What Happened? - Technology
PPlease see below selected pre-2016 intelligence about technology. This is a synthesis of major recent developments at competitors, business schools, thinktanks, media, commentators, and other key influencers.
December 2015
- KPMG released its ‘Fintech 100’ report, a collaborative effort with fintech investment firm, H2 Ventures. The report identified the leading 50 ‘Established’ fintech companies across the globe, and 50 ‘Emerging Stars’. Fintech is now truly a global sector – The list is comprised of 40 US companies, 20 from EMEA, 18 from the UK and 22 from Asia Pacific. China fintech leads the world – ZhongAn, a Chinese company tops this year’s list, and there are seven Chinese fintech companies on the list (with six in the 50 Established list). Payments is at most risk of disruption - Fintech growth in payments, currencies and transactions sees these segments of fintech now representing 25% of the Fintech 100, a substantial uplift on last year. Insurance finds its fintech footing - The top 2 companies on the list are insurance fintechs (with 7 overall, compared to none last year). Shift from disruptors to enablers – 25 ‘enablers’ (service providers to financial companies) this year, compared to 7 last year.
- Many executives pine for their internal IT systems to give them a more consumer-friendly experience, claimed the Harvard Business Review. They point to the simplicity, ease of use, and hassle-free nature of the digital services they use in their personal lives: the apps on their smart phone that make services available at the push of a button, software that can be installed and configured with the click of an icon, the ability to plug a printer into a laptop’s USB port and have it ready to print, a tablet that can be connected to the internet without any cautionary pop-ups warning about potential security risks or possible compatibility problems. In the consumer IT world everything just seems to work, they lament. Why does corporate IT make things so complicated? Unfortunately, most executives don’t recognise that consumer IT and enterprise IT are different animals. They don’t understand that they must play the pivotal role in the critical decisions that shape enterprise IT- decisions that they leave to the likes of Yahoo, Apple, Google, and Vodafone in the consumer world.
- Big Data is failing businesses and costing them millions in missed opportunities, at least according to a survey from flash storage provider Pure Storage. It cited a number of reasons for the failure, but specifically blamed a lack of quick access to critical information, a lack of workers skilled in data management, and red tape. The pan-European report entitled “Big Data’s Failure” highlights the struggle businesses are experiencing in trying to access the information they need in a timely manner. The report found that over half of businesses have missed opportunities they didn’t see coming because they lacked accurate information at a time when they really needed it.
- Cloud service providers are quickly rolling out innovative cloud services, and, for a growing number of enterprises, cloud-first is a preferred strategy. Enterprises are facing more competition than ever, so they're scouting for their next cloud service for competitive advantage. To select the right service, they must understand its maturity, ecosystem, and potential to solve business problems. In a new TechRadar, Forrester assessed what it considers the 18 most important cloud service categories.