6 enterprise technologies that may affect your business this year
We’re just over halfway through 2016, and it’s already proven to be a turbulent year in the realm of technology. We’re seeing more and more intersection between technology and other economic and industrial forces. Whether it’s Apple’s refusal to unlock the iPhone for the FBI or the upcoming presidential election adding uncertainty to the future of Biotech stocks, technology is practically inextricable from the other major factors that keep our world going. These turbulent shifts in tech are catching the attention of huge enterprises, as new products have led to innovative practices in consumer tech, manufacturing, and even politics. There’s still half of 2016 left to go, and these next […]
Blockchain power trading platform to rival batteries
A Perth startup will begin trials of consumer-to-consumer electricity trading this month using Blockchain technology – a small but potentially seismic step towards a future energy system. Perth company Power Ledger has teamed up with Ledger Assets – Australia’s largest blockchain company – to conduct trials aimed at devising business models for peer-to-peer energy trading. This could cut out the middleman – the energy retailer – and help households and firms get more out of their rooftop solar panels and storage batteries. People without solar panels could also buy solar power cheaply from neighbours. Power Ledger combines the revolution in decentralised renewable energy and batteries with blockchain to develop business […]
CBA trials blockchain for trade finance
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has successfully used “smart contracts” to execute invoice financing documents and letters of credit with 14 other global banks financing international trade, in another indication that blockchain technology is set to be deployed in the coming years by global banks to reduce costs. R3 CEV, a consortium of 51 global banks including CBA, said its Corda platform is “significantly faster, more reliable and cost-effective” than traditional trade finance processes that are largely paper-based, risky and open to fraud. Blockchain refers to networks of computers holding synchronised copies of information. Corda has been developed by R3 to allow banks to only share what’s needed for other banks […]
Australia among first to introduce bitcoin regulations
Australia will be one of the first countries to impose regulations for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws. Australia’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, is co-hosting a counter-terrorism financing summit with in Bali and, ahead of this, has highlighted that ecurrency such as bitcoin enables terrorists to transfer money anonymously. Justice Minister Michael Keenan said: “The report recommends strengthening an already robust legal framework to respond to new and emerging threats.” “The government is committed to facilitating growth and innovation in this sector and appropriate anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulation will aid that development.” The AUSTRAC report, Terrorism Financing in Australia 2014, said: “Terrorist groups engaged […]
Fintech needs security baked in from the start
Fintech has been labelled a modern day gold rush fuelled by ambitious entrepreneurs and innovative technologies and consumer demand. KPMG and CB Insights’ “The Pulse of Fintech”report found that global investment in fintech currently sits at $13.8 billion with $4.5bn invested in the Asia-Pacific, across 140 deals. But as the relationship between new technologies, such as bitcoin and blockchain, and financial services deepens, so do the threats posed by increasingly sophisticated hackers. No market is more affected by cybercrime than financial services. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2016 Global Economic Crime Survey found that 48 per cent of financial sector respondents reported to have been affected by cybercrime, compared with 36 per cent across […]
Fintech luring more bank customers, says UBS
More Australians will turn to start-ups for financial services in the next year, according to a UBS report, which shows incumbent banks are complacent about the threat of disruption but are also seeking to partner with fintech firms to help them cut costs and improve customer experiences. UBS banking analysts surveyed 27,914 customers of more than 210 banks in 24 countries, along with 61 management teams from banks around the world. Local UBS banking analyst Jonathan Mott along with analysts in London, New York and Tokyo contributed to the global report, titled Global banks: Is fintech a threat or an opportunity? UBS suggests the answer to the question is “Both”. […]
A VC’s perspective on Blockchain opportunities & impacts on Australia
by Victor Jiang, Managing Partner, Sapien Ventures LLP. I was truly honoured to have presented to and judged alongside a distinguished panel (from ANZ, Westpac, UBS, & Northern Trust) and key industry leaders at the inaugural Australian Blockchain Summit 2016 (Melbourne June 28-30th, 2016), and to have a chance to speak about what we felt are the opportunities and impacts of Blockchain on Australia. (The speech was immediately before a pitch/showcase session of 6 excitingly disruptive blockchain startups from USA and Australia, including one dialling in from 3am in their local time!) __________________________________ I’m really excited and honoured to be here, speaking just ahead of some truly exciting startups in the blockchain space. […]
Blockchain: Distributed ledger technology still misunderstood
Blockchain may be the hottest technology trend in town, but business leaders run the risk of falling down a rabbit hole unless they are able to separate fact from fiction, according to Gartner’s research fellow Ray Valdes. While industry buzz around the bitcoin blockchain plus a dozen other competitive technologies has grown to deafening proportions, Mr Valdes warns that a dangerous cocktail of wishful thinking, mythmaking and misunderstanding can confuse the long-term transformative potential of the technology. “The thing about blockchain is that you will find businesses using the term in different ways in the same conversation,” Mr Valdes said. Mr Valdes also warns that the rampant interest in the […]
