Tag: blockchain

As we progress further into Industry 4.0, finance needs to further leverage new technologies to add real value to a business’s bottom-line, yet it remains in its infancy stages. Industry 4.0 has impacted a range of industries, and with the digitisation of industrial value chains, many forget about finance, which has only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to leveraging new technologies.

It is almost impossible to keep up with the pace and direction in which business and technology are moving today. Artificial intelligence, automation, blockchain, big data, Internet of Things, the fourth industrial revolution. Who actually knows what any of these concepts mean for their business, much less how to integrate them?

We have been acclimatised to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) and heard the hype about the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). Now prepare for the next stage – when advanced AI meets 4IR to enable the always smart, always learning, ubiquitous computing of the future.

The digital workplace is one where people, processes, technology, and the company converge to improve business productivity and employee engagement. It's a workplace where employees have the technological tools they need to complete business tasks effortlessly and efficiently.

South Africa has yet to witness a major blockchain-related dispute, but such disputes are bound to occur as interest in cryptocurrencies and smart contracts intensifies and transactions involving them become more common.

According to QuickBooks, there are already more than 700 apps that are assisting accountants to automate processes and reduce their workload. Gone are the days where accountants can be mere number crunchers, who collate and check data and allocate it to the correct cost centre. The future accountant will have transformed her/himself into a financial advisor, adding value to businesses by offering strategic advice, consulting and financial planning.

Smart contracts mark the evolution of the binding contract from a set of terms and conditions, governed by the common law, into a set of conditional statements governed by a programming language and the tenets of blockchain technology.

Small and innovative renewable energy projects battle to raise funds through formal channels. One possible solution is to reach out to communities with an interest in those projects to help fund them through crowdfunding initiatives.

It’s no secret that the role of IT specialists and CIOs alike has changed drastically over the past few years, stemming from the need to get a better handle on the ever-evolving technologies integral to doing business in an age of disruption.

There are some big things set for 2019. Customer expectations continue to evolve, new technologies are developed to push the envelope and all of that leads to continuous transformation of our business, our people, our processes and of course, the technology and infrastructure.