, and
no business can reap the optimal benefits of digitalization without
reinventing their supply chain strategy. To successfully transform
the supply chain, the businesses need to transform the supply
chain into a digital network connecting the physical flow of
materials, talent, information and finance. The supply of the new
age can be characterized as more connected, efficient, scalable,
and intelligent than the traditional one.

Intelligent Infrastructure
Today’s public utilities face increasing and often conflicting
pressures to contain costs and comply with new mandates. More
than ever, companies need to use their infrastructure wisely. In
Siemens, they both know and take advantage of the fact that, as
they say, “IT and automation are expanding the potential of
infrastructure across the world. Solutions for sustainable power
distribution, efficient traffic systems and efficient intelligent
buildings are becoming more flexible and adaptable to new
conditions.”
An integrated digital infrastructure plays an important role
in the development of modern cities. Smart transportation,
intelligent buildings, smart and independent power grids are their
basic characteristics. An intelligent infrastructure enhances the

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potential of any location to become the location of choice for digital
businesses.
“In a fully realized intelligent infrastructure, the desktop will
be provisioned based on the unique user profile, providing the
applications and infrastructure services each employee needs to
support his/her unique role,” writes the Wall Street Journal. The
infrastructure will be able to determine the employee’s location—
office, mobile or home—and provide user experience accordingly
in order to maximize workplace capabilities. The infrastructure will
ensure that devices are always on and connected and secure
network connectivity to required environments. While the current
technology is not quite ready to make the vision of an intelligent
infrastructure a reality in its entirety, IT leaders can start preparing.
While designing intelligent infrastructures, the focus should
be on the end user. It has now become vital for companies to
provide its users with services whenever and wherever the users
want. IT can unlock a workflow that meets the needs and
expectations of the ever-needier end users of the new age. For
example, a user expectation on the rise is having a “user app”
allowing access to all the business applications on all their mobile
devices, while applications must work with the same level of
efficiency and in the same manner, no matter the device.
Companies need to pay detailed attention to the user interface and
overall quality of these user apps, and should work closely with
developers building them.
Companies must also embrace the “workplace as a
service” concept. Cloud services are quickly gaining popularity for
non-core operations, no matter the business, as they offer a low

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cost alternative. Finally, companies have to constantly engage in
improving user experience. Projects often deliver in terms of
functionality, but sometimes ultimately fail because they do not
allocate enough resources to ensuring a good user experience.
Investing in creating an easy-to-use, intuitive interface and then
providing good training is the key to providing a seamless user
experience.
An intelligent infrastructure is the key to sustaining any
digital effort and progress. With the change in business practices
and a new wave of technology being offered to businesses
disrupting the established rules of the game, a strong, smart
infrastructure must be put in place to take on the burden of
change. Change is always difficult, but it leads to long-term
possibilities for growth as opposed to stagnation first, and then
drowning in the sea of innovative startups and businesses who
went through change and are now riding this new tech wave. Once
the business has moved over to the new systems and
infrastructure, processes will get smoother, leading to better
decision-making and thus perpetuating progress.

Smart PLM
The entire lifecycle of a product, encompassing everything
from initiation, through engineering designs and manufacture, to
service and finally product disposal is managed in industry through
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), a software suite. An
organization’s product data is one of its most valuable assets.
Different roles on all levels of the organization need product data
to make decisions that can greatly affect the business in various

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ways—from the safety and quality of products to the speed of
innovation and time-to-market.
The adoption of a new enterprise management solution
requires weeks of intensive training. The daily active user needs to
understand every minute detail about operating the software and
filtering the data that the software manages. While this training is
ideal for people who manage such software on a daily basis, it is
an overload of data for other stakeholders. Smart PLM solutions
provide the access of information to stakeholders or anyone who is
not a regular user of the software. For instance, if someone in
manufacturing, sales, marketing, or procurement needs product
data occasionally or lacks training for more complex PLM tasks,
they can simply use a role-based app to get specific pieces of
information.
By incorporating elements of smart PLM technology, the
complexity of global product development and manufacturing is
drastically minimized. Product development depends on valuable
feedback from both within and outside of the confines of the
business. The brand new PLM generation brings socially-oriented,
collaborative techniques, which pave the way for new social media
strategies.
Search Manufacturing ERP provides an example to
showcase the comprehensiveness of PLM: “a company
developing a new washing machine could capture ideas and
requirements in PLM. They could use those to develop some
conceptual designs and collaborate on them with the marketing
department. Then, they could manage new product development
project through the design of all of the related specifications,

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components, software, documentation and other deliverables
required to launch a successful product. Ideally, they would
manage manufacturing and service processes with PLM as well.” 1

Intelligent Services
Before we get into intelligent services, a from Harbor
Research of the stubbornness prevailing in the industry: “It is
interesting to compare consumer focused smart connected
business models to industrial B2B models. The industrial players
are moving so slowly to evolve their business model designs they
risk implementing solution concepts developed in the late 1990’s
by about 2020.”
Digital giants like Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon
are setting examples for companies by developing a smart
services business model, combining technologies from different
domains, and, in turn, providing services and solutions in the way
consumers want.
A company wanting to become a player in the smart
services arena should make a strategic decision about the role or
combination of roles it wants to play in the overall “ecosystem.”
Suppliers of consumer and data interfaces of smart, networked
products and services will lead the way. One key is controlling
data entry points into the platforms at the heart of smart services.
Such companies will also seek to grow and further increase
scalability by creating digital ecosystems.

1 SearchErp - What can PLM technology do for enterprises, An article

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 Harvard Business Review makes sure to point out that
“[s]mart services are a wholly different animal from the service
offerings of the past. To begin with, they are fundamentally
preemptive rather than reactive or even proactive. Preemptive
means your actions are based upon hard field intelligence. Smart
services are thus based upon actual evidence that a machine is
about to fail, that a customer’s supply of consumables is about to
be depleted, that a shipment of materials has been delayed and so
on.”
Smart services can eliminate all kinds of unpleasant
customer experiences thanks to its data-based intelligence and
consumer behavior, which enables manufacturers to gain
unprecedented R&D feedback and insight into customers’ needs
and can provide even greater ongoing value.
Machine intelligence has reduced the issues arising from
tasking humans with gathering real-time data. Devices running on
machine intelligence can digest billions of data points, processing
and controlling it depending on the data itself. This helps the
decision-makers by providing them with more visibility and insights
pertaining to the business’s assets, costs and liabilities whenever
needed.
Companies like GE, Siemens, Honeywell and ABB etc. are
leading smart services providers. Honeywell’s aerospace, GE’s jet
engines, ABB’s power plant equipment and Siemens’s medical
equipment locomotive all produce assets of critical value to
customers. They have been using various kinds of networking to
carry out remote monitoring and diagnostic procedures.

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 Manufacturing companies are increasingly expanding their
core business to include services. They are incorporating smart
services that can provide intelligent ways of interconnecting
customers, equipment and data. The future of manufacturing
companies will involve a continuous connection with customers, a
more data-based product design and development process, as
well as a simplified and flexible approach to operations
management.

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Powering and Serving Digital Clients

“Technology makes the world a new place.”

— Shoshana Zuboff

Digital is driving major shifts in the way we work, travel, play

and live. This shift has created a mandate for businesses to
reshape the way they interact and transact with customers and
vendors by making seamless connectivity a reality. In order to
successfully navigate through the digital era, companies are
altering decade-old processes by reinventing their businesses.
Cognizant emphasizes that organizations “must make the leap
from doing digital to being digital in order to meet the rapidly
changing demands of customers. They need to develop new
business models, and become more competitive by using
technology.”
Digital transformation is all about reinventing business visions,
models and investments for the new, digital economy by
restructuring industries and keeping up with mobility as a core
element.
As of 2017, there are 6 billion people on the planet. About 4
billion have mobile technology and 5-7 billion “things” are
connected. These numbers are quickly exploding towards a
completely digital world.
Although digital transformation has grown beyond marketing, it
was the marketing segment that first adopted digital technology.
Digital has played a central role in enhancing the quality of
customer experience and customer engagement. Mike Sutcliff,

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group chief executive of Accenture Digital, says that digital
customers continue to expand and explode businesses beyond
marketing. New products, features and services are being offered
to increasingly demanding customers, leading businesses to
rethink their entire operations, which is again possible in the first
place because of digital.
Digital transformation of businesses is at the top of the C-suite
agenda. It is indeed the time of the merging and co-mingling roles
of COO, CIO, CMO and CDO, and the era of interconnectedness
and collaboration. This is because businesses can now buy things
as a service and buy things that propel them. Digital is being seen
not just as a technical issue but as a booster to the whole business
that encompasses operations at every level of the organization.
The prime motivator behind digital transformation is improved
business outcomes. Implementing digital transformation and
measuring its success can be highly challenging for organizations
due to the persuasive nature of digital technologies. Digital analyst
Brian Solis found that while 88% of companies report undergoing a
digital transformation, only 25% have employed digital customer
journey mapping and have an understanding of new or
underperforming digital touchpoints. To avoid investing in digital
transformation without insight or purpose, it is recommended to
start with a value map to determine what matters for your
particular enterprise, identify its key drivers, and measure those
out.
Data analytics is recognized as another brick in the foundation
for successful digital transformation. Getting the top-down/bottom-
up approach balance right is when organizations will see the most

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progress occurs. From top to bottom, organizations must keep
developing the culture of digital DNA, emphasizing the importance
of inclusiveness of the notion of leveraging the wide variety of
technologies that can be called digital. A bottom-up approach to
investing is required to successfully incorporate digital
technologies into business because the people most impacted by
bringing in digital capabilities should feel that the technologies will
help them perform their daily tasks in an efficient and effective
manner. The leaders should help them realize that technology is
not something that will replace them in the organizations but will
enhance the scale and quality of the outcome of their efforts and
talents.
In theory, as should be in practice, business, products and
services innovation is a team sport. Innovation and digital
transformation efforts are inextricably linked on all levels. CEOs
must grasp the idea that tech is not either an abstract idea, a
computer program or a machine, but that they need to build an
ecosystem and reap the advantages of new technologies that can
rapidly redefine how they create and deliver products and
services.
Accenture seems to be at the forefront of helping organizations
in their individual digital transformations. It has itself transformed to
a position of sustained growth in the digital economy. Pierre
Nanterme, Accenture Chairman and CEO shares his informed
view on the depth of importance of changing the mindset: “I
believe it’s a time when you need to rethink, in a very profound
way, almost everything, from your strategy, from your leadership,
from your current mobile positioning, branding, and it’s a great

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opportunity for all companies, including Accenture, to very
significantly reinvent themselves. Given what’s happening with this
- let’s call it a ‘digital revolution’, there is much more at stake today
than probably in this last 20 or 30 years, and so the need for
reinvention is greater, and the risk is as well, more important.”
Nanterme and his leadership team have been preparing
Accenture for growth by focusing on its broad-based revenue
segments like Accenture Strategy, Accenture Consulting,
Accenture Digital, Accenture Operations, Accenture Technology,
etc. Together, in Accenture’s fiscal year 2018, the businesses
represented USD 39 billion in revenue, and were driven by a
global workforce of 459,000.
Accenture continues to benefit from the significant investments
made to further strengthen it in leadership positions in high-growth
areas such as digital, cloud and security services, which
accounted for approximately 60% of its revenues for 2018. The
growth strategy and innovation-led approach are clearly resonating
with clients.
The advertisement industry today works on developing deep
skills increasingly required in collecting and analyzing costumer
insights with more and more focus on adopting technologies that
can help in personalized advertisement strategies through
increasingly efficiently identifying the target audience.
Realized in entirety through the Internet of Things, the trend of
connecting people to people, device to device, machine to
machine and almost everything to everything is on the rise and
encouraged. Companies have also been making solid decisions
with predictive analytics algorithm development and cloud by

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either implementing software in the cloud or supporting clients
moving to the cloud from their legacy environments.

The way in which companies are doing research and

development is changing dramatically. Digital technology has
shrunken the response time to new product strategies to
immediate. There is no longer a 3-5 week wait—companies get
answers to their most anticipated questions very quickly. Social
networks have made this possible at this level. Digital disruptions
have ultimately resulted in the focus of much current research
rightfully revolving around how quickly a product can be marketed
and, more importantly, how well it is going to serve customer
needs in practice. We are also entering an era where many
traditional business theories will be re-examined and re-
interpreted, such as competition, for example. Audrey Mothupi,
chief executive of SystemicLogic, explains:
In many respects it is also about a different interpretation of the
80/20 principle. In that, you develop 80% of the market and allow
others to invest resources in helping unlock the last 20% of the
market which is proving challenging to access. Approaching
markets and business in this way is a tricky proposition for
companies to get right. You need to find a balance between
current demands and future developments. This also needs to be
done against the backdrop of digital evolution and in conjunction
with a network of collaborative partners that can strengthen your
position.

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Transforming into a Digital Business

“Innovation is the change that unlocks new value”.

— Jamie Notter

“Digital transformation means different things to different business.

Whether businesses are seeking to optimize manufacturing,
improve an in-store experience or create a new business model,
the transformation required crosses multiple lines of business,”
Laura Merling, VP of Autonomous Vehicle Solutions at Ford, again
reiterates what should be the key focus. In order to succeed in this
age, enterprises must use a company-wide framework for their
digital transformation and IoT strategy. This transformation will
require alignment across the entire business—including
investment dollars, priorities, measurement and metrics, and the
path to execution.
Tholons’s 5 pillars to digital transformation are clear guideposts
towards achieving stable fluidity.

1. CONSULTING: Reimagine Customer Experience &

Business
If you have “achieved” digital transformation, you are
thinking In the wrong direction, i.e. not moving anymore,
since this strategy was just a one-time solution. Customer
experience and business reinvention must be approached
from the future angle, meaning it should be competitive and
as current as possible for at least a decade later.
Automation, customer engagement and transformation are

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 the key notions to grasp in order to steer a business into
the future. The primary goal for any business is its services
and cost efficiency, customer satisfaction and customer
experience. The aforementioned tech should be oriented to
hosting first and further onto cloud or a hybrid. Analytics
used to be descriptive—now it is crucial for them to be
predictive, as well prescriptive. The key skills assessment
must embrace the same skills the business should strive to
have a focus on: responsiveness, product knowledge,
services, digital technology, identification of
problems/opportunity, cross-selling thought application,
advanced analytics and cross-functional and a flexible
system/solution model.

2. TRANSFORMATION: Digital Solution

Digital solution must not be a mere solution for process

accomplishment. It must be an analytics-led transformation
accompanied by an application of futuristic hardware and
software solutions using analytics consultancy, technology
and creative capabilities. The aspects of the solution must
work in harmony to produce the desired business
outcomes, shaping a comprehensive data vision. The
solution must include a wide range of analytics approaches
to be able to effectively define clear business objectives
and coherently illustrate how analytics and new intelligence
will drive tangible expected outcomes. The solution must
include data strategy, the execution roadmap, combining

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 RPA, cloud, mobility, blockchain, AI, social media, IoT,
data, machine learning and cyber security with advanced
analytics that leads to unlocking new intelligence. The goal
is to augment the power of humans with artificial
intelligence—leverage AI and advanced analytics
algorithms to sense, comprehend, act and learn across the
value chain at an unprecedented speed and scale.

3. OPERATIONS: Intelligent Workforce

Operations across all sectors including services are

replacing unnecessary manpower with digital workers. The
future belongs to efficient, intelligent operations—
connecting data, intelligence and human ideas to generate
insight-led decision-making, innovative customer
experience and unprecedented business outcomes that will
continue to challenge the industry and the world of
business. Intelligent digital workforce (RPA) is enabling the
replacement of a high percentage of manual work without
compromising on accuracy. Case studies have proved that
the error rate of data-intensive processes has dropped
from 30% to 0% since the introduction of robots. People
are spared the performance of the most mundane and
repetitive tasks and their talents can be used for better
purposes. The operations at workplaces should strongly
encourage a collaboration between the human and digital,
becoming an intelligent workforce completing the common
goal through a set of tasks. Automation, analytics and

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 increased decision-making capabilities will perpetuate
productivity and quality, cutting down costs in the long-
term. Task bots are the a tireless 24/7 operational digital
workforce. Enterprise RPA implies the automation of every
rule-based process, automating any business process with
scalable software robots that interact with all systems and
applications. In the process of intelligent workforce
operations, cognitive bots plays the SME (subject-matter
expert) role, learning from the best and helping to continue
to improve on its own. It uses machine learning for the
processes that require expert decision making.

4. IMPACT: Business Impact Scorecard/Metrics

Digital workforce analytics synthesize real-time bot-level

data to generate business insights that measure
effectiveness and set scale. Unprecedented content-level
information—every action of every bot—yields real-time
process statistics and operational analytics for your digital
workforce.

5. ACTION: Insights/Executive | Actions/Decisions

The whole process of innovative corporate digital

operational transformation enables precise actions and
decisions, such as negative/positive news, medium
risk/high risk processes etc. Competitive data intelligence,
executive actions and business decisions are done most

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 appropriately with the insights and assessments performed
and predicted by the digital workforce and its analytics
dashboard.

Digital transformation coupled with innovation changes the

world. Innovative companies do more than change internally—they
make waves in the marketplace. Companies like Tholons have
adapted a unique way to get its innovation core up and running.
Tholons believes that the weight of innovation stands on 5 pillars:
Clients, Startups, Mentors, Platform builders and Funding. All of
these aspects need to work together in order to run a successful
digitally innovative business. If they have a new feature that needs
to be implemented on a large platform, they think about the clients
first. Will it add value for the clients to use their new feature? They
then need to either develop the feature in-house or outsource a
more cost-efficient alternative. Startups are a great resource to
develop niche market products and can add immense value. Then
comes guidance—without proper guidance and mentorship, a plan
can go off track and cost the company. Platform builders must
integrate the product that the startup created, followed by
appropriate funds to put the plan in motion.
Everybody wants to beat the competition, which means
that product development often ends up as a race to give the
customers more. One-upmanship is the bread and butter of the
corporate world. In the digital world, there are no laws of physics to
constrain innovation, so adding new features can be easy.
Opportunities are boundless in theory, but the focus needs to be

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placed on how the customer feels while using that feature in
practice.
Digital transformation creates new revenue streams and
improves the efficiency of processes through a series of small- and
large-scale projects utilizing or installing digital capabilities. It is
overwhelmingly comprehensive. Even though and precisely
because everything and everyone will not align perfectly in such a
vast system, sharing an understanding of the goals and
transparency are paramount. Providing a mechanism for change
gives businesses an opportunity to succeed.

Case Studies of Successful Digital Transformation

1. Sprint
Telecommunications is one of the areas in which the ability to
adopt new digital technology efficiently is entirely necessary in
order to survive in this competitive market. Sprint focuses on large-
scale data analysis, and has adopted an open-source platform
called Elastic Stack in order to search, sort and analyze large
amounts of data from a vast variety of sources such as databases,
emails, etc. With this data, the company’s IT team can analyze the
areas in which customers are facing problems when they are
transacting online. They are using this information to redesign their
processes in order to improve customer satisfaction.

2. StubHub
StubHub is the world’s largest ticket marketplace, with millions
of visitors and ticket sales every year. The company was

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struggling to meet the digital demands of processing thousands of
transactions every day, to keep up their consistency of providing a
better service to their users.
To bounce back, StubHub created its own private data cloud,
with incredible scaling capacities. This made sure the company
could cope with the variable level of demands the website
experiences each day. The company additionally planned to use a
public cloud to process local transactions in many countries, and
add features to make selling tickets easier and available for mobile
users and groups.

3. Domino’s
Domino’s is explicit in stating, “at Domino’s, we are
committed to being at the forefront of technology innovation.” So
their ultimate objective is to increase customer satisfaction, sales
and share returns. It sees technology as a valid goal in its own
right. Domino’s allows people to track the progress of their pizza
orders, from preparation to delivery, through Domino’s Robotic
Unit. It can transact through any device, and since online ordering
is used the most, the customers are getting what they want.

4. Disney
Throughout its long history, Disney has been an inventive
company, the innovation was coupled with many challenges along
the way. Recent adaptation of digital technology over its entire
business have returned marvelous profits. Providing customized
all-in-one wristband devices called MagicBand to every theme

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park and hotel visitor is one of the ways Disney uses digital
technology. This has gained benefited both the company and its
customers. The quality of experience and the efficiency that
gadgets allow have been greatly increased thanks to the
development of personal and interactive tracking and sophisticated
real-time data analytics.
Labor-scheduling accuracy improved by 20%, which equals
over 240,000 shifts per week just in its theme parks, represents an
incredible payoff. Elsewhere in its empire, store sales are up by
20% following its rebranding and embedding of digital technology.
Disney’s approach to technology is now transforming customer
experience, cross channel interaction and network connectivity.

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People Primacy in a Digital Transformation

“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care
of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”
— Richard Branson

Humans are experiencing technology’s ability to transform

life in ways which were unimaginable a decade ago. For example,
online shopping has changed our behavior because we no longer
need to physically go to the store. One can order almost anything
from anywhere on their mobile phone. This serves as a reminder
that digital transformation at an organizational level has an impact
reaching far beyond technology and enterprise alone.
Customer-driven digital experiences are becoming the
prospective, leading plenty of marketers to bet everything on that
progressing digital sector. Digital changeover and innovation
demands high-powered capabilities on the technical side.
However, what often goes unnoticed is that humans are still the
principal factor in all of these changes. In practice, it is the
effective digital skills of the employees that lead to digital
transformation. Businesses must incorporate a new culture that
uses digital technology advancement to empower people to learn,
create new innovative solutions, drive change and bring disruption
to the status quo.
Digital transformation can only occur when the organization
understands the impact of that both internal and external
individuals’ have on the business. For instance, when a private
citizen transacts with the local government, they are simply

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focused on their personal issue. By deploying a customer-centric
digital transformation strategy, the government can drive a
strategy that is not only outcome-oriented but also intuitive for
users.
Platforms can handle the mechanics of managing
information, but it is only through creating a culture of
transformation amongst the individuals within the organization that
the business can efficiently transform. This means breaking down
departmental silos and encouraging staff to collaborate together as
they work towards the common goal of giving an exceptional
experience to all stakeholders. Without the culture of change, a
business might become digital but not have actually transformed.
This will not prove sustainable in the long run.
The human side of digital transformation needs to function
efficiently, and organizing people is harder than organizing tech.
First, companies need to assess their team. MIT and CapGemini
report that 90% surveyed companies detailed a need for digital
skills amd 77% considered missing those skills the key hurdle to
their digital transformation. Other studies all affirm that companies
require a well-organized strategy for handling the fast-developing
digital technologies holding the finest digital talents.
Companies should make digital training a part of their
operation. Up-skilling of employees should never stop in order for
companies to evolve and innovate. The most fruitful programs will
emphasize formulated learning opportunities, new content and
assets, and the development of job experience.
Business technology leaders understand that the digital
economy requires a new workforce with new skillsets and new

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attitudes. However, organizations are struggling with skill
shortages as the brightest talents are attracted to startups since
millennials see a rapid change of workplace as the norm. Creating
a liquid workforce means striking the right balance between the
developments of a startup mentality within the organization while
simultaneously maintaining core business processes.
This requires more than the correct engagement strategy
for the digital natives who will soon be a majority of the workforce.
It requires major cultural re-engineering of the organization. The
“born-digital” era, including humans born into the digital climate,
claims a world designed to accommodate its needs and desires
around how work ought to be organized.
Each business, whether vending products, benefits or
ideas is a digital trade. There is loophole to enable the
discontinuation of digital transformation. The key is to take charge
in assisting people adapt to hastily changing demands. The
essence of this is utilizing technology as a promoter of the full
potential of individuals, ventures and whole organizations. All of
this begins when digital trade puts the individuals involved in their
business first. One option is to provide contingent training from top
to bottom. The first challenge is make sure that the training is
pertinent to the individual learner. The second is dissemination
and redistribution. A maximum utilization of cloud-based services
to make content accessible anywhere anytime is essential as well.
For a proper development of real-time communication in a
distributed workforce, contractors must be provided with
associated tools that are efficient across distances. At MindFlash,
for example, they give their contractors real-time access to each

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individual on their project team through slack channels and
Sococo spaces. This gives room to immediate file and screen
sharing. These implements pay for themselves.
Companies need to know how important feedback
mechanisms and targets success rates are in handling fluid
workforces. The Agile Scrum methodology, for instance, including
daily 15-minute team meetings, frequent sharing of even partial
project deliverables and milestone tracking are all elements of
successful liquid team management.
Organizations often lack top talent with deep skills needed
to successfully face the world’s most challenging issues. In the
sharing economy, governments and companies must work
together to create a new social contract for those in today’s liquid
workforce. Leading companies are allowing anytime, anywhere
working options through the use of collaboration tools and cloud-
based workflows which benefit both the worker and the business.
A more horizontal style of leadership employing the co-
create and manage models is required to sustain a digitally skilled
workforce and fluid project model. With artificial intelligence and
data readily available, more decisions will be made on the front
lines where work occurs. Trust is a new asset of the digital age—
leaders need to trust their people to make decisions and give
transparent feedback to their workers like never before.
“Right now, core characteristics of the labor market are
changing,” emphasizes Emma McGuigan, Managing director of
Accenture Technology UK/I. A dexterous workforce will only
prosper in an organization that, in confronting change, is able and
equipped to maneuver and adapt, a process that requires

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thorough oversight. Consequently, more organizations are
investing in end-to-end workforce management solutions—such as
those provided by Oracle, Workday and SAP to deliver key
insights into workforce capabilities and readiness. This allows
leaders and organizations to get more information about their
workforce which they can use to optimize the organization’s
output.
Creating an agile workforce is challenging, but the rewards
are unmeasurable. By taking advantage of the control they
established within such a workforce, businesses can be developed
in ways that are smarter and faster than they ever envisioned. And
in the digital era, this constant growth and solid footing are more
crucial than ever.
IBM is one of the companies developing a workforce that is
capable of digitally changing the business landscape as a whole.
IBM’s strategy paper titled “Liquid” aims towards a more adaptable
organization, one that is more suitable for the digital age. Only a
small percentage of executives—those who develop IBM’s
strategy and interact with clients—will retain the traditional steady
jobs at the IT giant, while the rest are hired on a project-to-project
basis for variable durations of time, depending on the workload.
Workers can in turn offer their services on a platform analogous to
the online auction house eBay. Companies from all over the world
can access these virtual stalls in search of freelancers.
Cloud computing and workforce networks are changing the
way that contemporary organizations work. The traditional
employment model—working nine to five and for years with the
same employer—is on the decline everywhere. 50% of the

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workforce in Germany works this way. The rest are specialists,
casuals, or can be booked through temp agencies. Australia has
around 70% of laborers working full-time, according to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics.
A new order is being established and it is especially
predominant in the IT sector. The relationship between the
individual and the organization is the greatest challenge in the
changed business world. Lynda Gratton, professor of Management
Practice at London Business School has a beautiful analogy: “It’s
been sort of a child-parent relationship, where the employee was
the child and the organization was the parent. Over time and with
the new technologies, the relationship has shifted to an adult-to-
adult connection.” She believes that people will be able to choose
their own career and learning journeys.
The personal success of an individual depends on their
professional digital fame. The people in the talent cloud will post
their career success and skills instead of their favorite music track
or photos. The resulting CV will be a premise for future work
applications for companies utilizing the fluid model.
Businesses are rapidly realizing that a liquid workforce is
the new norm. Conventional methods simply fall short and are
unable to adapt to the changes in the digital world, and businesses
are now learning that their workforce is another aspect of their
business that can and should be a competitive advantage.

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Robotics - Artificial Intelligence - Cognitive Computing

“The best way to predict the future is to invest in it.”

— Alan Kay

The arrival of robots in today’s companies is an unstoppable

trend. According to Bill Gates, “robots will be as ubiquitous as
mobile phones are today in a few decades or even sooner.”
Google is heavily investing in advanced robotics and political
parties are increasingly putting robots on their agenda as well.
Harvard Business Review and the World Economic Forum have
requested urgent research into how the displaced worker will
acquire the necessary skills for new jobs.
Industrial robots have been at home in automotive plants since
the early 1960s, but in the past few years the inventions of more
sophisticated sensors have led to robots being increasingly used
in other fields, including healthcare, military and safety. 2011 saw
a total of 166,028 units of industrial robots sold and was reported
as the most successful year for industrial robotics by the “World
Robotics” report from the International Federation of Robotics. US
shipments of robots also grew by 43% (20,055 units) in 2011 up
from the previous year. The United States, Japan, China and
Germany are the top patrons for this aspect of tech innovation.
Advanced robots of the digital age are performing increasingly
complex and crucial roles. Robots are being adopted for
fabrication and logistics to perform progressively challenging
duties as they make their way into the office space. Advanced
robotics is one of the top most disruptive technologies in business

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today. Robots with advanced senses, physical capabilities and
intelligence can efficiently perform complex jobs—once thought
too delicate or uneconomical to automate—at optimal costs. These
technologies are playing a major roles in healthcare advancement,
as previously mentioned—robotics surgery is making surgeries
and medical procedures incomparably less invasive, while robotic
prosthetics is restoring functions in people with disabilities and the
elderly like never before.
A rapid adoption of robotics by a large number of companies in
recent times has washed up a new business term—Robotic
Process Automation (RPA). RPA as defined by IRPAAI (Institute
for Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence) is the
application of technology that allows the configuration of a
computer software or a “robot” to capture and interpret existing
applications for processing a transaction, manipulating data,
triggering responses, and communicating with other digital
systems. The manufacturing industry has been capitalizing on
robots to increase production rates and improve quality for a long
time. This new wave (RPA) is now reinventing business
administration and operational processes in numerous industries.
RPA dramatically improves accuracy and processing time, thus
drastically increasing productivity. 2
Consider the fact that a software robot costs a business
around one ninth of a full-time employee working in the UK or the
US, and one third of an employee working in offshore locations like

2 Institute for Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence

(IRPAI)

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India. This leads to the conclusion that RPA is a potential
competitor to business process outsourcing deals. RPA is set to
impact the global USD 300 billion worth BPO industry. It demands
for the reskilling of over 3 million people employed in BPO work in
India and another million in the Philippines, for example. RPA will
possibly effect every individuals’ job. Leaders in BPO like Wipro,
TCS and Infosys have started reshaping their BPO business
model which is focused on employing an increasing number of
people.
Adopting RPA as the core BPO capability can help the
BPO leaders to continue dominating the industry. However, many
of these leaders are not certain about the future of BPO and want
to follow the tested and trusted FTE-based models. These leaders
should understand that RPA is not a risk to their existing incomes.
Large well-known companies around the world are already
adopting robotics into their business models. Some of these
companies have found that robots are better than doing certain
jobs than their human counterparts. History was created by
SpaceX when its Dragon capsule docked on the International
Space Station. But the robotic triumph that was part of the ordeal
went largely unnoticed—Dragon is an autonomous vehicle and the
company wants to keep that way, even if it is approved to carry
passengers to and from the station.
A robotic process automation software created by Blue
Prism creates a digital workforce which follows rule-based
business processes and also interacts with the systems like
everyday users. The company is one of the most successful
among companies developing digital workforce models. The UK-

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based company has expanded its operations by setting up centers
in Bangalore in India and Sydney in Australia, and recently
announced setting up a new sales and support hub in Tokyo.
Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin have also used
robotic technology to enhance their product, such as flying robot
pilots for flying through unfriendly environments. Lockheed Martin
along with Kaman Corporation introduced the unmanned K-Max
chopper, which can deliver more than 2 million pounds of food,
gear and other items. It was deployed in 2011 to deliver supplies
to US Marines in Afghanistan.
Around 1.4 million new Industrial robots will be installed in
industries by 2019, according to data from the International
Federation of Robotics (IFR). At present, around 70% of industrial
robots work in the automotive, metal and machinery and
electrical/electronic industry sectors. However, the trends in
robotic industries are changing now as evident from a study of The
Robot Report’s global database of 752 robotics-related startup
companies. The report shows that only 25% of the startups are
focused on Industrial robotics while 75% of them are innovating in
new areas of robotics. 25% of these are innovating in unmanned
aerial, land and underwater robots for security, surveying, filming,
delivery, marketing, military operations, oil and gas industry, 6% in
agriculture, 7% in mobile robots as platforms, 3% in personal
service bots, 7% in professional service bots, 7% in medical,
surgical and rehabilitation robots, 7% in consumer products such
as home cleaning, security, 9% remote presence and
entertainment and 5% focus on the educational and hobby market.

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 A study published by ZEW in partnership with the
University of Utrecht confirms the positive impact of robotics on job
creation. The automation programs with robotics in the US had a
positive impact on employment creation and the same trend has
been observed in the automotive sector in Germany. The German
automotive sector saw a parallel growth in the number of
employees and robotic automation. The increase between 2010
and 2015 averaged at 2.5 percent—the working stock of industrial
robots showed a parallel increment averaging at 3% per annum.
Robots are changing the way we live and the way
businesses work in today’s environment in obvious ways. Robots
can do a lot of tasks better than humans can, but is a robot more
intelligent than its human counterpart? This is where artificial
intelligence clocks in. Like the term “robot” itself, artificial
intelligence is hard to unequivocally define, but here is a concise,
comprehensive and simple definition by How Stuff Works:
“Ultimate AI would be the recreation of human thought process - a
manmade machine with our intellectual abilities. This would
include the ability to use language and the ability to formulate
original ideas.” Roboticists have made a lot of progress with limited
AI, but they still need to approach the level of true AI.
Nevertheless, “everything invented in the past 150 years will be
reinvented using AI within the next 15 years,” maintains Randy
Dean, chief business officer at Sentient Technologies, giving a
poignant perspective on the influence of robotics and AI on human
lives. Randy Dean could utilize AI’s power at his San Francisco-
based company and disturb markets as diverse as healthcare,
retail, food and financial trading. “Because of AI we are beginning

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to see seismic advances in health, transport, banking and many
other domains,” he says. “Soon AI will be able to predict a heart
attack hours, or even days, before you feel it.”
In addition, Sentient is creating a joint venture which they
believe is the world’s first AI hedge fund. It makes use of
developing algorithms created by humans and optimized for
business by machines. They train their AI using their historical
market data to find signals that might otherwise take humans
thousands of years for to find. The readily-available high
connectivity and secured cloud platforms are complimenting AI’s
growth, and its large-scale processing power is one of the main
reasons it is becoming ever more relevant to today’s businesses.
The complicated execution of an AI problem is based on a
simple problem-solving concept. AI systems gather data from the
environment through multiple modes like sensors and manual
input before examining the data by comparing it with previously
stored information and suggesting the optimal course of action
based on the comparison. The learning capability and capacity of
robots is enhancing at a rapid pace. Some robots can interact
socially—Sophia, for instance, a humanoid robot created by Hong
Kong-based Hanson Robotics company. Sophia is designed to be
a sensible companion for the elderly at nursing homes or offer
assistance to crowds at large events or in public spaces. She has
enviable human interaction capabilities and became the first robot
that received citizenship when she officially because a citizenship
of Saudi Arabia in October 2017.
Advanced AI systems are now mastering self-improvement
and learning capabilities of humans, with these capabilities honing

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the ability of the systems to respond to specific situations. AI
platforms are rapidly automating business processes, from
capturing client information to serving as the consumer interaction
interface even. Although there are concerns about AI potentially
causing job and employment declines, AI should be used to
automate mundane tasks with the aim of saving up resources for
higher value work. The latest technological advancements like
machine learning, deep learning and cognitive computing are
complicated and expensive for many companies, but the early
advances of AI can fit the budget of most small- to mid-size
companies. AI can produce great results with very few technical
modifications, and less time and transformational cost than many
companies realize at that. Those who take these initial steps can
lead in the future as these will be a prerequisite for everything that
follows in AI and digital.
New age companies like Netflix are increasingly adopting
machine learning at their core to provide a more personal
experience to customers. These types of algorithms are
continually gathering consumer data to give improved suggestions
and help users make the most of their subscriptions. Using
information from diverse datasets is a common use of AI. Under
Armour is using IBM’s crowd wisdom platform IBM Watson to
provide personalized training and lifestyle advice. Crowdsourcing
will potentially become an even bigger industry as further
advances in AI lead to the need for human guiding hands to adjust
datasets.
Amelia, a new artificial intelligence system, was introduced
by SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken) in 2016 to become a

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part of their consumer support team. It was tested through over
4,000 conversations with 700 employees during a three-week
period, acting as a part of the bank’s internal IT support team.
“Amelia solved the majority of issues without delay,” says Rasmus
Järborg, SEB's chief strategy officer. “Customer service is a key
differentiator in the competition for customers. Amelia will be an
additional way for us to increase accessibility for our customers
and make our service even more individualized.” AI is also taking
over the website design industry by storm, capitalizing on image
recognition and typography selection in order to automate the
website designing process.
Based on its direct revenue sources, the global AI market
size was valued at USD 641.9 million and at USD 5.97 billion
based on enabled revenue and AI-based gross value addition. The
direct revenue source market size is expected to grow to USD 35
billion by 2025. Artificial Intelligence is a promising sector for
companies to invest in and has an immense market growth
potential. According to Accenture PLC’s global study, more than
1,000 large companies globally are already using or testing AI
machine learning systems. The emergence of AI is not
necessarily replacing humans in job positions but is creating
completely new categories that require skills and training without
having precedents. Machine learning and AI were adopted early
by leading high-tech, telecom and financial services companies.
Netflix has achieved impressive results by adopting AI—its survey
shows that it has been managing to avoid cancellations of
subscriptions, which would decrease their revenue by USD 1
billion per annum, by providing better search results.

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 An integral part of AI is cognitive computing, used by AI
functions. It incorporates self-learning systems which use data
mining, natural language processing and pattern recognition to
imitate how the human brain functions. Cognitive computing can
create automated IT systems that can solve problems without
requiring human assistance.
There have been great opportunities in adopting aritificial
intelligence,its effects on business and society. Chef, travel agent,
fitness trainer, investment advisor, personal assistant and personal
shopper roles have been replicated by the first generation of
cognitive computing. With the potential to impact and assist
humans in their professional and personal lives both, AI’s market
opportunity seems limitless. Its potential could equal the one that
was seen at the onset of the commercial web in the mid-1990s.
“Cognitive systems have the potential to radically redefine
everyday life, changing how companies deliver products and
services, engage and interact with customers, learn and make
decisions,” writes Forbes. These systems are being used by
governments and many industries, including automotive, medical,
hospitality, government, media, manufacturing, travel, engineering,
law and pharmaceutical organizations.
Continuous availability of data on business processes is
essential in this data-driven era of cognitive computing, and it is
achievable through the application of advanced analytics and
automation to predict potential issues. When cognitive computing
systems learn a domain, they build up additional knowledge over
time and continuously get better and smarter. Their learning
process primarily includes language, parlance, processes and

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interacting methods. Cognitive computing systems have the ability
to process natural language and unconstructed data, unlike
systems of the past that required rules to be hard-coded by a
human expert.
IBM is building tech capabilities that can help clients
transform from one with a reactive to one with a predictive
business model, which aims to predict and avoid disaster before it
occurs. IBM started its Watson research project to build a
computer system that can learn on its own and can think like a
human. Watson competed in and won a high profile Jeopardy
contest in 2011. It combined natural language processing,
machine learning and knowledge representation in a way that no
other systems had in the past. Watson processed the questions,
scanned its database for information, developed hypotheses,
analyzed the potential outcomes and produced answers that were
also in natural language form. IBM implemented Watson for many
cross-industry domains like financial services and healthcare over
the past few years.
The impact of Watson has been huge in the business
world. IBM is joining up with the Government of the United States
to bring Watson technology into America’s healthcare network and
its largest hospitals. The US Department of Veterans Affairs
hospital is installing Watson to help soldiers get the best-suited
cancer medicine by providing genomic analyses through cross-
referencing DNA sequencing data.
Many cognitive computing startups are creating a sales
pipeline for companies through industry-specific apps. The
industries that generate high volumes of unstructured and

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structured data are best suited to benefit from cognitive computing.
These include retail, healthcare, energy and financial services.
IBM has risen to the top of the game as the pioneer of
cognitive computing. Four large consultancies are currently
catching up to accelerate the creation of the cognitive ecosystem.
Companies like Accenture and Deloitte are already investing more
and more resources in cognitive computing and companies are
setting up client innovation labs to innovate and develop cognitive
systems for clients in no time.

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Digital Industrialization-Internet of Things (IoT)

“Industrial companies are in the information business whether they

want to be or not.”
- Jeff Immelt

Internet of things or IoT for short is the trending topic of

conversation both in the workplace and outside of it. “It’s a concept
that not only has the potential to impact how we live but also how
we work. This is the concept of basically connecting any device
with an on and off switch to the internet (and/or to each other).” -
Forbes.
Everything from our phones, coffee makers, washing
machines, televisions, wearable devices and almost anything else
one can think of can be connected to internet. Components of
machines, for example a tool holder of a welding machine or the
drill of an oil rig can also be included. Any device can be a part of
IoT if it has a switch or controller. By 2020 there will be over 26
billion connected devices. Some estimates even put this number at
over 100 billion. This relationship will be between people-people,
people-things, and things-things.
As the cost of connecting is reducing due to cheap and
widely available internet, many devices are getting created with
built-in sensors and Wi-Fi capability. All of these things are
creating a huge opportunity for the IoT.
More connected devices mean the businesses get greater
intelligence about their operations and hence the ability to improve
their efficiency and effectiveness. “An intelligent system is

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transformative. For an efficient inventory control mechanism point-
of-sale scanners are connected to warehouse systems and
analytics software at headquarters for industry. Robots on a
factory floor send production and maintenance information directly
to those who need it, for unparalleled reliability and uptime.In each
case, new insights are generated that drive the organization’s
objectives forward on many levels.” - Microsoft report on IoT.
Cybersecurity is the drawback of this excessively
connected world. The opponents threat of hacking, by stealing
valuable and sensitive information is greater, as the data collected
online is more. An article on TechRadar focused on how small and
mid-sized businesses will have to consider securing their data
collection methods, the article states - “Connected devices are
considered vulnerable to hacking because many of them use the
Linux operating system - which isn’t patched in the same way as
licensed services such as Windows. Therefore, firms must
approach IoT in the same way they do all IT systems, by updating
them regularly and using identity management and authentication.”
Even with the security risks, the IoT will allow companies to
make smarter products. Earlier phones were only used to make
phone calls. User expectations from these devices have increased
a lot. Having a smart tennis racket, smart yoga mat, or internet
enabled frying pan might seem strange but these are the forays
into the world of IoT.
It is not only smarter products, but companies can also
engage in smarter business operations and make smarter
decisions. Everything from yogurt cups to the cement in bridges
can be attached with IoT sensors to record and send data back

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into the cloud. Collection of specific feedback from this can help
one know on how products or equipment are used, when they
break, and also provides insights about what people demand for
future.
For example, in Rolls Royce aircraft engines the IoT
sensors sends real-time data on functionality of engine to the
monitoring ground stations, which can be used to detect any fault
before it develops a catastrophic failure. To eliminate the least
popular features from its products and focus on enhancing more
popular features, Microsoft uses software that constantly collects
data on what features are being used the least.
For some business, possibility of a change in business
model can also be sensed by IoT. Take John Deere, for example;
for decades, they have sold the tractors that have made farming
scale-up with more profit. In 2012, the farmers were given
information about the best suited time and method to plow, and the
best route to take while plowing by addition of data connectivity to
their devices. They are also into the business of selling data as
much as they are in to the business of selling tractors.
It appears as a crucial change in the manner we see the
world. There comes a day where we won’t be able to imagine
going back to a world which does not have smart cars, smart
roads, smart infrastructure, in the same way where we can’t
imagine using a phone which is just a phone. The new rule for the
future is going to be “anything that can be connected will be
connected.”
Conversations about how IoT is going to impact all our
lives, is taking place all over the world. Analysts are also trying to

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understand what may be the opportunities and challenges that
would occur when many devices are connected through IoT. As of
now, educating ourselves about IoT and its possible impacts on
how we work and live is the best thing we can do. In other words:
The Internet of Things is changing everything around personal
lives and businesses, every business needs to align its effort to
benefit from IoT.
The Internet of Things is attaining importance in many
industries. As an example, to monitor the energy grid and other
supply networks for efficiency, and to troubleshoot problems that
could shut down operations, utility companies are utilizing this
technology. Manufacturers are using IoT to create networks that
monitor processes for safety and efficiency and help refining
process control. In medical industry, in healthcare IoT is enabling
remote patient monitoring and emergency care. It can also be
utilized in planning the construction of commercial and residential
buildings, safety at site, automating processes like inventory
management, creating modules that are manufactured in a plant
and then assembled into a complete structure at the location by
the builders.
Mining companies are using IoT capabilities to connect the
latest technology advances and development of virtually
everything associated with the operation. Products like vehicles,
heavy mining equipment, and even the sonar used to assess the
potential of a drilling site which were considered as standalone
elements, can all integrate and work together using the IoT. This
seamless experience means more data and less guesswork.The
technology allowing driverless truck in the mining process is

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employed by companies like Rio Tinto. The same company is also
experimenting with Autonomous Drilling Systems that can operate
without direct intervention by humans. BHP Billiton is also running
driverless trucks at some sites.
IDG in a partnership with Intel surveyed 200 IT leaders on
the subject of IoT. The outcome of the survey was that IoT is
becoming the area of interest to IT leaders, with the majority of
respondents defining it as the ‘the biggest revolution in business
computing for decades.’ However, what the survey also found was
that there is a perception that only a handful of sectors will benefit
from IoT technologies. Respondents felt that the top four industry
sectors that will gain from the Internet of Things, in terms of
efficiency and innovation, are: technology, consumer electronics,
energy and automotive.
One such example is the number of successful IoT -
equipped Smart Buildings that are being built. Intel, Tatung and
Elitegroup Computer Systems are working together on such a
project, focused on creating smart technology which will enable
them to save energy for businesses. The IOTIOT solution uses an
IoT gateway, integrated with an I/O board that provides a smart
connection between energy management systems and other
commercial building devices. The first step verification phase
produced “excellent” performance from a smart, energy-saving
conference room. The next stage uses the technology to address
an entire smart building, targeting a 30% improvement in building
energy efficiency.
In manufacturing, Intel and Mitsubishi Electric are working
together to create advanced factory automation systems that use

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end-to-end IoT connectivity and big data. Mitsubishi’s Intel Atom-
based gateway, enables securely gather and aggregate data for
the analytics servers. Data is then processed using software from
Revolution Analytics, hosted on Cloudera Enterprise, the
foundation of an enterprise data hub. The pilot resulted in
improved equipment uptime, and increased yield and productivity.
In addition, Intel gained the ability to conduct predictive
maintenance, with reduced component failure, and optimized
inventory of tooling and human resources. With the help of this IoT
based solution, Intel realized USD 9 million in savings through cost
avoidance and improved decision making.
There are many examples of industrial uses of IoT
technology, but agriculture is often one not immediately thought of.
Abbaco Controls in Malaysia is using IoT technology to create
efficiencies through the remote control of water levels in its paddy
fields. The solution features real-time sensor networking and data
transmission, which provides accurate and real time status of
water levels, and water flow both in and out of the fields. This
enables users to monitor them, and respond quickly and remotely
via smart mobile devices. This has drastically reduced the lead
time to farmers’ requests, minimized manual intervention, and
ultimately, increased operational and farmer efficiency. Data
analytics and reporting at the back end has led to further
efficiencies. Abbaco controls IoT system is the first water irrigation
automation project in Malaysia’s paddy fields.
In retail, coffee company Costa used connected retail
kiosks to improve profitability at its self-serve espresso bars. Its
innovative coffee kiosk, the Costa Express CEM-200, uses bright

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and colorful high-definition touch screen displays, cashless
payment, telemetry, near field communications and digital signage.
Behind the scenes, the station utilizes Anonymous Viewer
Analytics - part of the Intel Audience Impression Metrics Suite -
which gives retailers a better understanding of their customers and
their purchases. This enables them to optimize their product mix
by location and customer type, charge premium prices and
up/cross sell, and share information with the buyer. Costa found
that the stations have the ability to increase their sales per
transaction because the touchscreen interface and cashless
payment make it easier for customers to buy more items, thereby
boost sales.
Even wearables are using IoT to improve its service. Of all
the IoT startups, wearables maker Jawbone is probably the one
with the biggest funding today. It stands at more than one and half
billion dollars. Wearable technology is a hallmark of the IoT and
the most ubiquitous of its implementations to date. The efficiency
of data processing achieved by various wearables such as smart
wrist wear, hearables, and smart glasses is removing the inert
skepticism among the public and is getting closer to where we will
be able to bring exceptional value to our lives.
Growth rate of IoT market is expected to increase from
USD 170.57 billion in 2017 to USD 561.04 billion by 2022, at a
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.9%. Industrial
internet, connected homes, transportation, connected cities,
healthcare, wearable technology, and oil and gas are the early
adopters of IoT technology. At present connected homes is the
biggest market segment in Internet of Things market. The

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connected homes market size (Lighting Control, Security & Access
Control, HVAC, Entertainment, Home Healthcare, Smart Kitchen
and Home Appliances) is expected to grow to USD 137.91 billion
by 2023. From the jobs report in December 2014, IoT created
252,000 US Jobs in the same month, and the unemployment rate
dropped to 5.6%, this shows that IoT increases job opportunity
both in private and public sector. IoT job creation will contribute an
additional 14 Trillion to the gross domestic products of 20 largest
economies of world by 2030. IoT will also open the doors for more
corporate training sessions, creating an additional set of jobs – IoT
trainers, IT personnel, IoT specific engineers and the creation of
entire vendors which are focused on improving IoTThis IoT wave
is an open opportunity for semiconductor companies who can add
innovation to original device manufacturing companies and others
that are building Internet of Things products and applications. They
play an important role in the development of the market.
There is no doubt that IoT is changing the way business is
done. But, by far one of the biggest impacts it has had, is in the
transportation industry. According to Andreas Mai, Director of
Smart Connected Vehicles for Cisco Systems, The Internet of
Things (IoT) is set to create $700 billion in benefit for personal
transportation alone. The benefits, to the tune of $1,400 per
connected car, per year. That breaks down into lower costs for
drivers through lower insurance rates, lower operation costs and
less time stuck in traffic which increases productivity. The benefits
to society are increased safety – 80 percent of crashes can be
affected by vehicle-to-vehicle communication alone. There’s CO2
reduction and decreased congestion as connectivity helps

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increase lane capacity and intersection throughput, lower
infrastructure costs from knowing when and where to send trucks
out for ice prevention, fixing potholes, and more.
The connected car has also spawned a whole new set of
service providers to create helpful services through connectivity –
“like parking spot locator services, more accurate, real-time traffic
information, and location-based services that create value. In the
coming days urban transportation will become autonomous,
electric and on-demand. This is the future of mobility and
companies like Tesla, Uber and Google are already working on it.
Navigant Research believes that on-demand shared
transportation services will merge to the vehicle technological
trends of electrification, wireless connectivity, and autonomous
driving capability which creates a low carbon transportation system
for cities over the next 25 years. This merging is already
happening. The major constituent of technology for upcoming days
is the wireless connectivity, which leads to transformation of
personal transportation to mobility as a service. Navigant
Research forecasts that by 2025, more than 1.2 billion vehicles
globally will be connected to their surrounding and other vehicles.
Safety alerts, traffic notifications are provided by IoT systems, it
also supports semi-autonomous driving features in advanced
systems.
Electric vehicles are an increasingly popular choice in car
sharing plans in cities. Usage of electric vehicles are supported by
city officials to control pollution in congested cities. For instance,
officials in London pushed hard to bring the city an electric car

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sharing scheme similar to the successful Autolib service in Paris;
the new service opened in spring 2016.
Combining IoT with blockchain or BIoT - ushers in a whole
host of new services and businesses. For example, BIoT can be
used to track shipments of pharmaceuticals and to create smart
cities in which connected heating systems better controls energy
use and connected traffic lights better manage rush hour. 3
The emergence of the IoT constitutes a disruptive
environment, characterized by value chains and business model
transformation and a “collaborate or die” ecosystem fiction reality.
The IoT is a wider area which is not dependent on only one
product or project. The thought of connected sensors and smart
devices which decide on their own without user input will continue
to flourish, without depending on the fall or growth of smart
appliances. The IoT depends on increased machine to machine
communication based on cloud computing and sensor networks
which collects data; it’s mobile, virtual, and instantaneous
connection; and it is said to make everything from streetlights to
seaports in our lives “smart”.

3 Fortune , Technology Trends in 2018, an article

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Cyber Security

“Hackers have already breached Internet-connected camera

systems, smart TVs, and even baby monitors.”
- New York Times.

Information assault, phishing, information breach and

computer viruses influence lives in ways that extend from
disturbing to life-threatening. The chances for data exploitation
increases due to increase in digital applications, network and
number of mobile users. “Cybersecurity, also referred to as
information technology security, focuses on protecting computers,
networks, programs and data from unintended or unauthorized
access, change or destruction.” - The University of Maryland.

Hospitals, corporations, financial institutions, governments,

military and many more businesses gather, process and store
large confidential data on computers and send data to other
computers across various networks. There is a necessity for
installation of powerful cyber defence system to safeguard
sensitive personal and business information from increasing cyber-
attacks. The United States’ government’s intelligence officials
cautioned that the national security is threatened by the top digital
spying and cyber-attacks in a Senate hearing in March 2013.

The cyber risks are of three types. Foremost is the cyber-

crime: carried out by the person or an organized group with an
intention of causing a disturbance, stealing data or extracting

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money. Impairing of operations of a website or acquiring of
intellectual property or credit/debit card, all comes under cyber-
crime. Second is a cyber-war. This happens when a nation carries
disruption and surveillance against another country in the intention
of extracting data or causing a disturbance. Finally comes the
cyber terror. The organization planning terrorist activities in a
nation-state through the medium of cyberspace.

There is no measure to check the cyberspace and there is

an increase in cybercrime and it is considered cheap to commit.
The Fortinet 2013 Cybercrime Report found that an effective
botnet - a network of private computers infected with malicious
software and controlled without owners’ knowledge - can be
established for as little as USD 700, or can be rented for just USD
535 per week. The hacking software with total support services
can be purchased off the shelf. In parallel to the revolution in
technology, the cybercrime world never quit inventing. The never-
ending list of bugs, threats and viruses is published by Microsoft
every year.

Generally called as malware, cyber criminals use number

of ways of attacks that are available from a remote place. As of
such is a virus which obtains access to targeted computer in the
intention of stealing information, files and to corrupt data. Other
malware can include worms (exploit weaknesses in operating
systems), spyware (try to take control of the computer and collect
personal information), and Trojans (they try to create a ‘backdoor’
on a computer by which information can be stolen).

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 The attack vector is a path by which a hacker gain path to
a computer or network; a number of such attack vectors are
available to cyber criminals. These include phishing (an attempt to
acquire users’ information by masquerading as a legitimate entity),
pharming (an attack to redirect a website’s traffic to a different
website), drive by (opportunistic attacks against specific
weaknesses within a system), and social engineering (exploiting
weaknesses of the individual by making them click malicious
links).

The internet once considered as a safe place is a myth

now. Malware is found in all the junctions of the internet and is
intended to grow. There is a chance of affecting the computer by
simply opening a mail or navigating to a website. Transforming
itself into content, code, scripts and genuine software, malware
gains access to the computer. Pranksters and malicious hackers
are creating thousands of malicious applications for a variety of
purposes.

Many hackers design malware with the goal of making

money. To obtain access to the computer, some malware fake
antivirus applications and mask as a real application. The pop-up
generated by the fake antivirus software tells the user that the
system can be kept safe from getting infected by purchasing their
fake software products. These programs can make it onto a
computer for various reasons. It could be installing something one
should not have, from an untrustworthy source. Usually, these are

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toolbars, torrents, or screensavers that are not scanned for
viruses.

Different type of malware uses different methods to infect

computers depending on types of malware. For instance, spyware,
Trojan and viruses affect the system upon installation. The
presence of malware in the infected program can occur due to
downloading from the removable media or internet. When the user
visits a website that is being infected, can infect the computer by
being downloaded through a web browser. The worms tend to be
dangerous as they have the ability to access any system without a
user interface. The software can be programmed by the hacker so
that it scans for the vulnerable system on the internet. The main
symptom of malware infection is the system becoming unstable.
The system may reboot, crash or process slowly without any
relevant explanation. Due to the search of other computers online,
the worm may cause the slow-down of internet connection which is
the sign of a system being attacked by the worm. However, some
complicated malware has symptoms which are almost impossible
to detect. Malware can be programmed to send the text log being
typed on the keyboard to the hacker. The text log can then be
scanned for the password to gain access to bank accounts or
personal email.

Being unaffected is the only way to defend against the

malware. The only solution to the infected computer is the antivirus
software. A complete antivirus solution can detect a different kind
of malware infections and is capable of deleting all such malware.

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In a certain scenario, reinstalling the OS is the only solution to
remove the malware.

There is a revolutionary change in the cyber-security

industry. According to advanced analysis, around 230,000 new
samples per day is being launched than ever before. Typically to
contradict cybersecurity attacks more resources are being
deployed. The evaluated yearly cost has added up to 100 billion
dollars for cybercrime committed worldwide. The banks, wealthy
celebrities or corporations are not only the target of the hackers.
Individual users are also targets. As long as one is connected to
the internet, he can be a victim of cyber-attacks.

In the cybercriminals list, it is reported that nineteen

individuals are responsible for the consumer losses of about USD
350,000 to more than USD 100 million. These criminals are from
all around the world and rewards are offered for their capture. For
instance, Jabberzeus subjects being the FBI’s most wanted
criminals, are engaged in the wide-extending racketeering venture
that installed malicious software without authorization called as
Zeus on the host systems. This kind of financial malware was
employed to gain access to accounts of online banking by
obtaining a personal ID number, bank account numbers, and other
personal data. Zeus and one of its Trojans called GameOver Zeus,
infected as many as 1.2 million computers and caused more than
USD 100 million in damages.

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 The most expensive computer virus of all times caused
damage worth USD 38.5 billion and this virus has a very apt name.
MyDoom. This became the most accelerated email worm in
January 2014 and crossed all previous records. The creator of this
virus was not found though it was able to find the origin to be in
Russia. This worm was primarily camouflaged as spam
transmitted by email. Without any sign the world would re-send
itself to each address it could find by when the user negligently
opens the attachment in the email. The payload of the genuine
version performed two things: it led a-way into host computer,
allowing it to control from a remote place, adding to that, carrying
DDoS attack (direct denial of service) against SCO association’s
website.
There are around 4.02 billion internet users and about
3.19 billion social media users all around the world according to
2018 study. 4 In order to stay connected with the family and friends
and to spend time, social networking is widely used. This certainly
attracts cyber hackers towards social media. The one using the
social media a lot are most likely to check for the links that are
posted by friends which serve as an advantage to hackers. Cyber-
attacks in the social arena include things like “Like-jacking”, where
criminals post fake Facebook “like” buttons to web pages, which
installs malware when clicked on, and Phishing, where there is an
attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames,
passwords, and credit card details by disguising itself as a
trustworthy entity in a Facebook message or Tweet. Because

4 GlobalWebIndex, GSMA Intelligence, Statista, Locowise, Similarweb

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social media users trust their circles of online friends, the result is
more than 600,000 Facebook accounts being compromised every
single day. The victim of cyber-attacks are increasing. One out of
every 10 individuals is reported to be the victim of cyber-attack.
Commodities such as Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Reader
and Oracle Java are present in most of the computers. This shows
that 99% of users are exposed to attacks. This software provides
crucial vulnerabilities - just a click on the advertising banner that is
being infected to provide complete control to the hacker over the
system. In large part of the attacks, Adobe Flash is mainly targeted
due to its highly vulnerable nature. The attackers have ability to
crash any system due to the security dent in Flash with several
CryptoLocker alternatives or CRB Locker and Teslacrypt. The
increasing use of automation and rise in misuse kits as a benefit
have driven to a forceful and advanced attacks. An individual can
be open to range of cyber-attack even if the system and browsers
and protected carefully.
The chances of stealing the secure corporate information
by the employees who are fired from the organization are about
59%. Indeed, there should be protection against the insider
threats. The malware present internally, though considered to be
less frequent, have the ability to affect the system at their access
level. The risk faced by authoritative head with special identities
are high. “Data breaches that result from malicious attacks are
most costly” as stated by Ponemon Institute. The misused insiders
can be deceived by external agents to provide passwords or data.
The accidental modification and deletion of crucial information may
happen by careless insiders by pressing the wrong key. “Almost

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half of the European organizations believe that insider threats are
now more difficult to detect, with senior IT managers being very
worried about the things their own users can do with corporate
data.” - Andrew Kellet, Principal analyst at Ovum.
The cyber-attack by psychological manipulation is common
as people tend to fall for the psychological manipulations, in turn,
becoming the prey for the hackers. This control people in revealing
the secret information. It is a kind of play for gatherin information,
gaining access to the system and fraud. Trojan Horse is the first
one of this kind of attacks in the history. In the attacks of recent
time, an Eastern Europe based international cyber-crime ring was
able to loot USD 1 billion from different banks in a span of 2 years,
in about 30 different nations by the use of spear phishing e-mails
which targeted employees of the bank resulting in the 91% of
attacks.

The malware is being employed as the digital weapon by

worldwide governments in spying programs. Over a handful of
malware have been discovered in the past few years, but their
origins have yet to receive full attribution. Apart from private
associations and civilians getting into collateral harm, there are
other serious results. Some important points on how the
governments are making us helpless to cyber-attacks are
mentioned in the article by Dark Reading. The malware
accelerators by the government are the main results for the
progression of criminal malware. Cybercriminals are benefiting
from this government malware by doing reverse engineering and
using a technical approach of this malware to create their own

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malware. The zero-day defenceless black market is also being
protected by the governments. This has made the auctions a
common thing. Instead of exposing the intelligence related to the
vulnerabilities, as per the cybersecurity industry norms,
governments are buying and empowering them. In the intention of
ensuring security and transparency against terrorists and
cybercriminals, the right of every individual to encrypt the secret
information is being limited by the governments all over the world.

Cybercrime is also causing problems across organizations

globally. According to research, it takes 170 days on an average to
detect the criminal attacks or malware. This is the reason it is
becoming more difficult to identify cyber-attacks and finding
solutions to the security issues created by them. Besides, all
industry is insecure to a lower or higher level. The investigation
report as per the Ponemon Institute showed that the average
annual cost spent by the U.S. organizations for the cyber-crime
was USD 12.7 million, which was increased to 96% from the time
of research that started in 2009. This resulted in the increase of
cyber-attacks by 176%, on an average of 138 attacks being
successful per week which was only about 50 per week since the
survey took place in 2010.

America witnessed the era of a considerable rift when

Target Corp misplaced credit card numbers of around 40 million to
hackers of Russia in late 2013. So far Adobe Systems, J.P.
Morgan Chase, Anthem, Home Depot and eBay, to name just a
few who fell prey. The threat is not laying back but serves to be

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beneficial for those behind this. Instead, the individuals behind the
computer security think that this profusion of titles doesn’t have to
be modern. In addition to that, the proposals have nothing to do
with the spy grade innovation, turning cyberspace to a war zone or
unplugging from the internet.

Maybe a part of it has to do with cyber hygiene. It

incorporates things like routine audits of the system, software
updates, ensuring supplier stick to the strict security standards but
most companies end up doing boring things. So there was a
survey of former spooks, companies, government officials in an
exertion to distinguish simple things that could make a contrast,
but many companies still haven’t attempted or are executing
exceptionally slow.

One of the three hacking instrument found by Hewlett-

Packard security researcher’s on discovering a fault in Microsoft’s
Windows in 2014. The solution was issued long before, which
ought to have secured the split in the digital security. This focuses
on the major problems that won’t go away in computer security:
many individuals won’t upgrade their software. This makes the
primitive hackers to target these individuals by obtaining tricks
from the earlier year’s breach. “With patches, you don’t stop most
of these attacks.” - Alan Palmer, Research Director at SANS
Institute.

Computer codes surely have faults and are complex. If the

flaw is found by the company, they offer the solution and show

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how the flaw could be used for ill. In no matter of time, the hackers
will be able to find out what the solution tend to cover. It then leads
to the competition between consumers and hackers to update their
software.

According to a survey by Ericsson in 2014, there are

around five machines connected to the internet on an average in
an American home. This is multiplied exponentially when we get to
talk about businesses. Most of the large farms don’t keep track of
a number of systems they own, and the systems that are online.
This result in computers being online tempting the hackers to
target them.

Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2018 portrays

53,000+ security incidents, 2200+ data breaches in 65 countries
by 67 contributors. Cybercriminals are still finding success with the
same tried and tested techniques, and their victims are still making
the same mistakes. Most cybercriminals are motivated by cold,
hard cash. If there’s some way they can make money out of you,
they will. That could mean stealing payment card data, personally
identifiable information or your intellectual property. And they don’t
care who they take it from. Ignore the stereotype of sophisticated
cybercriminals targeting billion-dollar businesses. Most attacks are
opportunistic and target not the wealthy or famous, but the
unprepared. 76% of breaches are financially motivated. Almost

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three-quarters (73%) of cyber-attacks are perpetrated by outsiders
and over a quarter (28%) of attacks involved insiders. 5
There is an increase in issues as organizations acquire
more machines and build large networks. The security issues will
not be understood by some individuals who attach machine to
corporate networks. A lot of machines will have administrative
passwords as default that is available online and some
organizations do not configure anti-hacker tools to watch traffic
going in and out in some devices.

The chief executive of Heartland Payment Systems,

Robert Carr, has been telling individuals to encrypt more of their
information. The thought that hackers won’t be able to do anything
if the encryption of card numbers is done from the moment they
enter retail computers, “Clients can hire all the new computer
security talent they want, but they cannot rely on people. They can
only rely on technology.” - Avivah Litan.

The issue is that the individuals are tuning in. A report of

298 breaches by the companies in 2012 and 2013 is evidenced.
The 2010 report by state attorney general showed - among 83
cases, the information lost, misdirected or stolen was not
encrypted which affected 2.6 million inhabitants. The reason
behind which the companies are not considering this is that it
slows down the process, encrypting and decrypting the data each

5 Verizon, Data Breach Investigations Report 2018

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time if someone wants to read. It also certainly cause compatibility
issues when information is passed on from one organization to
another. The encryption for around 2200 Canadian and U.S.
stores was purchased by Home Depot for USD 7 million the
previous year.

There is an interesting notion out there, which has

proposed getting rid of passwords altogether. Users hate them.
Hackers love them. Security staffs dread them. According to
Verizon, a quarter of the data breaches analyzed could have been
stopped if the victimized company, if it had required more than a
password to enter its network. The hackers aimed to target huge
caches of passwords at organizations in the last two years. This is
because the hackers found out that individuals tend to use the
same email address and passwords for different accounts- from
banking to social media.

The loss of users’ credentials of over 33 million by Adobe,

other social media like Diapers.com and Facebook made the users
to choose new passwords and usernames. There was a possibility
of decrypting the Adobe passwords by the security staffs which
were encrypted and assumed that hackers can do the same. The
issues are that the access was possible through any computer and
the passwords being easy. But in the past few years, Facebook
and Google have taken a stab at killing the password.

Nowadays vast organizations which have a lot of delicate

information are becoming knowledgeable about the dangers of

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hacking. The topic which once consigned to IT people, computer
security, is being spoken by the client-centered public companies
like Tyson foods and Kellogg’s. But the smaller companies that
work for those companies often get the same access to their
computers- may not treat the issues with the same severity. The
information breaches from one-fifth to two-thirds is due to the
hackers clutching to a third party or the vendor.

Regardless of where a business entity sits, data protection

is imperative. The probability of data breach can’t be guaranteed
by investing in security, instead, the organizations should have the
capability to detect, remediate, contain and prevent data breaches
which may tend to bring the occurrence of the data breach to
almost zero.

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Fintech: Unbundling Banking and Finance

“Banking is necessary. Banks are not.”

- Bill Gates

Like every other industry, traditional banks are under attack from a
number of emerging specialist startups i.e. Fintechs.
Fintech players are focusing on improving specific parts of
traditional universal banking models that involve broad product
portfolio in commercial, retail, transaction banking, wealth
management, investment management, insurance etc. The new
age fintech startups are designing, developing and implementing
scalable solutions, that are better, cheaper and faster than what
the banks currently offer.
Today’s fintech companies are innovating by focusing on
the limitations of traditional banking processes. They are
leveraging technologies like mobile applications, cloud technology,
crypto technology, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to
enhance convenience, user experience and address the
functionality gaps, which are difficult to bridge using traditional
models. These technologies are enabling fintech startups to
assess a specific part of banking and provide a superior
alternative. The investment in fintech market worldwide grew from
USD 4 billion in 2013 to USD 17.4 billion in 2016. This is clear
evidence of the rapid innovation in financial services.
The wide range of solutions offered by these new fintech
startups are improving the financial processes and offerings, once
controlled by banks. A single new tech startup is definitely not a

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major problem for a giant traditional bank, but the threat lies in the
number of such tech startups. The number of such fintech startups
is now big and they are starting to take a large share of the market
from the banks.
These highly specialized startups are taking advantage of
the fact that no bank can be good at everything, everywhere and
for everyone. In every single service that a bank provides, there
are a number of fintech players, trying to take the business away.
Battling for business with their traditional competitor banks, has
long been a part of the game for the banking sector. However, the
scenario is increasingly more intense now, with all parts of the
value chain being under threat, resulting in new evolving rules of
the game.
A recent survey of 2450 millennials from United States and
Canada revealed that 67% of them are open to using non-financial
services brand; while 46% say they don’t plan to stay with their
current financial services company. In the past, customers had to
rely on a big bank for all their financial service’s needs - checking
accounts, loans, insurance and wealth management. Here comes
fintech startups like Venmo, Acorns, Robinhood and others which
gives control of distinct aspects of their finances to clients. These
startups are also removing the friction of engaging transactions
and lowering the transaction costs. Transferring money, paying
bills and managing investments is now very simple and can be
done with few taps on a smartphone. The barriers that new
startups will face to enter the market has been significantly
lowered after the first phase of unbundling. By the time new
participants will rise in the market, a huge number of potential

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clients would have already swung to a non-bank technology
company for their finance and banking needs. Fintech service will
be considered as an elective, even by those clients who don’t use
them right now. A drastic shift in their own behavior is expected by
the clients over the next few years.
According to a global survey conducted by TransferWise in
2015, 68% of people had never used a technology provider for
financial services, such as in-store payments, international money
transfers, lending, wealth management or property investments. In
the next five years, more than half the consumers expect to use a
technology provider for at least one financial service. A third,
expect to use a technology provider for 50% or more of their
financial needs. Among early adopters, that number more than
doubles, with 85% expecting to use a technology provider for 50%
or more of their financial needs.
The survey indicated that on an average the early adopters
are two times more likely to consider a technology company for
any given product and three times more likely for investment
management. Financial decisions like insurance and mortgages,
are the least likely activities, where technology providers will be
preferred. Looking ahead to a ten year timeframe, the picture
changes even more dramatically, 20% of consumers anticipate
they will trust technology providers with financial services across
the board from credit cards to mortgages.
People are ready and willing to consider fintech
alternatives. 73% of consumers say that they would consider using
technology providers for services that they usually use their bank
for. It is common assumption that concerns about the security of

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non-bank providers have been a barrier in the uptake of fintech.
However, there was little differentiation in the research between
the views of early adopters and general consumers on this matter.
54% of early adopters- compared to 52% of general consumers-
consider technology providers as or more secure than banks and
around a third (32% of early adopters and 33% of general
consumers) consider them less secure. As people have started
trusting tech companies like Google, Apple, Facebook and
Amazon eventually they will start trusting startups also. If security
is of equal concern to early adopters and mainstream alike, what is
the differentiation? For 62% of early adopters, cost is the primary
motivation for using technology providers rather than banks. The
services that were first to be disrupted were those where the
consumers are getting the rawest deals - the money saved
becomes then the reason for switching. 6If security is of equal
concern to early adopters and mainstream alike, what is the
differentiation? For 62% of early adopters, cost is the primary
motivation for using technology providers rather than banks. The
services that were first to be disrupted were those where the
consumers are getting the rawest deals - the money saved
becomes then the reason for switching.
Banking consumers use multiple services from a single
provider but that is not what technology providers are offering
currently. There is a tech solution that can meet multi services
need of customers. The potential for the smart phone to act as the

6 TranferWire – Future of Finance, an article

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single gateway to multiple services is real. The interaction between
different apps can allow the phone to take the place of bank.
Advantage of fintech is that – it gives controls in the hands of their
clients and also clients don’t need to place their whole finance into
the hands of a single company/bank. Eliminating the banks seems
to be the aim of companies like Moven and Simple. This will be
achieved by providing banking without any fees. Clients’ account
comes with debit card that can be used at thousands of ATMs, and
includes budgeting tools and money transfer capabilities. When
BBVA (Madrid based bank) acquired Simple for USD 117 million, it
had just 100,000 users. BankMobile is an example for a new
participant in the fintech industry, having intentions of targeting
millennials with their suite of mobile friendly features.
Venmo, PayPal, Google Wallet and Snapcash are just a
few of the services that allow consumers to pay for goods and
services or transfer money to friends and family. PayPal currently
has approximately 210 million active customer accounts while
mobile payments, like those provided by PayPal’s subsidiary
Venmo, are projected to hit USD 90 billion by 2017. 7
The wealth management sector is also being hit by the
unbundling of the bank. Consumers can now take control of their
investment portfolio through digital channels rather than giving full
control to the investors. Acorns, Betterment, Wealthfront and
Robinhood allow consumers to invest their money where they
want it, with free stock trades, portfolio management tools and

7 Techcrunch, The Unbundling of Finance, an article

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automated investing based on consumer’s goals. These robo-
advisors have recently gained lot of popularity among millennials
and drawn attention of large banks. For instance, Citi Ventures
and Northwestern Mutual both have invested in Betterment.
Many times a very high fee is charged by credit card
companies from businesses to accept them.There have been
instances where credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard
had worked together to hike the swipe fees which led to a lawsuit
being filed against them in 2005. Square and Braintree are some
services that allow small businesses to seamlessly accept
payments- via credit card, bank transfer, and even bitcoin - with
significantly lower fees and less red tape.
Services like CAN Capital and Kabbage provide business
loans and merchant cash advances for small businesses, while
companies like Fundera match companies with lenders and offer
the most competitive rates. Zenefits, Wave and ZenPayroll are
helping small businesses, that can’t afford a dedicated accounting
to ensure on-time payments to employees and vendors.
OnDeck is a non-bank small businesses lender based in
New York. The startup has got investor’s attention; the company
has raised USD 180 million in equity financing and USD 300
million in debt. Businesses are opting onDeck over traditional
banks because onDeck is faster and the loans can be processed
within days.Sometimes banks take couple of week time to make a
decision.
The automated advisory is gaining popularity in wealth
management. Wealthfront is one of the biggest players in
automated investment advisory. The startup has now over USD 2

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billion in assets under management. Wealthfront has competition
from the likes of Personal Capital, Betterment and as of recently,
from a Charles Schwab product called Intelligent Portfolios.
Currencycloud is innovating in international payment
market, which is 85% controlled by traditional banks. The London
based company focusing on Europe has been very attractive
because it is small, able to add new features quickly and adapt to
new platforms, things that banks are notoriously bad at. The
company is approaching a half a billion dollars in payments a
month and just got an injection of USD 10 million of funding to
expand in the U.S.
Astropay, the largest cross-border payment services
provider in Latin America and a new payment player in China, the
startup provides a fraud reducing payment solutions enabling
merchants to more safely accept payments. Astropay recently
completed a successful program that could enable millions in
China who hitherto lack access to credit cards, the ability to
purchase international goods, including from the US - potentially
causing an interesting reverse flow of trade.
One of the most disruptive startups in fintech in recent
years, Square did what every fintech company aims to: provide a
simple, tech driven solution to a widespread problem. In this case,
it was the expense and hassle of processing credit card payments
at POS, ranging from food trucks to big box stores. Square sends
a mobile-compatible credit card reader to anyone for free. Then all
that’s needed is an app and an account to start accepting
payments. The transaction fees are a bit higher than the market,,
but the flexibility and lack of barriers to entry led to rapid adoption.

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Tilpati, an international payments startups has created SaaS
technology that simplifies the mass payment process, the platform
allows payers to transfer money seamlessly and in compliance
with anti-terrorist, tax and banking regulations. The startup recently
raised USD 13 million in funding. To date, Tilpati has processed
more than USD 1 billion with over 100 clients.
Waiting for payments is one of the most troubling hurdles for small
businesses. Zipmark's API offers a lower cost alternative to credit
and debit cards; also Zipmark QR codes can be used to pay for
items such as rent, fees or subscriptions directly from paper
invoices via the Zipmark iPhone app. Recently, bigger business,
including real estate companies that collect monthly rent, have
also adopted Zipmark’s platform.
BillGaurd is one of the startups, working against consumer
exploitation. The startup began in 2010 as a service to alert
customers, to hidden fees charged by banks and other credit card
issuers. After receiving USD 3 million funding, the company
expanded to become comprehensive fraud monitor and spending
tracker. Its iOS and Android apps push warnings to user’s devices
when something’s amiss, so users don’t have to worry as much
about failing to diligently check all of user’s monthly statements. To
date, BillGuard claims it has raised the red flag on over USD 60
million in suspect transactions for its users.
Some fintech startups are benefiting from existing
technologies, which are already popular among young adults, such
as social networks and mobile messaging. Project crowdfunding
sites, GoFundME and Andreessen Horowitz backed Tilt, for
example, mirror or take advantage of social networks and are

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largely popular among college audiences. Google Ventures and
General Catalyst - backed HelloDigit, transfers money directly via
text message. 8
Companies like Sentient Technologies and Ayasdi are
using AI technologies to bring their products to fintech, for
applications ranging from quantitative trading and sentiment
analysis to threat detection and risk analytics. The appetite for
using AI in financial services and telecoms, has shown exponential
growth in recent years.
IBM Watson is used by Barclays to provide services like
money transfer and other rudimentary tasks. Bank of Tokyo –
Mitsubishi, employs a 58 cm tall robot, named Nao, to perform
reception duties for visitors, offering prerecorded responses in a
number of languages, dealing with requests effectively and
delighting customers as a result. One of the first robots developed
to live with human beings, “Peper” can act by recognizing
emotions. It now greets and interacts with customers at SoftBank
Mobile, a large mobile phone operator in Japan. Financial services
have been revolutionized by the computational tools in the last two
decades. Computers are now able to crunch more diverse and
deep data sets than ever before by leveraging on technologies
such as big data, algorithms and machine learning. Financial
services companies are witnessing a new era of possibilities with
advent of more powerful computers at low prices, social networks,
mobile phones and wearable devices.

8 CBinsights , Millennial Personal Financean article

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 Kasisto is pairing user experience with AI to scale the
impact of humans using technology. AI technologies are being
utilized to deliver human like chat experience in customer support
segment without the need of nearly any human assistance. A
combination of UX with smart agents that can analyze and collect
data about customer behavior and compare to broader datasets
can enable companies of all sizes to deliver personalized financial
services.
UX integrated with AI has potential to deliver variety of
digital fintech services like automated advisory, mobile wallet,
personal financial, investment advice, online banking etc. The mix
of technologies can enable companies to provide services to
segments of customers where they were unable to provide high
touch, human service.
These AI powered fintech solutions can provide advice at
the transactional level. Smart wallets like wallet.ai can assist
consumers, analyze, price, and consider every single thing they
spend money on, at a granular level that no human assistant could
match.. The idea of augmenting human interactions and
intelligence with AI is not limited to consumer facing products. AI
could power technologies that overlay humans to provide an
oversight and tracking mechanism to employ actions. Monitoring
discrete, repetitive data entry tasks, computers could watch and
learn over time to verify data entry and test for specific events,
assess risk, and find fraud. Any area of fintech that is regulated
creates the opportunity for companies to deploy AI powered
employee and systems oversight.

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 The unbundling of finance and banking sector, should be a
RED alert for banks. The newspaper industry is a great example.
Newspapers survived the arrival of 24 hour cable news. However,
with the invention of internet and advent of mobile apps, there has
been significant cuts in number of newspaper readers. Newspaper
websites have kept the news junkies, but they have lost many of
those who read film reviews, browsed the property or personals
section. In effect, newspapers have been unbundled.
Similar trend can be observed in unbundling of retail banks.
People are increasingly adopting specialist providers offering
competitive price and service. The fintech startups now provide
alternatives for almost all bank services from current accounts,
payments, insurance, loans and savings.
A recent BCSG study - ‘Redefining Digital Banking for
Small Business’ - reveals that the relationship between retail
banks and their SME customers is weakening, and there is
increased risk of switching financial service providers. Banks
currently have little dialogue either face to face or via digital
channels. An astonishing 73% of SMEs have no contact
whatsoever with a relationship manager. As a result, 67% of UK
SMEs are now happy to look elsewhere for financial services and
more than half are tempted to switch banks.
2016 was a landmark year for FinTech, Financial
companies across the globe raised about USD 36 billion in over
1500 funding deals from over 1700 unique investors according to
data from Financial Technology Partners. The highest funding was
poured into Payments/Loyalty/E-Commerce companies of over
USD 13.5 billion followed by USD 9.3 billion into Banking/Lending.

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Another FinTech segment witnessing disruptions at a much faster
rate than others is wealth management. The capabilities that
digital technologies bring in for providing a seamless and
integrated-channel experience are driving the transformation of
traditional wealth management model. A survey conducted by
Capgemini and RCB Management of global High Net Worth
Individuals (HNWIs), revealed a major shift in expectations of
HNWIs from their wealth management providers. According to
survey results, 80% of HNWIs under 40 years of age indicated
they would leave their wealth management firm if it fails to provide
an integrated-channel experience and 48% HNWIs indicated they
would consider using an automated advisor that can provide 24/7
assistance and greater visibility of their investments. Cloud
services is enabling firms to convert fixed costs to pay-per-use
expenses, cloud based services has a great potential to catalyze
scaling up customer base for wealth management companies by
providing low cost customized plans to middle income potential
customers.
Rather than competing with the new age technology
startups, banks should consider establishing themselves as a vital
part of digital fintech ecosystem. Banks must embrace new
fintechs and other tech startups rather than fighting them. This will
help banks get deeper insights about customer needs, enabling
them to offer relevant products and services that deliver amazing
customer experience and value.

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Healthtech: Redesigning the future of staying healthy

“FirstlyIn a few years, the idea of receiving medical treatment

exclusively at a doctor’s office or the hospital will seem quite
quaint.”
- Harvard Business Review

“Healthcare is such a bloated and bureaucratic industry that, at

first glance, it might seem immune to disruption by innovators.” -
Forbes. However aan newinnovative breedclass of entrepreneurs
is trying to change that. Their products range from apps and social
networks to robots and complex simulators. But they all share a
common goal: leverage new technology to fix an old industry.
Adoption of IT in healthcare has followed the same trends as
other industries. The beginning of the use of IT in the 1950’s to
automate repetitive tasks like healthcare payers, accounting and
payroll can be considered as the first collaboration of technology
with healthcare. Second revolutionary wave for IT adoption in
health care arrived in 70’s which supported B2B processes such
as supply chain management within and outside individual
industries.
The effect of second revolutionary wave of IT adoption in
healthcare industry was seen with the introduction of electronic
health card in Germany. It was also a catalyst for the Health
Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act in
the United States - “an effort to promote the adoption of health-
information technology and the National Programme for IT in the
National Health Service in the United Kingdom”. These programs

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created an important and powerful infrastructure despite of the
immediate effect. The industry track is open for any business
which would like to learn about the forces services shaping the
evolution of healthcare, and to understand what opportunities exist
for their business in this exciting market. Healthcare systems
nowadays have to resolve a the host of challenges posed by
medical advancement. The advancements in genetics, IT and
nanotechnology have given rise to a more personalized healthcare
approach. The healthcare system is now evaluated using
parameters, including access to the best available treatments and
to non-institutionalised care; compliance with treatments and even
patient’s choice. This highly volatile healthcare environment has
created a need for companies in healthcare to start thinking about
what the future of healthcare might look like. Many of them are too
constrained by their standing assumptions of how the industry
hashave operated in the past, or they have a rather narrow
perspective. Many believe that due to the sensitive nature of
healthcare, patients will not opt for digital health care services.
“The results of our survey reveal something different to the
sensitive nature of medical care. The reason patients are slow to
adopt digital healthcare is primarily because existing services don’t
meet their needs because they are of poor quality.” - Mckinsey.
McKinsey’s global survey shows that 75% of people would choose
digital healthcare services. Their condition of using services,
meeting the needs and provide expected level of quality. This does
not mean that, the old fashioned non-digital channels will become
irrelevant. Digital channels will have to combine with multi-channel
concept.

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 It is just a mythsaga that only younger generations want to use
digital services. This results in the digitalized healthcare are not
reachingaccomplished with to the potential stakeholders. Another
survey by McKinsey shows that patients of all age groups are
ready to use the digital services for healthcare. More than 70% of
all older patients in the United Kingdom and Germany want to use
digital healthcare services; in Singapore, the number is even
greater.
To most peoplegenerally people think that, the ‘robotic doctor’
sounds like a thing of fiction. But it’s is going to play an important
role in the future of healthcare. The advancementinnovation in
technology is already shifting the phase. Data companies are
trying to revolutionize the healthcare industry. New trends are
starting to emerge in the rigid and stubborn structure of healthcare.
With the availability of data on the cloud, healthcare works are
goingavailable online. Digitalization of diagnoses has helped to
prevent diseases by providing necessary medication. For instance,
detecting the early symptoms of a virus or increase in body
temperature will help the people to take preventive measures.
Within few years from nownowadays the devices linking
personal fitness to an individual’s lifestyle and supporting
predictive medicines will have become a necessity. Entrepreneurs
are utilizing smart devices and vast amount of clinical data to
improve the patient experience. There they have been
done advancements in big data and predictive analytics. This
led to creation of robots which can complete healthcare tasks on
their own. For example, Eve is a robot built to deliver vital samples
and supplies at San Francisco Medical Centre. Entrepreneurs

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need to collaborate with the healthcare organizations and other
key healthcare playerspayer to address the gaps in technology.
This need has already been recognized by incubators like
Chicago’s Matter, the incubator connecting innovators with
research institutions and other health care stakeholders to create
new age life-science start-ups. High tech devices have already
becomedeveloped into a part of healthcare systems and playing a
major role in improving quality of healthcare.
The rHealth diagnostic system in 2015 reviewed a very exciting
group of sensing technology that the required the patient needs to
provide just a single drop of blood, with this these small sample of
blood mixed with nanoscale test strips and are streamed into past
lasers to process its signature. This can then identify ailments
ranging from simple colds, to the flu, and to more serious
diseases like Ebola, with claimed gold standard accuracy. It comes
accompanied by a wearable patch which is worn to monitor vital
signs, such as breathing and heart rate, sharing data over
Bluetooth with either the device or the user's smartphone9 - The X
Prize Foundation, an innovation organisation led by Dr.Peter
DiamandisData revolution is crucial for entrepreneurs - those who
will adapt and innovate technology to connect doctors with
diagnostic tool will be at scale meeting supply to demand. The
need from healthcare is same across the globe. The most
common is assistance during daily tasks and navigating the often-

9 Hooks Sytems, No more waiting for your lab results

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complex healthcare system. In Germany, Singapore and the
United Kingdom, three very different countries with different
healthcare systems mention that– patients most often citemention
“finding and scheduling physician appointments” as the service
with which they need assistance. Apart from that, people need
help with prescription refills and selecting the right specialist.
“Deals to digital health, an area that encompasses everything
from digital therapeutics to health wearable and ingestible
connected devices, jumped 20% in 2015.” - CB Insights. There are
so many inventions by IoT start-ups in the field of healthcare. The
applications have helped to better diagnose, monitor and manage
patients. The main focus was on developing wearable to track
patient data. The wearable technology has already made an
impact on most of the industries. Dr. Rafael Grossmann was the
very first surgeon to use Google Glass or wearable technology in
general while performing a surgery. There is a hope among
healthcare providers that wearable will meet the demands of
patients as well as doctors. They hope that it will help to receive
and administer care in a better way.
The opportunity to innovate the way clinical trials were
conducted on animals, led to invention of microchips modelling
clinical trials. The new technology enabled the scientists and
doctors to safely and more accurately conduct the trials for better
human patient treatment and on the other hand spare lives of
countless animals. The microchips developed are capable of
reconstructing the complex interface between organs and
capillaries. This idea is similar to the idea of micro fabrication. This

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has resulted in reconstruction of organs by focussing on the use of
complicated system of microchips.
3D printing is another revolutionary technology in healthcare
sector. Today the technology has large number of applications
varying from art and design to a complex architecture model. The
medical uses of 3D printing are extremely practical; the technology
can perform tasks like printing human skin to blood vessels and
heart tissues.
There are so many companies working to advance in health
tech. As technology evolves, consumer driven healthcare
becomes more appealing. Companies like iCouch.me are taking
the world of psychiatric analysis by storm. It can be a hassle to
drive to a therapist’s place and back. iCouch is a web app that
pairs users with therapists who typically charge between USD 65
and USD 90 for 50 minutes of video chat time. The app, at
iCouch.me can be used via the web on webcam enabled desktop
or laptop. iCouch creates partnership with hospitals, insurance
companies and hospitals to offer mental health services to the
respective partner’s employees, customers, and patients. It has
more than 5000 paid users, and is adding about 15 therapists per
week to its database of several hundred of them from all over the
world.
Instead of using paper, healthcare organisations have opted
for Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Another option is
PracticeFusion, a cloud based service which can be set up in
minutes. PracticeFusion is the fastest growing EMR community in
the U.S. with over 150,000 medical users who have access to the
health records of 33 million patients. As going paperless have

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already and is becoming the trend, hospital records and processes
are moving from written to digital. Most of the people use their
mobile devices to do work. Even physicians are taking that route.
Doctors nowadays use platforms like DrChrono iPad Patient Care
Platform. It helps them to manage their practices with help of
different electronic devices. Activities like electronically
prescribing, billing any insurance company or maintaining EMR
can also be carried out. The company has seen exponential
growth, going from a small user base of hundreds to more than
15,000 registered healthcare providers and more than 400,000
patients. 10
With all new tech coming into the market, speed of information
exchange is becoming key. With the development of SwiftPayMD,
doctors can dictate diagnoses and billing cost. Benefits of using
SwiftPayMD are no delays, correct billing amount and time saving.
SwiftPayMD is available for USD 99 per month.
The healthcare industry is expensive and people pay a lot of
money to fund their well-being. Simplee helps people manage their
out-of-pocket healthcare costs which, on average, run about USD
3600 a year for a family of four. Information like money spent on
healthcare, health saving account balance and status of insurance
deductible is readily available on the platform. An important feature
considering some sources say about 80% of bills contain errors.

10HelathCareGlobal - Top 10 Healthcare Startups that are delivering real

value, an article

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Since launching in 2011 Simplee has tracked hundreds of
thousands of doctors’ visits worth USD 200 million in claims.
It is important for technology to evolve, that communication
remain open among the people responsible for the innovation.
Doximity, like LinkedIn, connects doctors on a social media
platform. It gives doctors the privilege of consulting another doctor
to seek help for a complex case. Doctors on Doximity provide
information about their training, clinical trials they have conducted,
etc. all of which will be accessible to all. Doximity members can
get paid USD 250 to USD 500 an hour to hand over their opinions
on such matters.
With the free flow of medical information, it is important to have
analytical tools on hand to analyse some of this information. A
number of IT solutions are being used by pharmaceutical
companies but the data is stored in pile. In quest of analysing data
across the enterprise, Comprehend Clinical tool came into picture.
Robotics has come a long way in the healthcare industry. They
are now a part of routine surgeries and work alongside humans to
make life better. Robotic exoskeletons, the newcomer in
healthcare allows paralyzed people to walk. “We are starting with
soldiers and paralyzed people because their needs are great and
opportunity for funding is better. But you can imagine exoskeletons
for workers using tools heavy to hold for more than a few minutes.
And a consumer version for people who want to run a marathon or
climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.” - Eythor Bender.
As the digitalization of most of the B2C industries has evolved
the notion of healthcare consumers, the long delayed application
of technology that allows video conference medical consultancy is

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finally being applied. The new age smartphones connected with
IoT healthcare devices are allowing doctors to monitor patient’s
health from a distant place. These devices are enabling doctors to
trace activity logging, heart rhythm and many other in-depth
physical examination of patient.
In the near future, enterprises with specialized knowledge and
advanced skillset in areas like analytics and healthcare delivery
will interact and compete through the common data and resource
aggregation platforms. Infrastructure providers will be providing the
routine healthcare facilities.
Advancement in technology is not only helping healthcare
providers in increasing patient engagement and enhancing service
quality, it is also enabling governments to reach people with health
care information, businesses to customize employee wellness
programs and people to take control of their own health.
PwC’s Health research gives us a fair knowledge that people
are ready to abandon the traditional healthcare technique.
Activities like examining strep throat or chemotherapy are wished
to be done at home.
“Healthcare has been stuck here because of the payment
structure. But at a Fairview, they are initiating care reform, which
will turn inform payment reform. The future of care includes
different delivery models (think phone, internet, and group visits), a
greater focus on patients’ behaviour, and a far more team-oriented
approach.” - David Moen, Medical Director of care model
innovation at Minneapolis based Fairview Health Services.
“It seems to me to be a very common sense, logical step. The
technology is out there. There are still things that need to be

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worked on, but as it’s being developed and being refined, it is clear
to me that it could be utilized for betterment of patient and
physician experience.” - Eric Christianson, an emergency
department physician at Fairview. Christianson started examining
patients via internet, using web camera and a telephone. This
helped him to see more patients and save time. The same work
can be done from home too. Technology has provided caregivers
ways to continuously engage with patients for providing excellent
healthcare from anywhere. It is also helping patients and providers
by providing a much necessary feedback loop.
Telehealth, remote biometric monitoring, and technology
assisted health coaching are powerful tools in the fight to improve
chronic care outcomes because they support patients in learning
to manage diet, exercise habits and medication routines. Type 2
diabetes patients were provided with a mobile app to motivate
them and give behavioural coaching. This led to drop in patients’
A1C level. Companies have rapidly started adopting technology for
their wellness programs. For instance, virtual wellness portal
extracts numbers from on-site health screenings and provide
employees with action plan. Other information like email and text
reminders, educational details help to keep them on track.
As per the data of 2013, around 24 companies among top 50
Fortune 500 companies were newcomer in the field of healthcare.
Among these groups, seven were retailers and eight were
technology and telecommunication companies. Both types came
into market bragging to have better database and better
connectivity with millions of customers. Even two automotive
companies viz. Ford and General Motors came into healthcare

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business. Seeing the situation of life sciences, money is going for
start-ups, focussing on healthcare.
There are options available to examine moles, rashes and
other skin diseases with digital photographs. These platforms also
allow consumers to connect to a specialist of choice for online
consultation. CellScope’s Oto, a smartphone accessory that
captures digital images of the ear canal, went on the market at the
end of 2014 at USD 79 for home users and USD 299 for medical
professionals. Scan-adu scout, a replica of “tricoder” of Star Trek
is hoped to be part of every family’s medical kit.
The USD 134.25 billion healthcare market size of 2016 is
expected to increase to USD 280 billion by 2021. This accelerated
growth will be derived from several factors like government
support for healthcare IT solutions, regulatory compliance
management, high return on healthcare IT solutions, inclusion of
big data, virtual reality and internet of things in healthcare systems,
rising health care cost etc. A survey conducted by Palo Alto
investment firm Venrock of 300 investors, employers and insurers
on their outlook on health startups revealed that majority of the
investors particularly interested in data analytics and telemedicine
healthcare startups. Telemedicine has immense potential to play a
major role in meeting healthcare needs of growing global
population. The exponential rise in population has given rise to
chronic diseases. Factors such as scarcity of healthcare
professionals’ worldwide, need for affordable treatment options
and improvements in infrastructure gave rise to telemedicine
market. Year 2016 marked wide usage of technology to share
patient’s medical reports. Data analytics is impacting segments

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like; value based patient centric care where care providers,
doctors, hospitals, and health insurance work together to deliver
personalized care that is efficient, price conscious, transparent and
measured based on patient satisfaction.
The advancements in digital healthcare have put
traditional healthcare techniques at risk. But they still have a way
to save themselves by collaborating with the new age players, gain
knowledge on implementing these technologies and applying
effectively.
Understanding consumer’s wants can be the very first step
to start with. As the new age tech based healthcare providers are
offering wide variety of services to choose from, health care
companies should focus on providing customer experience that
can earn loyalty and trust. If the demands are not made on time,
patients will definitely leave the healthcare providers. Making
pricing and payments as hassle-free and transparent as possible,
aligning working hours to patient’s convenience and making
services available by digital devices are few vital adoptions for
incumbents. In spite of all the advantage, there is still a need for
old and new enterprise to be more creative. They must win
patients’ trust. And finally, customers win the scenario with more
affordable and simpler options.

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Retailtech: Taking shopping experience to the next level

“The e-commerce industry is a force that no investor can afford to

ignore.”
- Cushla Sherlock

“To succeed in the digital business era, retailers have to

stretch their boundaries. This requires rethinking their business
model, deciding how to transform into digital businesses and
making the right technology investments to become digital
leaders.” - Accenture. We are now in the time - the world of
smartphone generation. Apple Pay, Apple Wallet, Android Pay and
Storecard are the part and parcel of our everyday life. We depend
on hundreds of cards and loyalty programs which can easily fit in
physical wallet.
The existence of department stores was threatened by the e-
commerce wave that hit the industry just a few years ago. Seven
years on and the re-invention of department stores have given
them a revival. Hudson Bay stores are much improved, and Holt
Renfrew. Simons and Nordstrom are all expanding in store, adding
new locations in Canada. Department stores have found new
significance via different strategies: getting the rights to beneficial
trendy brands, granting international expansion for international
brands through in-store boutiques, increasing ecommerce

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impression to improve and expand the store experience or by
providing high end market. Emergence of ecommerce and the
rapid increase in the number of people on internet and
smartphones has transformed the shopping experience. The
demands of the tech savvy consumers from the retail industry are
shifting from just high-quality products and service support to a
personalized and seamless shopping experience. Nowadays the
success of a retail business very much depends upon its strategy
to navigate the ever-evolving digital world.
“In today’s increasingly connected world, brands and retailers
are struggling to find ways to appeal to omnichannel shoppers.
Technology advances have created an environment in which the
line between brick and mortar and ecommerce is blurred and
fading fast.” - Mike Paley, Executive VP of shopper marketing at
The Marketing Arm.
Analysis of customer relationship management (CRM) to know
more about the customer behavior, drive decisions about offers,
and to allow personalization of business channels was the basis
of retail digital marketing in the past. Now the marketing teams
have expanded their skills in data analysis and digital marketing
that were earlier considered to be IT team functions. Retailers are
now developing actionable intelligence from industry generated
data.
The retail businesses can benefit from the readily available
infrastructure for capturing and analyzing their business relevant
data. The expenses of transforming the retail business can be
minimized using secure cloud services; these services come with
a lower cost and offer greater flexibility. The retailers who embrace

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this new model will invest in data analytics and IT skilled
professionals who can innovate the business into a data driven
model.
Payments are one of the most rapidly transforming areas in
retail industry today. With the invention of mobile wallets and e-
payments, the retailers look for the ability to accept all payment
options chose by the shoppers. But, Legacy systems, investment,
agreement with payment processors, and the amount of time to
establish these payment connections to their systems are the
challenges faced by merchants, retailers and payment providers in
accomplishing it. There is growth in number of modes of interface
between shoppers and retailers in the recent years. This growth
will continue to increase, as there is a development of new set of
retail interfaces by people who are not retailers. Hobbyists,
entrepreneurs, and even fans of specific product know that data is
available online and the people crave for that data. These people
will make the data in a way, to reach the specific customer either
for fun or profit.
An interesting example of non-retailer developed channel is
“The Liquid Control Board of Ontario”. They are one of the largest
alcohol retailers in the world. The have a wide variety of products
and huge number of consumers. The app provides the price and
availability of products to the customers. LCBO also has an
attractive offline stores.
Year 2010 to 2016 had retailers focuson either defining or
evolving their digital strategy.on the primary focus area was IT
solutions such as web content promotion, email engagement,
social media sites and developing or enchacing mobile

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applications for digital branding. This focus yielded many benefits
and gave retailers the capability to pursue digital strategy and
drive consumer choice. In order to target audience, depending on
customer endpoint and technology supply, retailers follow different
approaches. They are trying to merge these experiences into a
single digital channel which will dramatically enhance the
consumer experience. This helps retailers to set up a cross
channel platform. This is a retail revolution in the making, enabled
by a digital platform strategy that allows retailers to co-create value
across channels, partners, and potentially other industries or even
competitors. Secure networks, cloud, and increasing mobile &
internet penetration have brought retail industry achieve
omnichannel engagement promise.
The digital advancement has given rise to a cohesive
consumer driven supply chain model which is characterized by
flexibility and choice of fulfillment and not necessarily by touch
points. In reality, consumers end up becoming a brand unto
themselves. This requires retailers to adopt a new model of
engagement with consumers to create a valuable supply chain.
This flexible fulfillment supply chain will cut down retailer’s costs of
delivery, overstock and waste. IoT devices in retail tech are
engaging and attracting consumers in more intimate ways
resulting in generation of greater volumes of data than ever. With
the help of IoT, retailers are automating many functions, which
permit them to design marketing and target customers with greater
experiences.
The exponential raise in the number of people on internet and
mobile internet devices is enabling proximity marketing, through

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the use of location based technologies. This marketing tool is
gaining popularity among retailers as they look for ways to provide
more personalized, real time messages, offers and promotions.
Macy’s, for instance, rolled out beacons to 4000 stores using
Shopkick’s offering, and Swirl’s platform and hardware that are
being used by clients including Lord & Taylor and Urban Outfitters.
According to Business Insider, beacons directly influenced over
USD 4 billion in U.S. retail sales and climb 10 times annually.
“The real estate on the device screen has gotten bigger,
particularly in the iPhone 6, driving increased success for
retailers.” - Elena Anderson, Senior VP of worldwide marketing at
Demandware. Mobile smartphones drove 94% of the growth in
shopping visits and 74% of basket creation growth.
Social network websites are more than just for spreading the
word. Big social network companies like Twitter, Facebook and
Pinterest have all experimented with direct “Buy Item” tabs on their
website. Twitter is teaming up with Shopify, which has about
100,000 merchants, and other ecommerce software companies.
Pintrest’s recently launched “buyable” button with Demandware on
the iPhone app that allows to buy without leaving the Pintrest app.
Digital transformation can now be witnessed in in-store retail
also. Retailers are now leveraging in-store technologies. For
instance, retailers such as Ugg Australia, Uniqlo and Neiman
Marcus are using “magic” or “memory” mirror technologies, using
RFID tags, which allow customers to try on virtual outfits in
different colors and styles. Rebecca Minkoff has added text
messaging and touch screen features in her stores that allow
consumers to order drinks, browse the store catalog and easily

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interact with store associates. Bloomingdale is using iPads in
fitting rooms to let customers ask for help, read reviews and see
the size availability.
“Tech startups are enhancing the brick and mortar retail
experience including foot traffic sensors, mobile payment apps,
digital displays, and more.” - CB insights. Startups are innovating
each and every aspect of retail stores from deploying robots to
streamline product, shelving to leveraging sensors for capture of
foot traffic and customer behavior data, offering point of sale
financing options, displaying product information on digital tablets
and more.
Offline retail stores are increasingly collaborating with tech
startups to stand a chance in competing with their online
counterparts. InteractionOne, is one such startup that provides
what it calls a proximity discovery platform that enables stores to
talk to smartphones via beacons. A small device that
communicates with other devices through bluetooth connection,
and helps in presence detection through push messages to
customer’s smartphone.
Using machine learning algorithms Moberry app traces the
likes and preferences of users through their browsing patterns and
allows them to make a wish list. The app then sends notification to
the user’s smartphone when the user is near a store. Once the
user enters the store, beacons mounted in the store detect the
user’s presence and credits the user with walk-in points. “Retailers
have started to see traction and are more willing to integrate
technology in their store.” - Krishna Prasad, Co-founder of

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InteractionOne. They piloted their first project based on IoT in
Bengaluru on a high end shopping street with 80 showrooms.
A Nike Facebook app can be considered as a step further
in enhancing customer experience; the app lets runners pay with
kilometers completed. We are seeing a lot of apps nowadays that
reward their users in many ways like motivational phrases to
motivate user to attain fitness. Nike Mexico and Facebook took
this to a next level by launching ‘Subasta de Kilometros’, which
allowed runners to score points for every kilometer they run and
then use these points to bid on Nike branded running gear in an
auction.
In-store virtual reality technology is rapidly being adopted
by Supermarkets in China to provide a more interactive shopping
experience, Yihaodian in China developed augmented reality
stores that can only be accessed in certain public locations. When
customers point their phone in right direction a virtual store is
displayed, this provides a simulation of real life retail store to give
a more interactive online shopping experience.
Augmented Reality (AR) will customize in-store experiences
with mannequins that match your body type and display enough
virtual inventory to rival any online site. Merchants will create AR
experiences with their packaging so that demonstration videos can
appear when you look at the product on the shelf or celebrity
spokespeople can magically stand in the aisle to pitch the product
– Technology Trend 2018

In Denmark, SuperBrugsen is using their website to ensure

that the produced stock will appeal to eco-minded customers.

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Customers are welcomed to give suggestions on what local items
they would like the store to stock, based on the number of
suggestions received about a particular item, an executive from
store will taste the item to ensure that the product meets their
quality standards; a clever way to use customer crowdsourcing is
to ensure that the store only stocks items that will sell. The crowds
have also been put to good effect in the Netherlands through the
“Avoid the Shopping Crowds” app that analyzes social media
feeds to tell the user how busy a shop is before they enter it. Both
businesses use crowd-sourced data to improve real life
experiences.
The retail industry is impressively adjusting to the highly
connected world we are living in. Brazil based C&A company has
shown a unique collaboration of the real world and the online one,
the company displays the Facebook likes of their articles on a
small screen embedded on the hanger of articles. The expectation
was that the endorsement by online community would motivate
shoppers to buy an item of clothing.
For giving a better shopping experience retailers have to
take care of shopper’s varying needs. Retailers don’t have to
depend on individually identifiable information to personalize
shopping experience. Information such as items on shopping list,
keywords selected, location, search items, and local store
popularity are readily available for personalization. Retailers that
can significantly leverage mobile technology will get a head start
among competitors.
The increasing adoption of IoT in retail sector is driving the
growth of retail market; the retail market size is expected to grow

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to USD 53.75 billion by 2022. IoT is equipping retailers majorly in
three retail segments, supply chain, new channel and revenue
streams and customer experience. The hardware retail segment is
expected to grow at a CAGR of over 19% over the years of
forecast, and the software retail industry growth will be driven by
the increasing number of applications and software to support the
IoT and other technology adoptions. The low power consumption
Bluetooth devices are expected to witness growth of CAGR 25%
over the years of forecast. The evolution of advanced barcodes
and imaging technologies for scanning products, faster alternative
checkout methods will continue to grow across the retail sector.
“Sam’s Club already offers in-aisle checkout, while Amazon gained
attention for its vision of grocery shopping sans checkout lines, so
anticipate that other grocers and retailers will seek shortcuts for
shoppers that they hope will breed brand loyalty. We expect
retailers and brands to lead the way with enhanced product
packaging and other options for easy checkout.” - Tony Rodriguez,
CTO of digital identification solutions provider Digimarc.
Social media platforms generating tons of customer data
will be playing a vital role in marketing and sales, photo sharing
and hashtags have become the word of mouth of the digital age
marketing. Jim Rudden, CMO of Spredfast says “Instead of having
to leave the page or site to search and buy the products they see
in photos, consumers will be able to easily click on the content,
and purchase the products within, during that moment of
discovery”.
Technology will also play a major role in training and
empowering store employees. Store and product information are

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made easily accessible to associates through mobile applications,
which help shoppers in-store to increase confidence and efficiency
of retailer. “Retailers can use mobile or retailer-specific apps to
elicit customer feedback on interactions with sales associates,
using the data to rate employee performance.” - Harvard Business
Review. Keeping this data transparent to employees, retailers can
maximize their performance and identify any stores which can
improve customer service, helping to quickly course-correct.
According to Forrester Research mobile will influence
approximately USD 1 trillion in spending per year in the coming
years for U.S brick and mortar retailers. Establishing an
omnichannel presence has long back been recognized by retailers
as a mandate to bridge the digital and physical divide. In order to
meet customers demand flawlessly, retailers are investing more.
Ship from store options and Buy-Online-Pickup-In-Store (BOPUS)
services will continue gaining the momentum. According to
Deloitte’s 2015 holiday retail survey, 43% of respondents said they
are likely to BOPUS this holiday season to save time and to avoid
the holiday shopping rush.
Major retailers such as Sears, Ralph Lauren and Kohl’s are
suffering disappointing earnings and shuttering dozens of stores.
Macy’s has already closed 100 of its 728 stores in the United
States. Sports Authority decided to shut down all 450 of its
locations after going bankrupt. Even the bleakest expectations
aren’t met by many. Gap’s CEO stated, his company would be
delusional not to start selling some of its apparel on Amazon and
other sites. Amazon’s domination in online retail sales in the US is
no big secret. According to Business Insider report, 53% of all

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online purchases in the US went through Amazon in 2016. The
rest 47% were from all other retailers combined. To put this into
perspective, for every dollar people spent online in 2016, 53 cents
went to Amazon alone while all other competitors were left to
compete and share the remaining 47 cents. In January 2016, the
company announced it is closing down 269 stores globally, with
154 of them in the US, according to a Walmart press release. It
only accounts for a fraction of the company’s 11,600 stores
worldwide. In Jan. 2018, without notice Walmart closed 10% of all
Sam’s Clubs. It will be closing 63 total Sam’s Club stores, reducing
the stores to 597 from 660 units. According to Forbes, Walmart will
be converting 12 of those closed Sam’s Club stores into e-
commerce fulfillment centers.
Meanwhile, online first companies are opening brick and
mortar storefronts, and 71 percent of people say they would prefer
to purchase an item in a store if one was located nearby.
Ecommerce is no replacement for touching and feeling a product
before making a purchase - 85% of people value this option,
according to Time Trade. Many choose to shop in stores, but
stores aren’t meeting their expectation. “There is no shiny object or
silver bullet to this retailer set of challenges out there” - Pany
anthos, MD of retail innovation at XRC Labs. Stores have to
become creative in order to bring digital world to real world.

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Energy Management

“Energy conservation is the foundation for energy independence.”

- Tom Allen

Rapid technology advancement and industry interconnectivity

is creating major shifts in industries landscape. Such
interconnectivity can be witnessed from the fusion between
software and transport industry in Google Maps, Uber, and all
other apps that we use to travel between places. Powerwall, a
rechargeable Lithium ion battery by Tesla, stores electricity for
household consumption as backup disrupted the energy storage
industry. This falls under the vision of Tesla where a person can
rely solely on domestically generated solar energy for 24 hour
household use.
The advances in technology have catalysed worldwide
economic growth and have given world - ways to achieve energy
sustainability using many different energy sources. Besides
hydropower, other renewable sources are growing steadily. Solar
energy is now used in many industrial applications. The use of
photovoltaic cells has also grown but it is still as expensive as
other conventional sources and it very much depends on
availability of sunlight. Solar power has reached 10% in Algeria
and geothermal power at 15% in El Salvador of total electricity
capacity. There has been improvement in geothermal and tidal

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energy conversion efficiency, but they both have the limitation of
requirement of special geological conditions.
There lies a great difference in electricity generation from
region to region; going from 90% fossil fuels in the Middle East,
mostly oil and gas, to over 70% renewables in Latin America,
mostly hydropower and biomass and in France about 70% of the
electricity is produced from nuclear energy.
Over 20% of the energy generation worldwide is from
renewable sources despite of the wide regional disparities. Of the
20%, close to 5% is hydropower followed by wind and solar with
5% each, and tidal and geothermal power, less than 1%. The rest
amount is provided by new biofuel sources. Renewables have
been and will be growing the sector fast, led by new sources like
biofuels. Traditional biomass consumption will fall with
development and urbanisation, but will be substituted by other
renewables.
The Energy Management System market size is expected to
reach USD76.75 billion by 2021 with a CAGR of 18.8%. Energy
demand globally is predicted to increase by 56% by 2040. The
Energy industry has gone through major transitions in the past
decade, about 2500 megawatt of coal power plants have retired in
U.S from 2009 and according to SNL energy, same amount of coal
power generation plants will retire by 2022. The renewable energy
sector has seen decent fund attraction in the past few years,
Governments and private companies are heavily investing in
renewable energy research and development programs to
generate cost efficient renewable energy solutions. NV Energy
signed a power purchase agreement which is believed to be the

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cheapest electricity in America by many — USD 0.0387/kWh deal
with a utility-scale solar facility built by First Solar.
Although giant strides in energy sector are infrequent, changes
with potential to disrupt the industry can take place swiftly. The
increasing capabilities and speed of computers are significantly
impacting the energy business. Energy companies like BP have
opted for intricate algorithms, data analysis as the complexity of
technology has evolved.
In the energy industry growth in the volume, variety and
velocity of data gathered from operations has already seen
exponential increase by use of sensors and real time data
acquisition. For instance, BP in their project for the UK North Sea
is using big data analytics to process huge geo-science datasets,
dataset from 500 wells was analysed in few seconds whereas a
100 well dataset would normally take a geologist a month to
analyse. The critical analyses of large data in few seconds rather
than months will prevail to open up vast opportunities. This may
pave the way to revolutionize the drilling of oil and gas well and
thereby increasing the overall performance of operation. In short,
we can say that future of energy will be highly data driven where
companies will put a huge investment in gathering high volumes of
data for analysing, understanding and making informative
decisions out of it.
Automation is already boosting up many capabilities in the
energy industry. In the long run, automation may include
deployment of robot in the areas where human intervention is
impossible. Self-driving vehicles are likely to decrease energy
consumption. There has been a rise in traction gained by

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automation R&D in the recent years, vehicle manufacturers such
as Mercedes, Tesla, and tech giant Google are leading the
innovation in automation. The self-driving cars of Google have
registered over a million miles on the roads of US States. In
someplace or other, the modern cars have automated mechanism
for specific functions. Automated cars are making their way to
market. There would be fully automated vehicle by 2025 as quoted
by one of the manufacturer. A large chunk of car market will at
least have partially automated vehicles by a decade after that. The
off the grid fuel cells industry is also rapidly advancing. Hydrogen
is the energy source for the fuel cells, and the advancement in the
fuel cell technology is very much dependent on development of
infrastructure and storage of hydrogen. Fuel cells offer relatively a
more efficient electricity generation than combustion methods and
fewer emissions are generated on extracting hydrogen from low
carbon sources.
The areas of telecommunication, backup system and auxiliary
power entity use stationary fuel system as an alternative for
battery systems. Fuel cells are gaining attention of automotive
manufacturers for their high driving range and competitive fuel
economy. A number of challenges are associated with
development of fuel cell technology like bulk hydrogen production
at low cost from low carbon sources. Transportation of highly
flammable hydrogen and safety while using hydrogen in vehicles is
also a major concern. If these challenges could be addressed
successfully fuel cells can change the energy mix of transport
sector.

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The lower production by oil producers of Russia and Saudi Arabia
set shock to oil price this year but in the long run it seems to
diminish. The progress in oil market continues to be very
unpleasant with floating price of USD30 in West Texas. The fall in
price of oil and the prostration of stock and bond prices may lead
to great opportunity for investors across energy sector. “As much
as stocks have been beaten up, the fundamentals have had it
worse. We are still underweight the energy sector, because there
is a lot more pain to come.” - Stewart Glickman, Energy Equity
Analyst at S&P Capital. The propelled revolution and eruptive
growth in oil production by US in the global market was the main
cause. The production has increased about 4.5 million barrels per
day over past 5 years. The OPEC and non-OPEC producers like
Saudi Arabia and Russia declining to surrender market share to
U.S producers resulted in supply imbalance through 2015.
It may result in surplus supply as occurred in 1980’s which took
over a decade to work through. According to market analysis, at
present the oversupply is about 1 million barrels per day in
production. The excess supply could be worked off easily if there
is less demand. The International Energy Agency has estimated 1
million to 1.2 million barrels in new demand. 2016 has been highly
dynamic for energy production and energy prices. Oil and gas
producers are cutting costs and have deferred close to USD 400
billion in capital expenditure. The supply and demand of energy
has been reshuffled due to the geopolitical change and instability.
Despite of low prices of oil, gas and coal there has been record
investment in clean energy technologies of over USD 300 billion in
2015, of which one third in China. The COP21 agreement bringing

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in 160 nations to fight against climate change could provide the
momentum to the growth in clean energy. Because of the high
volatility of energy sector it’s challenging to assess the energy
transformation by observing recent trends. The recent changes in
the energy systems of every nation has been compared with the
standard norms by the Forum’s Energy Architecture Performance
Index. The criterion of 126 nations paid attention on areas which
have undergone great changes including energy security and
access. There has been a changeover towards renewable energy
and variegate supplies in creating challenge and opportunities for
the shield of the global energy infrastructure. Renewables’
penetration in the energy market is getting deeper and bringing
along benefits like energy mix diversification.
Along with creating opportunities in the sector, digital disruption
of the energy sector has introduced some new threats also.
Technology is instrumental for realizing intelligent grids but it also
brings in threats like cyber-attack. The new-gen technologies like
batteries and grid embedded generator are posing threats to cyber
security of grid systems by making them more vulnerable to
attacks.
The fall in oil prices has infused a switch in wealth from net oil
exporters to oil importers. At the same time, the advancement of
alternative sources of oil and gas as well as the recent financial lag
in emerging markets such as China and India has presented to
price re-inhabitation against the backdrop of general transit in
energy supply patterns. Geopolitical shifts, the dispersion of
energy and power trade flows will initiate challenges and openings
for energy security in the unused energy architecture.

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 Impact of innovation on energy market can be visualized from
affected costs and the improved quality of energy service. The
energy markets in U.S, EU and around the world are going
through dynamic shifts. Energy utilities are always being
challenged to keep up with guidelines and governance that plea
minimization in greenhouse gas emission, use of inexhaustible
energy, enhanced energy storage and smart grid technologies.
Utilities are using proactive methods to stay ahead of the possible
new entrants in energy market, this trend is evident from the
recent developments in the Duke Energy, and the largest investor
owned power utility in the U.S., Duke Energy is investing USD 80
million to add new connected devices, networking and decision
support software to critical equipment. Having introduced 20,000
wireless sensors and ICT in control plants, the data is streaming
over networks and empowering employees to identify and react to
issues before they evolve into genuine threats.
This has led to the emergence of Energy Internet of Things.
Autogrid framework is prime in applying the most recent
automobile to machine communications and “Big Data” analytics in
the power industry. Its Energy Data Platform (EDP) affords utilities
granular, real time views of equipment and conditions across
power grids and right on through to the fast growing population of
connected equipment and devices installed in vehicles, homes and
businesses. By considering all establishments of its cloud based
EDP into account, AutoGrid frameworks are handling information
from 10 million agile meters, 200,000 clients and over 300,000
kilowatts of dispersed power. That includes DR programs that
span a variety of automated pricing and behavioral programs

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across all customer classes - residential, commercial and
industrial; as well as asset classes - energy storage, solar,
combined heat and power plants, EV chargers, smart thermostats
and others. 11
This set of scope, range and degree of detail is uncommon.
Deployment is drastically evolving the way utilities harvest and
dispense electricity and mutating the industry in which automation
and trade models haven’t altered much in over a century. And it is
starting to have a comparative effect on client side of electric
meter. “We see a huge opportunity revolving around the Energy
Internet of Things. We are tightly focused on providing utilities the
tools that need to leverage data from connected equipment and
devices to improve grid reliability and resiliency, enhance
customer engagement or monetize distributed assets, whether it’s
renewable power generation, energy storage, smart investors, EVs
or home appliances and devices.” - John Mclean, Autogrid’s
director of product marketing.
Companies like Comverge are empowering smart grids by
adding intelligence to the smart grids. The company provides
demand management solution to utilities. It is also helping system
administrators, commercial and technical facility proprietors to
oversee their energy utility. Comverge has worked with hundreds
of electric utilities to deploy nearly six million energy management
devices and enrol more than 1.8 million residential customers into
mass-market demand management programs.

11 Eniday – The Emerging “Energy IoT”, an article

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 Exxon Mobil disrupted the industry by using unconventional oil
and gas. It is the largest natural gas manufacturer in the United
States and their investment in development of unconventional
fossil fuel resources such as shale gas, the irving, Texas based
supermajor has made natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal
and oil in power generation and transportation.
First Solar is disrupting the industry by using low cost utility
scale solar. With its low cost thin film photovoltaic modules
manufactured in the U.S. and Malaysia, Arizona headquartered
First Solar has concocted an unrivalled recipe for high volume
solar panel production. Combined with its power plant
advancement and construction activities, First Solar’s electricity
prices put back the new coal and natural gas in the manner that -
to purchase power from First Solar’s 50,000 kilowatt, Macho
Springs project in New Mexico for El Paso Electric takes under 5.8
cents per kilowatt/hour.
Indeed Google has entered the energy business as a leading
buyer of green power and capitalist in ingenious energy
companies. As pledged by Google in the past, it has achieved
100% renewable energy target. This tech giant’s renewable
energy purchases met and even exceeded the amount of
electricity used in its operations in 2017. Google currently holds
contracts to purchase 3 gigawatts of output from renewable energy
projects, which is by far the most renewable energy purchased by
a corporate entity to date. These contracts have led to more than
$3 billion in new capital investment around the world as of 2018.
Hexcel, a company that uses ultra-lightweight materials for
planes, cars and wind turbines, had a breakthrough in carbon fibre

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and other advanced lightweight composites for aerospace,
defence, transportation and wind turbines. Thus empowering
OEMs to accomplish much higher fuel economy than conceivable
with conventional materials like steel. The automobile
manufacturer like BMW which launched its i3 electric car with 124
MPGe and airplane manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing are
incorporating lighter weight materials to increase efficiency.
For conventional energy supplier with large fleet of fossil
fuel generation resource and handful of retail electric subsidiaries
in the US, NRG Energy leagues ahead of most of its competitors
in noticing that utilities must alter their conventional business
model or risk extinction. NRG’s bold vision for the energy future,
often articulated by outspoken CEO David Crane, includes ever
larger volumes of renewable energy, electric vehicles and
microgrids, eventually culminating into a post grid future. The
NRG’s portfolio for the demand on U.S. grid in peak summer
incorporates more than 1200 megawatts of large scale and
distributes solar projects around the country.
Panasonic’s Yoshio Ito and Tesla’s Elon Musk as of late
said they device to ally on Tesla’s revolutionary “Gigafactory”- a
multibillion battery production line projected to break ground in
U.S. Alongside the rise of such an enormous lithium-ion battery,
factory should also open up scope for stationary batteries as well,
which could be mingled with Panasonic’s solar PV cells that as of
late set a record for sunlight transformation efficiency.
The conversion of wind into least fetched modern power
source is done by Vestas. The pre-eminent turbine supplier Vestas
is behind numerous advancements in wind turbine innovation that

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set wind power as the source of electric generation with least cost
across many parts of the world. The Bloomberg New Energy
Finance’s Sustainable Energy in America factbook shows that long
term power purchase contracts with utilities in Texas are in range
of 2 to 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Regaining its top ranking
among wind manufacturer, the Danish company which was put
behind its bigger competitor General Electric and is adding new
opportunities in Colorado due to surge in the U.S. collaborated
with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Vestas has presented sector’s
largest machine to date. On an average more than 7000 homes
can be powered by the - megawatt turbine designed for seaward
wind ranch.
The energy industry is seen by most as slow, big and old
fashioned stuff. Pace of the recent developments in energy sector
is a clear indication that the sector is going through major
disruptions. The present technologies and processes will be
replaced by much more advance technologies, the same trend can
be traced from the history when nuclear was considered as a
technology to rely on, but was replaced by conventional power
generation methodologies like combined cycle gas turbines in 90s.
The point here is that these sudden technological shifts are now
intensified by pervasive digital innovation and this digital disruption
will force energy businesses to adapt and change more and more
frequently in the future.

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Consumertech: Emergence of Vertical Market Places

“The customer’s perception is your reality.”

- Kate Zabriskie

A vertical market is that kind of market which is pretty

specific about any industry or demography; it can often be stated
as “niche market”. Segway Inc. faced problems in connecting with
people in the early 2000’s. When they were launching two wheel
personal transportation vehicles, it was seen as a toy for the
wealthy rather than a forward thinking mode of transport for the
average person to move around. Rather than doubling efforts and
costs by marketing to all consumers, they found a specific niche
for their product.
By mid-2006 they found the right market and approached
Chicago Police Department. Within a short span of time they
became Segway’s biggest customer. Taking that into
consideration, the company brought i180 Police Model Segway.
The small change that was made to the vehicle was coloring it in
black and white pattern giving it specifics of police department.
The features of vehicle proved to play an effective role for police
department.
Providing sirens on the guard rail and supply pouch for
emergency situations was an effective step. These new
advancement lead to City of Chicago spending nearly USD
600,000 and the suit was followed roughly by 125 law enforcement

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agencies. Segway solved the problem of having a product that the
average consumer didn’t want by making it appealing to people in
a very specific business sector. To expand their business they
started to completely focus in a particular sector and hence vertical
marketing came into picture.
A traditional market approach deals with the concept of
selling the product to a wide range of consumers, considering the
fact that the user will need the product for his/her use and might
have the knowledge of using it. “A lot of value added resellers
want to be everything to everybody. Then you are a commodity-
you are not any different than ‘that guy’ down the street.” - Dave
Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies.
Instead of blindly hitting the market, a little inclination
towards approaching the right sector where the target customers
have experience and expertise can be an effective step. A vertical
market operation gives way to understand the terminology, market
swings, compliance challenges and regulations, and other key
aspects of a business environment. Specializing in a vertical
market place helps companies to know the market and products. It
brings more insight to clients and become an integral part of the
business.
Money in the vertical market comes from not only sales,
but also from consulting and services. For an instance, consider a
dentist using a unique application to set up appointments and
manage patient records. The revenue generation doesn’t stop by
just selling the software. The need to maintain software, deploying
it on the servers, optimizing it for client’s network and integrating it
with email/messaging tools is essential. The requirement for data

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protection, computing of data and consulting to meet the HIPAA
regulations can also be source of revenue. From an investment
standpoint, marketplaces are particularly interesting opportunities
since a leading company can easily assume - a winner takes all or
most position. Marketplaces are also one of the free business
models that portray true network effects; supply and demand
follow each other. Considering the rivalry between Uber and lyft,
there is no incentive for drivers or passengers to align with the
second most popular transportation service company.By tapping
the largest pool of passengers (demand), drivers can maximize
their income. Passengers opt for the largest pool of drivers
(supply) that provides the convenience of finding an available
driver nearby and minimize wait. Eventually the company
controlling the market can generate huge profit, keeping the
customers satisfied and competitors at bay.
The problem with horizontal marketplaces is “the winners
have already been declared”. They are very difficult to compete.
Since there’s no room for many more horizontal players, vertical
marketplaces have become more compelling. By exploiting the
inherent weaknesses of horizontal leaders and intently focusing on
a single product or goods, these companies can deliver a vastly
improved customer experience. It presents an opportunity for
vertical competitors to gain friction.
The early rollout of verticals was fairly slow. Over the past
few years, they have merged at a more rapid pace. Just in second-
hand apparel/accessories, we see Poshmark, Twice and
ThredUP growing quickly. In other verticals we see companies like
Raise, 42 Floors and Chairish emerged. This proliferation is taking

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place for a few reasons. Firstly, the number of people willing to buy
online and from a marketplace, that has grown dramatically in the
last 5 to10 years. Verticals that used to be small to sustain
standalone marketplaces now have a potential customer base that
is meaningful.
Secondly, the advent and adoption of many online trust
and safety mechanisms like review scores, credit card fraud
protection, etc., have transformed internet marketplaces, making
them safer and reliable. Finally, the trend towards urbanization has
made it easier for vertical marketplaces like Uber and Airbnb to
develop quickly.
There should be justification for spending money on IT and
quantify the benefits in business. A single vertical market cannot
define IT investment accommodating new regulations as well as
investment to save money. So, companies should do extensive
research on the return in scope with clients’ requirement. There
are companies in the market that deals in production of specialized
product targeted at a specific trait of consumers. For instance,
consider a company that manufactures medical equipment. For
general public it is of no use. So, advertising the product to that
domain is a mere waste of money and resource. Instead, the focus
should be on promoting the product in medical industry
magazines, websites related to medical field, and medical
conferences. These steps will help to reach the target customers.
However a company should not lose focus on capturing the
horizontal market. It should look forward for the opportunities to
expand the business horizontally as well. For example, Integrated
Workplace Management System (IWMS) is an office tool that

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brings multiple similar programs in one interface. The product is
constructive and attractive to many different industries. The
product must be marketed to target specific industrial domains like
real estate, finance and energy. Wearable is another sector where
vertical markets have come in. Apple helped make people
comfortable with the idea of wearing tiny data collecting computer
screens on their bodies with the launch of Apple Watch. More
players have since hopped on this trend.
The recent advancement in artificial intelligence has
increased the demand of it being incorporated in different
technology product, services and software like Google search
engine, iOS’s Siri and Windows’ Cortana.
“Consumer technology markets are being redefined by a
new set of consumer expectations and values shaped by global
economics, technology and social change.” - Gartner.
What consumers value enough to pay for, how consumers’
values are changing and how technology and service providers
can respond to this to increase their sales and margins?
Answering such questions will be critical for the industry.
The technology market is on the road to take keen interest
in manufacturing and marketing of female friendly products.
Looking at the current scenario, women are still not considered fit
for key job roles. Steps should be taken by technology and service
providers to hire suitable talents irrespective of gender that will
readdress decision making and creative roles.
Empowered customers might create problems for the
brand but the competitive difference created helps investors in
putting money to fulfill demands of customers. Activities like

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technical and after sales support will help in interacting and
developing relationship with the customers. Popularization of
social platforms gave people a medium to read and share different
stories, news or any informative content. The ongoing trend has
challenged traditional methods forcing news media and content
providers for multiscreen expansion involving social media and
mobile channels.
The consumer market is shifting rapidly to online. Retail
market might dominate for a time being but customers want
seamless experience while buying anything. Retailers should start
taking initiative to make shopping experience seamless and
organized. T&SPs should start doing research in understanding
the consumers whereas business analyst should track the
behavior of consumer across different channels, reallocate the
resources and rebalance the priorities as required.
Consumer market has become more sorted. They tend to
buy products with extra features but the preference is simple and
intuitive products. Providing complex user interfaces is no longer
popular. It must be as simple as possible. So focus should be on
keeping the technology simple.
There is urgent need for T&SPs to focus on innovation and
keep demographics in mind as well. Demographics affect
consumption pattern which is also affects consumer culture,
values, attitudes and expectation. For middle class people price is
not only factor to select brands. So, T&SPs should focus more
towards emerging markets.
A vertical market channelizes the consumer needs. When
there is need to advertise product in a vertical market, it is quite an

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easy job. Specialization results in minimization of competition,
booming a product for sale even at a higher price. Specialized
markets can be crowded, thus business should be focused on
offering something interesting.
The most common advantage of vertical marketing can
also result in a disadvantage. As the time passes by, customers
might lose interest in the product. Also the involvement of multiple
competitors in same vertical market can divide number of
customers. Thus, the product is more likely to go out of trend or
replaced by some other improvised one. An accurate assessment
of the space should be done to look for the potential of such a
specialized niche.
Businesses looking to target vertical markets should be
looking first to what they have experience in, as business need
documented experience in that market to be taken seriously.
When it comes to traditional horizontally set organizations,
knowledge about customers and product is necessary.
Apple, has been expanding beyond its traditional consumer
electronics roots and is growing an entertainment business with
Apple Music and Apple TV. In March 2016, Apple announced
CareKit, an open-source platform that makes it easier for
developers to aggregate and share patients' medical information
with their caregivers—all with consent. Since its launch, CareKit
has already been used to make apps to help patients manage
diabetes (One Drop), monitor depression (Iodine), track
reproductive health (Glow), and record asthma symptoms
(Cleveland Clinic). Apple's approach to health is to operate behind

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the scenes by helping researchers, patients, and developers to
make use of the health data they're collecting via a smartphone.
Amazon, a major player in consumer electronics - not only
by offering devices such as Fire tablets and TV boxes, but also via
its Alexa AI assistant service, which made news at the CES 2017
gadget show by being built into everything from automotives,
televisions, smartspeakers, wearables and earphones.
Sony, the company’s artificial intelligence robot – known as
Aibo. This robopup can find a ball, dance, and even recognize
different family members through its very realistic OLED eyes. Its
camera is located in its nose and has another camera on its back
to help it navigate to its charging station. Sony did not forget to
include some brand new AI technologies in Aibo which will develop
its own personality over time. Basically, if you pet it the most, it will
like you the most.
The magic mix occurs where companies find a low
competition sub niche or two in a growth vertical market that
companies can service with little or no modification to their existing
offering. This lets them get into a vertical market with least
percentage of capital outlay, risk, and maximizing the opportunity
for early success.

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Edutech: Nirvana of Learning

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind
to think.”
- Albert Einstein

In a nutshell, modernization is the cause of making lives way

better, either a little improvement for one individual or a boost for
the society, “what’s next?” is what makes us aim for a better
future. On large scale basis, an innovation creates a change that
alters all form of our lives. The change in the way we travel,
communicate, live, learn and think is result of change over created
by the introduction and acceptance of railroads, cars, airplanes,
radios, televisions, computers and internet. These innovations
have changed our perspective of the world.
The students must be autonomous starters who are tenacious
and craving for measured risk taking. They should possess
technical or specialized skills to thrive for themselves. The people
who create for themselves will have a fascinating future.
The ultimate thing that we take away from education is the
ability to tackle problems in the future that we don’t know today,
using technology that hasn’t been created yet. Given this, a radical
revolution is needed in education in both what is taught and how it
is taught. We are starting to witness the emergence of
unbelievable innovation in teaching and learning; innovations
beyond technology. The expertise is advancing for change in all
sector of education.

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 Policymakers and administrators are testing with new schools.
Students are clinging to online learning, adaptive games and
coequal learning platforms. Teachers are utilizing better
development tools, new content creation and other teaching tools,
and modern research in brain science to adapt and refine their
methods. Business visionaries are making both for profit and
social startups that address childhood improvement, tutoring,
learning data analytics, student loans, alumni networking and
almost every area that we find more compelling and graceful
learning solutions.
One of the biggest barriers is traditional report cards. In
spite of the fact that report card decreases the complex and
confused process of learning, it is not as good as it sounds, as it
comes out deceiving letter grades which don’t deliver parents
adequate data so that they can offer assistance to their kids on
their journey of attaining quality education. Ingenious learning
requires that execution and local application to be inventive as
well. It will be troublesome to design remarkable 21st century
learning environments, and at that point report “A/B/C” in
“Math/Science/English”.
Various initiatives pull the teachers in different directions.
Many schools resort to a scripted curriculum although this provides
the image of all educators on the same page. The top down
change programs from the district and state level can certainly
support educators, but lasting innovation and change must come
from collaboration between learners, educators and communities.
Along with traditional views about the conditions that lead to
learning, most people carry around traditional views about what

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constitutes learning. Students are taught in system that centered
intensely on learning actualities and people still incline to relate the
state of being well taught with knowing a lot of facts. Finally, the
educators judge the advancement of students in terms of what
they know, although the 21st century workers and citizens must be
capable of thinking crucially, work as team and find solution to
complex problems.
“If we are serious about educating a generation of geo-
literate citizens, it is important that we break down our own out of
date views about learning and replace them with new images of
how we should be educating young people and what kind of
knowledge and skills we should be aiming for.” - National
Geographic.
Clayton Christensen, the leading expert of disruptive
innovation, has composed at least two books particularly centered
on education. According to Christensen’s disruptive innovation
theory, markets are disrupted when new entrants figure out an
innovative way to provide a simpler product to a wider set of
buyers at more affordable price. Since the less complex product is
really what the broader markets choose. And thus the new
competitors change the market behavior considerably. The
pioneers in the education segment have not disturbed the existing
status considerably so far. While Christensen anticipated in 2008
incredible disturbances in the segment from online learning, the
reality so far is that greater acceptance of online learning has
continued as anticipated, but has not demonstrated to be very
disturbing; mostly it is reflecting conventional models.

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 There is rise in burden on education budget across the
world. However, there is continuous effort in education sector to
hike its investment in innovation related to literature. Financing is
not showing any trace of slowing down. In the year 2017 alone, the
global Edtech market generated revenue of more than USD 17
billion.Digitization in APEC, EMEA regions and economies like the
US adopting the education technology has led to this phenomenal
growth. According to market research, Asia is one of the fastest
growing learning markets in the world, and by 2020 will hold 23%
of the global Edtech market – Technavio.
Despite of the worth USD 5 trillion Education market
worldwide, a report from EdTechXGlobal found only 2% of the
education market is digitized during 2016. The USD 5 trillion
education market is 8 times as big as the software market and 3
times as big as the size of the media and entertainment industry.
EdTechXGlobal report predicts that the Edutech market size will
be USD 252 billion by 2020, with 17% year-on-year growth. U.S
has evolved as the trend setter, and has seen highest growth in
Edtech market. Asia is presently encountering world’s quickest
development in investment into the sector, and Europe has seen
increments in M&A. The report says that the growth of the global
population will be the biggest challenge for Education industry in
the coming years, by 2035 there will be 2.7 billion students
worldwide and the current education model will fail to deliver
quality education to these growing numbers. Mobile penetration
will play a major role in designing and delivering education in the
near coming future. Coursera is one among many startups
leveraging mobile technology to deliver specialized courses,

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offering MOOCS (Massive Open Online Course). Its massive scale
model is proving to be highly competitive and the company is set
to reach USD 30 million yearly revenues. Benjamin Vedrenne-
Cloquette, Co-Founder, EdTechXGlobal says, "In a rapidly
evolving economy where skill sets continue to progress at an
accelerated pace, digital models offer a way to capture these
changes and offer new routes for re-skilling as well as addressing
widespread labor shortages, 50% of current jobs won't exist in
2025, and consequently, there will be a growing need to re-train
the workforce in order to address current skill gaps and increase
the use of continuous learning.”
Income from online courses for K-12 hopped 310% from
the year before, in portion since the definition of “online courses”
has expanded. “We used to think of online courses as standalone
offered course like MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses), but
now companies have really broadened to include any digital
curriculum that can even be integrated within the classroom and
with face to face work” - Karen Billings, VP of Education
Technology Industry Network.
Technavio analysts forecast the global higher education
testing and assessment market to grow at a CAGR of close to 5%
during the forecast period, according to their latest market
research report.The global higher education, testing and
assessment market 2018-2022 will witness an increase in the
adoption of digital badges. Many higher education institutions are
adopting digital badges in their assessment methodologies. Digital
badges are a graphical representation of the performance of
people. They are a validated indicator of the accomplishment, skill,

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and quality of students in both academic and non-academic
learning environments. Using digital badges, schools and
universities can measure and quantify the skill levels of students
and their achievements. 12
There are a few trends going on the education industry in
order to develop those skills. One among those is online corporate
learning. The Clayton Christensen Institute foresees increasing
propulsion for online corporate learning initiatives. Increasing
number of companies are realizing that there’s great value in
furthering their employees’ knowledge in ways that are flexible,
cost effective, and tailored to each individual’s needs.
In comparison to the MOOCs that are still battling to find
the most excellent way to dependable income stream, business
centered on corporate e-learning have discovered a business
model that is working well. The power of custom-made training
from online corporate learning on any device can be experienced
by any industry employee at all levels, 24/7. The apprentice can
prepare on their own schedule using custom-made formats.
Corporate e-learning has potential to deliver new models of
teaching in spite of being a young industry.
The mixture of online learning and aptitude based training
procedure is making a progressive approach towards education.
Since it consolidates not only right learning model, but the right

12
BusinessWire, Global Higher Education Testing and Assessment
Market 2018-2022, Adoption of Digital Badges to Boost Demand,
Technavio

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innovation models, customers, and business and it is agile and
versatile to the fluctuating market as well it has “great disruptive
potential.”
Suppliers can make differing qualities of stackable
programs for a variety of industries, consolidate them and also
keep costs down by blending modularization with judgment to
effectively weigh the capabilities. Online proficiency based learning
opportunities such as those offered by the online degree programs
offer assistance to students through targeted learning outcomes,
customized support, and portable skill sets that the corporation
care about. Anticipate this tendency to showcase the act of
company to establish a value network that helps students interface
directly with possible job offers.
“Because that’s what careers will require, education will be
not just taking information and sharing it back, but also figuring out
what to do with that information in the real world.” - Josefino
Rivera, Educator in Buenos Aires.
“The classroom will be one big makerspace. Technology
like Evernote, Google, and Siri will be standard and will change
what teachers’ value and test for. Basically, if you can ask Siri to
answer a question, then you will not be evaluated on that.
Students will be evaluated on critical thinking and problem solving
skills. Literature and math will be taught, but they will be taught
differently. Math will be taught as a way of learning how to solve
problems and puzzles. In literature, students will be asked what a
story means to them. Instead of taking tests, students will show
learning through creative projects. The role of teachers will be to
guide students in the areas where they need guidance as

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innovators. How do you get kids to be innovative? You let them.
You get out of their way.” Nicholas Provenzano, Educator in
Michigan.
The evolution of adaptable learning tool from the
traditional computer class is changing the method how assign
projects are assigned, concepts are explained and improvement
obtained. In a classroom, to explain concepts that are either big or
small, or mechanism that are taking place quickly or slowly, digital
models and simulations helps teachers to illustrate in an easy way.
The free open source software that teachers can use to
model concepts is being developed by Concord Consortium, a
non-profit that develops technologies for math, science, and
engineering education. The Molecular Workbench provides
science teachers with simulations on topics like fluid mechanics,
gas law and chemical bonding.
“You used to count blocks or beads. Manipulating those
are a little bit more difficult. Now there are virtual manipulative
sites where students can play with the idea of numbers and what
numbers mean, and if I change values and I move things around,
what happens.” - Lynne Schrum, author on schools and
technology.
Technology is also putting students into real world
situations through innovative games, such as Epistemic Games.
These games ask students to deal with real world problems
making them act like journalist, city planner or engineer. The
Epistemic Games Group has given a few illustrations of how
involving of students in the adult world through commercial game
like simulations can help students learn important concepts.

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”Creative professionals learn innovative thinking through training
that is very different from traditional academic classrooms because
innovative thinking means more than just knowing the right
answers on a test. It also means having real world skills, high
standards and professional values, and a particular way of thinking
about problems justifying solutions. Epistemic games are about
learning these fundamental ways of thinking for the digital age.” -
Epistemic Group.
Inventive educationists like Warhol and Escher - capture
ideas and concepts from exterior of their space and discover ways
to use those ideas to develop their work. They are utilizing their
expertise in education and mixing it with expertise external to their
space to develop solutions that challenge the existing status.
A lot has happened since 2005 or so in the effort to use
technology as a medium to educate and train people. Devices,
infrastructure, connectivity, services, products, content, marketing,
parents, students and teachers are adopting and are in line to
revolutionize e-learning. “Just like a mobile phone increased the
connectivity exponentially from 3% that we achieved with landlines
to almost 100% today, a smartphone is here to take the ‘computer’
penetration from 12-13% to around 60-70% in another couple
years.” - Cisco.
Coursera - The online learning platform is one of the best
examples of how Edtech can be employed to provide access to
education at the universal level. By partnering with top universities
and organizations, Coursera has been able to connect the
teacher-student community across the globe. One of the best
education startups in the world is backed by leading venture

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capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, New
Enterprise Associates, GSV Capital, International Finance
Corporation, Laureate Education Inc., and Learn Capital. Helphub -
The instant tutoring platform enables teachers and students to
work together using mobile and web devices. Its ability to provide
an in-depth analysis of all the interactions which takes place on its
platform makes it more popular among the student and teacher
community. 13

With over 600 million students enrolled in K-12 schools in

Asia alone, the scope for expansion of the Edtech companies is
big. Especially with the introduction of MOOCs, the Edtech
startups throughout the globe are all set to garner more
investments and expand gradually.
Technology is transforming anything and everything,
having said that the emerging education technology trend sets AR
(Augmented Reality) that provides a visual simulation which allows
teachers to amplify their lessons and textbook content, and
engages students by transforming the object or place being
studied - or even by transforming the classroom itself. AR has the
power to supplement education across the curriculum and actively
engage learners in a way that is meaningful and reaches multiple

13 Technavio - Top 10 Edtech Companies in the World, 2018

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learning styles. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is seen in most
accustomed intelligent digital assistants like Google Home, Siri
and others for help with everyday life, it is easy to see how AI can
make the jump into the classrooms. Whether by offering insight
into student learning, facilitating communication, or supporting
teachers with grading, AI provides opportunities to transform the
learning process and delegate time-consuming rote tasks, thereby
leaving more time for enhanced learning14. E-Learning Platforms
providing computer based games and apps for digital learning are
emerging and continues to emerge. Audiobooks, dictation
software, and reading apps are already helping students with
visual/auditory challenges. This presents the opportunity for
teachers to plan lessons and assignments that engage the class in
device-based learning, thereby creating a more inclusive
environment for all students.

14 Lexia- 4 Emerging Trends in Educational Technology for 2018

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Digital Public Citizen Services

“There is no greater challenge and there is no greater honor than

to be in public service.”
- Condoleezza Rice

The availability of information at lesser or no cost and with

easy access is the hope from the government. These expectations
from citizens and businesses can only be met by a successful
digital transformation of public sector. A survey by McKinsey
showed that capturing the full potential of government digitization
could free up to USD 1 trillion annually in economic value
worldwide, through improved cost and operational performance.
The efficiency of the system is enhanced by integration and
collaboration, shared services, improved scam management and
advancement in productivity. Governments at any level, either
national, state or regional cannot afford to miss on those savings.
Governments around the world have recognized the
importance of digitalization and have included digital
transformation as one of the prime agendas. Online services are
provided by around 130 countries in the present time. “Estonia’s
1.3 million residents can use electronic identification cards to vote,
pay taxes, and access more than 160 services online, from
unemployment benefits to property registration.”- Mckinsey. The
consolidation of many data sources regarding the government into
a sole platform by the Social Aid information system of Turkey
enables citizens a quicker access on various aid programs. gov.uk

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of United Kingdom government serve as information hub for rural
population to get access of all the government programs.
“Overwhelmingly, we found that digital technologies are
having a major impact on government: Three fourth of the
respondents told us that digital technologies are disrupting the
public sector; nearly all 96% characterized the impact on their
domain as significant. Truly transforming government through the
power of digital technologies will be a journey.”- Deloitte.
The services delivered by the government depends on the
increase of tech experience generations, budget shortcoming and
inflated entitlement spending in the coming years, but digital
technology serves as the main bump compared to other factors.
Due to the digital operating models being counterpart to the analog
models, the government at all plane is at the edge of
transformation. This is happening everywhere around the world.
In order to get the present state of digital transformation in
public sector, Deloitte Digital inspected more than 70 countries,
interviewed around 1200 officials and 140 government leaders and
external experts. This research focused on the prime issues that
should be considered to accelerate digital transformation by the
public leaders. They include 5 topics: user focus, workforce skills,
strategy, procurement and culture.
In spite of all the steady attempts and advancements
made by the governments towards digitalization, most of them are
still far away from capturing the benefits. To successfully capture
benefits of digital transformation, governments should move
beyond just online services. A deeper transformation that can

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improve productivity, collaboration, scale and process efficiency is
required.
The public sector works in an entirely different manner from
private sector; it must resolve additional management issues,
including multiple agencies, a range of organizational mandates
and constituencies, longer appropriation timelines and the
challenge of maintaining strategic continuity as political
administrations change. Thus it becomes essential that the
companies assisting government in IT transformations understand
the difference. For example, it can be difficult to create a focused
target, coordinate on a leadership structure, construct harmony,
and meet implementation timeliness.
It seems to be difficult to invest and produce sufficient
economies on range of platforms when the data and systems are
held by many departments and functions, and with differing
taxonomies and access requirements. IT infrastructure and
common components of a sector or business makes it hard to
connect the internal systems for creating a seamless user
experience for end user - be it a government worker, a business
user or another intergovernmental office. The complications that
arise in projects such as government transformation feel necessity
for functional skills and proficiency at a very high cost and are
often in less supply. A clear technology strategy and leadership
poised to drive the transformation is what separates digital leaders
from rest. This seems to be no surprise, provided that the history
of innovative advancement is scattered with instances of
associations concentrating on technologies without contributing in
organizational capabilities.

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 The government organizations which are digitally
sophisticated have a digital design desired at basic transformation.
“Transformation means more than fixing websites. It goes deeper
than that, right into the organizations behind the websites. There is
no logic to it: Digital service design means designing the whole
service, not just the digital bits.” - Mike Bracken, Former Chief
Digital and Data officer for the government of the UK.
An agile development process with elements as co-
innovation, openness to new ideas from outside, crowdsourcing
and a Silicon Valley style fail-fast-fail-quickly approach to risk is
the kind of culture needed to implement successful digital
transformation in an organization. Such organization culture is
challenging to adapt. “We found resistance to fail fast approaches
in defense departments worldwide. The military culture of
perfection and risk avoidance can balk at the uncertainty of
innovation through failure. Courageous leadership and tenacity
from the top are required to achieve transformation and culture.”-
Governing.com.
To remain competitive among economies globally, digital
and information excellence is required. For few countries this is
even more challenging as there is a shift from their traditional
revenue sources (like energy sector for countries in Middle East).
In a global scenario the digital transformations in
government isn’t restricted to just economic shifts. Associations
like OCED (Organizations for Economic Co-operation and
Development) and EU invite member states with directions and
proposals to bring their governments closer to citizens as OCED
did in its ‘Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies’.

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Just like customer experience is of top most importance in digital
transformation of private sectors, citizen experience is top most
driver of digital transformation of public sectors.
In order to develop the speed of digitization and digital
transformation, many action plans and initiatives were launched by
Australia. The Digital Transformation Office was launched in 2015.
The first step was to create a single digital entity that can enable
citizens to access government services on single platform with a
single login. The “digital heavyweights”, an example for program
undertaken by UK government consisting of establishing a new
consulting group to support digital transformation and government
digital services program.
Despite of challenges that public sector face in
incorporating digital transformation, there are number of examples
of successful government initiatives. The success of gov.uk is
enabling government to provide its citizens, businesses and others
under the government, accurately streamlined and comprehensive
services. The capable leadership by best digital leaders from
various public departments led to the success. This in turn led to
the need of expertise as well as the buy-in of those departments
by the Government Digital Service.
IT Projektraad, a digitalization council under the ministry of
finance was established in Denmark to effectively coordinate large
scale IT projects and generate cost efficiencies. The council’s role
is to make sure that the benefits and financial targets associated
with each project are met. The council often runs pilot projects to
make sure that the investments are effective.

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 Such council requires institutional support from government
to adhere to specific guidelines and processes when planning IT
investment. Best practices, risk evaluation for projects, reviews of
participants are shared with other public departments. These
major oversights have made the government of Danish to enforce
acceptable standards, cut off worthless investments and build
greater project alliance.
Training or reskilling of workforce is mandate to incorporate
any new technology or new workflow in any organization. Re-
Skilling programs like the six week digital boot camps run by the
UK’s Department of Work and Pensions are very much necessary
for successful digital transformation. Organizations require
asserting the humanitarian value of public service, diminishing
impression of hindered bureaucratic darkness to draw in more
youth employees with more of private segment opportunities.
But change in culture need to go ahead of efforts to draw
in these candidates. “You could recruit people into a bad
environment. Those people would tell their friends, and things
would fall apart after that. It is not enough to just recruit.” - Greg
Godbout, U.S. Department of Energy’s CTO.
Higher wages, a more open culture and more clearly
defined mission and vision of private sector often make it
challenging for government organizations to get right talent. To
attract the IT talent, governments have found many ways - for
instance, a major part of government IT infrastructure in South
Korea is focused in a few information centers giving number of
e-government facilities to public. In UK, government is offering fast
track career opportunities for high performers to attract talent from

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private sector. For example, the lead of digital services and
government CIO spend major part of their careers in private
segment.
The procurement process should be simplified by
government to make winning bid purely based on the capabilities
rather than familiarity with bidding process. The U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services’ Buyers Club has mastered this
kind of open proposition approach to obtainment - a procedure that
invites little upstart bidders. Procurement ought to divide large
contracts to littler parts, advance collaboration, and cling to
adaptability and swiftness.
Governments can utilize data analytics and big data to
improve decision making. In fact use of data to make informed
decisions has already been adapted by governments around the
world. The government of U.S. is one among the most dynamic in
influencing the data analytics to back “choice making”. The
government of U.S. made open data legal and privacy framework
in 2009, which led to creation of data.gov, a repository of
government tools, resources, and information on anything from
energy and science to global development and health.
In U.S., businesses and professionals can get help in
conducting research, developing web and mobile apps from more
than 85,000 data sets online. To populate these data sets,
government departments have contributed their most valuable
data and best practices. The government of U.S. arranges
numerous competitions like Apps for Democracy and Apps for
America to draw skilled designers to develop applications that
utilize government data.

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 The particular requirement of the client would be difficult to
anticipate by the directors in this rapidly developing digital
environment. The citizens would not prefer rides to their goals that
an agency has foreseen on their behalf; instead prefer tools and
adaptables and user friendly services. This appeals the services
and process to be collaborated. As same as the procedure
engaged by Wikipedia, citizens of New Zealand were
acknowledged to edit a crime bill. About 3000 datasets was
opened by Singapore government to co-establish around 110
applications with its public. U.S. Treasury is collecting feedback
from citizens through website metrics.
With all this data, comes the need for security.
Digitalization has made data security top most national security
concern. Cyber-attacks and critical systems failure have been
identified as two of the most dangerous global risks by the World
Economic Forum. For government, cyber-attacks not only cause
financial loses, they also pose serious reputation risks.
Most developed and major economies have created a
national cyber security strategy that involves information sharing
mechanisms, data breach security and many advanced data
security tools that can detect and prevent data thefts. The UK
Fusion Cell serves the example where masters from private and
government sector are brought together in threat analysis and
information sharing hub. The primary duties of the government are
to detect fraud and crime for the betterment of its citizens.
Performance in these areas can be accelerated by ambient
computing. Greater business value can be achieved when sensors

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are used with data integration, data analytics platforms and a
sound cyber security system.
The public sector CIOs have to choose from the large
systems that has supported their agencies for decades and the
digital wave of social media, mobility, analytics and cloud (SMAC).
In an intention to advance their traditional transactional systems,
these CIOs are considering the ways they can utilize the lessons
learned over time to motivate modern administrations and
development at the core. This “major renaissance” requires lot of
integration, coordination, and adjustment by IT leaders of public
sector.
Governments around the world have led adopting
technologies like artificial intelligence in critical areas like national
intelligence and defense. However, they are lagging behind their
commercial counterparts in using AI and language processing
capabilities to improve operational efficiencies. The efforts and
intelligence of public sector can be augmented and amplified with
machine learning generating data driven insights that will improve
decision making in variety of ways.
The experienced public sector workers are quitting while
the agencies with modern proficiency youth workers are replacing
them. This varying platform is pushing innovation leaders to re-
evaluate their reach to skill management for present and the
future. Everything is designed up to date, right from the kinds of
talents modern employees should possess to the new staffing
structure and service delivery. The modern public sector leaders
are centering their focus on the workforce which will be expected
to supply value from these investments. Employing the desired

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ability with right talent sets will result in a combination of long
simmering challenges and opportunities.
Digital technologies have raised expectations of customers
for getting their needs delivered quickly and in a frictionless
manner. However a different experience is offered by regional
governments like forms have to be printed then mailed, payments
taken only in cash or check, appointments that have to be
conducted in person and in offices open only from 9AM to 5PM.
This trend has created a scenario where people find it easy to
compare restaurants, pubs than public schools and organizations.
It’s a missed opportunity for governments not as it were in
progressing comfort of living of public they serve, but also to
illustrate their esteem and raise civic engagement.
Either, it may be starting the new business or driver license
renewal, some local governments are utilizing innovation and
client centered mentality to innovate and serve the public in a
better way. In order to have a significant effect, government
administrations need a considerable gathering of people. To make
scaling for government more efficient, there is a need to merge
and collaborate online and offline efforts. Efficient government
utilizes both online as well as offline and focuses to construct a
digital audience. They provide customer service touch points,
subscription opportunities at all centers and community events on
their social media. To facilitate the customers for easy subscription
for the updates on particular area of interest, their websites are
being customized. For example, the city of Minneapolis, in order to
attract clients to subscribe for emergency snow alerts, they
advertise the GovDelivery alert subscription option in mailings, on

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billboards and on social media. For an efficient integration,
governments need to create different accounts for paying taxes,
utility charges or trash pickup fee connected on a same
government website.
Smart segmenting is required to serve large populations, to
achieve the private sector standards of services and engagement.
Government organizations must also segment their customers
while keeping the citizen’s privacy as topmost concern. To attract
and engage citizens in programs and initiatives of regional
government specifically tailored communications are of prime
importance. For example, for efficient sanitation services, junk pick
up note is offered by the city of Louisville through GovDelivey,
sectioned by area. Over 12,000 families have subscribed to get
alert message of the schedule of junk pick up a week before and
one day prior of the schedule.
The governments are capable and should consider that the
right technology in pockets of right associations is able to create
radical affects. The ordinary services of the government were
completed by only 30% of the adults digitally, according to the
report of Pew research study in 2014. The worldwide governments
are on the way to provide an actual public associated experience.
Without the collaboration of better thought-out communications
methodology and right innovation, it won’t be long for the
individuals to get a clean, persistent experience from the public
sector.

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Guided and Predictable Disruption - Open Innovation

“If you are not failing every now and again, it is a sign that you are
not doing anything very innovative”.
- Woody Allen

Open Innovation is a concept that falls directly in the gap

between business and academics. This term was first coined by
Dr. Henry Chesbrough, Executive Director, center for Open
Innovation, It is considered to be more involving, more allocated
and more decentralized. It is well known that useful information is
widely distributed. Thus it is very difficult for a company, however
big it is, to innovate on its own.
To establish an open innovation eco-system in any
organization, there is a vital role for an overarching architecture,
which can connect these activities and a re-innovated business
model will determine what ideas and technology companies should
bring in and what they should allow to go out. Open innovation
brings in a lot of opportunities for businesses. Manager of
innovation is a new job role that can be seen in majority of
organizations around the world. In this age of innovation hundreds
of software companies and consultants are providing products and
services in open innovation.
Open innovation can be brought into any organization
using two approaches, one is “Outside in” where the firm is open
to the idea about bringing in external ideas and technologies, and
the other is “Inside out”, where the company shares the
underutilized technologies with other firms. The businesses which

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can successfully make decisions on what to look for outside and
what to let go outside will be key players in open innovation.
“There are other ways some people define open
innovation, just as Eskimos have dozens of words for “snow”.
Some claim it works just like open source software, it doesn’t. The
business model for innovation is a key part of open innovation.
Others think that it is just supply chain management, it isn’t. Open
innovation involves many other actors that fall far outside
traditional supply chains (such as universities or individuals), and
these participants in open innovation can be influenced, but often
are not actually directed or managed. Some claim it is user
innovation, it’s not. The user is certainly very important to open
innovation, but so are universities, startups, corporate R&D and
venture capital.” - Forbes.
The mobility of knowledge amongst other factors has led to
the depletion of closed innovation; the increase in mobility and
availability of highly educated has resulted in flow of knowledge
between firms and industry verticals. Another factor playing a
significant role in the rise of open innovation is the growing number
of funding options available to innovative ideas and technologies.
The added advantages that open innovation brings to the
organization has made companies to actively look for the ways to
increase the efficiency, effectiveness and pace of their innovation
process. Open innovation has created a need of collaboration
between the firm, vendors, suppliers and even the competitors to
enhance customer experience.
The logic that supports internal and centralized R&D
approach has become irrelevant for many industry segments

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because of the ease of flow of knowledge and industry best
practices. However, satisfying customers’ need to convert
research into products and services must be top priority. To get
better results, integration of researchers with outside innovators
and their ideas, skills and expertise can be highly useful.
The closed innovation has definitely favored the big
companies by its implicit rules. They invested heavily on research
and development and were able to hire and retain the best talent.
These investments have helped companies to get best and
greatest number of ideas leading them to the market first. These
advantages allowed the companies to earn more profit which they
protected smartly using the implicit rules of closed innovation like
intellectual property.
Till the 20th century the model of closed innovation worked
well. Thanks to the model companies in many industries which
established their centralized research labs and many innovators
like Thomas Edison invented a number of revolutionary
technologies and devices like electric bulb, which led to the
establishment of General Electric’s famed Global Research Center
in Niskayuna, New York. In the chemical industry players like
Dupoint established a research lab to come up with a variety,
processes and products like synthetic fibers Kevlar and Lycra etc.
The use closed innovation approach started depleting towards the
end of the 20th century.
The increase in the knowledge flow and growing number of
venture capital firms has given researchers and scientists an
outside option which they lacked previously. In a venture capital
financial setup, the inventors has the authority to start any

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innovation or invention if it does not start on time. If the startup
flourishes well - it will have option of getting more funds through
stock offering or it could be acquired by any other company at an
attractive price. Thus the open innovation system have changed
the whole landscape drastically where the company originally
funding the innovation might not get the profit out of it, and a
company actively and smartly looking for outside innovations might
get to reap the profits.
To take the advantage of open innovation some companies
include startup companies with a licensing agreement, companies
can also bring in and commercialize ideas from outside of their
own lab. In simple words open innovation is making the wall
between an organization and surrounding more and more porous,
enabling innovation and knowledge transfer at a much higher pace
than ever.
The rise of the open innovation is based on abundant
knowledge. To create value for the company that created and
funded it, the knowledge must be used readily. But this doesn’t
mean that the organization should restrict knowledge to its internal
market, it should benefit from the others’ use of the knowledge or
technology through licensing agreements or knowledge exchange.
How a company screens its ideas is a major differentiator
between a closed and open innovation. In any research process,
the managers and the researchers have to make decisions of
choosing good and bad ideas and there are possibilities of false
positive while weeding out bad ideas in both closed and open
innovation. However, open innovation is always the best practice.

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Closed innovation restricts firm from adding any new features later
on.
Xerox and Palo Alto Research center is an appropriate
example. The enormous technologies developed in these research
centers gave rise to Ethernet and Graphical User Interface (GUI).
However at that time these inventions were not considered to be
profitable for these businesses as Xerox was focused on copiers
and printers. In simple words the technologies were false
negatives and obsolete for Xerox at that time and were
commercialized by some other companies reaping enormous profit
for them.
Innovation and desire to do something new has always
been the most essential tools in maintaining business success and
improving market competitiveness. The traditional “closed”
innovation model faced troubles and implementation of new ideas
was also difficult. The internal team also lacked interest in looking
for new ideas. There exist numerous examples where open
innovation was implemented irrespective of the size of the
organization.
When it comes to implementing dissimilar open innovation
ideas, GE leads. Addressing world problems with the help of
crowdsourcing innovation has always been their motto. Their Open
Innovation Manifesto aims on uniting entrepreneurs and experts
from all across the globe to share ideas and tackle different issues.
“We believe openness leads to inventiveness and usefulness.” -
GE.
GE’s First Build is a join up platform, connecting engineers,
architects, designers and experts to share their ideas to others and

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among themselves. Basic fundamental of First Build is to create
new appliances to solve issues. The manufacturing process is
done in GE’s small factories where ideas turn into product with the
help of machines and tools.
NASA adopted open innovation to build algorithm to
estimate the ideal number of medical kits required for manned
space projects. NASA joined hands with Harvard Business School,
London Business School and TopCoder to design the software
required. In this collaboration, TopCoder members were provided
2833 code submissions to help NASA build the intended algorithm.
The winners were offered USD 24,000 in cash prizes plus having
seats to watch remaining shuttle mission launches. “The Space
Life Sciences strategy involves developing collaborative business
models to drive innovation.” - Dr. Jeffrey Davis, Director of NASA’s
Space Life Sciences Directorate.
Software enthusiast and coders around the world
collaborate to solve NASA’s problems. This promotes open
innovation where anyone can contribute to solve the problem. UK,
Japan, Brazil, and Indonesia gave the best solution. Open
innovation requires numerous sources to achieve success.
Since the invention of fountain dispenser, Coca Cola has
been the leader in terms of innovation. It has been accepting open
innovation ideas from its team, entrepreneurs and consumers. The
Coca Cola Accelerator program aims to help startups in eight cities
around the world: Sydney, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin,
Singapore, Istanbul, San Francisco, and Bangalore. The basic aim
of these startups is to bring new ideas to build Happiness Coca
Cola brand. Coca Cola’s another innovative project was Freestyle

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dispenser machine. It allows users across the globe to create their
own fusion drink and suggest Coca Cola for new flavor. The ideas
are collected through Coca Cola’s mobile application. The different
ideas are considered for implementation in next line of product.
Lego encountered drastic drops in sales and subsequently
in revenues in the early 1960s, these drops led the company to
more rapidly adopt innovation approach. The re-invented strategy
of Lego was more consumer centric linking business and
creativity. This strategy was known as, Lego’s Shared Vision.
Open innovation models were used to innovate new ideas. Lego’s
website allowed consumers to design their own Lego sets. If the
ideas attain a target vote, Lego can consider it as new product.
The small part of revenue goes to creator of the set. “People don’t
have to work for us to work with us.” - Lego.
Samsung is another example of open innovation model. It
aims to build innovation strengths through Samsung Accelerator
program. Office spaces, statistical capital, and product support are
some of the facilities provided to entrepreneurs to help them to
build software and services. This program is available in Palo Alto,
New York, and San Francisco. “Open Innovation Center has four
legs to it, and it’s sort of the continuum of how you would partner
with talented entrepreneurs. The first is a partnership team - think
of commercial partnerships between us and a third party. The
second is a ventures group, that is, R&D investments in startups.
The third is an M&A team; we think there is an opportunity to
acquire small teams, fit them into Samsung, and have them build
products as part of the company. The fourth involves accelerators,
which we have opened in Palo Alto and New York City.” - Marc

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Shedroff, Vice President of Samsung’s Open Innovation Center.
After the breakup of Bell systems (AT&T), Lion’s share of Bell
Laboratories was inherited by Lucent technologies. Bell labs
arguably the most premier research institution of 20th century
should have been a decisive weapon for Lucent technologies.
Even though Cisco systems lacked extensive internal R&D, it has
somehow managed to stay ahead of Lucent.
Cisco and Lucent followed two different approaches of
innovation while competing across same industry. Lucent invested
enormous efforts and resources in exploring the world of new
materials and state of the art components and systems, seeking
fundamental discoveries that could fuel future generations of
products and services. Cisco on the other hand continuously
acquired the much needed technology from outside by efficiently
evaluating and acquiring technology startups. Without conducting
much research, Cisco led in terms of R&D.
There were several other instances when open innovation
has been triumphant. Despite of having an effective research, IBM
could not compete against Intel and Microsoft in computer
business. Something similar happened with mobile industry. Nokia
jumped to top in just 20 years and companies like Siemens and
Motorola were mere spectators.

Many industries- including copiers, computers, disk drives,

semiconductors, telecommunication equipment, pharmaceuticals,
biotechnology and even military weapons and communication
systems are transitioning from closed to open innovation. For such
businesses, a number of critically important innovations have

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emerged from seemingly unlikely sources. Indeed, the locus of
innovation in these laboratories of the largest companies and is
not situated among various startups, universities, research
consortia and other outside organizations. This trend goes well
beyond high technology - other industries such as automotive,
healthcare, banking, insurance and consumer packaged goods
have also been leaning toward open innovation.
Many industries witness vanishing of internally oriented
and centralized approach to research and development. The
knowledge is available widely. The only requirement is to use the
ideas effectively. If not, they will be lost. These factors combine
internal R&D with external ideas and knowledge to create new
innovation. In short, companies can use outside ideas for their own
development and share internal ideas to contribute in open
innovation.

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Women Entrepreneurship

For decades, women have understood, initiated and operated

businesses across horizon in almost all industry sectors. They
deserve the appreciation of being extremely focused, determined and
successful. Despite the fact that the independent ventures possessed
by women have customarily been in the service sector, lately women
have been aligning themselves into various other sectors such as
construction, industrial, logistics, services and manufacturing.
Although, women face problems in the field of business, they have
developed expertise and knack of tackling situations and overcoming
them. Women today have broken the barriers and have written their
saga high in today’s business landscapes. Their contributions are
redefining technology, engineering, fashion, agriculture, creative and
all sorts of industries. One out of three entrepreneurs worldwide is
women.

However, notwithstanding societal standards that keep on

wearing down circumstances and accomplishment for women
entrepreneurs, womens’ are changing enterprises and discovering
approaches to prevail with the organizations. Women Entrepreneurs
are playing a vital role in the economic development of their nation.
Women have great emotional intelligence which at leadership roles let
them tackle the emotions appropriately. Being a women entrepreneur
make it easy to fund their startups as they are eligible to receive
grants from various NGO’s and government initiatives.

Women Entrepreneurs are playing a vital role in the monetary

improvement of their nation. Women’s emotional intelligence

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leadership roles let them tackle the emotions appropriately. Being a
women entrepreneur make it easy to fund their startups as they are
eligible to receive grants from various NGO’s and government
initiatives. Imperatively, more young women are considerably
enabling and empowering - as per the BNP Paribas Global
Entrepreneur Report 2016, the number of successful women
entrepreneur raised significantly over prior generations. Education
and healthcare industry are predominantly administered by women
entrepreneurs.

Some of the notable Women Entrepreneurs:

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is india’s richest self-made women and also
India’s first biotech entrepreneur, founded Biocon in 1978 at the age
of 25. Biocon is the only second company to list a USD 1billion IPO
on its first day of trading. Biocon is India’s largest producer and
exporter of enzymes. In 2014, she was awarded the Othmer Gold
Medal, for outstanding contributions to the progress of science and
chemistry. According to Forbes she has a real time net worth of USD
3.4 Billion and was listed in 2017 the most powerful women in the
world at 71st position.

Tory Burch is an American fashion designer, businesswoman. She is

the chairman, CEO and designer of her own brand Tory Burch LLC
which is an American fashion Label. She is the billionaire queen of
USD200 ballet flat15. As an art history graduate she worked for
designers like Ralph Lauren and Vera Wang before starting her own
brand in 2004 and was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey in later year. A

Forbes - THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL FEMALE

15
ENTREPRENEURS

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separate activewear line, Tory Sport was launched in 2015. In 2015,
she established the Tory Burch foundation which intends to empower
women entrepreneurs through low cost loans and mentorship
programs. She has a net worth of USD 800 million.

Sara Blakely is an American billionaire businesswoman. She is the

founder of Spanx. Spanx Inc. is an American underwear maker
focusing on shaping briefs and leggings. She started her business at
29 with her life time savings of USD5000 as an attempt to come up
with something that can be worn under white slacks. Her carrier took
a turn 6 months later when a one-time Disney world greeter and door
to door fax machine salesperson found that her brand of shaping
underwear was one of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things. Since then her
business has grown from one hit wonder to a worth of USD250 Million
in annual revenues with net margin profits estimated at 20%.Today
Spanx sells its undergarments, leggings, and maternity wear in 65
countries. She has a net worth of USD 1 billion.

JK Rowling is a British novelist. She is known for writing The Harry

Potter Series. Rowling was working for Amnesty International as
researcher and bilingual secretary. She got the idea of Harry Potter
series in 1990, while on a delayed train from Manchester to London.
Rowling was a single mother and broke until the first novel in Harry
Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was
published. She had success since then. Penned 6 sequels and sold
500 Million copies worldwide. The Harry potter series was also
adapted to film. The film franchise and theme park also kept the
profits coming in. She is the world first billionaire author.

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Oprah Winfrey is one of the most influential women in the world.
It all started with her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show which is the
highest rated program of its kind. Her interview with Michael Jackson
in 1993 is the most watch interview ever with an audience of 36.5
million. She was born in rural poverty and was brought up by her
single mother who depended on government welfare payments in a
poor urban neighborhood. Winfrey became a millionaire at the age of
32. She built her business empire from her talk show. In 2011 after
bidding goodbye to her daytime TV show she launched cable channel
OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) partnering with discovery. In 2017
Discovery Communications purchased 24.5% of OWN from Oprah.
Forbes estimates that Oprah’s share of OWN is worth about $75
million. Her shares in Weight Watchers have grown from USD43.5
million to USD400 million, of which she has been brand ambassador
and board of member since 2015. At present she has a net worth of
USD2.7 billion. She was the richest African American of 20th century
and North America’s first black billionaire.

Ankita Vashistha is the founder Saha fund. It is India’s first Venture

capital fund for women entrepreneurs. She had this idea as an
investor, when she noticed that women never made pitch during the
meeting even though they are cofounders of the startup. The fund
raised an initial corpus of 100 crore, investors include former Infosys
chief financial officer and serial angel investor Mohandas Pai, Biocon
chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and former Accenture India
chairman Avinash Vashistha, who is also Ankita’s father. 16

16 Forbes, Economic Times

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Digital Managed Services

Corporate Innovation Platform: Digital is so integral to

everyday life that it’s no longer “just” a technology. It’s how people
live and work - how they shop, bank, learn, communicate with
each other, and interact with a host of providers. Private-sector
innovators continue to rapidly reshape expectations of what
constitutes a great digital customer experience.
As a result, customer expectations keep growing and
evolving - flowing like liquid from one experience to another. What
does that mean to government agencies? For starters, it means
it’s more important than ever to understand what customers want
and need - and to put people first as when designing and
supporting customer experience.
It also points to the reality that engaged employees and
consistently positive customer experience (customer loyalty) are
what drive organizational success. One of the best ways to deliver
exceptional outcomes is by inviting those people - your employees
and customers - to the table to help design and support
breakthrough experiences.
Does that sound dramatically different from government’s
traditional process-driven approach? It is. This represents a major
- and essential - shift.
This shift is already underway. In fact, we’re applying this
approach now as we help our federal clients bridge the gap from
vision to real-world deployment, enabling exceptional service
delivery and experiences that citizens love.

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 https://www.accenture.com/us-en/service-connected-customer

Consulting – Reimagine Customer Experience and

Business: Reimagine customer experience and business if done
with the motive of current digital transformation and completion,
you are thinking wrong and this strategy is just a temporary and
short term solution. Customer and Business re-imagination must
be sensed from the angle of future perspective, which in other
word means, the solution must be very competitive and last for at
least a decade from now. Automation, Customer Engagement and
Transformation are the key for future business. The primary goal
for any business is its services and cost efficiency, customer
satisfaction and customer experience. The technology utilization
which was on premise earlier, be oriented to hosting and further to
clould/hybrid.
The phase of analytics earlier used to be descriptive, it is
now crucial for them to be predictive as well prescriptive. The key
skills assessment must feature embracing responsiveness,
product knowledge, services, digital technology, identification of
problems/opportunity, cross selling thought application, advanced
analytics and cross functional and flexible system/solution model
such as Reimagine Customer Experience, Reimaging Business,
Process Transformation, Business Transformation, Domain
Expertise, Business Strategy and Competitive Intelligence.

Transformation – Digital Solution: Digital Solution must

not be a mere solution for process accomplishment. It must be
analytics-led transformation along with application of futuristic

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compliances and solutions using analytics consultancy, technology
and creative capabilities. The result of the solution must align to
produce desired business outcomes, shape a comprehensive data
vision. It must establish wide range of analytics approach to define
clear business objectives and coherent how analytics and new
intelligence will drive tangible expected outcomes. The solution
must include data strategy, envisioning the execution roadmap,
combining RPA, cloud, mobility, blockchain, AI, social media, IoT,
data, machine learning and cyber security with advanced analytics
to unlock new intelligence. The solutioning process to augment the
power of humans with artificial intelligence. Leverage AI and
advanced analytics algorithms to sense, comprehend, act and
learn across value chain at an unprecedented speed and scale.

Operations – Intelligent Workforce: Operations across

all sectors including services are replacing manpower to digital
workers. The future belongs to intelligent operations - connecting
data, intelligence, human thoughts to generate insight-led decision
making, ulterior customer experience and innovative business
outcomes. Intelligent digital workforce (RPA) is enabling
replacement of high percentage of manual work with great
accuracy level. The case studies have proved that the data
intensive process with over 30% of error rate have dropped to 0%
from the introduction of robots. People are relieved on performing
the most mundane and repetitive tasks that facts that robots
replacing humans.
The operations at workplace is set to have both human and
digital, becoming an intelligent workforce completing the task / set

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of tasks with the power of automation, analytics and decision
making capabilities while increasing the productivity and quality
and cutting down the cost. Task bots are the tireless 24/7
operational digital workforce. Enterprise RPA is automation for
every rule based process, automating any business process with
scalable software robots that interact with any system / application.
In the process of intelligent workforce operations, cognitive bots
plays an SME role, learning from the best and help continue
improve process on its own. It uses machine learning for the
processes that need expert decision making.
http://www.the-financedirector.com/features/featurethe-intelligent-workforce-
robotic-process-automation-5712079/

https://www.automationanywhere.com/digital-workforce

Impact – Business Impact Score Card / Metrics: Digital

workforce analytics synthesize real-time bot-level data to generate
business insights that measure effectiveness and set scale.
Unprecedented content-level information-that is, every action of
every bot-yields real-time process statistics and operational
analytics for your digital workforce.
https://www.automationanywhere.com/digital-workforce

Human error, heavy workloads, and mind-numbing

processes. What do they all have in common? Robots can solve
these problems. But instead of R2-D2, think RPA.

Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is autonomous

software programmed to follow rule-based tasks just as a human

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would. The difference is that robotic decision making and
outcomes are predictable, consistent, and 100 percent accurate.

Some of the metrics to measure the full ROI of an RPA

deployment are Velocity - Measure the start time versus stop time
of a back-office process before and after an RPA deployment and
compare. Productivity - Measure the length of time human workers
spent on a task versus how quickly robots complete that same
task. Quality - Measure output accuracy before and after RPA
deployment, it should be 100 percent after. Compliance - Measure
compliance before and after RPA deployment, it should be 100
percent after.
https://www.sutherlandglobal.com/our-thinking/four-ways-to-measure-the-roi-of-
an-rpa-deployment

Action – Insights / Decisions: The whole process of

innovative corporate digital operational transformation enables
precise actions and decisions such as the negative / positive
news, medium risk / high risk process etc. Competitive data
intelligence, executive actions and business decisions are done
most appropriately with the insights and assessments performed
and predicted by digital workforce and its analytics dashboard.

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Innovation by Global Leaders

“Some people see innovation as change, but we have never really

seen it like that. It's making things better.”
- Tim Cook

AMAZON - Amazon Go, a physical food/grocery store with

a killer feature: No checkout lines. Using the company’s “Just Walk
Out” technology, customers use an app to enter the store, pick out
the products they want, and then head out the door.The charges
for groceries are automatically deducted through customers
Amazon account. To anyone who’s ever sat in a grocery checkout
line for 20 minutes because the person in front of you is fighting
over an expired coupon.
Amazon Prime, offers paid subscription service called
Amazon Prime in monthly and yearly terms. With Prime, customer
avail free delivery, that too within couple of hours of order
placement. It also comes with benefits such as streaming ad-free
videos and music. Amazon has over 100 million Prime subscribers
worldwide. Prime Air could be a deal breaker - letting customers to
get their orders delivered in 30 minutes or less via drones who
drop them at your doorstep. That’s right, flying robots will deliver
your packages immediately after you place your order.
Alexa or Amazon Alexa is a virtual assistant that is
developed by Amazon. It was first used in Amazons brand of
smart speakers Echo and Echo Dot which are again developed by
Amazon. Alexa can be used for voice interactions to get real time

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information such as news, sports and weather. It can also be used
to control home automation systems.
Amazon Web Services is yet another offering from Amazon
which provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to
customers via paid subscription services. They provide a multitude
of services that includes analytics, networking, datable, storage,
networks and Internet of Things.

APPLE took the smartphone industry by storm in 2007

when they came in with the iphone. Since after they have
designed and marketed multiple generations of iphone. Apple
have sold over 1.2 billion iphones worldwide.
iTunes turned the traditional music distribution model on its
head, making individually priced songs the norm, and making CDs
obsolete in a short period of time. iTunes proved that digital media
distribution could be done on a large scale, bringing music, TV,
and film to the digital age. It also became an integral part of
Apple's best-selling product.
iTunes disrupted the conventional music sharing model,
making CDs outdated. iTunes demonstrated that computerized
media dispersion be possible on a substantial scale, bringing
entertainment to the digital age.
Apple Watch was another awaited product from Apple that
was launched in 2015. Apple watch is a wearable smartphone
watch that incorporates sensors for fitness tracking, monitoring
and reporting. Apple watch can track your walk, run and sleep,
monitor heartbeat, control smart home etc.

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 MICROSOFT - Skype Translator is an online translator that
breaks down language barriers by helping users communicate in
over 10 languages for voice calls, and in more than 60 languages
while instant messaging.
Video to Language addresses the fundamental challenge
of computer vision, by using Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) to
get it to describe video content in complete and natural sentences.
Microsoft Cognitive Services let developers add machine
learning APIs to build intelligent features into their apps. The
features consist of vision, voice, facial recognition and language
understanding.

GOOGLE - After acquiring Software Urchin Corp in 2005

google launched Google Analytics. It is a freemium web analytics
platform that let you analyze and report the web data for optimizing
its usage.
Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google
which is based on modified version Linux Kernel and other open
source software. It was designed for touch screen smartphones
and tablets. It is now one of the highest selling operating system in
the market with over 2 billion monthly active users.
Google Assistant, Google Now is Google’s virtual assistant
that is fueled by artificial intelligence. It was initially launched as
part of google’s messaging app Allo. Unlike other virtual assistant
Google Now can engage in a two way interaction.

FACEBOOK - In 2017 Facebook announced its

collaboration with Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart

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TV to come up with a Facebook TV app. This app lets users
watch, share the video content and also watch trending videos
from worldwide.
Facebook Messenger Chatbot uses artificial intelligence.
Facebook teamed up with several brands which lets customer
receive personalized updates from these brands. Facebook
chatbots are live round the clockand send near-instant responses
to user inquiries. Although the sole purpose of chatbot is to answer
FAQs, it still frees up valuable time for your customer service staff.
On the note of potential customers, Facebook chatbots are great
for engaging with those who have discovered you via Facebook
and are ready to purchase something from your e-commerce
business. Facebook chatbot has the ability to retain tons of data
from customer conversations. This data is then put into action, it
can lead to more targeted social media and omnichannel
marketing strategies. Facebook Analytics is great for visualizing
the activity of your Messenger bot. You can see the total users that
are engaging with the bot, the demographics of these users, and
the retention rate. With e-commerce software capabilities, your
Facebook chatbot can identify the item which the customer is
looking for and connect them to that item via social media call-to-
action (CTA) buttons in a matter of seconds.Facebook messenger
with 1.3 billion active users worldwide is ranked second among all
the mobile chat apps. Facebook, however, still remains as the
most popular social media network, with 79 percent of U.S. adults
obtaining a profile, making Facebook marketing is a deal-breaker
for social media marketing teams. With a 73 percent satisfaction
rate, live chat software has emerged as the top way for customers

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to interact with businesses. Up to 85 percent of all customer-
business interactions will take place without a human intermediary
by 2020.

UBER lauched its online food ordering and delivering

platform in 2014 called Uber Eats. It let customers view the menu,
order and pay for food to eateries around them.
Uber customer experience - Uber accesses device and
sensor level information by tapping into data generated by the
device accelerometer to detect the frequency of braking, device
movement and overall speed of the vehicle is also detected. The
data gathered through the app is analysed by Uber. Daily reports
are sent to Uber drivers, which gives them an idea of how effective
they are in guaranteeing the highest levels of customer
satisfaction. Besides, inputs about the driver's driving patterns in
comparison to other drivers in their city with suggestions towards
providing a smoother and safer ride helps improve the ride
experience for passengers. Uber provides an incredible
opportunity to improve road safety in new and innovative ways -
before, during and after every ride.
Uber Health is a HIPPA Complaint technology. It is a
platform where doctors can arrange a pickup ride for their patients.
The main aim of this service is to make sure a safe transportation
as it is specifically designed and made patient friendly. There is a
special Dashboard designed for scheduling rides for patients. Here
the healthcare associate schedules future patient appointments or
just demand a ride. The patient is then contacted by Uber via text
or call regarding detailed information of their pickup and drop-off

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locations and timings of when the driver will reach the pick-up
destination. Once the driver reaches the pick-up location, the
patient is then picked up and dropped off on schedule. No other
phone calls or follow-up is required from the side of Health
associate regarding patient’s safe journey.

BOEING AnalytX uses their aerospace expertise with data

based information to optimize operation and the mission. The
Analytics enabled product and services of Boeing AnalytX is
offered in three categories to the customers as - Digital Solutions.
This is a set of analytics enabled software applications addressing
the needs of crew and fleet scheduling, flight/mission planning,
operations, maintenance planning/management, inventory and
logistics. Analytics consulting services includes a group of
aviation, business, and analytics professionals who are ready to
help customers improve their operational performance, efficiency,
and economy. Self-Service Analytics is the latest category that
opens up the data behind the digital solutions for customers to
explore and discover new insights and opportunities using Boeing
provided analytics tools.

GENERAL ELECTRICS (GE) - The Digital Wind Farm is a

comprehensive hardware and software solution comprised of
customizable 2 megawatt and 3 megawatt wind turbine products,
and a suite of applications. It is built on the Predix software
platform, that brings new value to wind farm. This added wind
project value begins with the latest hardware, including an
assortment of rotor diameters, tower heights and turbine ratings.

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Modular turbine technology enables one to vary turbine
parameters to meet pad-specific conditions and economics.
Centricity 360, a GE Predictive solution helps Hospital
Administrators streamline clinical collaboration with unaffiliated
clinicians and patients to help reduce duplicate imaging to avoid
unnecessary patient transfers, lower CD (Compact Disk)
distribution costs and enhance referral relationships – all with no
capital investment.
The Centricity Cardio Enterprise solution is an integrated
cardiovascular clinical informatics system. It includes both CVIS
(Cardiovascular Information System) and CVPACS
(Cardiovascular Picture Archiving and Communication System)
functionality to provide clinicians full access to a single,
comprehensive cardiovascular patient record. Centricity Cardio
Enterprise features web-enabled technology capable of driving
workflow efficiencies and integrating with current IT systems.

TESLA made a breakthrough in the electric car

manufacturing segment with their long battery ranges and cutting
edge software technology. Combining the hardware with their
software, the Tesla model cars are the future. With application
updates, the users can treat their Tesla cars as an App. The cars
comes in with a Autopilot mode which provide driver assistance
that is capable of braking, steering, throttle in particular scenarios
and also is capable of changing lanes just using turn signals.

IBM – Medtronic built a cognitive mobile personal assistant

app to assist with daily diabetes management. It uses IBM steams

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and Watson platform for health to help improve lives of people with
diabetes, building a mobile personal assistant app for diabetes
management that will provide actionable glucose insights and
predictions.
Brownells and IBM Business Partner Salient Process
deployed IBM Operational Decision Manager software to optimize
business rules management, processing every regulation that
could affect the buying experience through the company’s rules
engine.17
IBM’s latest innovation is an AI powered robot microscopes
that can help cleaning up water resource. The AI powered
autonomous robotic camera developed by IBM has the power to
monitor the behavior of microscopic plankton that helps identify
chemical pollution level and temperature variations of water. The
data from these cameras can give ideas on the factors affecting
quality of water resources and life in it.

DARPA – Defense Advanced Research Project Agency

(DARPA) is a defense agency for United States. DARPA develops
technology for US military. Some of their technology developed for
US military has also influenced technologies in many non-military
fields. Innovations from DARPA led to development of the internet.

17 IBM - Brownells Inc.

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Global positioning satellites, unmanned air vehicles or drones are
innovations of DARPA which are now widely used.
Memex is a DARPA program used for context indexing and
web searching over the internet. Memex program has given tools
that enabled quick and thorough organization of a subset of the
Internet that lead to comprehensive and relevant domain-specific
indexing of web content and domain-specific search capabilities.
Memex has thus helped in countering human trafficking. The use
of forums, job postings, chats and hidden services has led ways to
this. Identifying such operations could be something that Memex
program is capable of.

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DIGITAL LOCATIONS

Argentina

“Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a

big idea turn into an innovation.”
- Dean Kamen

Argentina is South America’s second largest country. It is a

global exporter of agricultural products, energy and mineral
resources. Much of the strength of Argentina relies on its highly
educated workforce. Argentinian government, under the
governance of President Mauricio Macri, has implemented several
economic policy changes since December 2015. These include
critical reforms for the modernization of the import regime, the
reduction of inflation, and the reform of the national statistics
system. Following the 2016 billion-dollar debt dispute settlement of
Argentina with hedge funds, Argentina got access to the
international capital market after fifteen years. Ever since then, the
government is investing in venture funds and aligning policies to
make it easier for people to start a new venture or invest in
companies.
Buenos Aires is well known for its Biotechnology industry. The
Argentinian Biotechnology industry has more than one hundred
companies employing over eight thousand skilled workers. The
growth of Biotechnology industry in Argentina is an example of

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how entrepreneurship can be successful and thrive in a
challenging environment. Argentina continues to be the third
largest producer of biotech crops, producing 14 percent of the
world´s total biotech crops. Argentina’s Biotechnology industry is
supported by the Argentine Chamber of Biotechnology. The
Chamber seeks to increase the country’s leading role in
biotechnology at a regional level, encouraging coordination of
valuable joint efforts across stakeholders from a wide range of
sectors. The aim is to strengthen Argentina and make it a serious
player in the biotechnology market. A core strategy of the
Chamber is the search for national and international financing
programs, through organizations and institutions capable of
proactively supporting the development and consolidation of
biotechnology. 18
Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018 ranks Argentina as 14th
among top 50 ‘Digital Nations’.
Buenos Aries takes 10th position in
the ‘Super Cities’ index. Cordoba
(67th) is also in top 100 ‘Super
Cities’. These increments in the
ranking are a result of recent
reforms in policies executed by the
Argentinian government to support
the startup ecosystem and promote
investments.

18United States Department of Agriculture, Argentina: Agricultural

Biotechnology Annual, Dec 2017

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Figure 2: Map of Argentina
The period from 2000 to 2016 was a tough phase for the
nation’s economic ecosystem, but Argentina’s startup culture
continued to thrive. The country ranks second after Brazil in the
region’s number of technology startups. AngelList lists more than a
thousand startups in Argentina, and Buenos Aires is its startup hub
of Argentina. Argentina has shown its potential to be the
innovation hub of Latin America, which is evident from Argentina’s
history of fostering the highest number of successful companies in
the continent. Successful startups like OLX, MercadoLibre and
Digital Ventures give Argentina an edge over its regional
competitors. Four out of the six Latin American Unicorns, namely
MercadoLibre (Buenos Aires), OLX (Argentina), B2W (Rio de
Janeiro), TOTVS (Sao Paulo), DESPEGAR (Argentina) and
GLOBANT (Buenos Aires) are founded in Argentina.
OLX is one of the four unicorns founded in Argentina. OLX
was co-founded by Fabrice Grinda and Alec Oxenford in 2006.
Today OLX has presence in more than 150 cities. In countries like
South Africa, India, Nigeria and Kenya, they were able to find
major success in recent years. One of the main reasons for the
success of OLX is its unique business model which gives the
consumer complete control on the platform. Talking about the OLX
revenue model, Mr. Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO of OLX India said,
“We are in the search business, so when you come to our site
looking for something, and if we put ads related to your search,
we’re going to get a very high click-through rate. On the internet,
search business models can work if you have intent, and when
you come to OLX you have intent in the right categories: cars,

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jobs, real estate, etc. The combination of having intent plus being
in value-laden categories leads to high CPM”.19
The presence of a large number of accelerators and
incubators have played a major role in keeping up the pace of
startup growth in the time of economic crisis. Argentina is home to
more than 150 startup accelerators and incubators. Argentina
Innovadora 2020: National Plan of Science, Technology and
Innovation is the instrument by which the Ministry sets guidelines
for science, technology and innovation policy in the country. Its
aim is to continue with the growth and consolidation of these areas
considering strategic pillars of national development. The plan
focuses on strengthening innovation by training high quality human
resources and promoting development of entrepreneurial culture
and innovation.
Recently, a law including a series of policies to support
startups and entrepreneurship was introduced in Argentina. The
law provides three major incentives for startups:
1. The creation of a new type of simplified business entity (SAS)
that significantly increases the ease of starting and running a
business. Companies will be able to incorporate in 24 hours,
run their books digitally, register with digital signatures, and
have minimum employee and salary requirements to start off.
2. The creation of a government-run fund that will become a
limited partner to qualified general partners investing in
startups and SME’s.

19Delhi School of Internet Marketing, CASE STUDY:-How OLX grabbed

the first mover advantage in online classified ads industry?

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3. The implementation of specific tax breaks and incentives for
individuals, corporate and institutional investors that invest in
qualified startups or venture capital funds. Up to 75% of any
investment in SAS or any SAS accredited investment fund is
tax deductible for up to 10% of the tax payer’s total income tax
due.20
Argentina’s potential to foster successful companies is evident
from the number and the diversity of unicorns the country has
produced. Even though Argentina has faced severe economic
crisis for almost two decades, the startup ecosystem didn’t
stagnate and continues to thrive. The recent reforms in policies
and regulations reflect commitment of government to establish
Argentina as a hub of innovation and high-caliber technology
startups in Latin America.

20LatAm.VC.a,New Incentives for Startups and Venture Investors in

Argentina, 2017

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Australia

“Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid; humans are

incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful
beyond imagination.”
- Albert Einstein

There is no question that the competitiveness of the global

economy now is tougher than ever. For a country like Australia, its
businesses have to evolve and change in order to remain
productive and to flourish. Innovation shouldn’t be something that
is exclusive to startups or tech companies. It should be applicable
across the economy, to both established and upcoming
businesses pertaining to different industries.
Businesses that don’t innovate, perform worse than those that
do, will diminish. Businesses must innovate to become more
scalable, sustainable and profitable. We live in a quickly evolving
world, where new technological advancements are changing the
way we work, communicate and do business, and Australia as a
country has a solid reputation in the same. Australia's
innovativeness, their entrepreneurial soul, their inquisitive
personalities and logical ability stand out in a good position
globally. Australia as of now has stamped 25 years of consistent
financial development.
Australia is predicted with a 3% development rate in 2018 and
2.4% in 2020 according to Trading Economics. A great record has
been accomplished regardless of global financial crisis, inversion
of commodities boom and inconsistent political administration.

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s speech to the Business Council
of Australia underlined his government’s commitment to balancing
the budget and stimulating further economic growth. Australia has
always relied on its natural resources, therefore a more expanded
economy will be critical to securing Australia’s consistent growth.
Propelled assembling, innovation and logical advancement and
creating future talent must assume a focal part, at the core of the
Australian defence and security industry.

Australia ranks 30th in Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018

among the top 50 ‘Digital Nations’. Perth (57) and Sydney (68) are
among the top 100 ‘Super
Cities’ in services
globalization. Australia is
home to more than 2,000
Australia technology-based
Sydney startups; Melbourne and
Perth
Melbourne Sydney are two major
startup hubs in Australia.
Information Media and
Figure 3: Map of Australia
Telecommunications,
Finance and Insurance, Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services are sectors where majority of Australian startups are
innovating.
Many events are organized by public and private collaboration
to promote the Australian startup scene. Drawing between 400
and 500 people every month, Lean Startup Melbourne is the
biggest and most popular startup event in Australia. Startup events

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are run and strongly attended on a monthly basis like Startup
Grind, Silicon Beach Drinks, Startup Weekend and Startup
Healthtech, focusing on workshops that educate and inspire the
startup community; there are many co-working spaces that also
run their own events.
The Australian government is propelling the growth of
startups by providing a variety of incentives in the form of grants,
tax benefits and reimbursements. Accelerating Commercialisation
fund and Business Growth Grants, are grants offered to
entrepreneurs by Governments’ Entrepreneurs’ Programme. If the
annual turnover is less than USD 20 million for a company, they
can then claim a 43.5% refundable tax offset against R&D
expenditure that sums up to USD 100 million or less. “Austrade
Landing Pad” initiative aims to give Australian startups a leg-up in
the global market by immersing them in one of five world-class
innovation hubs - in Singapore, Berlin, Shanghai, Tel Aviv or San
Francisco. The University of Sydney has welcomed a new report
confirming universities as the driving force in Australia’s startup
economy, in the same week it launched its reimagined
undergraduate curriculum, designed to equip students with the
skills they’ll need to lead and thrive in a changing world. 21
The Australian startup ecosystem is supported by a
considerable number of venture capitalists and angel funds.
Dominant Digital, Optus-Innov8 Seed, ANZ Innovyz START,
Sydney Seed Fund, Black Citrus, Tank Stream Ventures, Square
Peg are early stage investors. Whereas Blackbird Ventures,

21Austrade.gov.au, Landing Pads, Australia Unlimited; Smartcompany,

StartupSmart News and Analysis

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Yuuwa Capital, Starfish Ventures, Southern Cross Venture
Partners are later stage investment firms in Australia.
National security is obviously the essential obligation of any
government and the bedrock of a flourishing economy. The
government of Australia has evidenced the rapidly changing
technology and rising dangers. As a fact, it has always been
focusing on innovation and technology that is critical for its military
to have an edge in security concerns of the country. Government,
companies and individuals alike have understood this and have
given priority to cyber defence.
Australia has played a major part in developing several
world-leading defence technologies, thanks to their scientists.
Australia is unique, in horizon radar capability and Nukla Missile
defence system, which has helped them generate exports globally
and also have leading capabilities for themselves. There have
been plans to commercialise hypersonic jet technology. The Nulka
decoy system is Australia’s most successful defence export with
more than USD1 billion worth of sales to close allies. It’s been in
operation with the Royal Australian Navy and the US Navy since
1998.
Only one place has been the favourite for all technology
companies, although there are numerous cities which yearn to be
the nation’s Silicon Valley. Sydney is at the helm of the innovative
revolution in Australia. NSW (New South Wales) former premier
Mike Baird pointed Sydney’s credentials at the Sydney China
Business Forum, where he proudly noted that the vast majority of
startups in Australia were based in the city. While Mr. Baird said
this was probably due to “good fortune” rather than “good

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management”, NSW Government is hoping to build on this in the
future.
According to a report by Harvard Business Review,
Australia’s innovation is stalling. The study features a Digital
Evolution Index - created by the Fletcher School at Tufts University
- identifying how countries stack up in terms of readiness for a
digital economy, with consideration for supply and demand,
innovations and institutions. Based on its performance from 2008
to 2013, Australia was firmly labelled as a “stall out” nation, a
category for countries that have achieved a high level of evolution
in the past, but are losing momentum and risk falling behind today.
Fintech, among other innovative practices, has picked up
momentum in Australia. Fintech Australia was formally
incorporated on 25th November, 2015, with a vision to help
Australia become one of the world’s top markets for fintech
innovation and investment. A seven-member, nationally
represented committee was appointed at the inaugural Annual
General Meeting in March 2016. To promote Australia as a global
fintech destination, it received funding grant from the Federal
Treasury.
In 2015, the startup community in Australia came together
to shape a vision for the country. This created an unprecedented
opportunity to provide input into the development of the Turnbull
Government’s innovation agenda. Over the course of a month, the
Fintech community recommended reforms. This document, known
as the government’s Innovation Statement, laid a solid foundation
for startup-led innovation. It created further momentum for the
fintech community to enlist government support. Prime Minister

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Malcolm Turnbull had announced the establishment of the Fintech
Advisory Group to support the goal of making Australia, one of the
world’s leading markets for financial technology innovation and
investment. This represented a major milestone for Fintech
Australia, achieving federal government support for the Australian
Fintech community.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison announced the funding at
Fintech Australia’s inaugural summit, Collab/Collide 2016 in
Melbourne. The funding was used to market Australia’s fintech
sector, raise international awareness through digital channels, and
promote Fintech Australia and government initiatives that are
already underway. Morrison believes that backing Australian
fintech startups will stimulate technological innovation, making
financial markets more efficient and consumer-focused. “As
Treasurer, I want to help create an environment for Australia’s
fintech sector where it can be both internationally competitive and
play a central role in aiding the positive transformation of our
economy.” - Scott Morrison.
However, with the latest developments within the
Australian entrepreneurial structure and government initiatives with
the new administration, the future of Australia looks bright. It might
take time to gain back the momentum but Australia is setting itself
up to succeed in this highly innovative and competitive global
economy.

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Brazil

“Computer technology is so built into our lives that it's a part of the
surround of every artist.”
- Steven Levy

In the mid-1980s, Brazil was a big power with vast market

reserves. It was that time when Brazil made its first attempt to
enter the startup ecosystem. But its big reserve became a
hindrance as it prevented Brazilians to access informatics products
from other parts of the world.
In 1993 however, the Informatics law allowed market entry
for global organizations into Brazil. The law permitted global
organizations to sell their products and services in Brazil. It also
incentivized them to invest in Research and Development.
Investments in the research sector are encouraged by the law
which has led to the making of many technological parks in the
nation. Hence, the country now has technological parks that can
join forces with global and local investments.
Ceitec is a state-funded company that produced the
country’s first locally designed microchip. Brazil aims to chase a
position in the high-tech industry with this startup. The electronic
industries of the country are moving forward, hoping to advance in
technologies for other areas such as mining, bio fuel and
deepwater oil exploration.
Agricultural technology startups in
Brazil are getting investment from
Monsanto – a leading biotech

Figure: Map of Brazil Page 219 of 376

company. Brazil Microsoft has partnered with Monsanto with the
aim of bringing innovation to the agricultural sector. The startups
selected received initial funding of up to 1.5 million BRL (~USD
459,000) for early development.
The IT sector of Brazil has remained unaffected from the
political and economic crisis. Despite the fact that political unrest
dragged the nation to recession in recent times, the startup
ecosystem flourished. Brazilian startups have attracted foreign
investments and have created new jobs for skilled locals. Sao
Paulo is leading in the number of new tech startups and Belo
Horizonte is placed behind with a total of one thousand
established tech companies. Brazilian tech company Moip was
acquired for USD41.2 million by German global financial services
Wirecard. The Brazilian tech market contributes 5% to the
country’s GDP, i.e., over USD100 billion according to Acelera
MGTI, a local state-run startup accelerator program. With 46%
share of the market, Brazil’s tech sector ranks seventh in the world
and first in investments, in Latin America. The goal is to begin
2020 with USD 4 billion in revenue and creation of over 75,000
new jobs in the sector. 22
Tholons Service Globalization Index 2018 ranked Brazil at
3rd among the Top 50 Digital Nations and Sao Paulo at 8th among
the Top 100 Super Cities. Curitiba (31), Rio De Janerio (41),
Brasilia (58), Campinas (82) and Recife (88) are also in Tholons’
Top 100 Super Cities list.

22LATAM STARTUPS,2016a,Start-up Ecosystem Brazil, July 2016,

Toronto

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 About 25% of Brazil’s population is self-employed, and
small- to medium-sized enterprises contribute to approximately
35% of total job creation in Brazil. These numbers represent the
inherent entrepreneurial spirit possessed by Brazilians. There are
about 4,500+ early stage companies in the country, which
represents an 18.5% surge in just six months. Fintech and B2B
services are in the lead. Venture capital investments are also on
the rise, with a 35% annual growth rate, and from which 41% were
directed to early stage enterprises. 23
With an aim to uplift startup culture in Brazil and to attract
foreign investments, a total or partial exemption from duty, excise
tax and social contributions on imported equipment is granted to
certain approved investment projects. These approved investment
projects are also granted accelerated depreciation on nationally
produced equipment and access to low-cost financing. Brazilian
corporate taxpayers can apply a percentage of their income tax
liability for investment in their own approved investment projects.
Income tax exemptions or reductions are also available for
companies set up in specific regions within Brazil, primarily the
north and northeast regions. These incentives are designed to
accelerate the development of certain less-developed regions and
industries considered to be of importance to the economy.24
By means of value-added services and innovation habitats,
innovative enterprises and technology-based business are
promoted. This is done by the Brazilian Association of Science
Park and Business Incubators, consisting of private, public

23Acelera MGTI Article

24 PWC, Brazil Corporate Tax and Incentives

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members and professionals. The National Association of Entities
Promoting Innovative Enterprises (Anprotrec) has been providing
the latest knowledge on innovative entrepreneurship promotion,
making and nurturing of new startups, planning and management
of innovative ecosystems and related subjects over the course of
the last 25 years. It consists of 30 science and tech parks in
operation, 400 incubators involving 6,500 innovative firms. If not
all, then most of the top Brazilian universities have one or more
incubators and many are establishing software parks to bridge the
demand and the skillset gap between the graduates and the
industry. There are 122 incubators from public universities and
majority of them work in technology-focused sectors. Google
opened its R&D center in Belo Horizonte in 2005 to leverage the
local vibrant innovation environment. Two years prior to Google,
Standford University had started its first edition of its
Entrepreneurship and Innovation program in Belo Horizonte.
The country has more than 40 programs on full throttle
according to the Brazilian association of accelerator companies,
Abraini. According to Finnovista, an impact organization that
accelerates the development of technological companies, states
that Brazil takes the leading position as largest fintech ecosystem
in Latin America with over 370 startups. The number of startups in
the sector has tripled in the last couple of years. Brazil is estimated
to generate a potential revenue of about USD24 billion by 2026.
Payments, lending, personal finance and insurance are three
promising segments, the report found. A lab is setup in Silicon
Valley by Brazil’s largest bank – Banco do Brazil, to identify and
discover new fintech solutions that can transform the banking

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sector. The Plug and Play Tech Center hosts the Banco do Brazil
Advanced Laboratory. The Plug and Play Center is a business
accelerator in Silicon Valley that is creating an ecosystem for
startups.
“The Labb is a way for Bank of Brazil employees to
experience Silicon Valley, interact with entrepreneurs and
established companies, and relay the digital culture and successful
model of the region upon their return to Brazil,” - Marco Mastroeni,
director of Banco do Brazil. Ever since its inception in 2016, bank
employees are arriving in the valley in smaller groups for a three-
month study tour and learn about the fintech scene. The bank is
also planning to make use of its lab to work on its own internal
fintech projects. Back in Brazil, the bank is doing everything it can
to foster innovation among its employees and customers.
Hackathon events and innovation programs are conducted for
employees and students from local tech institutes. Brazil can
definitely be regarded as one of the global leaders in innovation.25

25 FSTech News Article

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Canada

"There is far more opportunity than there is ability."

-Thomas Alva Edison

Canada is determined to establish itself as the top startup

hub. This can be traced by the series of initiatives Canada has
introduced in the past few years. One such initiative which started
back in 2005 is MaRS Discovery District. It provides essential skills
to entrepreneurs through its venture program in a 1.5 million
square feet complex in Toronto. The program’s one thousand
startups collectively generated USD1.3 billion. With an interest to
invest in early stage companies, Maple Leaf Angels set up shop in
the city center. Universities are also providing the infrastructure
and various other support for the growing entrepreneurship. For
instance, Digital Media zone is a combined incubator/accelerator
program by Ryerson University.
The Startup Culture is well-established in Canada. Startups
are successively raising Series A, Series B and Series C funding.
The availability of venture capital in Canada has changed
dramatically over recent years. British Columbia, Quebec and
Ontario are progressive provinces leading the charge in venture
investments. IBI (Investing in Business Initiatives) and Smartstart
are among various initiatives started by the government. The
Canada’s fast-growing startup ecosystem has two unicorns and
over 3,000 startups. Its competitive cost, ability to attract talent and
proximity to the largest economy (US) give it a significant

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advantage. It is positioned well to challenge and step up to disrupt
established leaders.
In Tholons Services Globalization Index (TSGI) 2018,
Canada ranks at 6th among the Top 50 Digital Nations, having four
of its cities in Top 100
Super Cities with Toronto
at 15th position followed by
Calgary, Halifax,
Vancouver and Montreal
appearing in the list. In the
same report, Canada also
features in the Top 24
Potential Digital Leaders
Figure: Map of Canada with Toronto ranked
second, Vancouver ninth, and Calgary bringing up the rear in the
top 24th position.
The closest Western city to Japan and Eastern China, as
well as the closest international city to Silicon Valley, it is no
surprise that Vancouver is a hub for innovation and investment in
tech. Vancouver has a lot of resources that help in “the race” to
becoming a major business hub.
For one, the city is renowned for its excellent education.
With three of Canada’s top colleges and two colleges in the top 25
colleges worldwide for tech, Vancouver has a more-than-reliable
supply of highly trained tech graduates. Although the city has a
smaller presence of larger corporate tech companies, there is a
reason it is referred to as the ‘Silicon Valley of the North.’ This is
not only because of its proximity to Silicon Valley, but because it

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has the most thriving startup culture, infrastructure and quality of
graduates matched by no other city in Canada. It has over 1,500
startups and the city itself has three unicorns – an amazing
accomplishment. According to the report, Vancouver is ranked 15th
overall. The city scored well even after having fewer startups in the
top 20 list and that is due to their high value. The average early
stage funding for Vancouver startups is USD334 thousand, i.e.,
USD80 thousand more than the global average. Market reach is
Vancouver’s strongest factor and has the world’s highest ranking
in reaching international customers. The city is experiencing the
housing market boom and a good inflow of foreign investments are
coming in. This should encourage venture investments in startups
even further.
Toronto, the financial capital of Canada, is also making
inroads for innovation and is set to use its investment resources to
bolster a fledgling tech ecosystem. With one major government
incubator and four large private incubators, Toronto is making its
mark with startups. Its location as a base for many international
financial companies gives it an advantage in both connectivity and
access to funds. Waterloo-based Vidyard, a video optimization
platform, raised USD35 million in Series C funding. Toronto-
Waterloo Corridor has around 2,500 thriving startups. Multicultural
talents taken from around 16 academic institutions benefit from
this corridor. To show Toronto’s commitment to fostering tech
startups, the mayor has organized a working committee on
innovation, comprising VCs, startup CEOs, tech executives and
mentors. This committee formulates policies and connects
business leaders and government to ensure a very supportive

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ecosystem for business. Generous tax credits for new businesses
and the expansiveness of the city make the cost of infrastructure
and essential capital low.
As the US has tightened entry of highly skilled workers,
Canadian government sees it as an opportunity to open its doors.
Canada will need 182,000 workers in its sector by 2019 – a
demand that is hard to meet.26 The federal government launched
new programs to entice these skilled workers. The participating
employers will be using new streamlined programs that will guide
candidates the applicants through the application process in ten
business days. Research and development, hiring and training,
capital investment, and business expansion will receive various
grants provided by the government. 27

26 Information and Communications Technology Councils

27 The Globe and Mail Business Report

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Caribbean

We know that, when it comes to technology and the economy, if

you're not constantly moving forward, then - without a doubt -
you're moving backwards.
- Bill Owens

Jamaica
Jamaica is well-recognized for its natural beauty and
captivating culture. Jamaica, with a population of 2.8 million is the
third largest English-speaking country in the Americas. Tourism
employs 25 percent of Jamaican work force and represents 5
percent to the country’s GDP. As producer of Bauxite, Jamaica
holds the third position globally. Manufacturing, tourism and
agriculture are currently the major industries in Jamaica.
Jamaica has been ranked 41st among ‘Digital Nations’ in
Tholons
Services
Globalization
Jamaica
Kingston Index 2018.
Kingston is
also among
Figure 4: Map of Jamaica the Top 100
‘Super Cities’.
The largest English-speaking Caribbean nation is set
towards being the regional hub for innovation and startups.
JAMPRO, an agency of the Government of Jamaica’s Ministry of
Economic Growth and Job Creation, promotes business

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opportunities in export and investment to the local and
international private sector.28
The Jamaican government is doing several policy reforms
to promote growth of entrepreneurship and innovation. Jamaica’s
Export Free Zones Act was revoked when Special Economic
Zones (SEZ) Act came into effect in 2016. A special economic
zone (SEZ), as designated by the Act, is a designated
geographical area limited to specific economic activities. A
maximum Corporate Income tax rate of 12.5% and a variety of
duty concessions are provided by SEZ regime on entities entering
the same regime. Companies listed on the junior stock exchange
will not be required to pay income tax in the first five years and
50% of the taxable amount in the following five years.
Gulfray Americas Limited have made USD350 million
investment in the build out of the Spanish Town Free Zone.
Kingston Wharves Limited, which has invested USD1.8 billion in
the build out of its Total Logistics Facility, are among the investors
that will transition to the Special Economic Zone regime.
The telecommunication industry is a promising sector for
Jamaica that has emerged in recent years. Deregulation of the
Jamaican telecommunication industry in 1999 gave rise to a high
demand for new licenses, from 2000-2005. Four hundred licenses
were provided to 200 service providers in International Service
Providers (Internet), Domestic Carriers, International Voice and

28 opm.gov.jm, the office of the prime minister

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Data Transmitters, ISP Cable Providers, and Domestic Voice.29
The ICT sector is currently employing 30,000 people and revenue
for the year 2016 was USD400 million30.
The Jamaican workforce has proven its capabilities in the
animation industry. “Jamaica has the potential to be a game
changer in the multi-billion dollar global animation industry” says
Phillip Paul - Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining.
He noted that the country has attracted the interest of the world
with their educated and talented young population, with an
inclination to technology, cultural diversity and creativity.

The Bahamas
The Bahamas is an archipelago, covering 100,000 square
miles extending southeast from Florida in the United States of
America to northern Hispaniola. With the extensive network of
roads, travelling through highly populated centers and connecting
residential and business centers on the less-developed islands of
Bahamas is now easier. As the highest income-making country in
the Caribbean, Bahamas is characterized by two major income-
generating sectors: financial services and tourism. The Bahamas
is a stable developing nation, and a large portion of the Bahamas’
population is employed in agriculture, fishery, tourism and
manufacturing.
Tourism alone provides an estimated 45% of the gross domestic
product (GDP) and employs about half the Bahamian workforce.

29 Paul Golding, University of Technology, Jamaica. Telecommunications

in Jamaica: Monopoly to Liberalized Competition to Monopoly (2000 –
2011)
30 JAMPRO trade and investment Jamaica, Invest in Jamaica.

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Most of the tourists visiting the Bahamas are from the United
States and Canada. Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018
ranks Bahamas as 50th among Top 50 ‘Digital Nations’ worldwide.
Entrepreneurship and investment in the Bahamas are supported
by Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA).
Financial Services is a major service sector in the
Bahamas, financial services industry (FSI) contributes 17 percent
to the Bahamas GDP (directly and indirectly). Around 13% of total
employment which includes 22,000 jobs is supported by Financial
Services. USD200 million in government revenues and 19% of the
tax base is generated by FSI.
The Bahamas is implementing a diverse range of
sustainable technologies through projects funded by the Inter-
American Development Bank (IDB). By partnering with the IDB,
the government is hoping to reduce its energy consumption by 30
percent and derive 30 percent of its energy from renewable
resources by the year 2030.31 The first incubator in Bahamas was
“Startup Bahamas”. It provides consulting, marketing,
organizational advisory, financial and informative services as well
as virtual office spaces.

Barbados
Barbados is the easternmost of the Caribbean Islands in
the Atlantic Ocean. Neighboring islands include Trinidad and
Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The government
system is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.

31
Bahamas Investment Authority, Overview Guide for Investors-The
Bahamas: A Paradise for Many Reasons

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The fare on goods and services are settled by a free price system
since Barbados is an open market economy.
The Barbados is an open economy and competes globally
in a number of industry domains. In 1975, the Barbadian dollar
was fixed at a rate of exchange with the US USD0.50 = BB
USD1.00 and this rate remains the same today. The political and
social stability, successful economy, and financial independence
set Barbados apart. There are more than 4,000 registered
international business entities in
Barbados today.
Barbados has a highly educated
workforce. The literacy rate of
Barbados is 99.7 percent. Barbados’
Barbados
top-level educational system has

Bridgetown yielded a highly intelligent workforce

with an abundance of professional
as well as skilled labor.
Figure 5: Map of Barbados Barbados tourism attracts
approximately one million tourists
every year. The tourism industry generated around USD1,796.9
million contributing to 39.9% of GDP and 39.8% of total
employment. The Tourism Development Act offers numerous
incentives for investors like tax holidays, exemption from import
duty.
On November 10, 2005 the Barbados International
Business Promotion Corporation (BIBPC) was established as a
statutory corporation, and Invest Barbados (IB) was the new name
under which the corporation traded after gaining trading

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 permission. It is the economic development agency for the
government of Barbados. Attracting, winning, sustaining
international funding, creating and managing the brand for
Barbados have become the main goal and strategy of the IB. The
International Business Companies Act is intended to pull in and
encourage an extensive variety of business exercises, enabling
Barbados to be perceived as an advanced and capable worldwide
business place for outside and residential venture.
To increase exports and employment through new
investment, diversification and help competitive businesses, the
Barbados government has created an incubator program called
BIDC. The primary objective of BIDC is to improve the chance of
success, mainly intended for startups and upcoming businesses
by ensuring an Incubation period of three years. Under the
incubator program, the Barbados Small Business Centre for clients
provides workspace and workshops. BIDC Business Development
Officers and in-house consulting services are giving professional
support to startups.

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago are the two southernmost links in the
Caribbean chain. Trinidad and Tobago
Tobago lie close to the continent of South
America, northeast of Venezuela and
Port of Spain northwest of Guyana. Fishing and
agriculture revenue to economy is
trivial compared to other Caribbean

Figure 6: Map of Trinidad

and Tobago
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countries. Oil production and refining are major industries in
Trinidad and Tobago. It is the largest petroleum and natural gas
producer in the Caribbean. According to IHS Global Insight,
Trinidad and Tobago is the largest exporter of ammonia globally
with 11 ammonia plants and the second largest exporter of
methanol with 7 methanol plants. The energy sector provides 45%
of the country’s GDP.
Trinidad and Tobago has a highly qualified labor force with
a literacy rate of over 99 percent. The government provides free
primary and secondary level education, and education to 6-12
years old is compulsory. The government also offers tuition grants
to students in higher education levels.
The government has started taking important initiatives to
promote startups and SME’s in the nation. Its goals are centered
towards providing a unique combination of infrastructure, business
development support, operational and financial assistance that will
reinforce growth and success of upcoming and existing micro and
small enterprises (MSEs). The Ministry of Labor and Small and
Micro Enterprise Development (MLSMED) created a project called
the National Integrated Business Incubation System. IBIS provides
seed capital for clients ranging from USD5,000 to USD50,000.
Many events promoting startups are being organized in the Port of
Spain (capital city, Startup Weekend to Improve Lives - Trinidad
and Tobago, is one among such events. The event provides
startups an opportunity to pitch their ideas, form a team, build a
product, and present the work to a panel of well-qualified and
experienced judges - all in just 54 hours! This event is co-
sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

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 Though the Caribbean startup scene is in its incipient
stages, companies have always done an excellent job in terms of
innovation and creativity. The region is home to some of the
globally-admired musicians, sports personalities and celebrities.
The Caribbean provides inspiration for young entrepreneurs. The
government is making efforts to promote the startup and open
innovation ecosystem. The Caribbean region has the potential of
becoming the best choice for a global investors to look for budding
entrepreneurs and technology startups.

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Chile

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
-Thomas Edison

“Start-Up Chile often pops up in conversations, there’s this

international appreciation of its pioneering effort,” - Christian
Busch, associate director of the Innovation Co-creation Lab at the
London School of Economics.
Chile has turned out to be one of the quickest developing
economies in Latin America. With a populace of just 18 million, it is
an unlikely entrepreneurial center, bordered by an extensive
mountain range and the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. However, it
is a genuinely modest place in which to live and work. Much
shockingly to Chileans and worldwide techies alike, Santiago has
turned into an entrepreneurial center. More than 1,300 small
businesses have been supported by seed accelerator Start-Up
Chile which launched in 2010. More than 50 nations have
replicated this publicly funded programme started by the Chilean
government.
“This is the greatest program I've seen of this type in the world.
I'm going to recommend it to my kids” - Steve Wozniak, Co-
Founder of Apple Inc., says about Start-Up Chile. It is one of the
most successful initiatives launched in 2010 to change the nation’s
culture towards entrepreneurship and to position Chile as the hub
of innovation for Latin America. It offers an equity-free grant and
six months of mentoring. Around 1,250 companies from 80
countries participated in this program. This program helps

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entrepreneurs to scale up their business ideas by awarding the
select few an equity-free government grant of 20 million pesos.
Foreign entrepreneurs are expected to contribute 10% of the total
grant’s value and are incentivized to employ local talent. It has
modernised services to entrepreneurs through more flexible
mechanisms tailored to the needs of startups, such as co-
workspaces and mentoring networks, and it has simplified the
regulations for starting a business32. The accelerator, Start-Up
Chile, in its sixteenth generation, brings between 250-300
organizations a year to Santiago from a pool that has grown with
every progressive round of applications. Enterprises are evaluated
along a trajectory and are invited to apply to its distinct
acceleration classes.
The country has a robust banking infrastructure. In Morning
Star's Banking System Stability Score - 2017, Chile was positioned
as one of the world's best, scoring ahead of Germany, the UK and
the US.
Taking signs of latest innovative advancements and changing
client desire, digitalized platforms have turned out to be vital to
banks’ services and product offerings. For instance, customers
can deal with the majority of their enquiries and monetary
exchanges by essentially utilizing the "Mi Banco" application. With
the “Mi Pass” app, each transaction is generated and
authenticated with a unique password, making customers feel
protected when transferring payments from their mobile phone.
The "Mi Cuenta" application empowers clients to pay their bills

32 OECD :Startup Latin America 2016, Building an innovative Future

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 from their cell phone at a simple touch, without even having to
register their service providers beforehand. On the other hand, “Mi
Seguro” provides customers instant access to online assistance to
basic necessities, such as travel, home, accident protection and
life insurance.
Banco de Chile and numerous others are helping people to
deal with their accounts through
such applications. By making such
creative and secure platforms
Valparaiso
Santiago accessible, an ever-increasing
number of people are associating
Concepcion
with financial organizations and
receiving the services they deserve.
With more percentage of the
populace taking part in the financial

Figure 78: Map of Chile

industry, Chile's economy
continues to leap forward.
According to a report by Gust and Fundacity, total
investment in Latin America stood at USD31,563,841 in 1,333
startups by 62 accelerator programs in 201533. Chile topped the
list with USD15 million followed by Brazil at USD5.5 million. Chile
is among the global Digital Innovators according to the “Tholons
Services Globalization Index – 2017” and is ranked 12th in Digital
Nations list in 2018. Santiago and Valparaiso are featured in the
report and is placed at 20th and 86th position respectively among
the Top 100 Super Cities. Chile has for some time established

33 Gust & Fundacity: Latam Accelerator Report 2015

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itself as the most stable and suitable place to set up and do
business in Latin America. The startup ecosystem in Chile
rightfully called the “Chilecon Valley” - has over 1,500
startups. The Chilean government initiated more than 50 programs
to encourage new businesses. As indicated by the Brookings
Institute, nearly 200,000 Chileans have gotten advantage in some
frame from government-supported business enterprise programs.
Santiago has been dubbed as the "Chilecon Valley" of
Latin America. Santiago is rightfully one of the leading startup
hubs globally. It has a population of about 6.5 million. But with less
bureaucracy than most Latin American cities, high level of trust,
healthy economy as well as being much cheaper than many parts
of Europe, it is famous for its high level of innovation. Networking
ties of firms like Chile Global Angels, Austral Capital and Magma
Partners which are based out of Santiago are naturally strong
nearby.
Valparaiso, a short hour-and-a-half drive from Santiago,
has relative advantage as Santiago is expensive and more
chaotic. There are around eight colleges in the territory, and it's
this pool of accessible ability that has helped Valparaiso evolve.
Gentina is the director of marketing at Chrysalis, a state-upheld
incubator associated with the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de
Valparaiso in 2016. Gentina alone has put resources into 35
organizations in three years from 2013. Chrysalis’s 2016 portfolio
consists of 70, mostly software-based, startups. The university
opened the doors to Hub Global, a 1,200-square-meter co-working
space designed to promote open innovation and high-tech industry
partnerships with big companies in Chile and throughout the

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region. It’s part of an ambitious project to push Valparaiso into
cutting-edge fields like big data, augmented reality and
biotechnology. Fernando Fischmann, the founder of Crystal
Lagoons, a design and construction firm that uses patented, eco-
friendly technology to build artificial lagoons, honed his idea on a
secluded seaside property he purchased south of Valparaiso. With
tens of billions of dollars in real estate development projects
completed across the world, the company he eventually created is
Chile’s sole unicorn as of 2018. StartUp Chile has started offering
an additional USD10,000 in funding to companies willing to set up
shop outside of Santiago. Leading startups in Valparaiso include
IoT startup Gnome, pik’d, VR startup YOY Simulators.
CORFO (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción),
which is the principal public agency in charge of promoting the
innovation in all types of enterprises, both consolidated and new
enterprises, also has important lines of support intended for
research centres. Relevant examples of programmes include the
R&D Tax Credit Law for favourable taxation of R&D investments,
the International Centres of Excellence in R&D, intended to foster
the establishment in Chile of international centres of excellence in
R&D34.
One of Chile’s most striking characteristics is its economic
and political growth. The Telecommunication and Information
Companies (TIC) represents about 3% of the national GDP. Of the
USD7,500 million (3% GDP), 23.5% comes from the information

34
OECD (2016), Regulatory Policy in Chile: Government Capacity to
Ensure High-Quality Regulation, OECD Reviews of Regulatory Reform,
OECD Publishing, Paris.

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technology - data centers, programming and software. FDI
(Foreign Direct Investment) inflow values are particularly
interesting and this is seen as a sign of increasing investor
confidence, with service providers in particular looking towards
Chile for globalization services. Foreign investors are encouraged
by laws and regulations with fewer restrictions upon FDI in Chile.
In 2015, Chile approved Law No. 20,848 and came into force since
January 1, 2016, which establishes a new institutional framework
for foreign investment. The law provides a definition of foreign
investor and FDI, and the applicable regime of rights. It recognizes
the rights to non-discrimination, access to foreign exchange and
free remittances, as well as the exemption from value-added tax
on imports of capital goods for up to USD5 million, for seven types
of investment projects: mining, industrial, forestry, energy,
infrastructure, telecommunications and R&D. It is in these forms of
institutional support that Chile is able to maintain its distinct
advantage over alternative locations. This is further enhanced by
strong institutional support from the government through incentives
offered for foreign investors in practically all facets of business
operations; from pre-investment to business launch as well as to
human resources pooling and training.
Another initiative by the Chilean government named “Your
Business in a Day” (Empresa en un dia) is based on Law No.
20.659/2013 establishing a website offering online transactional
services that make it possible to complete all the procedures to set
up a company in one day. Once registered, the business is given a
tax identification number and can start its operations. This same
number is also used for paying social security contributions and for

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submitting other modifications concerning the enterprise. Chile has
been ranked 56th in ease of doing business by World Bank in
2018.
Chile has a solid, sound and stable economy where the
government can address business enterprise activities in a
protected and innovative way. Moreover, organizations in Chile still
rely on their natural resources. Now, there is a wide range of
initiatives to start up, since we need more technology creation and
innovation from here.

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Colombia

“The number one benefit of information technology is that it

empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be
creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things
they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all
about potential.”
- Steve Ballmer

Colombia is an upper middle income economy of Latin

America. In the past decade, Colombia’s economy growth has
benefited from its petro chemical industry. According to the 2017
World Bank Doing Business Report, Colombia ranked 53 out of
190 countries with a score of 70.92, well above the regional
average score of 58.75. It is the best country in South America to
do business and the second best in Latin America, trailing Mexico.
Colombia is the third largest economy in South America, and
home to vast amounts of natural resources, such as natural gas,
gold and oil. The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017
ranked Colombia’s financial market development as the strongest
pillar of its economy, ranking it 25 out of 138 countries. This is due
less to its comparatively mediocre efficiency (rank 70) than to its
trustworthiness (rank 7), with positive sub-scores for soundness of
banks (rank 25) and legal rights index (rank 1) – the latter
indicating the country’s adherence to international banking
standards. Colombia has positioned itself as one of the fastest
growing countries in Latin America by its political stability and
continuous economic growth. Colombia has over 94.6 percent

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literacy rate and the most skilled and competitive labor force
worldwide.
Colombia, tied with United States, is ranked at 6th place by the
World Bank’s Protecting Investors. Compared to other Latin
American states, Colombia is improving fast since they have taken
huge steps in optimizing their regulatory environment for
businesses. Its fourth generation road infrastructure program is the
largest of its kind in Latin America. It involves 47 projects spanning
over 7,000 miles. Cisco selected Colombia while making its
biggest investment in Latin America. They bought two floors in
Tierre Firme Tower in 2015. “Getting Cisco to come here was an
important vote of confidence in Colombia,” - Cristian Onetto,
Cisco’s country manager.
Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018 ranks Colombia as
9th in Top 50 ‘Digital Nations’, and Bogota (38th), Medellin (50th),
Bucaramanga (95th) and Cali
(99th) are also among the Top
100 ‘Super Cities’. Lately,
companies like Google, Microsoft
Medellin and Facebook have set up their
Bogota
offices in Bogota. Between 2007
and 2012, Colombia's tech

Colombia industry grew 177% to USD6.8

billion, according to the
government. AngelList lists more
than 1,200 startups in Colombia.
Figure 89: Map of Colombia
Bogota and Medellin are closely
competing to be the startup hub of Colombia. LifeMiles is the most

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successful Colombian startup which made entry into the unicorns
club.
The capital city of Bogota is home to most of the country’s
corporate and financial institutions and national government. It has
theaters, opera houses and sporting venues. There are over 50
museums, along with 60 art galleries and numerous libraries. All of
them are pillars to the culture of this large city. Bogota is a globally
recognized region for art development. One of the main reasons
for entrepreneurs selecting Bogota for starting their enterprises is
the diverse population that provides for virtually every target
market. Bogota has a number of universities, schools and
technical colleges that support entrepreneurship. The number of
graduates in a professional or technical field per year has crossed
100,000. This inflow of trained workers annually has created
potential employees educated for high-skilled jobs. The Colombian
government is on the hunt for entrepreneurs who can bring
innovation in the way their natural resources are used efficiently.
Impacted by the government’s support and policy reforms, the
number of startups emerging from Bogota has increased
significantly in the recent years. The ever-increasing incentives for
new businesses and investors, such as free trade zones and tax
deductions have accelerated the investment in technology projects
and have made the country even more appealing.
Entrepreneurship has been the top priority of the Colombian
government since 2002 and the resolution has been beneficial.
There have been further efforts to promote innovation, 100% of
investment deduction is given to companies working to improve
the environment and preferential 15% tax for companies rooted

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within Free Trade Zone. The government has initiated many
programs and events to promote the growth of new ventures and
innovation. INN pulsa is a business growth management unit of
the Colombian government, created in February 2012 with a vision
to make Colombia one of the top three most innovative economies
worldwide by 2025; it promotes entrepreneurship, innovation and
productivity as axes for business development and
competitiveness in Colombia. Entrepreneurs through specialized
services and financing strategies are supported by INN pulsa.
Apps.co is the government’s initiative focusing on tech-based
startups.
Named Country Manager of Discovery Networks in
Colombia in February 2018, Carolina Angarita, former manager at
Google in the country, spoke to Colombian newspaper Portagolio
about the US group’s intentions to implement an ambitious digital
strategy from the country. She is in-charge of leading the strategy,
implementation, innovation, products and new services. As such,
Columbia leads the group’s digital strategy for the whole region.
“We are strong believers in Colombia’s long-term growth
outlook, so much so that we have an office in Bogotá where we
invest in infrastructure,” - Jan Dehn, head of research at Ashmore
Group in London, a USD52.6 billion fund manager.

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Costa Rica

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is

the source of all true art and science.”
-Albert Einstein

Found right in the center of the Americas, Costa Rica is most

suited for startup ecosystems in the locale. Costa Rica, and its
capital city, San Jose, has been regarded as a center for
astonishing ideas and wanders, as it homes noble innovators.
From creating groundbreaking institutions such as labor securities
and free healthcare by the 1940s, and nullifying its armed forces in
1948, to pledging to become the first carbon-neutral country in the
world by 2021, Costa Ricans are unquestionably pointing to set a
milestone for future entrepreneurs worldwide.
Entrepreneurship has picked up noteworthy consideration in Costa
Rica in the recent past. Many are moving towards developing
startups rather than joining jobs, due to the creation of numerous
incubators, government-sponsored competitions and increased
media scope. A nonprofit organization, Startup Costa Rica
Foundation, was established in 2011 that encourages ventures,
programs and activities that targets to speed up the improvement
of startup ecosystem in Costa Rica. Founder Institute in Costa
Rica which was co-founded by Startup Costa Rica provides an
opportunity for experienced CEOs to train and mentor young
entrepreneurs, by sharing their knowledge and guiding the next
era of businessmen and women.

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The slow-moving bureaucracy is an oft-cited complaint by the
entrepreneurs. Because the business happens within the close
circles, there is lack of trust between the investors and
entrepreneurs which concerns the private investments, thereby
lacking the understanding regarding startup valuation and venture
capital. However, the scenario is improving.
Technological infrastructure and adoption along with a
highly qualified talent pool are amongst the strongest points of
Costa Rican startup ecosystem. Costa Rica has been able to pull
in an increasing number of direct foreign investments and has
persuaded multinational companies such as Intel, HP, IBM,
VMware, Accenture and others to expose or grow their operations
in the last two decades.
In Tholons Services Globalization
Costa Rica Index 2018, Costa Rica is ranked 24th

San Jose
amongst the Top 50 Digital Nations.
Its capital San Jose is also placed
handsomely at 14th position among
the Top 100 Super Cities in the same
index. There are close to 300 startups
Figure 910: Map of Costa
Rica in Costa Rica, most of them in San
Jose. SkyLoft, Studio Coworking & Learning, Impactico, Co
Spacio, Creasala Coworking Café are creating the new
workspaces. 500 Startups, Dreamit Ventures are among the US
accelerators present in Costa Rica. Carao Ventures is the most
famous venture capital fund in Costa Rica.
However, Costa Rica is a small country of approximately
4.5 million people and it’s becoming increasingly expensive.

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Customer base in Costa Rica won’t be able to provide a
sustainable growth for equity investors, hence the entrepreneurs in
Costa Rica must try setting their foot on the bigger Latin American
market. It must also reinvent themselves in order to reduce the
additional setup costs as compared to other less expensive
countries.

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Germany

“Technology is a word that describes something that doesn’t work

yet.”
- Douglas Adams

Germany has contributed so much to science and

technology, like few other nations. Germany is a global leader in
innovation, from physics and chemistry to cars and consumer
products. It has outstanding universities and research institutes
besides major engineering, manufacturing and IT industries.
Germany consistently ranks among the world’s best for its
scientific research. It had more Nobel Prizes in the sciences
compared to any other country, for most of the 20th century.
German science and technology innovation shows diversity, by
having many EU-funded projects coordinated by German
companies, universities and research institutes. In Flexnet, for
instance, VDI.VDE Innovation+ Technik is driving the improvement
of new materials, gadgets and systems to offer assistance to make
Europe a world leader in flexible, organic and large area
electronics. Also including Chemnitz Technical University and 15
other European partners, this ‘Network of Excellence’ is
concentrating fundamentally on helping European SMEs develop
technologies and products using organic and flexible materials
which has a wide range of applications, from solar panels and
batteries to lighting and displays. The SME robotics project aims to
develop a new kind of manufacturing robot that is simple and
intuitive to use, without complex programming, and which is able

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to adapt to changes in manufacturing processes rather than being
designed to simply carry out repetitive tasks. “The purpose of SME
robotics is to create the technological foundation for profitable and
intelligent robot solutions for small- and medium-sized
manufacturing businesses. An intelligent robotic system does not
rigidly follow a specific computer program. Instead, it learns from
and with its human co-worker. It continuously improves the quality
of its work through human machine interaction and can be
assigned new tasks by the worker himself without the need for the
involvement of an external system integrator or a lengthy stoppage
in work.”- Martin Hagele, Project Coordinator.
Germany is better than U.S in carrying out innovation in
areas as diverse as sustainable energy systems, lasers, molecular
biotech and experimental software engineering. U.S. states have
encouraged the Fraunhofer Society, a German applied science
think tank, to set up at least seven institutes in America, as an
effort to learn about effective innovation from Germany. The way
they innovate speaks for Germany’s manufacturing capabilities.
For example, many, if not most, of the Chinese products we buy
every day are produced by German-made machinery, and the
companies that make them are thriving35. This also illustrates why
Germany’s industrial base hasn’t been destroyed, as America’s
has. Employment growth and productivity of Germany is
sustained, while increasing citizens’ real incomes. The bottom
line: German manufacturers are contributing essentially to
employment growth and real income expansion.

35 Harvard Business Review

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 An example of German participation in modern-day
innovation is the Hyperloop. It does not exist yet but Elon Musk’s
team of innovators are trying to make this a reality. One of the
startups trying to turn this concept into reality, Hyperloop
Transportation Technologies (HTT), announced recently that they
were going to collaborate with German railway company Deutsche
Bahn to create an “Innovation Train” using cutting-edge technology
being developed for the Hyperloop to augment passengers’ travel
experience on a conventional train. Examples include “augmented
windows” displaying all sorts of information on top of the
landscape view and ‘virtual windows’ that will instead completely
replace the real scenery with an alternative one. The company has
released a couple of videos showing a simulation of the
technology in action.
For a company like HTT which cannot count, so far, on
huge venture capital investments but only on a “crowdsourced
model” where most people provide their work for free in exchange
for stock options, this kind of partnership is instrumental, as it
provides a financially sustainable way to focus on innovation.
While allowing, on the
other hand, railway
companies to step out of
their usual comfort zone
and get in touch with the
latest developments in the
transportation sector. “One
of the biggest issues in

Figure 1011: Map of Germany

Page 252 of 376
public transportation is the need for public subsidies. New
technologies and new ideas can create a better passenger
experience while solving these issues through new monetization
strategies and business models, with the Hyperloop and all other
forms of transportation.”- Dirk Ahlborn, HTT CEO.36
Germany has over 5,000 active startups. Berlin is the startup hub
of Germany followed by Hamburg, Munich and Ruhr. Germany
also boasts 4 of the most successful and sought-after unicorn
startups in Europe. In 2016, German VCs pumped USD5.8 billion
and 48% of the VCs are backed by international investors,
according to Frontine Ventures and Point Nine Capital. Recently,
Rocket Internet, which is another German unicorn and company
incubator, invested heavily on food and grocery delivery. To do
this, Rocket Internet has acquired a 30% stake in Delivery Hero for
500 million euros, valuing the Berlin-based takeaway ordering
venture at more than €1.65 billion, and will combine it with its rival
service provider Foodpanda. On top of that, Rocket Internet is also
acquiring 100% of Southern European online food and takeaway
companies La Nevera Roja in Spain and Pizzabo in Italy for an
undisclosed sum. Rocket Internet says its group of food-related
ventures is currently present in 64 countries, works with 140,000
restaurants and, based on annualized December 2014 numbers,
processes 78 million orders. By combining its fashion e-commerce

36PLAYA VISTA, Calif., July 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/Hyperloop

Transportation Technologies, Inc. and Deutsche Bahn Partner to Build
"Innovation Train"

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businesses in emerging markets into a single unit, Rocket Internet
has made a similar move.37
The German Association of Innovation, Technology and Business
Incubation Centers (BVIZ) which was founded in 1985 with an aim
to promote technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship,
especially technology- and knowledge-based startup firms, is one
of the most experienced associations of incubators and technology
parks worldwide. The BVIZ brings together 150 incubators,
innovation, technology and business centers, as well as scientific
and technological parks. The association provides support in
building and developing the necessary infrastructure, namely
business incubators and technology parks. Germany is home to
many successful innovation incubators such as Axel Spring Plug &
Play, Black Forest accelerator, German Silicon Valley accelerator,
Hubraum, to name a few. So far, German Silicon Valley
Accelerator alumni companies have raised USD150 million in
funding after they completed the program. 92% of startups
supported through the program are still in business. The startups
get extensive mentoring, coaching and funding in these
38
incubators.

Research is an essential part of more than 395 German

higher education institutions, especially in over 110 universities
and technical universities (TU), but also in over 220 universities of
applied sciences (Fachhochschulen or just Hochschulen) and in
dozens of higher education schools of music, arts, design, and

37 Techeu, Article
38 Techeu

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cinema, etc., as well as theology, pedagogy and public
administration.39
Germany offers numerous incentives to investors –
regardless of whether they are from Germany or not. Incentives in
Germany are formulated to support companies at all stages of the
investment process. Promotion of business expansion, health
care, new investments, infrastructure and agriculture and
renewable energy are the areas of incentives focus. Public sector
and industries have agreed to spend around 3% of national GDP
per year on research and development activities. In addition, an
unprecedented campaign to foster the advancement of new
technologies has been launched by the German government. This
campaign – known as the “High-Tech Strategy” – is combining the
resources of all government ministries to commit more than EUR5
billion annually to the development of cutting-edge technologies in
the form of project grants.40 In Germany, most of investment and
operational incentives are provided as reduced tax loans,
subsidies, grants and public guarantees. Tax incentives include
pre-investment and investment allowances for small- and medium-
sized companies. Electric vehicles are exempted for motor vehicle
tax for five years after registration.
The Top 100 startups of Germany (before exit or IPO) have
attracted more than USD5.9 billion funding since their
41
foundation . The recent few years have seen diversification in

39 The German Centre for Research and Innovation - São Paulo (DWIH São Paulo)
40 Germany Trade and Investment,” Incentives in Germany – Supporting
Your Investment Project”
41 EY, 2016a. Funding, Growth and Profitability: Tech Start-ups finding

the right balance

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investments across various stages of funding, incubators involve
Axel Springer Plug & Play, Finleap, GTEC, HitFox Group,
Hub:Raum, MAKERS, Project A Ventures. Series A / Seed
investors are b-to-v, BlueYard, Capital, Capnamic Ventures,
Cavalry Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Creathor Venture, e.ventures.
Whereas, Acton Capital Partners, Global Founders Capital, Index
Ventures, Kinnevik, Kite Ventures, Lakestar are majorly investing
in Series B and later.
Germany has one of the most innovative business
strategies and fresh content models to attract more international
conferences by focusing on extensive research development and
sector-specific industry expertise. Germany’s newest research is a
multi-phase, multi-year project called “Future Meeting Space”
presented in different formats on both the main GCB website and
a dedicated microsite. The first section of phase one of Future
Meeting Space launched in December 2015 with the Meeting
Space Innovation Catalogue, highlighting 30 new event
technologies, industry trends, and group collaboration strategies.
The themes range from 180-degree projection mapping to the role
of 50-year-old-plus veterans in the industry, described as
“silverpreneurs”.
Germany understands that innovation should not be
concentrated only in the high tech sector of the moment, but must
increase productivity that are far-reaching. As a result, Germany
not only seeks to create new industries, it also implants its existing
industries with new thoughts and technologies. For instance, BMW
is an excellent example. It can be seen how much the company is
based on innovation in information and communication

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technologies. Other car companies like Mercedes-Benz, hire a
large number of software programmers to help them make their
processes more innovative. Germany’s workforce is trained in
such a way so as to use the most revolutionary innovations in the
most diverse and innovative ways, to create and improve products
and services that consumers want to buy for higher cost.
In a short duration, even small German firms become
market leaders due to innovation based on deep technical
expertise. According to “Competitive Alternatives: KPMG’s Guide
to International Business Location 2010”, Germany is, alongside
the Netherlands and Australia, an international leader in terms of
science and technology industry share of the total work force.
Germany, with Japan and the U.S., invests the greatest share of
gross domestic product in research and development.
German companies know that customers do not always
decide, keeping cost in mind. Consumers who buy German goods
expect more, and this shows Germany’s reputation in engineering
excellence and innovation, which cannot be found anywhere else.
For this reason, German companies, especially small- and
medium-sized enterprises are veritable innovators.

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Hong Kong

“Design is not what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it
works.”
- Steve Jobs

Hong Kong has a history of feeble economy. But in the recent

times it has grown tremendously and attained its place in top 10
global markets for innovation. According to the recent survey by
Global Innovation Index (GII), it gained seventh position from
being eighth. It surpassed Singapore, since Singapore tumbled
down to eighth position from third. The city shares its dominance
with Japan, China, Malaysia and South Korea with respect to
innovation market. 142 global economies get recognition through
GII report. GII report is carried out on the basis of infrastructure,
research, technology output and knowledge. Institutions and
human capital are also prominent factors for GII report. “Innovation
is the lifeblood of social and economic development, but it needs
structured environments with open markets, free trade policies and
protection for intellectual property to thrive. Based on our
experience, we believe the capacity for innovation of Hong Kong
should not be ignored.” - Ken Hu, Deputy Chairman and Co-chief
Executive of Huawei.
There is no doubt that Huawei is one of the world’s top
telecommunication equipment providers. Hu stated that Huawei
established substantial scientific cooperation with five universities
in Hong Kong. They have spent millions of dollars on these
initiatives. For innovation, Hong Kong’s legal environment and

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open market added an advantage. According to a survey, Hong
Kong could not establish digital partnership with other
organizations. Having fast internet connection is not sufficient to
do so. This was the reason why it fell behind Singapore.
Hong Kong stands at fourth position behind Singapore, South
Korea and Japan in terms of digital transformation as per the
survey by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and it was
commissioned by telecommunication firm Telstra. “Hong Kong
also has very good digital infrastructure through partnerships, the
ecosystem that Hong Kong companies create with government,
with each other, cross- border and with other countries could do
with some improving.” - Darrin Webb, COO Global and Managing
Director for North East Asia for Telstra. To compare the results,
EIU contemplated approximately 660 senior executives in 11
Asian markets across six industries. They also considered 210
executives from UK, US and Australia to compare. Singapore
ranked second when surveyed against the Western countries, the
only Asian market to compete and rise against UK and Australia.
On the improved GII ranking, Herman Lam Heung-yeung, CEO
at Cyberport, said: “Hong Kong is a very competitive city. People
here are energetic and full of innovative ideas”. Hong Kong was
ranked first in terms of market sophistication and infrastructure.
The credit and investment was top notch as surveyed by GII.
Unfortunately, the hi-tech exports came down to 13.1% from
44.8% over total exports in 2010. “Compared to Singapore, I think
the Hong Kong government can do more to support innovative
industries. Startups generally find it hard to get funding”. - Arthur
Chow Bong-leong, CEO at mobile games publisher 6waves.

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 Hong Kong is ranked in the
top five fastest growing startup
ecosystems around the globe.
A data by InvestHK for the year
2010 showed that around 2,000
startups employed more than
5,000 employees. The number
of startups grew by 24% in

Figure 1112: Map of Hong Kong 2016. Hong Kong has more
than 60 co-working spaces.
A large number of accelerators and incubators are present
in Hong Kong. Ablaze, Accelerate, Brinc Ltd, Betatron, Cyberport
Incubation Programme, FinTech Innovation Lab by Accenture,
Hong Kong Design Centre's Design Incubation Programme, Hong
Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation's Incu-App
Programme are some of the top incubation and acceleration
programs.
The government of Hong Kong has initiated many
programs to help overseas and local startups to set up in Hong
Kong. Research and development is aided with consultancy
programme, financial aid and investment. This was the step taken
by Hong Kong Technology Parks. Cyberport runs the incubation
programme to help digital media SME’s and startups to implement
their ideas into business. The companies needing finance or
equipment will be helped by SME Loan Guarantee Scheme (SGS)
with an amount up to HKUSD6 million. The government has also
initiated innovation and technology fund to support companies to
upgrade technology.

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Hong Kong startups have attracted the attention of global venture
capital firms. 500 Start-up, Cocoon's Ignite Ventures, Fresco
Capital, Mind Fund, MindWorks Ventures, Nest, Mount Parker,
Nova Founders Capital, Regatta Capital Management, True Global
Ventures, Vectr Ventures have presence in Hong Kong.
Recently, Hong Kong has been trying to step up their
game. A whopping amount of HKUSD17 billion was passed by the
financial secretary. This money was categorised under spending
initiatives for innovative companies. The main highlight was
HKUSD8.2 billion for promoting smart manufacturing and research
led by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.
The prime focus was on financial technology or FinTech which is
prominent for growth of startups. According to the present financial
secretary, the budget on FinTech was given by Steering Group.
They suggested steps to advance the sector and encouraged
overseas talent.
Facilities like crowd funding and peer to peer lending will
be offered. Cyberport has decided to dedicate 3,000 square
metres of working space. This will help 150 startups to become
successful. Tsang said the government would empower the
budgetary industry to investigate Blockchain innovation. They will
focus on the exchange record behind
the computerized cash Bitcoin. It will minimize
suspicious exchange. The budget comprised the plans to bring
advanced manufacturing industries, such as robotics at Tsang
Kwan O Industrial State.
The Monetary Authority with Securities and Futures
Commission will deal with balancing demands of investors,

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realizing risks and improvising in the field of development of new
product and services. This will establish consumer protection.
Michael Gazeley stated that budget prominence on startups was
excellent for innovation. However, according to him, it failed to
layout sustainable measures to support the startups. “There’s no
thought in the next step, there’s no thought in how to utilise the
technology that gets developed.” - Michael Gazeley, founder of
Hong Kong security firm Network Box.
“We are an old economy and Hong Kong needs to move
fast if it wants to reinvent itself. You have got to reinvent before
these industries die and that’s not what I am seeing in this budget.”
- Mukesh Bubna, Founder of peer to peer lender Monexo.
Universities such as MIT, sees Hong Kong’s potential as
an innovation hub. In 2015, MIT notified about the launch of an
“Innovation Node” in Hong Kong that focuses on connecting MIT
community with unique resources. It includes advanced
manufacturing capabilities and other opportunities in Hong Kong
as well as in Pearl River Delta. The Innovation Node will summon
MIT students, researchers and faculties to work on various
projects. It will also include Hong Kong-based students,
entrepreneurs and researchers.
Innovation Node will also encourage MIT students to
conduct research with Hong Kong universities. It will also comprise
of the events based on innovation and entrepreneurship. The MIT
students will get a chance to work with local students on different
projects. “By bringing MIT to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to MIT,
the Innovation Node will deepen MIT’s activities in Hong Kong
and, through Hong Kong, in the entire Pearl River Delta region. In

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creating this node in Hong Kong, MIT is committing to advancing
our engagement with the region in mutually beneficial way.” - L.
Rafael Reif, MIT president.
The Node will include partnerships between MIT and
numerous Hong Kong Universities. At initial level, it will boost the
capability of students to try their innovative and entrepreneurial
skills. The list will also include faculty researchers and alumni with
Hong Kong community. Major initiatives are: educational
programs, internship opportunities and events focusing on
innovation. “Makerspace” is another upcoming node which will be
equipped with advanced tools and materials for prototyping and
invention. At Cambridge campus, a Makerspace is already under
construction. It will facilitate the same tools and technology to
move forward which Hong Kong needs to acquire high quality
local technology to its firms. The talent and the potential is
definitely there.

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India

“The last mile of the digital highway is not infrastructure but skills
of the users.”
-Debjani Ghosh, Intel South Asia

India has consistently been one of the fastest growing

economies across the globe. The annual GDP growth rate in India
averaged 6.12% from 1951 to 2017. Three sectors that majorly
dominate others in GDP contribution are Services, Agriculture and
Industries. The success of the ongoing market reforms in India is
reflected in its competitiveness score of 4.52 out of 7, higher than
its past ten years average of 4.33.
The Agriculture sector, now the second largest contributor
to the nation’s GDP, was the leading source of revenue in India for
the first three decades after its independence from British rule.
With over 58% of the rural Indian households depending upon
Agriculture for livelihood, the Agriculture contribution to GDP in
India is much higher than the world’s average of 6.1%. India is the
foremost producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice
products. Fruit production has rapidly grown, making India the
second largest fruit producer globally. According to the
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Agriculture
machinery sectors have attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
inflow of about USD2,315.33 million from 2000-2016.
The Services sector surpassed the economic contribution
of the Agriculture sector in FY 1975-76 and is the largest
contributor to India’s GDP since then. The Services sector has

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attracted significant foreign investment inflows and has contributed
in mass employment and exports. India has been the largest
outsourcing destination for both onshore and offshore services in
IT industry for decades. The share of Indian IT-BPM outsourcing
industry is approximately 65% of the global outsourcing industry,
and the industry currently employs about 10 million direct and
indirect employees. According to data released by the Department
of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the computer hardware
and software industry of India has attracted USD22.8 billion FDI
from 2000-2016. The growth of the IT sector in the past years has
significantly boosted the talent demand and development,
especially in engineering and computer science.
India has already proven
its competencies and capabilities
in IT outsourcing and is all set to
benefit from the emerging digital
technologies capitalizing on its IT
skill talent. India is at third place
behind only U.S and Britain in total
number of startups. Tholons
Services Globalization Index 2018

Figure 1213: Map of India ranks India 1st among the Top 50
“Digital Nations” with 13 Indian
cities among the Top 100 “Super Cities”. Bangalore has been the
undisputed leader in services globalization for over a decade. India
has one of the most vibrant startup ecosystems with over 5,000
tech startups in diverse industry segments. Bangalore is the
startup and innovation hub of India followed by Mumbai and Delhi.

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Nine Indian startups have evolved to become unicorns in the past
few years.
Started in the year 2010 by One97 Communications,
Paytm is one of the most successful Indian startups. Paytm which
started as an online prepaid mobile recharge platform has now
transformed into India’s biggest mobile payment platform. Paytm
wallet launched by Paytm in 2014 offering a wide variety of
services from booking airlines and movie tickets to electricity and
other utility bill payments. Demonetization of Indian currency notes
in Nov. 2016 acted as a catalyst to boost the domestic customer
reach for Paytm. On 14th Nov. 2016, Paytm claimed to have
registered 5 million transactions on 12th and 13th of November and
1000% increase in money added to Paytm account.
Flipkart operating on the same business model as Amazon
is another major success in Indian startup ecosystem. Back in
2007, Flipkart started with selling books online and soon expanded
its product variety to meet the wants of a nation with customers
having diverse tastes and preferences. Flipkart was the first e-
commerce platform to offer “Pay on Delivery” option to overcome
the challenge of many people not opting or trusting the online
payment options back then. Another Indian unicorn startup “Ola
Cabs” operating in the transportation sector following the same
business model as Uber, became a huge success in the past few
years.
The huge success of Indian startup ecosystem can be
linked to the continuous and engaging support that the Indian
government has provided through various startup schemes and
tax incentives. The Indian government has introduced more than

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50 initiatives to support startup growth in past few years. Many of
these initiatives like “Fund of Funds” and tax exemption gained
hype across the Indian startup community. The Government of
India’s initiative “Startup India” aims to build a solid startup and
innovation environment that helps startup growth, which enables
continuous economic development and increased employment
opportunities at a large scale. The initiative promotes industry-
academia partnership and provides funding support to new tech
startups. The government of India is providing specialized funds,
international patent protection, venture capital investment
schemes, raw material assistance, single point registration and
many other financial, regulatory and operational incentives to
startups.
Indian startups are also seeing support and growth
opportunities from non-government business incubators. India has
more than 200 startup incubators providing financial and
operational support to startups at all stages of development.
Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship IIM
Ahmedabad, Indian Angel Network (IAN) Incubator, Nadathur S
Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), IIM
Bangalore, and Angel Prime are some of the major business
incubators in India. To encourage entrepreneurship, the
government of India has started venture capital funds which
provide capital and strategic inputs. SIDBI Venture Capital Limited
(SVCL) and IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd. (IFCI Venture) are
major venture capital funds controlled by the central government of
India and there are many regional venture capital firms like
Hyderabad Information Technology Venture Enterprises Limited

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(HITVEL), Kerala Venture Capital Fund Private Limited that are
controlled by state governments. Indian startups have attracted the
attention of some of the largest venture funds globally. Helion
Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Blume Ventures, Sequoia
Capital India, Nexus Venture Partners, and IDG Ventures, etc.
have their presence in India.
With 58% of rural Indian population relying on agriculture
as their primary source of livelihood, the Agriculture sector offers
immense opportunities for startups to capture the market by
bringing in innovative Agri-tech solutions. The high yield variety of
seeds and fertilizers introduced during the green revolution in India
could be considered as the first major breakthrough in the
Agriculture sector in India; unfortunately, despite a major role
played by the National Agriculture Research System India, there
has not been any major research breakthrough. India’s harvest
and post-harvest loss was evaluated to be USD13
billion according to the Ministry of Food and Processing Industries
in 2016. Advances in robotics and sensing technologies have
potential to not eliminate these losses but also improve the yield of
the crop significantly. “I believe, by moving to a robotic agricultural
system, we can make crop production significantly more efficient
and more sustainable,” says Simon Blackmore, an engineer at
Harper Adams University in Newport, UK. If businesses can come
up with such innovative and scalable tech solutions for the existing
problems of Indian agriculture system, they can capture a big
share in this huge market opportunity.
India is the undisputed leader in Tech and BPM for clients
for over two decades now. It is emerging as the leading location

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for digital skills and solutions to multinational corporations (MNC).
Having a vibrant startup ecosystem with over 5,000 startups, India
is now home to many employees who work for some of the largest
companies in the world. India’s rapid growth of digital skill talent
and its blooming startup ecosystem showcase its tremendous
potential to outperform the technology leaders in the near future.

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Ireland

“Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not.”

-Michael Dell

Even a decade ago, Ireland was not on the mind of

entrepreneurs and emerging companies for starting and
growing their businesses. It’s not the same anymore as
Dublin has been ranked as the "best city to found a business
in" by Forbes Magazine. In making Dublin as the best
European startup hub, the government and their agencies
are investing a lot of resources. Most of the Global Tech
companies such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter
who rank in the top 10 are in Dublin. It has around 2,000
startups. These serve as pillars in ranking Dublin as 8th in
the European Digital City Index (EDCI), out of 35 hubs.
In Tholons Services Globalization Index (TSGI)
2018, Ireland is placed at 15th position amongst the Top 50
Digital Nations, due to its active outsourcing industry
coupled with blooming startup scene. Dublin is also placed
at 7th position amongst the Top 100 Super Cities and Cork
is placed at 49th in the same index.
Multitudes of incubators and accelerators are active
in Dublin, prominent among them being National Digital
Research Centre (NDRC) which is a government-sponsored
accelerator for digital startups. It was founded in 2007 and
invests in companies having potential to grow internationally.
It has worked with over 200 startups. NDRC-supported
companies have raised €150 million plus and employ over

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800 people directly. As a University Business Accelerator,
NDRC is currently ranked by the UBI Global Index as
second in the world and first in Europe. The National
College of Ireland’s Business Incubation Centre, University
College Dublin’s Nova and Invent, and DIT Hothouse
provided by Dublin Institute of Technology are the other
leading university incubators supporting the startup
ecosystem.
To empower entrepreneurial teams in transforming
strong ideas into commercially possible startups, Ireland
started its first digital accelerator, NRDC. It also runs Female
Founders which encourages and supports female founders.
The SAP Startup Focus program is encouraging startups in
developing new applications on SAP HANA. The program
targets on big data, predictive and real-time analytics.
There are many grants which make sure no genuine
idea is left behind for lack of finances. For example, Dublin
Startup Community Fund, which is provided by the Dublin
Commissioner for Startups, gives small grants to
community-focused entrepreneurs and organizations in
Dublin. Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Competition
funds three winners in different categories a hefty sum of
€50,000. Competitive Start Fund provided by Enterprise
Ireland funds up to €50,000 for a 10% equity stake. New
Frontiers Entrepreneur Development Program, also provided
by Enterprise Ireland, funds up to €15,000 in competitive
startups.

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 We can find many Angel and Seed Investors in
Ireland. Prominent among them being Halo Business Angel
Network, Irish Investment Network, Business Angel
Partnership, AngelList, Lucey Fund, and AIB Seed Capital
Fund provided by Dublin Business Innovation Centre.
Enterprise Ireland (EI) has been ranked third in the world for
seed investment by the international investment platform,
PitchBook.
The presence of many international and local venture
capital investors is a big positive for Ireland. NDRC
VentureLab Program, ACT Venture Capital, Frontline
Ventures, Enterprise Equity Venture Capital Group, Delta
Partners, Kernel Capital, Business Venture Partners,
Atlantic Bridge LP, DFJ Espirt, Executive Venture Partners,
Fountain Healthcare Partners, Greencoat Capital, Investec
Ventures, MML Growth Capital Partners, Polaris Partners,
Serbia Kernel, Irish Venture Capital Funds, ScaleFront,
Smart Start, and Irish Venture Capital Association are local
VC firms. Startupbootcamp Ireland and Google’s Ventures
fund, Mastercard’s e-commerce-focused accelerator, are
among the other sources of funding in Ireland.
Some startups which deserve to be mentioned are
UrbanVolt, which under two years of its business has
become the biggest lighting company in Ireland. Cortechs,
founded by a former research lecturer, has a platform that
uses a brainwave-sensing headset that reads brainwaves
with advanced algorithms and uses gameplay to regulate

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players’ focus levels. Other successful startups to come out
of Ireland are WeSavvy, OCREX, Parkpnp, and
CleverBooks to name a few.
The future of working is going to be co-working and
Dublin possesses a number of such places, some of them
being Dogpatch Labs, Guinness Enterprise Centre, The
Digital Hub, IADT Media Cube, TCube Dublin, CoCreate,
The Hive, Coworkinn, and Versari Hub.
However, no unicorn has come out of Ireland yet and
there is also limited startup growth outside Dublin. Ireland
has more resources to encourage the creation, scalability
and stability of startups. The future of startups looks
certainly very bright for Ireland.

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Israel

“Let’s go invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what

happened yesterday.”
- Steve Jobs

Israel with over 5,000 startups is an innovation giant.

Two venture capital-funded startups have made entry to the
unicorn list. Israeli inventiveness is at the height of
worldwide development, with Israeli organizations
spearheading propelled arrangements in fields including
digital health, cybersecurity, fintech, mobility, smart
transportation and agrarian innovation. The startups in Israel
are sources of groundbreaking innovation and are taking
Israel to global tech prominence. The combination of Israel’s
culture, environment and keen strategy has equipped Israel
with a startup ecosystem that rivals any other top startup
hub.
According to our annual report Tholons Services
Globalization Index (TSGI) 2018, Israel ranks 48th among
the Digital Nations. Tel Aviv
ranks 85th in the Super Cities
Haifa
list. However, according to
Tel Aviv
the TSGI 2017 report,
amongst the Pure Play Digital
Beer Sheba
Nations and Pure Play Super
Israel
Cities, Israel and Tel Aviv
ranks first for both criteria.

Page 274 of 376

Figure: Map of Israel
 This means that although the country is not having a
matured outsourcing industry, it has an established startup
ecosystem.
Beer Sheva and Haifa also have promising and well-
functioning ecosystem for startups and entrepreneurship.
It’s not only the sheer number of entrepreneurial companies;
it’s their astonishing, innovative edge. One of the most
popular and widely known Israeli startup is Waze, a mobile
phone traffic and navigation app that has created a “driving
community”, and is used by nearly 100 million drivers
worldwide. Waze has been so successful that it was
acquired by Google. OrCam developed technology which
allows blind people with intact optic nerves to see. Phinergy
has created a lithium car battery that triples mileage for
electric cars. These are just a few examples of thousands of
startups that are making Israel a “startup nation”.
“Israel is an immigrant and multicultural nation, allowing
for diversity and different viewpoints. This allows for
creativity and innovation, by encouraging the free flow of
ideas and collaboration among individuals with very different
perspectives.” - Meir Brand, Google Israel Managing
Director. In many ways, Israel’s strong innovation culture
runs parallel to America’s. Both countries share the unique
view that entrepreneurial failure is an education rather than
a badge of dishonor. They don’t punish risk-taking the way
many other nations do.

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 Accenture’s R&D lab in Israel is the center for unique
cybersecurity expansion. The lab focuses on advanced
threat intelligence, active defense and Industrial Internet of
Things security by applying the latest developments in
artificial intelligence, blockchain and advanced analytics
from across Accenture’s global network of labs and
innovation centers. The custom-built facility features a
unique immersive environment for clients to experience for
themselves how innovative and disruptive new approaches
will help take their cyber capabilities to the next level. It is
equipped with a combination of collaborative research areas
and other dedicated spaces designed to showcase cutting-
edge prototypes that enable rapid development of leading
cyber solutions. – Newsroom Accenture.
Israel teamed up with Europe’s biggest organization for
applied scientific research. The cybersecurity research
cooperation between Fraunhofer SIT and Israel aims at
creating a network of excellence and producing new ideas
for innovative cybersecurity. “Israel is a hotspot for
innovation and home to some of the most talented
cybersecurity researchers and engineers worldwide.
Fraunhofer SIT has decades of experience in applied
cybersecurity research and is helping industry and
governments to solve their security problems. Bringing this
practical experience from Germany to Israel has the
potential to form the leading cybersecurity research center in
Israel. It will greatly benefit the societies and economies of

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both countries.” - Dr. Michael Waidner, Director of
Fraunhofer SIT.
Israel boasts of having the greatest number of
startups per capita and attracting more venture capital
dollars per capita than any other country, hence the
nickname ‘The Startup Nation’. Education has played a
crucial part in Israel earning that nickname. In the globally
renowned QS Universities Ranking, six of the leading Israeli
universities are included. In a survey done by cloud
accounting software firm Sage, Tel Aviv University ranks
eighth in the world for training entrepreneurs. It had seven
alumni founders of startups with valuation worth USD1
billion and above.
The corporates - Yahoo, Citi Bank, Aol, Microsoft,
Upwest Labs, and TheHive - have been running
accelerators in Israel, and presence of leading venture
capital firms has helped the startups raise funds of over
USD5.5 billion in 2017.
The Israeli government has been designing and
implementing strategies and policies to foster startup
ecosystem in Israel for decades. The Israeli government
invests about 4.5 percent of its GDP in R&D which is 2.3%
higher than the OECD’s 2.2 percent average. The country
was ranked second and trailed only South Korea in R&D
expenditure as a percentage of GDP. Israel achieved first
place in the “researcher concentration category,” - the
number of professionals (including postgraduate PhD

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students) engaged in R&D per million people in the country.
- 2017 Bloomberg Innovation Index.
The Small and Medium Business Agency (SMBA) is
the government’s core agency for SME and
entrepreneurship development. It plays a vital role in
improving business development services, providing access
to finance and guiding government regulation decisions for
SMEs. However, inter-ministerial coordination is hampered
by the SMBA’s status as a department of the Ministry of
Economy and Industry rather than a full-fledged SME
agency.42
To stimulate seed financing, government has
introduced new guidelines wherein personal income tax
deduction is provided for amounts up to NIS (New Israeli
Shekel) 5 million to those who invest in startups that are less
than three years old and have a turnover that is less than
NIS1.5 million.
Israel’s corporate tax rate of 25% is high compared
to international standards. However, the government offers
tax breaks to foreign investors, exporters and R&D-based
companies through the Law for the Encouragement of
Capital Investment.
The success of startup culture in Israel is an inspiration and
a perfect example of how culture, environment and strategy
can overcome size limitation.

42OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship: SME and

Entrepreneurship Policy in Israel 2016.

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Italy

“That the way to achieve higher standards of living for all is

through science and technology, taking advantage of better
tools, methods and organization.”
- Charles E. Wilson

Italy with a population of 60 million is divided into 20

regions, each with its own identity of beautiful landscapes
and unique culture. Italy’s business sector is very diverse
and the northern regions are the “economic engines” for
Italy. Food, machinery, iron and steel, footwear, clothing and
ceramics are the main businesses in the northern region.
Contrastingly, prosperity of southern regions is less, and
there exists a gap in economy, as economy is dependent on
small enterprises, primarily in the agricultural, manufacturing
and tourism sector given that the south of Italy is incredibly
beautiful.
The ten years in the first cycle of education (primary
and lower secondary education) and the first two years of
the second cycle (from 6 to 16 years of age) is made
compulsory. Hence,
the last two years from
Milan
14 to 16 years of age,

Rome can be completed

Italy
either in upper
secondary schools or
within the three-year
Figure 1316: Map of Italy
Page 279 of 376
vocational education and training courses.43 Scholarship is
offered for Italian and international students from many
Italian universities like University of Padova, Politecnico di
Milano, Bologna University, and Bocconi University. The
country has been ranked 50th among 190 countries globally
in World Bank’s ease of doing business index 2017.
More than 1,800 startups from Italy are listed in
AngelList. Italy is known for its excellent creativity,
extraordinary entrepreneurship and style. In the recent
years, a number of accelerators and incubators supporting
new business has grown in Italy. Rome and Milan are the
two major startup hubs in Italy.
Milan has presence of all the necessary elements to
create a successful startup ecosystem from VCs, university
incubators to a variety of startup events. FabriQ, Digital
Magics, Make a Cube, and Polihub are some of the top
incubators in Milan. Copernico is a 15,000-square-meter
building that hosts hundreds of innovative companies of any
size, a co-working space called StartMiUp, and events
almost every day. There are several university incubators
like Bocconi University incubator and the Politecnico di
Milano incubator called Polihub. A healthy number of
financing sources are available in Milan. ‘Innovative Startup
Loan’ provides up to 70 percent of the expenses to the
selected startups. The university and the university
incubators Lombard, promoted by the region of Lombardia,

43 Passport to Trade, Italian Business Culture

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organizes a competition: ‘Start Cup Lombardia’, which
supports to create new high potential business, has created
and hosted relationships with universities and university
incubators. Eppela, SiamoSoci and Starteed are the major
crowdsourcing platforms. Innogest SGR, 360 Capital
Partners, Dpixel, KeyCapital and United Ventures are the
major venture capital firms.
Rome is located at the heart of Italy and provides all
the support required for fostering startups and
entrepreneurship. There are more than 20 co-working
spaces, fab-labs, many incubators and accelerators, private
and institutional investors in Rome. It hosts many
entrepreneurial events like Roma Startup, StartupItalia
Roma, Eventbrite, etc. Italy has recently launched Italia
Startup Visa programme to attract foreign startup and
investors into the Italy startup scene. Italy provides many
grants and incentives for new businesses, particularly in
rural areas and the south of the country (the Mezzogiorno).
Grants include central government grant, redeployment
grants, EU subsidies, and grants from provincial authorities
and local communities. The grants provided may include
assistance to buy buildings and equipment, subsidies for job
creation, research and technological assistance, low-interest
loans and tax incentives.
The Italian Startup Act provides tools at all stages of
the business life cycle, creating the enabling conditions
needed for a quick go-to-market and scaling up of high-tech

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startups. Under this act, innovative startups can get a
number of incentives for the first five years. These include
tax incentives by up to 27% on seed and early-stage
investment amounting up to 1.8 million Euros, free-of-charge
access to public guarantees by 80% on bank loans
amounting up to 2.5 million Euros44.
Italy has a rich history in innovation, creativity and
entrepreneurship but the same is not showcased in Italy’s
startup scene. However, the growth of the startup scene in
Milan and Rome has gained some pace in recent years
which is a reflection of regulation reforms and initiatives
taken by the government to support innovation and
entrepreneurship.

44Ministry of Economic Development, New Italian Legislation on

Startups

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Japan

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable

from magic.”
-Arthur C. Clarke

Japan has played a lead role in designing the

technology landscape in the past five decades. The
technology advancements made by Japanese companies
like Toshiba and Sony make an interesting comparison with
the recent technological developments in Silicon Valley.
‘Idea to Company’ concept-based success stories of Silicon
Valley are yet to be
seen in Japan.
The large
corporations of Japan
have a significant
hold and influence

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Figure 1419: Map of Japan

over the market and talent pool. What is less witnessed in
Japan is Silicon Valley-type startups like Amazon, Uber, and
Tesla that are changing lives and economy of nations like
U.S.A. These types of startups have the potential to disrupt
the present industries. Despite having reliable talent pool,
capital, infrastructure and technology readiness, what
hinders the startups growth is least risk-taking culture. In
Japan, the innovation and corporate worked on step-by-
step, predictable and low-risk model, while Silicon Valley’s
strength is its “fail fast, fail smart” model of innovation.

However, things are changing now, according to the Global

Competitive Report 2016-17. Japan has been ranked 8th out
of 138 economies, considering its higher level of innovation,
business sophistication, market size, and infrastructure. As
TM
per Innovation Cities Index 2016-17, Tokyo (3rd), Osaka
(50th), and Kyoto (70th) are named Top 100 global cities for
an innovation economy. Startups in Japan have been
encouraged by their government. With an aim to promote
entrepreneurship, the local municipalities launched the
Startup City Promotion Consortium in cooperation with
economic organizations. The members share advanced
approaches and models by using the unique features of
each municipality.
To elevate the global competitiveness of industry and
to promote the creation of international economic activity
centers, the National Strategic Special Zones are designed.

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The government of Japan has started several programs to
support startups. To name a few - Sido Next Innovator by
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, BusiNest
Accelerator Course and Seed Accelerator Program (Osaka
prefecture, Initiative for Development of Entrepreneurship in
Asia). To connect entrepreneurs and investors, there are
several pitch sessions and competitions being organized
throughout the year such as the Samurai Venture Summit,
Tokyo Startup Gateway, Innovation Weekend, Infinity
Ventures Summit, SF Japan Night, and Decoded Fashion
Startup Summit.
As per AngelList, Japan has more than 800 listed
startups. It has 10 unicorns that include Rakuten, Cookpad,
GungHo, Cyber Agent, Dena, M3 Inc., Mixi, Kakaku, GREE,
and Colopl.
The government of Japan has regulated several
policies to catalyze startup ecosystem growth. The
strategies include - providing education and information to
entrepreneurs through National Startup and Venture Forum,
reducing the minimum capital needs for starting limited
liability company, a new startup loan program that doesn’t
require collateral or guarantors, and expansion of the upper
limit of “free property” is based on the latest Bankruptcy
Law.
Japan now has over 400 business incubators, up
from 30 a few years ago. Some of these are focused on the

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hi-tech sector digital development offering funding, work
space and mentoring.

Latin America

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you are not a part
of the steamroller, you are a part of the road.”
- Stewart Brand

As foreign companies head for the region to partner

with a rapidly growing local clean technology sector, Latin
America is becoming a global sector for green innovation.

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Various factors such as plentiful resources, suitable
regulations, and government are developing international
associations in the race to commercialize feasible
technology. And as the costs of technologies such as solar
PV fall, a favorable investment climate is enabling local
market entrants to become competitive and scale up. “Green
tech industries are growing fast in Latin America. The
environment has been transformed in the past five years. I
have seen a significant increase in investment, both in the
development, and large European or North American
companies are flocking to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and
other countries to launch projects.” - Luis Aguirre-Torres,
CEO of Green Momentum.
There are no estimates of the size of the sustainable
technology market in Latin America but the scale of
investment in renewable energy offers a clue: the
Climatescope 2013 report says the region captured
USD16.8 billion, or 6% of global clean energy investment in
2012. Renewable energy has been the main focus of
innovation, and bodies such as the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) have an optimistic outlook for the
region. According to GTM Research, Latin America is
already the global frontier for unsubsidized solar markets45.
IDB energy specialist Arnaldo Vieira de Carvalho says:
“Latin America already has an energy matrix that is cleanest

45 The Guardian - Why Latin America is a fertile ground for green tech industries

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of all regions: in terms of power generation, we have almost
70% renewables - three times the world average”.
With the world’s largest powerful wind resource and
huge biomass capacity, Brazil is a leading giant hydro
power; but with the increased renewables, Mexico leads in
solar, has huge geothermal reserves and challenges Brazil
in wind. The overall market size is indicated by the potential
of Brazil’s green economy with “USD200 billion low carbon
opportunity” as pointed by Carbon Trust. Many factors are
urging the growth of technology in Latin America. To find
solutions to old development problems such as pollution,
waste disposal, insufficient water supply and traffic
congestion, the region is turning towards green solutions.
Rapid urbanization is proving ground for mass transit
systems, in making young culture lend themselves to
feasible housing environments.
New accelerator programs are launched day in and
day out, as Startup accelerators are very necessary part in
current tech world. According to a recent report by Gust and
Fundacity, Total investment in the region stood at
USD31,563,841 in 1,333 startups by 62 accelerator
programs in 2015.46 Chile topped the list with USD15 billion
followed by Brazil at USD5.5 billion. Some of the major
startup accelerators in the region are 21212, Start-Up Chile,
Start-Up Brazil, Wayra, Founder Institute, NXTP Labs, etc.
Promoted by Google, Launchpad Accelerator is a six-month

46 Gust.a”LatamAcceleratorReport”,2015

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acceleration program and in its third edition has included 13
startups from Latin America. The program includes intensive
mentoring with Google engineers, product managers,
technology experts and investors in Silicon
Valley. Participants will also receive credits on Google
products, venture capital funds, public relations support and
six months of advice in their home countries, according
to Google's Spanish-language blog. 27% of Latin American
accelerators are public not-for-profit organizations focused
on economic development through entrepreneurship. In
order to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation among
students, accelerator programs are run by many universities
(UDD Ventures, Chrysalis in Chile, Macondo Labs in
Colombia).
The introduction of Novo Mercado (New Market) as a
new segment of Brazil’s stock exchange means increased
transparency and improved shareholder protections, and
shows that Brazil is open to making innovative changes,
according to industry expert Greg Featherman from KPMG.
Daniel Levites from Ernst and Young explained how
inventions in financial services are used to reduce fraud in
Brazil. In Colombia, significant advances with a new IT-
based institutional framework has supported over 23,000
companies. The Vive Digital Colombia high speed internet is
now available to more than 90% of the country and an
additional 2 million laptops are available to local schools.
“Right now there is a digital divide between advanced

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societies like Brazil and rural areas like Mexico. Latin
American countries need access to not only data, but also
open source software and cloud computing technology.” -
Richard Pina, technical advisor, Citigroup Integrated
Account Team, IBM Corporation.
There arises a question about the role of the private
sector in green growth, due to interruption by the
government. According to World Bank report, Latin America
is slowed down by low innovation and lack of
“transformational” entrepreneurs. So, does it infer that Latin
American researchers are doing nothing? Some studies of
R&D in the locale assuredly suggest that expenditure on
innovation is comparatively low. Mike Pitts, who led the TSB
trip to Brazil, says: “There is definitely a lot of indigenous
innovation, but one of the challenges we saw is that a lot of
it is top down. What seems to be lacking is some of the
more organic growth - the bottom up stuff.”
Innovation in logistics and transportation could also
yield a significant return in Latin American countries.
Mauricio Mesquita Moreira, sector economic advisor and
research coordinator
for the Inter-American
Development Bank,
spoke about his
upcoming report
about the impact of
domestic

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Figure 1518: Map of Latin America

transportation costs and regional export disparities in Latin
America. Mike Todaro, executive director of Americas
Apparel producers Network, noted that the apparel industry
is correspondingly moving back into Latin America with new
fabric technologies and capabilities.
In our annual report Tholons Services Globalization Index
(TSGI) 2018, there are nine countries among the Top 50
Digital Nations with Mexico and Brazil being on 4th and 5th
ranks respectively. The report also mentions 21 cities
among the Top 100 Super Cities index with Sao Paulo,
Buenos Aires, Santiago, San Jose, Montevideo being under
top 25 at 8th, 10th, 20th, 14th and 9th ranks respectively. Chile,
since it launched Start-Up Chile in 2010, has moved from a
pilot phase of programmes supporting startups to a more
structured policy linked to its national production and
transformation strategy. It has modernized services to
entrepreneurs through more flexible mechanisms tailored to
the needs of startuppers, such as collaborative workspaces
and mentoring networks, and it has simplified the regulations
for starting a business.47
Colombia has joined the wave of interest for startups
in the region, and in 2012 it set up iNNpulsa Colombia to
promote entrepreneurship. With the introduction of a new
voucher scheme (which provides new businesses access to
financing and services) regulated by authorized intermediate

47
OECD :Startup Latin America 2016, Building an innovative
Future

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organizations, Colombia is reforming the programme.
Development of startups in cities is a unique feature of
Colombia; Bogota and Medellin has witnessed a rapid
growth in the number of startups, and they aim to become
startup hubs by encouraging establishment of startups
through public-private partnership. Mexico is the country that
has made the most progress in promoting startups between
2012 and 2016. The creation of the National Institute of
Entrepreneurship (INADEM) in 2013 strengthened the
institutional framework for startups. Meanwhile, the
reintroduction of seed capital has closed the early-stage
funding gap, thus achieving one of the challenges identified
in the 2013 review (OECD, 2013). Financial involvement of
startups is also improved; venture capital has taken off in the
country, which now has the second most active industry in
Latin America, behind Brazil (LAVCA, 2016). With the
reformation of regulations, Mexico has made it easier to start
a business, with the Express Companies Act being the best
example. By launching guiding networks and workspaces, it
has modernized services for entrepreneurs. Peru introduced
the StartUp Perú programme in 2012. Since then, it has
improved the programme design and it has increased the
budget for startups, which now receive resources from the
innovation fund. The StartUp Perú programme has been
expanded, and today it includes seed capital and support for
angel-investor networks. Peru also promotes the founding of
startups based on scientific research through a competition

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organized by the National Science and Technology Council
(CONCYTEC). Universities, the private sector, and the
national development bank are actively promoting the
founding of startups in Peru.48
Chinese companies are optimistic about investing in
Latin America despite competition, and experts say the
continent will likely benefit from growing Chinese
investments. In 2015, China surpassed the US as the
continent’s largest foreign investor and top destination for
exports. Chinese foreign direct investment in non-financial
sectors in Latin America rose to USD21.45 billion last year,
up 67.1% from the previous year, according to data released
by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).49
During that period, the China Development Bank and
China Export-Import Bank, two state-backed policy banks,
offered loans worth USD29 billion to the continent, more
than the World Bank and the Inter-American Development
Bank combined. Industries such as business services,
wholesale and retail, transportation, finance, and mining are
led primarily from Chinese capital.
“Compared to its global rivals in Europe and Japan
whose investments in the continent mainly go to high end
equipment manufacturing and services, China’s competitive
edge has gradually grown in labor-intensive manufacturing,

48OECD: Startup Latin America 2016, Building an Innovative

Future
49Global Times - Chinese firms eye more investments in Latin

America

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infrastructure and capital intensive sectors. China has the
advantage in labor, capital and foreign reserves, and some
of its technologies have gained world recognition, helping
the country pursue growth in Latin American markets.” -
Sang Baichuan, Director of the Institute of International
Business at the University of International Business and
Economics.
China will continue its increased trade and economic
cooperation with Latin America to focus on industries like
manufacturing, energy, agriculture, technological innovation,
infrastructure, and information technology. “The China
National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is seeking a close
cooperation with the Peruvian government in the energy
sector, especially in oil field development, pipeline
construction and the use of natural gas.” - Chen Jintao,
Deputy General Manager of CNPC’s Latin American branch.
Whether in traditional industries or new sectors,
Chinese investment in Latin America will take on various
forms in the future, including mergers and acquisitions, joint
ventures, engineering procurement, construction and public-
private partnerships. But experts say that Chinese
companies should be cautious as investment risks remain.
According to Liu, labor disputes are common in the continent
and it is quite hard for foreigners to acquire a work visa.
“Chinese firms also need to learn to adapt to the rules and
laws in Latin America. They should also exert efforts to
balance conflicting local interest groups.” - Sang Baichuan.

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 It’s motivating to imagine what Latin America’s 525
million population can do if they align their capabilities and
passion to find solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.

London

“The great growling engine of change - Technology.”

- Alvin Toffler

In the year 2014, London solidly built up its notoriety

as the FinTech capital of the world. Investors craving for
troublesome new businesses in the monetary
administrations advertise has expanded beyond Angel and
Seed financing rounds to genuine multi-million dollar Series
A and B venture rounds. Money transfer, foreign exchange
and payments-focused tech companies are progressing fast
and situating themselves as market leaders in multi-billion-
dollar untapped markets with the potential for exponential
development.
Examples of FinTech’s market maturity include
Richard Branson’s investment in Transferwise, DueDil’s
USD17 million Series B financing round and Gocardless’
USD7 million Series B round led by venture capital giants

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Balderton Capital and Accel Partners. The success of the
revolution in London has brought in the unbundling of other
industries as well. Health Tech or Digital Health is also
quickly picking up consideration from the “smart-up
ecosystem” of business visionaries, government activities,
corporate hatcheries, engineers, architects, angel
speculators, venture capitalists, and writers in London.
Over 4,000 startups are active in London
Metropolitan Area. There are twelve startups being valued at
USD1 billion and above. Various reports have adjudicated
London as having the best startup hubs in Europe and
amongst the top three globally. There are 70+ co-working
spaces present in London such as We Work, Google
Campus, The Office Group, Rainmaking Loft, etc. The
presence of 36+ incubators and accelerators, including
Europe’s largest Fintech accelerator Level39, is helping
youthful business visionaries and cultivating a startup
environment. Startups in London raised £98 million in VC
financing in the first six months of 2016. Digital jobs are on
the rise with 250,000+ such jobs, and expected to rise by
more than 45,000 in the next ten years. In 2014 alone,
London evidenced the launch of Med City by Boris Johnson,
a new £50 million “challenge fund” for GP services by David
Cameron. Health-focused startup RotaGeek was shortlisted
for Wayra UK’s 2014 mentoring programme, and with NHS-
focused startup Healthberry beta launch to measure patient
feedback, industry experts predicted the coming trends

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facing the medical and personal healthcare industries at the
Wired Health 2014 Conference. There is an endless level of
activity proceeding daily, weekly and monthly in London.
Even universities and colleges are taking a bite of
the innovation progress in London. The I-HUB, Imperial’s
new translation and innovation hub at the White City
Campus, gives modern incubator, accelerator, office space
and laboratory, which is more than 185,000 square feet, the
facility will empower the co-location of startups, business
visionaries, and major enterprises nearby Imperial’s
academic community.
The main purpose of the 13-storey building is to
support the commercialization and interpretation of research
and advancement for the advantage of society. “We are
delighted to be opening this new landmark hub for
innovation, incubation and collaboration, reaffirming
London’s position at the forefront in applying leading edge
science. Businesses in the I-Hub will be focused on taking
fantastic research ideas out into the market where they can
have a direct positive impact for society. This is another
chapter in Imperial College’s mission to apply the results of
our world-class work in science, engineering, medicine and
business, creating economic growth, high value jobs and
benefits for society.” - Professor David Gann.
The I-Hub, managed by the Imperial College Think
Space, gives sophisticated office workspaces and laboratory
to companies at each stage of their advancement, co-

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locating them with Imperial College London. “The opening of
the I-Hub is a significant milestone in the development of the
White City Campus. It will help businesses, both new and
established, to reach new heights as they benefit from co-
location with Imperial College London’s leading academics
and the wider London research community.” - Dr. Eulian
Roberts.
Other companies like Visa are also looking into
London’s potential as an innovation hub as accelerating
resource. Innovators in the payments space can soon apply
to be part of Visa Europe Collab, the company’s first
innovation programme, which is opening its doors in
Shoreditch. In its first year, the company points to take at
least 20 ventures through its 100-day development funnel,
from starting scoping and capability, through advertise
testing and design, to confirmation of concept. The selected
ones will then be sent to the main Visa business to be used
by its consumers, retailers and member banks across
Europe.
“The FinTech space has never been more exciting;
with everything from wearable technology to virtual reality
impacting the way consumers interact with payments. For
us, this made it the ideal time to launch Collab. We believe
we can provide the glue that binds myriad stakeholders,
such as innovators, banks, retailers, mobile operators and
government together, to grow the ecosystem and ultimately

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deliver the best new payments services.” - Steve Perry,
Founder and Co-Creator of Visa Europe Collab.
Other companies to open hubs in London include
Argos. Argos became the latest retailer to open a dedicated
digital hub to spur innovation and entrepreneurialism in the
business. Argos has also appointed Lucy Butler to the new
role of special projects manager, reporting to digital director
Bertrand Bodson, to accelerate its ambitions to become a
leader in digital retail. The hub, above a store in London’s
Victoria, has been opened to attract new talent into Argos.
Digital designers, developers and testers are among the
roles the retailer hopes to recruit.
“This is about creating a space for collaboration and
innovation. We want to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit I
know to be at the hearth of our business and which has
meant that nearly 50% of our business now originates in a
digital channel.” - Bertrand Bodson.
Pivotal, which is another company accelerating
digital transformation for ventures, declared the launch of its
new flagship software innovation hub in the middle of Silicon
roundabout, London. Pivotal has made this noteworthy
commitment in response to the developing sense of urgency
from the UK and Europe’s biggest companies to obtain
advanced computer program advancement practices and a
next era cloud stage to level the playing field against
software drive opponents. Pivotal has the credit of forming
the program improvement cultures of numerous Silicon

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Valley’s companies, with contribution from EMC, Microsoft,
VMware, EMC Ford, and GE.
With over 200 Pivotal workers in London anticipated
by the end of 2017, UK and European endeavor clients will
utilize the state-of-the-art innovation hub to make compelling
digital encounters with present-day computer program
strategies, utilize one of the world’s most capable modern
cloud platforms - Pivotal Cloud Foundry - to construct and
run computer program at start up speeds, and reinforce
analytics capabilities utilizing Pivotal Enormous Information
suite.
“Through our partnership with Pivotal over the past
two years, Fidelity International has been able to access the
benefits and real potential of agile software development
using Pivotal Cloud Foundry within our business. The
combination of innovative software, excellent coaching and
a dynamic and contemporary working environment in the
Pivotal London office provides the winning formula for
companies to explore both the technological and cultural
opportunities required for transformational change when
adopting cloud.” - Emma Hammond, Global PaaS Product
Owner, Fidelity International.
“When Europe’s most storied companies such as
Sainsbury’s, Volkswagen, and Fidelity International learn to
create software like Silicon Valley-based companies, and
combine that with their decades of historic data, industry
expertise, and financial leverage, they have the unique

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opportunity to become the new disruptors in their industries.
The UK continues to be one of the world’s most important
financial centers, which is why Pivotal is deeply committed
to helping the UK and Europe’s largest enterprises leverage
its entrepreneurial spirit and depth of talent to create
differentiated products and services for their customers.” -
Rob Mee, CEO, Pivotal.
The British government is actively supporting the
startup ecosystem by providing £25,000 at a fixed interest
rate of 6 percent per annum to new businesses. This
scheme known as Start Up Loans was started in 2012 and
has pumped more than £300 million in over 46,000 business
ideas. Government has also pledged to invest £2 billion till
2020 in businesses focusing on AI, robotics and
biotechnology. Innovate UK, a government body, holds
funding competitions for businesses and research
organizations. Tech.London, a joint project between the
Mayor of London, investor portal Gust and IBM, provides
resources to startups such as tips on setting up, workspaces
and events to mentorship programs, jobs portal and funding
tips.
In October 2015, the Tech Nation visa scheme was
launched which has relaxed the rules on visas for 200
innovation laborers and government offers business
visionary visas for originators with "businesses which have
high development potential" and has been supported by at
least £50,000 from an endorsed organization. However, the

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future of these plans is right now blurry following the UK’s
choice to take off the EU.
London, being a major metropolitan city, attracts
talent and resources from around the world. Investors are
tapping into this gold mine, only to discover that the
possibilities are endless. With this momentum and success,
London might soon become a more thriving technological
hub than the Silicon Valley.

New York

“It’s not that we use technology, we live technology.”

- Godfrey Reggio

New York is most powerful city in finance and one of

the world’s best tech innovation hubs. Entrepreneurs
collaborate with a financial sector steeped in centuries-old
traditions, creating an ongoing boom in innovation for
consumers, employers, merchants, and anyone else
concerned with cash.
New York

New York
has more than
7,000 startups. It
is ranked 5th for
the number of
early stage
Figure 1620: Map of USA startups and 2nd

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on the Top 20 Global startup ecosystems list. New York City
has the 3rd highest number of startup unicorns.
Tumblr, AppNexus, MongoDB, Buddy Media, Gilt
Groupe, Warby Parker, Shutterstock, Kickstarter,
GersonLehrman, Etsy, and OnDeck Capital are among the
top startups founded in New York. In 2016, 421 New York-
based companies received USD9.5 billion funding. B2B
(USD3.97 billion) remained the hottest area of investment
followed by Health Tech (USD951 million) and Consumer
Web (USD848 million). With 111 companies raising funds,
B2B software was the highest funded company in 2016. In
total, B2B companies raised a whopping USD3.9 billion, led
by large rounds for Infor (USD2.5 billion) and Logicworks
(USD135 million).
New York City has a good number of business
accelerators which provides free office space for the period
of program, seed money in exchange for investment, and
other benefits such as free legal advice/banking. Many also
provide mentors – subject matter experts, or introduce
startups to potential partners/investors. Entrepreneurs
Roundtable Accelerator, Tech Stars, DreamIt Ventures,
Runway Startup Postdoc at Jacobs Technion-Cornell
Institute, and New York Digital Health Accelerator are some
of the top tech accelerators of New York City.
One of the major factors in establishing New York as
a tech hub is the influx of business incubators. The number
of incubators in New York is now 282, according to Business

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Incubation Association. New York universities are also
investing millions of dollars to encourage entrepreneurship
and innovation. A group of startup experts from New York
University provides educational training and events,
resources, and funds to inspire, connect, educate and
increase entrepreneurs across NYC. START-UP NY
program offers new and expanding businesses to operate
tax-free for ten years in New York State.
Being inspired by the experienced companies and
receiving mentorship from programs like Fintech Innovation
Lab, fintech startups in NYC are reorganizing trading,
lending, crypto currency analysis, and even personal
finance.
The New York FinTech Innovation Lab’s 31 alumni
companies have raised a total of USD296 million in
financing after participating in a program organized in June
of 2016 by Accenture which was about innovative startups to
showcase their cutting-edge financial technologies. Ally
Financial, American Express, American International Group,
Bank of America, and Barclays are the financial services
firms supporting the lab.
“The FinTech Innovation Lab continues to be the
premier program enabling the next generation of successful
financial technology entrepreneurs to grow right here in New
York. In just six years, the Lab has grown from ten financial
services partners to 29, which is proof that the city’s financial
institutions understand that their growth depends on their

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ability to harness innovation. The Lab has created a strong,
well-connected fintech sector in New York City, which has
led to a significant number of jobs being created and
impressive amount of financing raised. This year’s (2018)
participants are another clear example of the incredible
innovation taking place in the five boroughs.” - Maria
Gotsch, President and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New
York City.
“An unprecedented amount of money has been
poured into financial technology startups in recent years,
much more than anyone has predicted. With banks
continuing to face pressure to find new revenue streams and
fend off competitors while reorienting their business model
around digital, they increasingly recognize the collaborative
role fintech can play to help drive their own evolution. This
year’s (2018) class is opening the door to new uses for
disruptive technologies like blockchain and robo-advice,
which will help banks develop their innovation roadmaps.” -
Bob Gach, Managing Director, Accenture Strategy, Capital
Markets and co-founder of the Fintech Innovation Lab.
Rise New York is a joint venture of British
multinational banking and Barclays is a virtual global
community and physical space outlined to head the future of
financial technology. Barclays has further planned to open
Rise hubs in Africa, North America, Asia and Europe.
Barclays will rebrand the current open innovation site in
London and Manchester as rise locations. “It is time to

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redefine financial services. Rise is designed to help shape
the future of our industry and drive growth. We are seeking
to connect the world’s most active innovators to each other,
to corporates, and to resources and support networks. By
accelerating the development of groundbreaking products
and services, we know that we can help to keep Barclays at
the cutting-edge of financial services, all while helping to
revolutionize the industry.” - Michael Harte, Barclays’ Chief
Operations and Technology Officer.
Barclays’ first Accelerator program will be hosted by
Rise New York in New York, which is partnered with the
Techstars global network. The program includes all areas of
fintech, starting from cybersecurity and artificial intelligence
to wealth management, big data and crypto currencies. It
incorporates consultancy and opportunities for financial
technology startups to approach influencers, industry
experts and promising clients.
“With Rise and the Barclays Accelerator, we are
unlocking the power of open innovation. By using our
collective resources, we hope to accelerate the speed of
innovation in financial services and potentially unlock
significant benefits for millions of people across the globe.” -
Derek White, Barclays’ Chief Design and Digital Officer.
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley European
Financials Conference in London, Barclays’ CEO Antony
Jenkins warned that the “banking sector has not yet felt the
‘full disruptive force’ of technology - but it will”. Soon cheaper

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payment systems will begin to tempt their customers in the
upcoming years, he added.
Several fintech startups, which participated in the last
Barclay Accelerator program in London, started to find
opportunities with the bank. In order to explore how the
blockchain could be used in traditional finance, Barclays
signed a deal with Swedish Bitcoin Company Safello.
Barclays offers Accelerator program to 11 companies
in New York, and these were chosen from hundreds of
applications received from companies located in 55
countries. Bitcoin Company Chain analysis is one of its
members, which provides financial institutions to get
administrative agreement through real time analysis of
blockchain. The company gives an API for modern deep real
time blockchain transaction analysis.
Technological innovation is happening every day,
and the financial services industry has been incredibly
affected by technological development over the past few
decades. The world is seeing major changes in the field of
foreign exchange, payments, consumer and corporate
browsing, wealth management and insurance, among other
things.
Startups in New York are taking this change to a new
level. For instance, 51 maps gives a secure platform that
permits companies to merge all of the applications utilized
by employees into one central secure dashboard that can be
accessed on any gadget. AlphaPoint is another company

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that provides blockchain-enabled solutions to issue, track,
and trade digital assets. Its protected, versatile, and
customizable platform empowers customers to use
blockchain technology to decrease functional costs and
create income from new services and products.
ForwardLane provides benefits which utilizes artificial
intelligence to increase the essence and sophistication of
investment advice to everyone. The wealth management
solution enables financial advisors to render personalized,
high quality and differentiated service to clients. These are
just a few of the examples of technological innovation that
New York has to offer as a hub. The world of financial
services is demanding new ways of doing business and New
York, being the root of some of the heaviest financial traffic
in the world, is innovating to its maximum potential. Even
though the financial sector is one of those rigid industries
that fail to change its core practices, consumers are forcing
companies to make certain decisions that they have not
made before.
With the advent of these startups, and with NYU and
Cornell University innovating financial technology at the
grassroots level with college students, it will only be a matter
of time when financial technology in New York would come
to par or even exceed the pace at which the technological
revolution is taking place.

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Peru

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is

progress; working together is success.”
- Henry Ford

Peru is a vast country in South America with diverse

geographies, some of the deepest canyons in the world,
adventure sports with not too much regulations, jungle,
beach, mountains climbing around 6,000 meters above sea
level, subtropical and extreme high-altitude climate. Lima
valley has a presence of an active team of entrepreneurs
and because of this, Peru has been considered as an active
hub of entrepreneurship in recent times.
There are a few difficulties which must be addressed
though. Implementation of numerous initiatives is impossible
due to lack of infrastructure (both roads and internet). There
are no proper networks of roads and some areas do not
have practical access to internet even in Lima, which these
days are crucial to startups. There is no clarity, as many
legal procedures associated with entrepreneurships are
complicated and undefined which makes formalizing harder.
Getting support for a business is difficult since people are
not incorporated with an entrepreneurship model in their

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 mindset. There are certain
advantages also such as low
fares, the cost of production
for many things is very low
Trujillo
(more so out of Lima), and

Lima mobility cost is very low inside

Peru, so hiring a team to
Arequipa
deliver products on a
Figure 1721: Map of Peru motorbike in Lima can be
extremely inexpensive.

In Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018, Peru

is ranked as 20th amongst the Top 50 Digital Nations. Lima
is also positioned at 65th amongst the Top 100 Super Cities.
Peru introduced the StartUp Peru programme in 2012. Since
then, it has improved the programme design and it has
increased the budget for startups, which now receive
resources from the innovation fund. The StartUp Peru (SUP)
programme has been expanded, and today it includes seed
capital and support for angel-investor networks. Peru also
promotes the funding of startups based on scientific
research through a competition organized by the National
Science and Technology Council (CONCYTEC). Universities
and the private sector are actively promoting the funding of
startups in Peru, and the national development bank
COFIDE has just made promoting startups as one of its
strategic lines of action. COFIDE is looking to promote

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venture capital and the financial inclusion of new
enterprises.50
In addition to offering direct support to startups, SUP
also provides funds for developing incubators and
accelerators. In 2016, SUP started Support for Business
Accelerators contest, offering non-repayable resources to
institutions in business-acceleration activities. COFIDE’s
Business Development Centre (CDE) provides
entrepreneurial training and advice to entrepreneurs and
small- and medium-sized enterprises. The CDE is
committed to regional development and is expanding
entrepreneurial training services to its offices outside Lima.
In 2015, the Ministry of Production started offering free
training courses to entrepreneurs to improve their business
knowledge and attitude.
Angel Ventures Peru, PAD, BBCS, and Capital Zero
are some of the angel networks present in Peru. Some of
the prominent accelerators are Wayra, Emprende UP,
Fledge, and Endeavor.
Universities are also not behind in supporting
startups. After Law 30220 was passed in 2014, universities
were mandated to provide consultancy services and make
campus facilities and infrastructure available to encourage
students to start businesses. The Bioincuba center at
Cayetano Heredia University focuses on life sciences and

50
OECD: Startup Latin America 2016, Building an Innovative
Future

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environmental conservation. Universidad delPacifico has the
Emprende UP entrepreneurship and innovation center,
which provides business training, organizes contest for
startups offering solutions to social problems. The UTEC
Ventures accelerator concentrates on technology and
engineering projects in Peru. They are a part of the
University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC). Peru
Emprende comprises public and private institutions which
organizes activities and events to strengthen entrepreneurial
scene. It has been active since 2014. The private institution
Alfa El Dorado and COFIDE collaborate with SUP and the
Multilateral Investment Fund in organizing the E|100
competition. This competition aims to encourage linkages
among startups to create solid entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The ecosystem is ripe for disrupting the incumbent
players and Peru is going at high pace to ensure it doesn’t
miss this opportunity.

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Philippines

“The betterment of the next generation will be enabled not

by politicians, but by engineers and entrepreneurs rich in
ideas for innovation, and by businessmen who know the
dynamics of wealth accumulation,”
- Banatao Founder Philippine Development
Foundation (PhilDev)

The Southeast Asian country Philippines has more than

7,000 islands. The Philippines is considered as the
Southeast Asia’s fastest growing nation. Undoubtedly, the
Philippines is the leader in customer service, Business
Process Management (BPM), and homes major
multinational companies (MNCs) and Global Inhouse Center
(GICs). Cultural attraction to US/UK, English fluency and the

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increasing impact of MNC operations are the strengths of
the Philippines. Prime MNC and GICs have made
Philippines a hub for digital process innovation.
London-based Marc Merlino, global head of Citi’s global
subsidiaries group, said in a recent interview with the
Inquirer that in a period of slowing global growth, the
Philippines offered ‘quite a good story’ that, in turn, was
attracting a lot of multinational corporations (MNCs). As the
rest of the world struggles with growth, I think the relative
attractiveness of the Philippines growing at 5-6 percent is
quite strong, Merlino said, also noting the nation’s 100-
million people and consumption-driven economy.
‘Companies that are looking to tap in and benefit from that
growth are certainly very focused on establishing and
expanding their presence in the Philippines.’51
The Philippine government and startup community
designed a roadmap for building a thriving ecosystem. From
just a hundred startups currently, the Philippines targets to
have 500 startups with a total valuation of USD2 billion by
2020.
Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018 ranks the
Philippines 2nd among Top 50 ‘Digital Nations’. Manila (2nd),
Cebu City (11th), Davao City (75th), Bacolod City (89th) and
Santa Rosa (87th) are in the Top 100 ‘Super Cities’.

51 Inquirer.net PH remains attractive

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 The city of Manila has become the focus of operations
for various industries and has long challenged Bangalore,
Mumbai and has
taken the lead in
BPM.
The Philippines
Manila
Santa Rosa has a high
presence of
Cebu growing youth
Palawan Bacolod population.
Davao
Furthermore, the
country has a
substantially high
Figure 1822: Map of Philippines
literacy rate
(95%), an estimated 30% of the graduates are employable
and is one of the world’s largest English-speaking nations.
AngelList lists more than 500 startups in the
Philippines. The startup ecosystem of the Philippines is
lagging behind its traditional offshoring rivals India and
China. However, the Philippine government has initiated
many programs and events to grow the startup culture of the
country. Geeks on the beach (GOAB) supported by the ICT
department is one such event that started in 2014. The
event provides opportunity for early stage startups to pitch
their ideas to investors, industry leaders and founders. As
early as year 2000, organizations like AFI’s Ayala
Technology Business Incubator Network have established

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startup incubating facilities, working with educational
institutions like the University of the Philippines and Asian
Institute of Management.
There are several university incubator programs
fostering young and innovative entrepreneurs across the
region. De Salle University, Ateneo De Manila University,
Asian Institute of Management, and San Beda College are
some of the top colleges offering entrepreneurship programs
in the nation. The government is creating many investment
opportunities for both local and foreign investors. In order to
use the incentives, foreign investors must register with the
Board of Investments (BOI) under the Omnibus Investments
Code (OIC). Tax incentives, including a six-year income tax
exemption from the start of the enterprise’s commercial
operations for pioneer establishments, as well as a four-year
income tax exemption for non-pioneer ones, are included in
incentives. Within the first five years of the OIC registration,
extra deductions from the business’ taxable income of 50
percent of the skilled and unskilled workers’ wages can be
availed if the company meets the recommended capital-to-
labor ratio. Enterprises that are registered with the Philippine
Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) are permitted to further
incentives to help increase employment in non-urban areas.
There are multiple funding options available to new
ventures in the Philippines. Loans and microfinance options
include The Fico Bank, the BangkoKabayan Inc., the
Cantilan Bank Inc., and the 1st Valley Bank. Venture capital

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firms present in the Philippines are IMJ Investment Partners,
Tallwood Venture Capital, First Asia Venture Capital Inc.,
and Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines.
Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) is offering an
initial USD3.6 million grant for the development of inclusive
business in the Philippines and the rest of Asia.
The Philippines has maintained its leadership in
outsourcing industry for years. In recent years, the tech
startup scene is blossoming all around the world and the
outsourcing industry is impacted by new technologies like
automation and artificial intelligence. Philippine competitors
in outsourcing industry like China and India have aligned
their efforts to gain recognition in innovation and
entrepreneurship globally. The Philippine government
should capitalize on its large technically skilled labor and
infrastructure to establish itself as a startup nation.

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Poland

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing,
you're right.”
- Henry Ford

Polish economy has encountered an enormous

transformation in the past 20 years. Collaborating with
European Union was another huge leap. It brought 150
billion Euros in just 15 years. The funds for startups were
directed to create something innovative and provide distinct
infrastructure. If asked about startup hubs in Europe, the
names to come are London, Tel Aviv, and Berlin, but Poland
has also gained a significant name. Leading technical
institutes have been well known for engineers and PhD
students. The BPO sector employs 200K employees. They
support some of the leading global companies. There is
quite a chance that multinational companies will invest in
Poland’s startups. The updated number of startups in the
Startup Poland database amounted to 2,677 in 2016. We
can say that Poland’s startup ecosystem is at its beginning
stage when compared to tech hubs like Berlin and London,
but it does not suggest that investors are to ignore the
country.
Advancements in FinTech have proved to be a
catalyst for many startups. “In just 29 minutes, Golem
Network raised more than USD8.6 million for its Golem
Network Token (GNT) and simultaneously became the third
largest platform ICO (initial coin offering) ever.” - Forbes.

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Golem is a decentralized global market often coined as the
“Airbnb” for computers. Golem accepts payments in crypto
currency. It allows users to lend resources to people in
need. Forbes explained that Golem serves as what many
view to be “the backbone” of a decentralized market for
computing power, making it both an Infrastructure-as-a-
Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) platform.
A brand new accelerator, ReaktorX, has come. It
helps startups to flourish. ReaktorX aims at bringing different
groups such as coders and product designers to collaborate
for innovation.
In Tholons
Gdansk Services Globalization
Index (TSGI) 2018,
Poznan Warsaw Poland is ranked at
highly competitive 11th
Wroclaw position amongst the
Top 50 Digital Nations.
Krakow
Three Polish cities
namely Krakow,
Figure 1923: Map of Poland Warsaw and Wroclaw
also feature in Top 100 Super Cities with Krakow at 6th
position. Warsaw is the capital city of Poland and has an
estimated population of 1.71 million people. Warsaw is a
part of the TWIST Digital project, which connects it to three
other European cities (Rome, Lille and Stockholm) under the
Startup Europe umbrella. Poland brought in €7.2 billion in

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EU funds aimed at promoting an innovative economy after
joining the EU in 2014. About 30 percent of all Polish
startups surveyed in Startup Poland’s annual report are
based in Warsaw. Warsaw is home to the third Google
Campus in Europe. Nearly 60 percent of Polish startups are
bootstrapped from their own funding, according to Startup
Poland. Being the capital city, Warsaw emerged as the
company’s entrepreneurial hotspot. It has attracted the
younger generation from nearby regions. The number of
innovative and creative hubs, accelerators, and workshops
have just added flavor to the city’s advancements.
Krakow is the second largest startup ecosystem in
Poland. It is an abode for top class universities like
Jagiellonian University. There are more than 5,000
graduates from IT-related studies each year. Estimote and
Kontakt.io specialize in beacon technology and in bringing
Internet of Things to interactive marketing, and have raised
USD13.8 million and USD7.75 million respectively. A
complex marketing automation platform, SalesManago,
founded in 2011, has raised USD6 million and is now
present in over 40 markets.
Another important startup hub in Poland is Wroclaw.
With a strong economic structure, it provides numerous
business opportunities. It gave birth to startups like LiveChat
and Cloud Your Car. The country’s most advanced tech park
resides in Wroclaw. The government of Poland is also
working hard to bring digitalization in their country. Projects

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like “From paper to digital Poland” emphasizes on
strengthening digitalization. Incidentally, almost the whole
population of Wroclaw is familiar with the English language.
Anna Streżyńska, Poland’s minister of digital affairs,
called the move a “game-changer in the approach towards
digital services and digitization.” She confirmed that there
are currently 500,000 trusted profiles in use, while the
number of online banking users has reached 16 million.
Tax Relief - The Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG)
maintains a catalogue of services for enterprises named
KIGNET. It is a support network from regional chambers of
commerce to help the competitiveness of Polish enterprises,
and provides services for small- and medium-sized
companies. The current corporate tax is 19% in Poland.52
European Aid grants are direct financial contributions
from the EU budget or from the European Development
fund. It is worth checking out your possible grants, funds and
programs by following the link and looking under a section,
e.g., Agriculture, Energy or Audio-visual and Media. It is
worth remembering that there are over 450 funding sources
for reimbursable grants, aid schemes, individual fellow and
traineeships, loans and guarantees in the EU.53
Poland’s startup ecosystem has the capability to
create exciting ideas and establish a strong innovative
company. However, factors like connecting regional hubs

52 StartupOverseas - Financing a Business in Poland

53 StartupOverseas - Financing a Business in Poland

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together, opening them to external collaboration, and
encouraging them to innovate are some of the obstacles to
annihilate. The government should take an effective step,
but what’s more important are commitment and aspiration.

Russia

“If you wait for the right time or the good times to start a
business, you wait all your life.”
- Fran Tarkenton

The Russian economy has been turbulent in the last

few years. After being hit by recession in 2008-2009, it was
again hit in 2014. Fluctuations in the market resulted in
investors shifting their focus on different sectors. Startups
were indirectly affected too. Growth in startup economy
hasn’t been much in these years.
The startup ecosystem which has been slowly
building over the past ten years has seen a noticeable
increase in activity in the past three to four years. Getting
seed funding can still be difficult. A number of VCs has
come down and angel investors are really hard to grab. The
government has helped by providing grants and tax rebates
but it is still difficult to get the money.

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 The most notable government project is the Skolkovo
project which began in 2006 and aims to build an entirely
new ‘Innovation City’ just outside of Moscow, complete with
top tier university, accelerator labs, and all of the housing
and infrastructure to sustain a sizeable community. The
Skolkovo site also houses corporate innovation groups from
Russian organizations like Sberbank and international
groups like Boeing.
Part of the government approach has also been to
establish privately-run organizations to support startups.
Skolkovo Foundation, at the core of the Skolkovo venture, is
one of these. Other groups incorporate FII which provide
funding and educational support to startups. Also prominent
are the Technoparks, set up by city governments, including
the 12 business incubators established by Moscow city
government containing 1,300 projects across various
industrial sectors. There are many co-working spaces in and
around Moscow - #tceh, StartHub, Co-working 2.0, Work
Station, ArmaCoworking, etc. There are various incubators
in Moscow as well - Higher School of Economics Business
Incubator, StroginoTechnoPark , Branch Agricultural
Business Incubator, etc. Moscow State Institute of
International Relations is also running a free incubator for
students and graduate.

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 In Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018,
Russia is placed at 7th amongst the Top 50 Digital Cities,
having
four of its
cities
St.
Petersburg
Moscow included
Kazan
in the
Novosibirsk
Nizhny index
Vladivostok
Novgorod namely
Moscow,
Figure 2024: Map of Russia Nizhny
Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. St. Petersburg
has the best rank of 37 amongst the Top 100 Super Cities.
Conservatively speaking, there are more than 2,500 startups
active in Russia.
While Moscow and the Skolkovo project are the most
prominent hubs of activity, centers of innovation are spread
across the country. There are many grants available such as
Innovation Assistance Fund, Skolkovo Fund Granting
Program, Venture Investment Development Fund,
Innovative Entrepreneurship Support Fund, etc. Many
private venture capital firms are also now active, namely
Altair Fund, Starta Capital, The Untitled Ventures , Bright
Capital , AddVenture Fund , and Internet Initiatives
Development Fund.
Russia has been recognized as a leader in the
scientific field, but there are so many inventions that go

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unrecognized. Russians have to work on market
understanding so that brilliant ideas can be successfully
turned into global business. This will allow the number of
startups to increase and flourish.

Silicon Valley

“It’s not magic. It’s talent and sweat.”

- Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a nickname for the southern portion of
the San Francisco Bay Area. The word “silicon” originally

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 referred to the large number of silicon chip innovators and
manufacturers in the
region. The area now
has around 23,000
Silicon startups according to
Valley AngelList, which
include some of the
world largest hi-tech
Figure 2125: Map of Silicon Valley
companies. Silicon
Valley is headquarters to 62 businesses under Fortune 1000
companies. Silicon Valley has long established itself as
focus point for investors. SV Angel, 500 Startups,
Andreessen Horowitz, DFJ, and Lowercase Capital are a
few of the top early stage startup investors.
Silicon Valley has more than 30 accelerator
programs. Many accelerators in the area host events for
startups globally to connect and collaborate with Silicon
Valley startups. Y Combinator, 500 Startups, i/o Ventures,
Founder Institute, AngelPad, Dogpatch Labs, and Innovation
Endeavors are the most successful accelerators in Silicon
Valley. The US government played an important role to uplift
the innovation ecosystem in the region. According to an
economics professor, Mariana Maccuzato, the government
invested in Silicon Valley with distributed network of public
organizations. To encourage small domestic business, the
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) was setup.

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 One-third of the country’s venture capital goes to
Silicon Valley. This made it a leading hub for innovation and
startups. As of 2013, more than 250,000 people were hired
for information technology works in this region.
Silicon Valley has attracted entrepreneurs and
executives from all over the globe. It has been like the
Mecca for talented entrepreneurs. There is a reason why
this place is so popular among entrepreneurs and the
modern company. The thing that stands out most is the
audacity and the grit of the entrepreneurs to go against the
market and create products and platforms that people want.
They do this by strong leadership, distinguished yet
achievable goals, and by giving employees almost free reign
on design and innovation. Companies in the Silicon Valley
have realized that employees come first and that these
people make the most difference in the long run. Employees
generally expect competitive compensation. However, their
aim should be to shape their idea, expand business and try
to become the leader. With this attitude, startups at Silicon
Valley have been able to develop products and services that
are different and naturally appealing to consumers.
Breaking down by industry, Silicon Valley software
and life sciences companies both logged the most down
rounds. As a percentage of all financing rounds within their
categories, life sciences and hardware had the highest

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representation of down rounds, each at 18%54. At the
moment, Silicon Valley startups have the largest
representation at the Fortune’s “unicorn startups” table.
“Unicorns”, in the startup world is a startup company valued
at over USD1 billion. Uber is leading the race with a current
valuation of USD62 billion, with Airbnb in second place at
USD25.5 billion. Other popular companies out of Silicon
Valley include Snapchat, Pinterest, SpaceX, Dropbox,
Theranos, and Lyft. Among all these unicorns, Theranos has
probably had the most enduring journey so far.
Almost like Theranos, for many of Silicon Valley’s
highly valued startups, it looks like there’s nowhere to go but
down. There are now more than 150 private tech startups
with valuations exceeding USD1 billion, with a combined
valuation of more than USD530 billion. For bigger startups,
raising funds is not an issue. New York-based healthcare
startup Oscar, already a unicorn, closed a Fidelity-led round
of funding, valuing it at USD2.7 billion.
Fidelity whittled down the value of its stake in
Snapchat by 25%, dropping its shares in the USD16 billion
messaging platform from USD30.72 in June to USD22.91 at
the end of September. And more broadly, there has been a
funding slowdown in Silicon Valley. Only 12 new startups
reached unicorn status in the last three months of 2015. In
the same time period, deal-making activity and the amount

54
Delloite - These are the types of startups that have been
hammered by “down rounds” by Alice Truong

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of venture capital being poured into Silicon Valley startups
dropped sharply. “The number of deals done in Silicon
Valley decreased by 35%, according to analytics firm
PitchBook, and V.C. funding decreased by 13% to USD3
billion.” - Vanity Fair.
Investors like First Round’s Fred Wilson have put pressure
on heavily valued startups, calling for companies like Uber to
go public. The public market is an equally uncomfortable
place for tech companies, though; last month, there were no
IPOs for the first time since September 2011. Public tech
companies like LinkedIn chopped its valuation. Marc
Andreessen, an investor, foresees an exploding tech bubble.
Reports by Fidelity question the valuation of startups. So the
bubble is now gaining everyone’s attention. Now they all
wonder how and when - not if - it bursts.

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Singapore

“Technology gives the quietest student a voice.”

- Jerry Blumengarten

Arguably, technology and innovations between 2015

and 2017, sometimes referred to as “second.com boom”,
have changed the world. Much of what was thought to be
impossible a decade ago has been achieved and exceeded
in the past few years. Tech companies like Google,
Facebook, and Netflix have led the major innovations. It
didn’t take long for Asia to cotton on, and we soon saw the
likes of Tencent and the Alibaba Group, burst onto the world
stage at a scale that rivals even the biggest and best coming
out of the Valley. Realising that the leadership among the
nations will majorly depend upon technology advancement,
Singapore and Singaporean entrepreneurs made early
moves to capture the Asian market. The Singaporean
government is pouring billions of dollars to strengthen its
technology and startup ecosystem.55
In recent times, the city has become synonymous
with ‘clean’
business. It is also
renowned for its
Singapore
quality of life. The
city is a creativity

55 TechinAsia News Article

Singapore Map Page 330 of 376

hotspot and puts emphasis on work-life balance. Singapore
is ranked 26th on ‘Mercer Quality of Living Survey’. For
young and creative entrepreneurs, the city offers a healthy
innovation-encouraging environment. In Tholons Services
Globalization Index (TSGI) 2018, Singapore ranks 13th
amongst the Top 50 Digital Nations and 12th amongst the
Top 100 Super Cities.
General Motors recently shifted its non-Chinese
international operations to Singapore from Shanghai to
benefit from the location. Singapore, with its luring tax
breaks and developing market opportunities, is becoming a
go-to place for multinationals. Recently, Norwegian
businesses active in Asia converged in Singapore for the
annual Norway-Asia Business Summit. Singapore has the
highest concentration of Norwegian companies in Asia and
many Norwegian companies have their regional
headquarters here. The two countries’ mutual experience
and activities in maritime and offshore sectors have spurred
collaboration in shipping, trade, research, and education.
With decreasing oil prices and saturating growth in
established industries, both markets and their talents should
look to the ICT sector for new opportunities.56
“Startup SG” is an umbrella brand by the government
that unifies all schemes and incentives to uplift startup
culture. Under this program, the government is doubling its
co-investment into deep tech startups from (Singapore

56 Telenor Group Article

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Dollar) S$2 million to S$4 million and the proportion of the
government’s co-investment funding support is increased
from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.
In EntrePass scheme, which is meant for foreign
entrepreneurs looking to come to Singapore, certain
enhancements have been made: currently applicants are
required to have a paid-up capital of at least S$50,000 in
their startups. However, these requirements will be
removed. After the first renewal in the second year, the
validity of each EntrePass will be extended from one to two
years. The evaluation criteria will also be broadened for
such founders. Web-based SME Portal, which lists services
suitable for SMEs at various business stages, is going to be
enhanced with the addition of “one-stop Tech Depot” which
will further improve companies’ access to technology and
digital solutions.
In Singapore, startups enjoy tax exemptions for the
first three years whereby they pay no tax on the first
S$100,000 of the chargeable income and only 50% of the
tax on the next S$200,000. The government has also
extended corporate income tax rebate for all resident
companies until 2017, wherein they are given a rebate of
30% on their corporate income tax, capped at SG$20,000
per year. Apart from the low tax rates, maximum tax being
17%, and the ease of doing business, another important
factor that attracts entrepreneurs from around the world to
the country is the multiplicity of financing sources for

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startups. Some of the prominent ones where the
government plays an active role are57:
ACE Startup Grant - Government-backed grant that
supports first-time entrepreneurs. For every S$3 raised by
the entrepreneur, it funds S$7 to the startup. The maximum
amount extended by ACE is S$50,000.
Spring Seeds - The Spring Startup Enterprise
Development Scheme (SEEDS) provides equity financing
for local startups that have an innovative idea or product. It
invests the same amount as invested in the startup by a
third party investor with a maximum limit of S$2 million.
Technology Enterprises Commercialization Scheme
(TECS) - It funds startups in their Research & Development
phase to develop innovative technology. Funding by TECS
can be up to S$750,000.
Sector Specific Accelerator (SSA) Programme - It is
part of the Research, Enterprise and Innovation Plan that
aids startups in the medical and clean technology sector.
The programme commits up to S$70 million annually to
support these startups.
The presence of multiple Venture Capital Firms who
can support late stage businesses has been one of the
unparalleled features of Singapore. Singtel Innov8, Golden
Gate Ventures, IMJ Investment Partners, Ardent Capital,
Jungle Ventures, Sequoia Capital, 500 Startups, and

57www.startupdecisions.com.sg/singapore/incentives/startup-
funding-sources/

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Life.SREDA are some of the major ones. With over 5,000
tech startups producing two unicorns - Grab and Sea
Limited, the future of startups in Singapore looks
predominant. Startupbootcamp, Citi, and Wells Fargo are
amongst the 50+ organisations running accelerator
programs in Singapore.
Singapore’s government pumped S$19 billion into
technology with the potential to make Singapore a lucrative
location for entrepreneurship and innovation. This is the
view of Professor Gerard George, dean and professor of
innovation and entrepreneurship at the Lee Kong Chian
School of Business at Singapore Management University.
Like him, many in the research community have reacted
positively to Research, Innovation and Enterprise, which
was announced by Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong.58
The National University of Singapore is ranked as
the 25th best in the world by the Times and is praised for its
global approach to education. The presence of prestigious
schools such as the NUS (National University of Singapore)
means that companies operating in Singapore will have
consistent supply of talented graduates to choose from.
Universities in Singapore have been organizing startup pitch
competitions for a long time. Nanyang Technological
University’s Ideasinc, National University of Singapore’s
Global StartUp@ Singapore are the leading pitch events
and incubators being run there.

58 The Straits Times News, Singapore

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 Singapore has remained a centre of attraction and a
leader in the region for finance and digital. Asia has a huge
untapped market and Singapore provides the best
infrastructure, talent, and environment for entrepreneurs to
capture this market. This is where Asia’s entrepreneurs and
top talents are looking to realize their ideas.

Sweden

“If GM kept up with technology like the computer industry

has, we would all be driving USD25 cars that got 1,000
MPG”
- Bill Gates

Stockholm is becoming one of the universal IT hubs in

Sweden which has almost as many new businesses as
Silicon Valley does. Around 1,200 startups are based in
Sweden. Worldwide successful startups like Candy Crush,
Minecraft creator Mojang, and Spotify all originate from
Stockholm. We know about huge organizations like Saab,
IKEA, H&M, Husqvarma, Volvo, and Ericsson, but we
wonder how Swedish new businesses like Linux, Skype,
MySQL, Wrapp, Memeto, and Klarna get so big. Nordin tech
generated a revenue of USD2.9 billion per year from exports

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from which a greater part arrives from Sweden. The nation
with nine million people is making tech tick.
Sweden’s entrepreneurial purple fix is a coordinate result
of the nation’s
high taxes and
liberal support
welfare
framework.
“There is free
schooling,
including
Figure 2226: Map of Sweden getting paid a
stipend for
attending university, while healthcare is quite inexpensive
and pensions are taken care of. It is relatively safe to start
companies in Sweden, and more and more Swedes realize
it.” - Jane Walerud, CEO of Stockholm-based Teclo
Networks. “Sweden has a lot of safety nets from an income
perspective, which reduces the risk of starting a company”,
says Mattias Ward at Swedish startup Innometrics. Having
free or cheap higher education, students from great
universities of Sweden do not face lame levels of due even
from the start.
Actually, Sweden is well-accomplished. “It has a
strong culture of engineering, a world-leading telecom
sector, a stable and well-functioning economy combined
with a high internet penetration rate at an early stage of the

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internet era that resulted in a very potent mix”. - Niklas
Hedin, CEO at Centiro. “Stockholm is one of the most
digitally connected economies in the world. Its overall
broadband take up its rivals, the early adopter cities in Asia,
and over 91% of the population in Sweden uses the internet
at least once a week.” – Niclas Sanfridsson, VP Nordic
Region and MD Sweden at Telecity Group.
Victory breeds more victory, with the likes of Spotify
presently motivating a modern generation of business
people and empowering more blessed financing from
overseas. The major beneficial project backed by the capital
is the Spotify in Europe. One of the fifth unicorns is the
music streaming service founded after 2003. Among the
tech hub in the world on a per capita basis, Sweden is the
second nation that produces 6.3 billion-dollar companies per
million people, compared to Silicon Valley’s 8.1, according to
a recent report from the investment firm Atomico, with the
presence of multiple accelerators like 500 startup, THINK
Accelerate, IKEA Bootcamp, SICS Startup Accelerator, Fast
Track Malmö Accelerator, Lund Sales Program and more.
The accelerator searching for new businesses across the
globe to take part in its startup accelerator is the Fast Track
Malmo. The startups selected will be assisted with R450 000
to R750 000 along with free space for office and access to
40 companies and 300 people. They will also have access
to investors, angels, mentors, and a global network of

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resources. Fast Track Malmo is a collaborated project by
ALMI Invest, Malmo startups and invest and Minc in Skane.
“Most of Sweden’s startups work in close proximity to
each other and have formed a real innovation community.” -
Neil Sholay, Head of Oracle Digital EMEA. The tech startups
in Sweden is exceptionally great at creating the services to
wrap around a product. “They don’t build their business
model on a product experience, but on a subscription
experience, and this is what makes these companies so
successful.” - John Philips, Director of Northern Europe,
Zuora.
“Stockholm is becoming a world leader in
technology. We are living in an extraordinary time, and there
is no doubt that Sweden is a leader in this proud new world.
The dream we had of becoming a tech community 10 to 15
years ago is now becoming a reality.” – Niklas Zennstrom,
Creator of Skype, said at the inaugural Brilliant Minds
conference. Niklas has also founded London-based Atomio,
the brainchild of music manager Ash Pournouri and Spotify
founder Daniel Ek. The Nordic region represents two
percent of Global GDP but has accounted for almost ten
percent of the world’s billion-dollar exits over the last
decade, with more than half of these coming from Sweden,
according to a report published by the Stockholm-based
investment firm Creandum. In terms of exit value, the 2016
year was noted as the best year for Nordic companies with

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USD1 billion exits and more than USD23 billion in total exit
value.
“We think globally from the outset. All realized the
domestic market is not big enough.” – Niklas Zennstrom. A
regular company from a small nation like Sweden has been
spreading worldwide in a span of 1.4 years, less than half
the time it takes a company from a nation with 50 million
people to look outside its boundaries. As Gustav Borgefalk,
founder of Sqore, the competition's website that has helped
clients including IBM, Shell, and Morgan Stanley recruit
talent, puts it: “In Sweden, we have always been exporters,
from Ericsson, Volvo, and Saab to ABBA.”
This rich history of global brands laid the foundations
for the Swedish government to invest heavily in its
technology infrastructure in the 1990s, establishing high
speed internet and giving citizens tax breaks to buy a
computer, creating what the World Economic Forum
declared a few years ago to be the world’s most digital
economy. “It was a government intervention in 1990s that is
paying off in the 2010s.” - Gustav Borgefolk. Swedes
prepare with the advanced savvy and physical tools in
becoming the nation of ready consumers and country of
disruptors, but also cherished the era of individuals who
grew up on internet, developing a culture of open access
and entrepreneurial collaboration.
Foreign funds diminished their Venture Capital
Investments VCI by 0.36 billion in 2015, down to Swedish

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Krona Currency (SEK) 1.13 billion. The government
decreased funds in VCI by 0.25 billion to SEK 0.44 billion.
There was increase in investments from other Swedish
funds by 0.31 billion to 0.70 billion in 2015. On 1 December
2013, a special tax incentive scheme encouraging
investments in small businesses was applied. Individuals
acquiring shares in small companies at the formation of the
company or through a new issue of shares can deduct 50%
of the payment against capital income.
Niklas Adalberth and his company Norrsken
Foundation are living proof of how Sweden is currently
functioning as a tech hub. Immediately after he stepped
down from Klarna, after ten years building Sweden’s first
Fintech unicorn, he announced he wanted to work with
charity and social impact, and not “die with a huge bag of
money on my bank account”.59
The main aim of the non-profitable foundation is to
guide the methods and tools of entrepreneurship, like
product development, big data and apps, into social impact
areas like charity and corruption. The non-profit
organizations and the profit startups will be incubated and
housed by this foundation. “With Norrsken House we are
taking the next step to becoming a driving force for social
entrepreneurship with focus on technology; something we
think the world deserves. We focus primarily on those who
use technology and digitization to solve odd, but

59 DiDigital

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unfortunately still on-going societal problems.” – Niklas
Adalberth. The startups taking support will be using two
apps that guide the migrant to find new jobs, called Just
Arrived and Welcome App, the former backed financially by
Adalberth. Another is Klarity, founded by Adalberth which
can be called the Instagram for reporting corruption, which
enables the user to upload images, for example, when
people receive bribes.
As the first FinTech hub is launched by Sweden,
Stockholm’s startup scene is ready to receive a thrust in the
upcoming years. The city has lacked a skilled hub in the field
even though Sweden’s capital attracts most of FinTech
investments at present in Europe. Backed by the likes of
Invest Stockholm, KPMG, and one of the partners at startup
enabling firm BLC Advisors, it is hoped that the launch of
StockholdFinTech hub in 2017 will provide a support system
that can minimize challenges and increase opportunities for
entrepreneurs in the area. It is hoped that the launch of
StockholdFinTech hub in 2017 will act as a support system
that can reduce the challenges and increase the
opportunities for entrepreneurs in the area, backed by the
likes of Invest Stockholm, KPMG, and BLC Advisors.
“We know there’s going to be challenges with the
FinTech companies, the banks, and regulators both here in
Stockholm and in Brussels. But if we strive to create an
environment where they are lessened, we will be a lot
further ahead than we are today.” - Stockholm FinTech Hub

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co-founder and BLC Advisors partner Matthew Argent. The
aim with the modern hub is for professional knowledge to be
shared and teamwork to be created between large banks,
entrepreneurs, regulators, investors, and Swedish
government. It will be shared with 42 FinTech hubs across
the globe and partner with identical Scandinavian hubs in
the vision to help the developing startups.
The central Stockholm establishment is having a
conference center, a co-working space and shall provide
education program for financial technology startups. For
intervening banks to provide FinTech entrepreneurs with
what they are searching for in terms of innovation is the plan
of such information-sharing event. The startup scene looks
exciting for Stockholm in 2017. In addition to the FinTech
hub, a 170-million kronor hub is to be launched supported by
the Klaran with the aim of targeting entrepreneurs who are
likely to find solutions to social problems.
The country has a culture of “all for one and one for all”,
working without hierarchy and as an even unit. The business
is as great as its individuals and this is realized by the
Scandinavian companies which make Sweden one of the
best technology hubs out there.

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Switzerland

“What new technology does is create new opportunities to

do a job that customers want done.”
- Tim O’Reilly

Switzerland is recognized for its tourist attractions and

picturesque scenes worldwide. Its natural geography not
only has mountains but also include central highland of
rolling hills, plains, and large lakes. In comparison to other
European countries, Switzerland is more artistically
diversified. It has four official languages: German, French,
Italian and Romansh. Switzerland’s vital location at the core
part of Europe has made it an economic crossroads for
hundreds of years. The aristocratic framework, including
Gotthard base tunnel being 57 kilometers long, serves to
promote trade among the largest economies within Europe.
This has helped in transforming Switzerland into one of the
continent’s biggest supplier hubs. The Switzerland
pharmaceutical industry employs more than 1,35,000
professionals directly and indirectly and contributes to about
5.7 percent of the country’s GDP.60 Being in the top Global
Innovation Index for the past seven years, Switzerland was
named the world’s most innovative country in 2017.
AngelList lists more than 1,200 startups in Switzerland.

Stephan Vaterlaus, Stephan Suter and Barbara Fischer, "The

60
Importance of the Pharmaceutical Industry for Switzerland"

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 MindMaze is the first Switzerland-based unicorn. It
serves as the platform in developing instinctive man-
machine interfaces with the blend of VR, brain imaging,
computer graphics, and neuroscience.
Startup environment is supported by admirable
education structure, funding, top research institutions, and
an overall combination of industry, academia, and politics
that work to bring new innovations to the market. The Swiss
dual-education system is unique worldwide. It unifies
internships in an organization and professional education in
schools. With its widely recognized universities, Switzerland
is one of the most competitive countries in the world with a
pool of highly educated graduates with deep know-how in
the fields of finance and technology. Switzerland has 60
higher education institutions, of which four universities are
among the top 100 of The Times Higher Education World
University Ranking, with the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology Zurich (ETH) ranking #7 for 2019.
Zurich, Vaud, and Bern are the main startup hubs in
Switzerland. The success of Zurich and Vaud startup scene
is benefited from the presence of globally renowned
universities Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
(ETH) and EPFL. Zurich and Vaud have always had the
maximum number of exits in Switzerland61. One of the most
habitable cities in the Mercer report, Zurich is ranked among

61https://www.investiere.ch/post/2017/05/18/swiss-exits-
infographic-top-locations-exited-startups

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top three places many times. Zurich is home to the largest
engineering office of Google, after its head-quarters in
Mountain View, Calfornia. The IBM Research campus is
home to two Nobel prizes. ImpactHub Zurich, Startup Grind
Zurich, Zurich Entrepreneur meet, Hack Zurich, Investor
Summit, and World Web Forum are the major startup events
organized in Zurich. Zurich has a rich accelerator and
incubation support system for early stage startups. Kickstart
accelerator, CTI Startup, STARTUPS.CH Academy, and
Swiss Startup Factory are some of the successful
accelerator/incubators. Large companies of the country,
including media, transportation, financial, retail and many
others, supported the initiative known as Digital Zurich 2025.
To encourage the progress of Zurich as the place to initiate
digital ventures, is the main goal of the initiative. The largest
proportion of R&D in Switzerland is funded privately,
particularly in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and engineering
industries (SNF, 2012). In the Global Innovation Index 2018,
Switzerland takes the #1 position.
The provinces that show desire to offer incentives for
startups in their region is backed by the government which
provides guarantee for federal loans. The remunerations on
grants have been redistributed and the provinces have the
freedom to grant financial and other types of incentives to
startups. The domestic and foreign investors have equal
eligibility to benefit from remunerations. New companies are
eligible to receive tax breaks if the investment on their

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assets is 50%. Moreover some provinces have restrictions
on tax breaks as it is against federal tax liability. The
maximum tax break is 50%62. The startups and
entrepreneurs obtaining bank loans are backed by the Swiss
government by offering commercial guarantees. Loan
guarantees are available for up to 500,000 CHF and
the Swiss Federal Government underwrites 65% of the debt
exposure.63
Switzerland’s innovative startup scene is thriving,
with some of the world’s renowned educational institutions
and the R&D centers of Google, Apple, Facebook and
Amazon being present in the country. Switzerland provides
an optimal ecosystem for technology startups, but the
startup scene has not yet succeeded in attracting the
interest of foreign investors.

62SIG Fiduciaire, Incentive Programs for Small Businesses in

Switzerland
63https://sigtax.com/en/incentive-programs-small-businesses-

switzerland

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Texas

“Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so

much to so many in so short a time.”
- Bill Gates

"Texas is very much a 'can do' state. It's arguable

that it's the number one state to do business in, and we
would argue it's the number one state to start a business in
right now." - Trey Bowles, founder and CEO of the Dallas
Entrepreneur Center. Texas has proved to be a good place
to do business due to its comparatively flexible regulatory
ecosystem, without sole or
associated income tax and
prosperous growth in

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Figure 2324: Map of Texas

several cities. Texas stands as the second largest state with
USD1.6 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) after
California. The small business owners in Houston, Austin
and Dallas-Fort reported growth in population and startup
business, which increased the GDP of the state by 5.2%
from 2013 to 2014, according to the report of U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA). The small businesses in Texas
gave employment to 4.7 million people or 45.6% of the
private workforce in 2018.64
According to the report by Forbes, Dallas was
among the top five upcoming cities to be the “Silicon Valley
Tech Hub”. Enormous growth in entrepreneurial and
technical activities is being witnessed in the region of Dallas.
Easy access to reasonable real estate is one of the major
advantages of the region.
The flocking of businesses, real estate developers,
and families to the region is increased as there is increase in
opportunities for job and innovation.
The leasing of office space in Downtown Dallas as
revealed by the Dallas Morning News in 2014 was at a 20-
year high. Since the 1980’s, more office space was leased
by Downtown Dallas compared to other surrounding
business districts. There is an increase in modern
developments and in creating room in order to extend their
businesses for tech companies in the region. With regard to

64
https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/2018-Small-
Business-Profiles-TX.pdf

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Venture Capital, Dallas’ new businesses raised USD639
million in 2013 which is more than the VC of Huston and
Austin combined.
Apart from cities like Dallas, universities are also
taking a leap into the technology hub world. Texas Tech
University Research Park officially opened in August of
2015. The USD20 million, 40,000-square-foot facility will
encourage innovation, entrepreneurialism, and partnerships
between Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Texas Tech,
and other associations to enhance research efforts in almost
all areas. The conventional laboratories and computer
visualization is offered under Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) certified facility.
“Engagement strengthens innovation, and Texas
Tech University is bridging the gap between research and
industry. This facility will provide the essential space and
work environment conducive to collaboration with our
business partners. Today marks an important step forward
for the university’s entrepreneurial research enterprise.” - M.
Duane Nellis, Texas Tech President.
The advancement towards becoming the major
innovative national research university, Innovation Hub and
Research Park serve as a major component in Texas Tech.
It also serves as a key for the academic and economic
platform in West Texas. Groups, businesses or individuals
can loan office space in the facility to carry on research,
making it unique from the rest of the Texas Tech campus. It

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is so well-designed that the external factors, like traffic on
nearby streets or air quality, will not cause disturbance to the
experiments that is being conducted inside.
The commitment to move to the facility is done by
one of the largest worldwide companies headquartered in
Chicago, Chromatin. As a company providing solutions to
the agricultural issues, it is moving its research and
development group to the Innovation Hub, resulting in the
creation of 12 new job opportunities. One of the innovations
of Texas Tech, Kinetic Accelerator will also move into the
Research Park. It supports the setting up of new businesses
and explores licensing opportunities on the basis of
inventive technologies developed from research labs NASA,
Texas Tech, and many more.
Texas Tech Innovation, Mentorship and
Entrepreneurialism (TTIME) organization, created under
Texas Tech, will also have its base at the Research Park.
TTIME is dedicated to supporting students in advancing
ideas of entrepreneurship. “This beautiful facility
underscores Texas Tech University’s commitment to not
only innovation and research, but also to our desire to serve
as an incubator for groundbreaking ideas. I want to
congratulate Dr. Nellis and Dr. Duncan for their leadership in
making this bold vision a West Texas reality.” - Robert
Duncan, Texas Tech University System Chancellor.
Another city in Texas which is being looked upon for
innovative progress is Austin. The U.S. Department of

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Defense has selected Austin as the third location of its in-
house tech startup, the Defense Innovation Unit
Experimental, or DIUx. The Defense Department created
DIUx in 2015 to develop deeper connections between the
military and the U.S. technology industry. To date, it has
awarded five contracts worth USD3.5 million to tech
companies for work on autonomous vehicles, network
security and battle simulation. It has another 22 projects
under consideration worth up to USD65 million.
University of Texas, Austin is ranked 18 among top
public schools nationwide as per U.S News & World Report,
2016. UT Austin ranks 8th in the world for educating startup
founders who successfully raise money for new ventures,
Business Insider - 2016. According to the 2016 Kauffman
Index, Austin is number one for startup activity.
“Austin’s commitment to innovation, access to talent
and academia, as well as the department’s longstanding ties
to Texas make this an idea next location for DIUx.” - Ash
Carter, Secretary of Defense. DIUx Managing Partner Raj
Shah will be reported by Christy Abizaid, who leads the
Austin office. DIUx is split into three teams. Its “Venture
Team” identifies and explores the battlefield impact
emerging commercial technologies. Its “Foundry Team” is
focused on technologies not yet fully developed for
battlefield, but could potentially have military applications. Its
“Engagement Team” works to connect military leaders with
entrepreneurs.

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 DIUx has already signed five deals worth USD3.5
million, the department said. In addition, it also has 22
projects in the line which is worth USD65 million in
investment. Unlike venture capital firms which seek equity in
growing companies, the DoD will only be purchasing
intellectual property and prototypes. It’s unclear if the new
program has already begun working formally with Austin
area startups.
Houston is not far behind on the tech hub either.
BrainCheck can identify possible impact on the basis of
games played on a tablet within a short time. This company,
guiding its products in charter schools of KIPP, is advancing
its exposure and is monitoring through a business
accelerator at Texas Medical Center where BrainCheck is
working together with other concussion researchers in order
to improve the science around head injuries. BrainCheck is
one of the companies in the leading class of TMCx among
other 22 companies.
Announced in October 2014, TMCx is part of the
Texas Medical Center’s push to become one of the world’s
premiere life science commercialization clusters. For the
companies beyond the accelerator phase, TMXx+ was
started and will complete the framework of Johnson &
Johnson Labs JLABS, which is the incubator by Johnson &
Johnson.65

65 Houston Chronicles

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 JLABS works by providing life science entrepreneurs
with shared lab space, private office and modular laboratory
suites, as well as state-of-the-art equipment and value-
added operational, education and business services, all vital
lifelines for startups struggling to gain enough funding to get
off the ground. The Houston site, being the pioneer in
medical device prototype lab like the 3-D printer, provides
access to well-qualified tools, and skills-developing
programs to develop and design advances in health
technologies.
JLABS provides accommodation for about 50 new
businesses and will set up 21 companies that signify a range
of regulations and platforms. It also includes enterprise
which work on potential reality sets to decrease anxiety in
cancer patients, nonsurgical heat pump, and immune
oncology drug targets. “Houston is already a very active life
sciences hub, and we have recently seen a drive to further
embrace the industry, establish clear leadership in biotech
innovation and close the gap between research and
commercialization.” - Melinda Richter, head of JLABS.
The enterprise in this space of Houston extends up
to the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) and
the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, which
supported the setting up of biotech startups over the last 20
years. Since 1987, OTC has been involved in the creation of
11 affiliated life science companies that have raised more
than USD300 million on the strength of MD Anderson

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technologies, including ApoCell, Castle Biosciences, and
DNATrix. Four portfolio companies listed in Nasdaq have
raised more than USD230 million and funded 425 million in
sponsored research at MD Anderson. JLABS will anticipate
to have comparable triumphs on its books.
There is no doubt that Texan cities are becoming
tech hubs on their own merits. As Silicon Valley gets
saturated, VCs are looking into other options to invest and
Texas is proving to be a good contender for investments.

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UAE

"Technology can become the “wings” that will allow the

educational world to fly farther and faster than ever before -
if we will allow it."
- Jenny AR ledge

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven

states, and one of the most important and second largest
economic regions of the Middle East. Second only to Saudi
Arabia, UAE has the seventh largest oil reserve in the world,
and one third of the GDP of the nation comes from the oil
industry. UAE is home to some of the latest developments in
infrastructure and transport facilities. The main cities and
seven emirates are connected by multi-lane highways,
several international seaports and airports. This serves
millions of travelers and thousands of ships and cruises
every year.
Tholons
Services
Dubai
Globalization
Abu Index 2018
Dhabi
ranked UAE 21st
among the Top
UAE
50 ‘Digital
Figure 2425: Map of UAE Nations’. Dubai is
also ranked 19th among the Top 100 ‘Super Cities’. 1,000-
plus UAE startups are listed on AngelList.

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 An app-based car service, Careem Networks, is a
unicorn startup from UAE that connects the public consumer
to available rides in minutes, at the tap of a button. The
emerging entrepreneurial capital of the MENA region has
given rise to a large number of local startups and attracted
numerous regional startups seeking to scale their
operations.
Several of these startups have become huge
regional success stories; one of such startups is e-
commerce giant Souq.com. Souq allows thousands of
buyers and sellers to buy and sell a huge variety of products
over a trusted platform. Souq was successfully acquired by
e-commerce mega giant Amazon, for $580 million in March
of 2018. With over 3,000 employees, the company is the
region's biggest tech success story. As the region’s
entrepreneurial and innovation hub, the UAE has long
served as a hub for entrepreneurs from across the Gulf and
its environs. The UAE has emerged to be a preferable
destination for innovators, talent, and entrepreneurs from
across the world, as stated by professional network LinkedIn
in the study during 2016.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are two major startup hubs in
UAE. SutraHR, with offices in Dubai, suggests that “Dubai
has witnessed a significant increase in the number of
startups in these past few years.” The startup founders in
Dubai, from Careem to InternsME, an online video resume
career portal for internships and entry level jobs, are growing

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every year. Dtec, based in Dubai, is a global hub for
innovation and entrepreneurship. Being a thriving place for
over 500 startups and SMEs and situated in the central part
of Dubai’s Silicon Oasis, it provides easy-going work
solutions for innovative entrepreneurs. Dubai is putting itself
at the forefront of business, science and public spending,
with an accelerator program that aims to draw 30 of the best
startups, from around the world to the city to tackle the most
important public problems. Dubai is awarding government
contracts of approximately USD30 million to startups.
HSBC’s Expat Explorer 2015 survey highlighted
Dubai as the second best city globally for expat
entrepreneurs, behind only Singapore and ahead of Hong
Kong and London.66
Abu Dhabi is home to more than 100 tech startups.
With accelerators and hubs such as twofour54 and
Flat6Labs, the city provides promising infrastructure for tech
startup growth. New York University, Abu Dhabi, has
launched many programs to support the regional innovation
ecosystem. Their Digital and Business Literacy program
provides practical technology and business skills that are
essential for aspiring entrepreneurs. The University has
started a five-day program ‘boot camp’ focused on
developing an understanding of basic startup concepts with
a focus on key components of a fully functioning business

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model. Another, ten-day program offered by the university
focuses on helping Fintech Startups with training and tools
to evolve a complete modern project that is investment-
efficient, adaptable, and scalable. Financial technology
hackathon hosted by GlassQube in partnership with Abu
Dhabi Global Markets and Temenos on December 8th, 2016
turned out be a huge success. Over 100 people participated
across 10 teams and the caliber of the participants and their
output was world-class. In fact, the event officially ranked as
one of the top GFE hackathons ever held anywhere in the
world.
Startup culture in Sharjah is also seeing continuous
government support. It has over 35,000 university students
and over 2,000 PhD holders. The startup-centered initiatives
like government-sponsored Sheraa (the first university-
based accelerator of Sharjah), the Sharjah Chamber of
Commerce’s Shjseen, and the AUS (American University of
Sharjah) Research, Innovation and Technology (RTI) Park,
showcase the engaging approach of government to attract
and retain tech talent. According to SheikhaBodourBint
Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Investment and
Development Authority (Shurooq), the Sheraa foundation
focuses on providing a platform for the youth of Sharjah to
share modern ideas. "To help the economy flourish and to
be a player in the region and the world, we are launching the
Sheraa Center, which reflects our complete belief in the
ability of our youth to make a difference and positively

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contribute in the enhancement of our economy and
development of our society," - SheikhaBudour.67
In the recent years, the startup scene in Saudi Arabia
and Jordan has been growing at a steady pace. In order to
decrease its financial dependence on oil, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia declared many economic diversification
initiatives in 2017. According to economic plan “Kingdom
Vision 2030”, the government of Saudi Arabia aim to take
the oil titan Saudi Aramco public, and move the business
from “an oil-producing company to a global industrial
conglomerate”. In 2017, Japan’s SoftBank Groupand, Saudi
Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund, launched the world’s largest
technology fund, a nearly $100 billion vehicle that steer
capital to cutting-edge technologies in U.S. startups and
other global firms.
Jordan is catching the investors’ interest by its
innovative tech -ased startups. The REACH Initiative was
Jordan's first national information technology strategy,
created with input from many stakeholders, overseen by
King Abdullah, and carried out entirely by the private sector.
The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship is also
playing a major role in fostering startups in Jordan. It is a
non-profit organization established in 2004 to help develop
Technology Entrepreneurship in Jordan. The establishment
is a sector of Princess Sumaya University for Technology.

67
American University of Sarjah, Sharjah ruler attends launch of
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center, (Sheraa)

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The center has evidenced over 4,000 people participating in
bootcamps, training workshops, and mentoring programs
since 2006-07. More than 100 startups and projects have
been supported and recognized. Oasis 500 is another very
successful accelerator program in Jordan which was
established in 2010. Since then Oasis 500 has fostered
some of the well-known Jordanian companies like
ArabiaWeather, e-payment platform MadfooatCom, and
book seller Jamalon.
Robust government support is available to SME’s in
UAE. In order to motivate local entrepreneurship, the
government’s Khalifa fund of around Dh500 million was
established. It offers interest-free loans for seven years,
counseling, training, and after-funding support. The UBI
Index positioned AUC Venture Lab as one of the Best
Performing University Business Incubator in North Africa
and Middle East. In just two years the AUC V-lab has
worked with over 46 startups. The effort has shown paying
off in revenues, investments, and jobs created by startups
as well as international recognition. - Ayman Ismail, Abdul
LatifJameel endowed chair of entrepreneurship and
assistant professor at the American University in Cairo.68
Startups in UAE are fostered by a number of
accelerator and incubator programs established by both
public and private contributions. Turn8 and Flat6labs are two
major accelerators in UAE. The Turn8 program tactically

68 The American University in Cairo, Media Release

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hunts for new ideas and thoughts that can be cultured and
introduced to the market through the Turn8 seed
accelerator. The program commences with an accurate
online and event-based international inspection campaign,
tailed by a 120-day financed “Rapid Fire” Business Modeling
and Prototyping seed accelerator, and lately an Investor
Demo Day.
At present, over 30 Free Trade Zone (FTZ), each
having its individual directives, are present in United Arab
Emirates. The enterprises are liable for guaranteed tax
holidays established in FTZs for a period of 15 to 50 years.
The FTZs also grant dispensation from tariffs and excise.
The UAEU Science & Innovation Park Business Incubator
supports the UAE vision and the UAEU SIP vision and
mission to move towards an innovation-based
economy. Highly integrated in the UAE entrepreneurship
institutional ecosystem, and leaned against a network of
international incubators, the UAEU SIP Business Incubator
offers its fellows the required infrastructure, coaching and
mentoring services to support them in launching a startup.
With a focused and well-strategized approach by the public
and private sector to promote entrepreneurship, UAE is well
set to become the leader in innovation and technology
startups in the Middle East.

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Uruguay

“Great things in business are never done by one person.

They're done by a team of people.”
- Steve Jobs

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 Uruguay, with a population of over three million, is
the smallest country in the world. Situated next to two
mammoth and capable countries like Argentina and Brazil,
Uruguay stands as an exceptionally small country in scale
when compared to its neighbors. But Uruguay has long been
known to oppose the odds. Also called as “Switzerland of
Latin America”, it is a monetary exchanging center, as well
as the most secure and less corrupted country in Latin
America (together with Chile). A steady majority has ruled
the government, with a logic of financial deregulation which
is inviting foreign investors, lack of foreign trade controls, no
limitations on fund exchange and profit remittance, and
registers a lower crime rate than numerous Western
European countries.
In spite of being a tiny country, there are several
incentives for entrepreneurs to set up business in the
country. The worldwide companies which do not have action
in the Uruguayan boundary are favored by the assess
framework, which is present adjacent to two financial giants:
Argentina and Brazil. All nations are part of the Mercosur
Free Trade Area. It has been the financial exchange place,
where it is possible to do business without establishing a
proper company in Argentinian pesos or Brazilian reals. A
known fact is the difficulty of trade in most of the Mercosur
countries that are known for their bureaucracy and
regulatory burdens. Last but not least, it is stable and safe,
both politically and economically, registers a lower crime

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rate than many Western European countries, and is showing
a steady economic growth over the past ten years (about 5-
6%). Companies within the Uruguayan territory are
exempted from tax.
Uruguay is a genuine disruptive living laboratory.
There’s a culture of trying new things especially within the
government and public authorities. In matters of business,
Uruguay focuses and battles on quality. Such methodologies
have been the key to the success of its enterprises. Without
a doubt, the environment for startups based on inventive
ideas was the perfect opportunity for Uruguayans to let their
imaginations take off. With a bit of hard work and a few
ventures, they created apps, programs and service
companies that achieved outcomes just as astounding as
their athletic accomplishments. Software development is
ranked second in the country’s exports. The use of Open
Source in the public administration and its laboratory for
Open Data experiences make Uruguay as one of the most
advanced country in the world.
In Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018,
Uruguay ranks 23 amongst the Top 50 Digital Nations, and
its capital Montevideo
features at rank 9 amongst
the Top 100 Super Cities.
In 2013, Uruguay launched
Uruguay
the PAFE program in
collaboration with Inter-

Montevideo
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Figure 2526: Map of Uruguay

American Development Bank to assist aspiring
entrepreneurs financially. As there are few Business Angels
and VCs, attracting the private investors is the main idea
behind the program. In order to achieve this goal, the
incubator sphere must be provided by the incentives as
decided by the government innovation agency, the ANII -
USD25,000 equity-free grant for each new businesses, in
addition to USD200,000 for each approved incubator.69
Ingenio was the only incubator as of late in Uruguay. After
the call of the ANII, five more incubators have come up. In
Montevideo, there are a chain of incubators that will assist
the tech scene to develop further. In 2017, 500 Startups in
partnership with ANII launched a new accelerator program.
The 500 Montevideo Accelerator Program prepared 20
Uruguayan and international startups through six weeks of
mentorship, growth workshops, and connections with
investors and corporate partners. The Uruguay XXI, an
organization promoting the exports and imports of Uruguay,
wish to make the nation a destination for investors. The
investors wishing to expand their trade to Uruguay and
companies looking for opportunities are provided with
information by this group. The first technology business
incubator in Uruguay was launched by Universidad ORT,
one of the largest private universities in Uruguay, situated to
cultivate developing entrepreneurs and enterprises in fields

69https://www.innovationiseverywhere.com/the-emergence-of-an-
incubator-ecosystem-in-uruguay/

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of computer science, telecommunications, and
biotechnology.
The most active early-fund by the NXTP Labs for
tech companies is in Latin America, including Uruguay.
Prosperitas Capital Partners, one of the pioneers in
Uruguay, Iron Foundry, Tokai, and Kaszek are among the
active venture capital firms in Uruguay. The presence of
many co-working spaces such as SinergiaCowork,
CoWorkLatam, Serratosa, You Hub, and GepianCowork is
supporting the startups growth by providing world-class
facilities and allowing businesses to focus on building out
their solutions.
Uruguay’s to-do-list can mark a tick on most sectors.
It’s an open, steady, pro-business, and pro-inventive
environment. Secondary education is broadly spread. The
Uruguayans are allowed to test new technology solutions
and are all set to come to the global scene with a bang.

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Vietnam

“Really in technology, it's about the people, getting the best

people, retaining them, nurturing a creative environment and
helping to find a way to innovate.
- Marissa Mayer

Vietnam is one of the rapidly growing economies of

Asia. Vietnam is making rapid progress to achieve its vision
of becoming a fully industrialized nation by 2020. According
to Boston Consulting Group, Vietnam is the fastest growing
middle class in Southeast Asia. The World Bank has ranked
it in the 78th place in its “ease of doing business index”. The
rapid growth of Vietnam economy is majorly contributed by
its FDI attractiveness and the private sector. The country
has long been an attractive

Hanoi FDI destination, particularly

for Japan, South Korea,
Taiwan and Singapore. FDI
Da Nang
Vietnam
Page 367 of 376
Ho Chi Minh
City
Figure 2631: Map of Vietnam
inflows average 8% of GDP annually, the highest among
major emerging markets in ASEAN and proportionately
larger than China. More than half of the total FDI stock is in
manufacturing.70
Vietnam's IT sector is employing around 190,000. By
2020, it will need an additional 400,000 employees.71
Tholons Services Globalization Index 2018 ranks Vietnam
as 8th among Top 50 ‘Digital Nations’. Ho Chi Minh City
(28th), Hanoi (32nd) and Danang (83rd) are ranked among the
Top 100 ‘Super Cities’.
Vietnam has more than 1,300 startups.72 VNG Corporation,
with over 20 highly popular entertainment, community and
software products, is the first unicorn from Vietnam. The
CEO, Le Hong Minh, founded VNG in 2003 in Ho Chi Minh.
The market opportunity for most popular games to
be made available in Vietnamese language was soon
realized by Minh. Though he failed to convince a South
Korean company to license their game, Minh managed to
bring home Kingsoft, a Chinese software company with a
well-known game Swordsman Online, to license the game to
vinagame. Later in a span of six months, Kingsoft’s
Swordsman Online got to be driving diversion in Vietnam. By
2009, Vinagame changed the corporate image as VNG and
variegated from being an Internet gaming company. The

70GOV.UK, Department of International trade,Overseas Business

Risk – Vietnam.2017
71VN Express International, Vietnam IT industry
72Geektime,Vietnam’s startup scene in one neat spreadsheet

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VNG has now successfully transformed to the social and
mobile world with game development being their main
business.
Vietnam has more than 25 business accelerators/
incubators. Vietnam Silicon Valley project, an initiative of the
Ministry of Science and Technology and the Vietnamese
government, provides startups’ with a four-month program
under guidance of international and local mentors. There
were 67 startup investments in 2015, and Vietnam saw a
rise of 130% over 2014 and investment further grew by 46%
in 2016. Accelerator 500 Startups have USD10 million
Vietnam-focused Fund. The USD10 million target funds will
point to make 100-150 speculations into Vietnam-connected
new businesses: groups addressing Vietnam market needs
and Vietnamese groups handling abroad markets. Checks
will typically be up to USD100,000, but may be as high as
USD250,000. Besides financing, the large investing
companies will get passage to 500 new businesses’
international network of 3,000 mentors and architects,
USD1.5 million of credits with accomplices like Facebook
and Amazon, and others backing to offer assistance to scale
their business. The partnership between the Ministry of
Science and Technology and the World Bank will support
four main areas including biotechnology, materials science,
robotics, and IT with USD110 million. Standard Chartered
Private Equity, which has stakes in retail, agriculture and
entertainment companies in Vietnam, invested USD25

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million in e-wallet app MoMo. Goldman Sachs also
participated in this round with USD3 million.
Turner Asia Pacific, the Asian division of telecasting
group Time Warner, has obtained a noteworthy stake in
Vietnamese digital media and creator network POPS
Worldwide. Constituting over 90% of domestic online music
industry, POPs is operating with over 1,700 content
associates on more than 1,200 network channels.
In Vietnam, there are policies to support enterprises
by the government and the application to support and create
favorable conditions for enterprises to overcome difficulties,
stabilize and develop production and business, especially
SMEs, and startup businesses. There are several provisions
for tax incentives with varying degrees for startups
businesses that are operated in the priority sectors or
enterprises in the sector that is underdeveloped, in rural
areas, remote areas, and poor areas. For example, the tax
rate of 10% in 15 years, the tax exemption for four years,
and 50% of the tax payable in the next nine years for
companies with new investment projects in areas with
special difficulties, or in the fields of investment incentives
such as scientific research and technology development,
production software, and many other incentives sector.73

73 HanoiTimes, Incentives for start-up businesses.2017 June

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 One of the major advantages that Vietnam provides
for doing a technology startup in the country is the
availability of highly skilled and low cost talent pool.
The increasing public and private sectors’ emphasis
on making Vietnam a tech innovation hub and the presence
of highly skilled tech labor pool is slowly but robustly shaping
Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem as a preferable location for
innovation and tech-based investments.

Conclusion
Every business out there in the world today is in,
adapt or die mode. Everyone is embracing frenetic change,
and technology is either best friend or worst enemy to any
business - either an enterprise digitally disrupts their fastest
moving competitors or will be completely disrupted by them.
“If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of
change on the inside, the end is near.” - Jack Welch, CEO,

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GE. The ability of technology explained by Moore’s Law
throws light on some impressive areas: IOT, driverless cars,
machines conversing with each other etc. We are
constructing new business models according to frameworks
and forms that were not there a few years ago. Unused
phrases such as “attention economy” and “collaborative
economy” have risen to portray these radical, tech driven
improvements.
Digital transformation is the advancement in the
process of doing business by the organization which
includes a shift to using online and digital technologies for
activities in the whole organization. True digital
transformation includes not just changing one, but
evaluating and changing multiple forms of a business. The
most powerful and profitable revolutions require
advancements in all departments in the organization, at all
levels - from the individual worker to the C-suite and over all
the associated business components, such as processes,
activities, and resources. It moreover changes processes;
exercises, operations, and foundation to utilize advanced
innovation to, serve customers more proficiently, spare cash
and give a superior customer experience.
Now we have more mobile devices globally than the
count of human beings. Tech savvy business people are
successful capitalizing this opportunity to market their
products and grow revenue. Failing to have a mobility
strategy can lead businesses to lag way behind their

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competitors. In this age of social media and mobility,
businesses can no longer neglect the 5% of unsatisfied
customers. Based on the social media reach those 5%
customers can degrade the brand name and can hammer
the organization revenues to great extents.
Cloud technology is taking business transformation
to whole new level. “Today’s leaders need to be business
transformers who leverage the cloud to accelerate and
enhance core business processes through powerful mobile
first software as a service application.” - Bob Evans, Chief
Communications Officer, Oracle. By establishing private
clouds, on site cloud computing foundation, enterprises can
solidify their IT assets and dispense them on project by
project, prerequisites - oriented basis. In this way they can
progress operational productivity, convey IT assets quicker,
progress administration productivity, and charge their
different lines of business based on particular utilization. In
the meanwhile, public cloud companies are making
assortment of IT administrations accessible online, in this
manner hindering organizations’ need to depend only on
inner IT assets. That dynamic will permit business to adjust
their utilization of private and public cloud assets. Those that
get adjusted will pick up an extraordinary competitive
advantage.

All these advancements are interrelated. If

companies starts with a mobile strategy but has no analytics

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about their users, the mobile platform is waste. If a company
can’t integrate their social and mobile strategies - don’t let
customers tweet from their mobile applications, for instance-
is not going to generate much attention. So companies
should follow integrated technique. Cut off purchasing
networking systems, storage, and compute from distinct
sellers and assembling them together. This focused
approach to IT deployment will empower companies to
target on advancement and their core IP- which ought to be
their prime mandate, rather than attempting to become
specialists in building complex IT systems.
With systems talking to each other and external
resources are being brought into a company to achieve
seamless integration, cyber security is of the utmost
importance. There is a lot of data being exchanged between
systems, and a single point of failure can cause a lot of harm
to a company. Over the past six to eight years, there has
been a dynamic increment in the level of advancement and
stealth in which cybercriminals presently work to assault
consumers, companies and government. Based on
estimates, cybercrime costs the global economy an
estimated market value of USD 3 trillion, with 71% of
companies admitting they fell victim to a successful cyber-
attack in 2015. These are the consequences of outdated,
non-genuine IT assets. This mostly happens because of the
obsolete, unprotected or non- veritable IT resources; need of
customary administration of security systems; poor cyber

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hygiene of clients and careless representative behavior;
need of enormous data culture and data classification; and
the failure of companies to screen, identify and evacuate
cyber dangers in an opportune way.
Managing with empowered buyers makes life more
complicated for brands, but also presents an opportunity for
competitive separation to associations that are arranged to
contribute in fulfilling their demands. From a customer’s
viewpoint, vertical markets simplify their shopping handle; a
business that specializes in serving their particular need.
The problem with horizontal marketplaces is the winners
have already been declared- and they are very difficult to
disrupt head on. Because there’s no room for many more
horizontal players, vertical marketplaces become more
compelling by exploiting the inherent weaknesses of
horizontal leaders and intently focusing on a single product
or good, these companies can deliver a vastly improved
customer experience, presenting an opportunity for vertical
competitors to gain traction.
“The pattern appears to be that if you have to make a
choice between complete reliance on human intuition and
turning things over to a computer to spit out an answer, you
might want to turn things over to the computer. But I set up a
false choice. You don’t have to choose exclusively between
human intuition and push the button and run with what
answer comes out of the computer. You can blend the two.
What the machine’s not going to be really good at is what

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some people have termed ‘complex communication’. -
McAfee.
All organizations are in a difficult battled race to draw in and
keep up clients and constituents in a progressively
troublesome and disrupt able commercial center.
Companies that are able to reallocate their IT assets toward
imaginative innovations, processes and drastically progress
customer benefit - will not just find themselves still standing,
not only find themselves jumping their competition, but will
find that they have gotten to be the unused disruptors
themselves.

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