Brave New (Digital) World!
Four years ago to the day, I wrote a blog post called “Did you use Bitcoin to buy your Christmas presents this year?” You can read it here:
At the time, my kids were talking about digital currencies over the holidays, and I felt uninformed. So I did a little research to find out more about the subject, got a little smarter about blockchain technology, bought a couple of Bitcoin on a whim and forgot about it.
I still have never bought or sold any product or service with my Bitcoin, and I am stunned to see the trading value exploding upwards over the past few months, to preposterous levels. And there is competition among the various cryptocurrencies.
The point is not the “bubble value” of Bitcoin or its transactional value to buy and sell things which is still nascent or to make a judgement about its validity. But as cryptocurrency market capitalization surpasses Bank of America, we need to look deeper into the phenomenon.
There is a brave new digital world, appearing right before our eyes, in a single generation. The example of Bitcoin is an illustration of digital transformation within the sector of Financial Services. There are equally compelling examples across all industries, and all aspects of human activities. Beyond the hype, we are undergoing a profound transformation of how we produce and consume and communicate and live.
On line shopping has now surpassed store sales, and the gap is widening. This holiday season, the most purchased electronic item from Amazon was the echo dot, a smart speaker for personal use.
I got a Google dot as a Christmas present this year and had a lot of fun playing with it. It is more of a gadget than a tool but it is easy to see the digital build out that is coming, at home and at the office, at play and at work, at rest and on the move.
Voice commands are making it easier to use the technology to manage daily business and private affairs. 
Here are a few observations from my projects which underpin the new digital age:
- Speed – everything accelerates, business cycles, decision-making, alliance relationships…
- Precision – atomic clocks, genome mapping, deep detailed analytical data across all fields of activity…
- Miniaturization – nanobots, supercomputers, micro-energy generators, wearables, laser technologies…
- Disintermediation – no more middle man, reduction of all retail sales outlets, straight line from producers to consumers…
- Intelligence – smart, connected objects, advanced value networks with feedback loops, deep learning, AI…
My business is the design and implementation of creative collaborative solutions – strategic alliances, commercial partnerships, global ecosystems – mainly for technology and services firms.
As the brave new digital world requires new configurations and upgrades within your business, we would be honored to speak with you about how Alliances Progress is optimizing the risk / reward investment opportunities to ensure a strong growth platform for your firm.
Happy New Year 2018!