In the Face of New Threats, Trust Your Supplier Is Helping Telecom Network Operators Build Stronger, More Resilient Supply Chains
Digital transformation in the telecommunications industry was already underway when COVID-19 arrived. But as in other industries, the disruption sparked by the pandemic has accelerated efforts to leverage technology on a variety of fronts. Of course, it has also introduced new obstacles that major firms in the sector are still figuring out how to navigate.
Among the biggest challenges faced by the telecom industry today is a persistent and sophisticated cyberthreat. As companies become more reliant on digital infrastructures, malicious actors — whether they’re working independently or under the direction of adversarial foreign governments — are increasingly setting their sights on organizations that are invaluable to the global IT supply chain. That includes the world’s largest telecom providers, whose clients often include major government agencies.
There’s also the well-documented semiconductor shortage. When chip manufacturing plants shut down and ports succumbed to gridlock during the pandemic, chipmakers scrambled to meet excess demand. Given that semiconductors are critical components of all advanced technologies and that demand surplus isn’t expected to subside any time soon, the telecommunications industry will continue to grapple with supply shortages.
And then, of course, there’s the issue of compliance. The patchwork of data privacy legislation that now spans much of the globe is creating additional pressures for companies in a wide range of sectors, and telecom players are no exception. Although digitalization in the telecom industry has largely been aimed at increasing speed and agility, new regulations calling for greater transparency in reporting and more robust data security practices tend to be at odds with those objectives. Like companies in other industries, telecom providers have struggled to be nimble while sharing an ever-increasing amount of data and adhering to more stringent legislative mandates.
Innovation as an Equalizer
As history has demonstrated countless times, pressure is often a key ingredient for innovation — including all things related to telecommunications transformation. The issues above have forced telecom providers to respond with solutions, and many are now answering the call. Firms such as Nokia, Vodafone, and BT have joined forces with Chainyard and leaders in other industries to implement Trust Your Supplier (or TYS): a blockchain-based solution that improves supplier qualification, validation, onboarding, life cycle information management, compliance, and risk management.
TYS is accelerating digital transformation in this sector and others by allowing for greater transparency and visibility across every supplier touchpoint. In the process, it supports more robust compliance activities, such as those supporting diversity, sustainability, cybersecurity, and anti-corruption.
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Before TYS, most telecom providers faced a complex supplier onboarding process that typically occurred apart from other core processes (such as those associated with sales and contracting). TYS integrates with the enterprise resource planning platforms leading telecoms have already deployed, leveraging existing data to automate integral onboarding functions. This has significantly reduced the time needed to onboard new suppliers and allows qualified suppliers to immediately assume the vital role of supporting telecoms and their customers. By making it easier for procurement and partnership teams to collect, manage, and access supplier data associated with, say, diversity and inclusion activities, TYS also alleviates some of the pressures created by stringent compliance mandates.
Without the ability to continuously monitor supplier performance in today’s fast-paced global economy, organizations will continue to struggle with capturing the full benefits of digital transformation in the telecom market (and in other markets). They’ll face higher acquisition costs, greater procurement risks, potential compliance fines, and less resilient supply chains. They’ll also miss out on the opportunities that come with access to supplier performance analytics and a more diversified supplier base.
Moreover, companies that implement TYS are achieving these three major benefits:
1. Supply chain network visualization.
Increased transparency is enabling companies to more easily identify vulnerabilities — think bottlenecks or supplier clusters in potentially risky areas. They also are able to build and maintain risk profiles for all suppliers, vendors, and third parties, allowing for ongoing visibility as risks fluctuate.
2. Continuous monitoring.
TYS is giving companies the ability to single out specialty or single-source suppliers and other vendors that could directly or indirectly exert outsized influence on their business results. They have near real-time insights regarding business processes that might lead to shortages or other disruptions, allowing them to address potential issues proactively and avoid unnecessary costs associated with remediation.
3. Improved supplier diversity.
A homogenous supplier base can pose an existential threat to a telecom provider’s business, especially if it relies heavily on suppliers in areas characterized by high geopolitical or environmental risk. TYS can provide participating companies with greater access to a network of qualified suppliers, allowing them to mitigate these risks and to ensure remediation processes are in place should they be needed.
Telecom providers are playing a leadership role in the ongoing development of TYS. However, the above benefits are giving companies across many industries an advantage. As the risks associated with regulation, cybersecurity, and supplier consolidation continue to mount, TYS is giving participating firms the ability to navigate them with confidence.
Capture the Benefits of Cloud Migration by Sticking to These Best Practices
Enterprise spending on digital business transformation continues to grow as companies look to take advantage of the benefits of cloud migration. Some of those benefits — like reduced infrastructure and maintenance costs — are seen almost immediately following a migration, whereas others are more cumulative. The efficiency and performance gains that come with streamlined operations, more rapid innovation, and generally improved security increase with cloud maturity, which is why leaders can no longer afford to delay the transition.
In 2020, 68% of CIOs indicated that cloud migration or expansion would be their top IT spending priority, according to Deloitte research. Data from Gartner revealed that more than 70% of companies had migrated at least some operations to the cloud by mid-2021.
Not every company has the same goals when migrating infrastructure to the cloud, and the decision might be influenced by a wide range of factors. Some companies might need to support a remote workforce in the wake of the pandemic, and others might seek greater resilience and flexibility amid uncertainty and disruption in their industries. Many hope to improve their ability to adapt to changing consumer expectations, and almost all are concerned about keeping their data safe in the face of more frequent and sophisticated cyberattacks.
Regardless of their initial goals, companies that do move to the cloud will inevitably experience the following benefits:
Managing Expectations
The benefits of the cloud are often transformative for organizations that can achieve them, but those transformations don’t happen automatically. Depending on their current operational posture, the challenges of cloud migration can be numerous and difficult to navigate for some companies.
Application upgrades might be required in the migration effort, as some might not be ready for the cloud. More importantly, key personnel and processes will have to adapt, as the move from on-site infrastructure can create significant changes to workflows and require new skills and expertise.
If companies don’t give teams enough time to adjust, they’ll face significant limitations to adoption. Likewise, leaders must make time to evaluate requirements across cloud service providers and carefully review service agreements or risk locking themselves into suboptimal solutions.
To minimize these challenges, companies should adhere to the following best practices:
Companies that experience the most benefits of cloud migration view the cloud as a cornerstone of their business strategy rather than merely an accelerator. But before you use the technology to transform your enterprise, identify use cases that could potentially provide the most return on your investment while moving you closer to core strategic objectives (e.g., cost reduction, improved scalability, increased innovation, and so forth).
Sound data management processes and clearly delineated roles and responsibilities will be beneficial during your initial migration and beyond. Try to codify these and include them in a governance model along with policies for controlling costs, reducing waste, accelerating implementations, and meeting other organizational goals.
Over time, a well-defined model will help drive adoption across your company and ensure that cloud regulatory compliance and security are key considerations when planning for each new initiative.
Making the most of the cloud requires not only technology, but also personnel with the knowledge, resources, and authority to drive initiatives. As more companies expand their cloud operations, the market for talent will get more competitive. Training programs that enhance the cloud capabilities of your existing workforce and partnerships with third-party specialists can help balance hiring costs and simplify change management.
A cloud migration project will present your company with opportunities to standardize new processes and tools, including those related to monitoring and security. Take advantage of these to improve your long-term operational support profile and streamline customer support.
Additionally, consider automating repetitive processes related to provisioning, scaling, monitoring, remediation, and other initiatives to maximize efficiency as your cloud usage accelerates.
Business disruption during and after cloud migration projects can eat into your overall return on investment and even pose existential threats. When planning your migration, consider the latency of cloud operations on internal and external users, and work with individual business units to determine the appropriate pace of adoption. Disruption can also occur after migration, most notably in the form of regulatory pressures. Given the ongoing evolution of data and privacy legislation, executives should regularly meet with their compliance and legal teams to ensure that the controls in place align with all relevant mandates.
For more information about how adopting cloud infrastructure could impact your organization, contact Chainyard to consult on how we can work together.
Chainyard has been recognized as one of Top Cloud Consulting Companies by DesignRush
3 Tips for Effective Change Management During Digital Transformation
Enterprise spending on digital transformation technologies was already increasing across almost all sectors prior to the pandemic. Now, the race to modernize legacy IT systems has become an all-out sprint — and no organization wants to be left behind.
Although the heightened sense of urgency is indeed warranted, it has caused some leaders to forgo the critical planning that drives successful business transformation projects. But neglecting to plan for change management throughout the digital transformation process can be a recipe for failure.
The Cost of Failing to Plan
Problems with digital transformation begin when companies commit to implementing solutions that aren’t aligned with their overall business goals. Leaders who feel that they’re a part of a technological arms race want to move fast. However, without a clear agenda linking initiatives to corporate priorities, they risk moving in the wrong direction. A sound digital transformation strategy is the most effective tool for preventing this scenario.
In general, the best strategies identify the objectives that, if met, will deliver the most value to an organization over time. They can help leaders prioritize digital transformation efforts by highlighting the actions and investments that add immediate value and present opportunities for collecting feedback to inform future progress. Even the most powerful digital transformation technologies can’t deliver value without a plan for implementation, and a sound strategy will also strengthen enterprise readiness by outlining the personnel, skills, processes, and other components necessary to ensure solutions yield the most favorable results.
The Importance of Purpose
Every company has unique goals, which means identifying an optimal outcome isn’t always straightforward. If you’re struggling to define your end goal, start by defining the problem.
Jay Ferro, CIO of Quikrete, recommends creating a problem statement that reveals the ultimate purpose behind your plan. “The ‘why’ of your organization’s digital transformation might be around improving customer experience, reducing friction, increasing productivity, or elevating profitability.” By succinctly articulating why this transformation is necessary, you can ensure that a clear purpose guides your subsequent actions and technology investments.
Digital transformations are complex and often require you to make wholesale changes to various components of your operations simultaneously. These might include process transformations, business model transformations, organizational transformations, or other changes that must occur to facilitate the successful integration of new technologies and capabilities. These and other changes must occur to facilitate the successful integration of new technologies and capabilities. Below are a few steps you can take to manage these effectively over the course of a digital transformation project:
Your problem statement can help pinpoint where change is needed most. As you reach the tactical planning stage, start thinking about the smaller changes that will occur during the transformation and their potential effects.
Ask yourself what outcomes they support and whether those are aligned with your larger goals. Does a change improve regulatory supportability or expose you to compliance risks? If it’s the latter, are you prepared to manage those risks? Does the change improve the security and operational profile of your company? Will it lead to new revenue streams or result in unnecessary fragmentation? Is it necessary to remain competitive or maintain market share? Is it a reaction to imminent threats or a response to long-term predictions?
The status quo might be unsustainable, but it’s also unwise to initiate change for its own sake. Understand the potential consequences of each change you’re considering, and weigh those carefully against your larger goals before moving forward.
Most companies in the early stages of digital transformation have some knowledge and skill deficiencies to be addressed to ensure effective change management. So once you’ve mapped out the scope and impact of your various business transformation projects, decide how you’ll fill existing gaps.
Hiring additional in-house talent is an option, though it could be expensive given the unprecedented demand for technical talent in the current labor market. Otherwise, you could partner with experienced consultants to help you coordinate and manage your processes, which will both help you fill the skill gaps and provide additional speed and flexibility.
All in all, make sure the team you choose to oversee the transformation has the necessary skills to make the important decisions that will determine your success.
Ongoing, transparent communication is essential for ensuring overall readiness prior to implementation and for securing organizational buy-in once it’s completed. Moreover, it can help you prevent unnecessary turf wars among business units and minimize disruption during the transition.
You should regularly meet with the team responsible for administering your initiatives and give frequent updates to the employees, customers, and other stakeholders ultimately impacted.
By making effective communication one of your highest leadership priorities throughout your business’s transformation, you can foster a digital transformation-ready company culture that embraces continual evolution. In today’s fast-paced business world, that’s exactly what it takes to win.
The healthcare industry is under intense pressure to improve its efficiency. However, interoperability between technology and various integrated systems presents many challenges that are hindering health facilities from being fully connected and productive.
We have known for years that healthcare needs solutions that artificial intelligence can provide. But the initial proofs of concept have taken too long to materialize. Without clear boundaries and use cases showing how AI in healthcare can work, leadership teams are unable to horizontally collaborate with each other.
How AI in Healthcare Could Solve Interoperability Problems
Technology has the potential to transform the way healthcare works for patients, but right now, interoperability is difficult to attain. Despite industry guides such as the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, data is still a messy business. Data is stored in different ways and in different silos — and not every facility has the ability to read and understand the information contained within the respective silos and make it actionable.
This has a heavy impact on how practitioners work with technology. A radiologist reading film and a doctor making a diagnosis for a chronic pain patient only have access to their siloed expertise. With AI solutions in healthcare, data can be drawn from different disciplines and diagnosis can become faster and smarter.
When used in conjunction with AI, blockchain technology has the power to help practitioners and organizations work together without security risks. Because the blockchain represents a transparent, single source of information that cannot be changed, it can store data from multiple sources and create a harmonized picture of truth that different users can access without bias. In addition, limits can be put in place as to who has access to the data.
This helps healthcare experts form a central hub where the very best knowledge, therapies, and drug research can be pooled, therefore helping target diseases more effectively while keeping patient and research data absolutely secure and private.
It’s clear that leaders at healthcare organizations need to remove the siloed approach and develop an atmosphere of increased collaboration. But how, exactly?
How Blockchain, AI, and Healthcare Can Work Together
Blockchain technology in healthcare helps fulfill all four kinds of interoperability defined by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society: foundational, structural, semantic, and organizational. Blockchain’s uses in healthcare create a basis — a structure — where data can live safely and transparently. Then, blockchain can enable a rendering that helps different kinds of readers see and understand the data.
Two aspects of blockchain technology that are especially interesting to the healthcare industry are permissioned blockchains and smart contracts. A permissioned blockchain maintains the privacy of data, knows all the stakeholders, and makes data viewable by actors on the network who are authorized to see it. Smart contracts are “instructions” on the blockchain that are executed automatically once all necessary conditions or events are met. This means decisions can be made available automatically without human intervention. That’s where the power of AI’s uses in healthcare really materialize. This harmonized dataset — coupled with safe and secure automation — means that AI can be used to make faster, better, and more predictive decisions.
Data is the engine behind AI, but it’s also becoming the engine behind healthcare systems and how doctors diagnose and treat patients. If we can aggregate and translate vast amounts of data into streamlined workflows, AI can be used to efficiently diagnose and monitor patients, detect illness, accelerate drug development, and seamlessly run clinical trials.
The ingredients for interoperability are all there, but it’s now up to operators and developers to find ways to work together. The benefits of AI in healthcare are massively transformative — as long as we can find ways to solve problematic perceptions of blockchain and data privacy and get human beings to open up their silos.
No one technology will save the future of healthcare interoperability. It will take collaboration between developers, operators, academics, drug researchers, and an interwoven stack of technologies to bring together a universe of data and put it to good use.
This article was originally published on Electronic Health Reporter.
Digital transformation strategy was a trending topic well before the pandemic, but COVID-19 turned it into an imperative overnight.
Organizations such as Zoom and Amazon naturally reaped the benefits of the transition to life under quarantine, but the less obvious winners were almost exclusively the companies with a broad digital footprint — think Etsy, Grubhub, Starbucks, and Pinterest. For these businesses, cloud capabilities made the difference between surviving and thriving when the pandemic struck, and early digital investments put them in a position to capitalize on key technology investments.
There are many technologies that effectively complement digital transformation efforts, but according to research from KPMG, artificial intelligence stands out to both 88% of small business leaders and 80% of those at the helm of larger organizations. And though AI is often thought of as an innovation of the future, it’s far from science fiction. In fact, the benefits of AI for business are well established, and the technology is already firmly entrenched in our daily lives, powering our cars, feeding us entertainment recommendations, making product suggestions, and curating our social media news feeds. In the right setting, AI initiatives are a cost-effective means to propel digital transformation, helping companies collect data, clean it, and mine it for game-changing insights.
Clearing the AIr
AI is often used interchangeably with “machine learning” and “automation,” but there are distinct differences between the three terms. To make sure we’re all on the same page, let’s quickly break down what we mean when we refer to each:
AI, machine learning, and automation might be three distinct terms, but that’s not to say there can’t be overlap between them. In addition, each of these tools can add value to a digital transformation initiative if implemented in the right place.
AI in Action
AI has exciting potential. And although it’s being touted as a possible solution for all kinds of problems, it’s often easiest to see the benefits of artificial intelligence in existing use cases. In this section, we’ll examine three uses cases in which AI is empowering the switch to digital and generating incredible value for the companies relying on it.
Use Case 1: Supply Chain Verification
Trust Your Supplier is a blockchain network Chainyard built on the IBM Blockchain Platform to help manufacturers combat counterfeit products and build networks of trustworthy suppliers. At its core, TYS offers three valuable capabilities, each powered by a type of artificial intelligence:
Use Case 2: Qualifying Loan Applicants
A mortgage is often the most significant investment a person makes in his or her lifetime, which is why Home Lending Pal: Intelligent Mortgage Advisor is designed to help buyers find the right mortgage product for them. By analyzing thousands of data points using machine learning — including existing debt, credit scores, income, and expenses — Home Lending Pal points buyers toward properties they can actually afford and suggests lenders that will be willing to loan them the money they need. Home Lending Pal is also improving loan access for customers with no credit history who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a loan.
Although AI is certainly helping connect buyers with mortgages, it’s also being used to help banks predict how likely customers are to repay their personal loans. Upstart is one such tool, and the lending platform works with banks to augment limited credit scores (or replace them if credit scores aren’t available) using factors such as education and employment status. With AI predicting repayment, banks are less likely to lend to customers that will default on their payments.
What does adoption look like across the industry, though? A 2018 survey by Fannie Mae found that only one-third of mortgage lenders were utilizing AI, and about half of them were merely experimenting with the technology. That number is on the rise, however, and the same survey found that just 2% of lenders wouldn’t be willing to use the technology at all.
Lastly, the mortgage and lending process is just one potential application of artificial intelligence, and McKinsey’s Global AI Survey found that almost 60% of respondents in the financial services sector have adopted at least one AI capability. Robotic process automation is the most common, followed by chatbots or virtual assistants for customer service teams and machine learning tools to spot fraud and augment human underwriting teams. Although many financial-services organizations are still adopting AI in response to a specific problem, a growing number are seeking to implement it more broadly throughout their organizations.
Use Case 3: Digital Workers
A digital worker is a kind of software solution powered by various applications of artificial intelligence, ranging from natural language processing to machine learning to computer vision. Instead of supplanting human workers, digital workers perform tasks alongside them with speed, efficiency, and even advanced decision-making capabilities.
Digital workers have the capacity to transform the workforce in two key ways:
Digital workers are already having an impact in a number of industries, and their influence will only grow. According to research from IDC, digital workers will contribute 50% more to the global workforce from 2019 to the end of this year, with a 28% increase in instances of technology evaluating information and an 18% growth in reasoning and decision-making implementations.
Building AI and Machine Learning Into Your Digital Transformation
Artificial intelligence as an idea has existed for decades, but the amount of high-quality data available and steady advancements in processing power have made AI a burgeoning field full of exciting possibilities.
1. Educate yourself.
Before you can get an accurate picture of AI’s potential impact on your organization, you need to understand the different types of cognitive computing, how they’re deployed, and
how they’re applicable to your business. Robotic process automation, for example, involves the automation of both digital and physical tasks; it’s the least expensive option and can offer the quickest payback period of any artificial intelligence technology solution. On the other hand, cognitive insight, which uses machine learning to detect patterns in vast volumes of data, can offer incredibly valuable insights — but the payoff isn’t guaranteed.
2. Look for inspiration in your industry.
Whether it’s through a robotic investing advisor, a drug discovery tool, or a customer service chatbot, AI implementations are often specific to industries — and you can skip a lengthy discovery process by looking at the benefits of AI for businesses in your sector. Examine how your competitors are applying machine learning to business problems for inspiration, and look for standout examples of business process automation tools and other automated business systems.
3. Address pain points with the biggest impact.
With each passing day, it seems there are fewer limits to what AI can accomplish, but that doesn’t mean your first implementation should address the most complex issues in your organization. Look for obvious pain points where the technology can unlock the biggest benefit; this is usually done by eliminating an existing bottleneck or automating a manual process to allow your organization to scale. For example, if your business is ready to serve new customers but can’t seem to find sufficient suitable prospects, a tool to comb lead databases and support your sales team might be the best investment. If you already have plenty of customers but satisfaction rates are suffering, a chatbot can help address many of the most common queries and ease the burden on your service personnel.
4. Launch pilot projects.
Cognitive applications should always start with a pilot project that allows you to learn about the technology, understand how it will be integrated into your environment, and evaluate the capabilities of your staff. Develop a center of excellence around new technologies to help your organization scale a solution across multiple departments. If you notice that you’re missing certain capabilities internally, you’ll need to bolster your team by relying on third-party vendors.
Identifying a Promising Partner
AI implementations are complex undertakings, which is why it’s common for companies to partner with vendors who can bring advanced skillsets and a wealth of experience. Not all vendors are created equal, however, and because a capable partner can make or break an implementation, it’s important to keep a few things in mind when choosing a third-party provider:
1. Viability.
You don’t want a new vendor that’s going to use your company as a learning opportunity. Look for a partner that has been around for more than five years and has a track record of success. These companies will have the fiscal security and corporate maturity to be dependable not just now, but also for years down the road.
2. Support.
An AI implementation is a journey and not a destination, so don’t expect a project to operate on autopilot once the implementation process is complete. Look for a vendor you can return to for help with ongoing needs, and one that can fit you in for future projects as well.
3. Flexibility.
When choosing the right AI solution, the decision should be based entirely on your needs and not on the preferences of a potential partner. If vendors only advocate for the specific flavor of AI they specialize in, it’s safe to assume they’re more interested in their own success than in yours. Along those lines, look for a vendor that embraces open source over pushing the proprietary technologies it sells.
4. Adaptability.
Your organization’s goals should be at the forefront of any vendor’s work. Although vendors should have their own proven processes, they should be willing to adapt their techniques and procedures to your team and your organization’s style, culture, and mission. If they’re not willing to be flexible, the partnership is unlikely to be a productive one.
Incorporating AI and machine learning in business should be a part of any digital transformation strategy. The benefits of AI for business are well documented, and unlocking these benefits in your own organization is simply a matter of understanding the technology, identifying its most promising applications, and assembling the capabilities necessary for a successful implementation.
For more information about how AI in digital transformation could impact your organization, contact Chainyard to consult on how we can work together.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, companies will rely on technology and data like never before. However, there’s a caveat to this: Digital transformation is certainly critical for adapting to the new normal, but it has an unfortunate side effect — an increase in cyber risk.
Companies should be excited about digital transformation, of course, but they also need to be on guard. In a 2020 survey, 82% of respondents blamed at least one cybersecurity incident in the last year on their digital transformation efforts. In 55% of the cases, a third party was involved, which highlights another risk created by an expanding digital footprint. Similarly, ransomware attacks are expected to hit companies this year at a pace of one every 11 seconds, and by the end of 2021, ransomware will steal around $20 billion.
All in all, 2020 was the year when attitudes around new technology reached a tipping point, and companies decided to finally commit to widespread digitization. Nevertheless, the last year has also highlighted the chasms between adopting promising technologies and laying the extra groundwork necessary for security.
How Digital Transformation Creates Security Weak Spots
We can tie these mounting threats back to digital transformation. After all, more technology means more targets for hackers, but many companies are rushing to complete their digital transformation without making a proportional effort to boost their digital defenses.
As companies become increasingly reliant on technology, ransomware has more ways to infect an organization. Even worse, when technology “drives” a company, ransomware attacks that prohibit access to apps and data have devastating consequences that companies will pay almost any sum to stop. In that way, hackers are using digital transformation against companies — and technology becomes an immense vulnerability rather than a strength.
Although cybersecurity concerns might make digital transformation more complicated, they don’t doom it to failure. In fact, blockchain’s many use cases help ensure a company transforms into something more secure than it was before.
Use Cases for Blockchain That Boost Cybersecurity
Blockchain’s use cases already factor into a significant number of digital transformation plans, but not typically for the purposes of cybersecurity. That oversight could be costly because blockchain fits naturally into enterprise cybersecurity architecture — and it could be fundamental to digital transformation in the process.
Blockchain is a good approach to improve data security due to its decentralized nature, high level of encryption, and ability to ensure data remains private as necessary. However, it’s also
important to note that while blockchain creates another level of security, it does not eliminate or reduce other best practices around security. In other words, it’s an integral building block in your quest toward organizational safety.
We could spend pages highlighting all the ways in which cybersecurity and blockchain intersect. To get a broad sense of how blockchain use cases boost digital protections, however, consider these examples:
IoT
Massive numbers of connected devices will start supplying companies with data from different parts of their operations — from the most important to the most opaque. Of course, this broadens the number of potential targets available to nefarious actors.
Among the business use cases for blockchain is using distributed ledgers to authorize and transact with IoT devices at the edge. Because this data can only be amended (and not altered or deleted), it’s much more secure. Blockchains can also apply IoT data to smart contracts and automatically administer the contract details according to the data coming in (think the release of a payment once IoT registers the arrival of a shipment). This demonstrates how blockchain’s use cases can serve as an alternative approach to keeping a company running — even when other aspects of IT might falter because of an accident or attack.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry is extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks because it relies on an extensive number of siloed technologies (many with weak security) and produces highly valuable data (including both medical and financial records). This combination of factors makes it a prime target for hackers.
Blockchain shuts these hackers down by placing sensitive data into a system with asymmetrical encryption, making it nearly impossible to steal. For this reason, the presence of blockchain is enough to deter many hackers who would prefer to chase low-hanging fruit.
In the context of cybersecurity, the business use case for blockchain is highly compelling: It’s effective against numerous attacks and beneficial for other aspects of digital transformation, offensive and defensive factors alike. Put differently, blockchain should be considered in every digital transformation effort, including yours. Now, it’s time to identify some use cases of your own. Visit our services page to learn more, or contact Chainyard here.
Exciting news from The Linux Foundation and Hyperledger with the announcement of the openIDL project. This open source project is a collaboration of some of the largest insurance companies to streamline regulatory reporting. Chainyard is proud to be a member of the project and looks forward to contributing to this effort that will improve data, enable insurers and regulators to operate more efficiently, and enable them to make better decisions.
openIDL (open Insurance Data Link) is an open blockchain network that streamlines regulatory reporting and provides new insights for insurers, while enhancing timeliness, accuracy, and value for regulators. openIDL is the first open blockchain platform that enables the efficient, secure, and permissioned-based collection and sharing of statistical data.
Read more about openIDL in the Press Release.
Did you hear about the 10-second video clip that sold for $6.6 million despite being free to watch on YouTube? This is just one of many examples of asset tokenization, a trend attracting huge sums of money, attention, and optimism surrounding the future of capital management and creation.
Tokenization involves linking an asset — a piece of art, a baseball card, a commercial property, anything of value — to a digital asset represented as a token. The token can then be bought, sold, or logically divided into pieces (i.e., fractionalized).
Blockchain makes the entire process work by tokenizing the asset (representing the asset as a token on the blockchain, thus embedding ownership, rights, and other property within the system). Tokenization takes something of value and makes it simpler to buy and sell since the transfer can be automated through a smart contract. Yes, it’s really that basic.
It’s also worth noting that blockchain is used to administer the underlying details of tokenization to facilitate business and create trust in these transactions. This might be a novel concept, and it might rely on blockchain use cases that feel too technical and inaccessible. But in reality, asset tokenization is something anyone can take advantage of, whether they’re an owner or investor.
Forward-thinking companies are already using tokenization, and in the process, they’re positioning themselves at the head of the pack to earn an oversized share of the opportunity.
Tokenization as a Startup Strategy
Asset tokenization will factor into more and more business strategies, especially with startups driving innovation across industries. After all, young companies have a mandate to innovate: disrupt industries, raise capital, and operate lean. To that end, tokenization can assist across the board.
For one, asset tokenization will give rise to entirely new business models that will let investors put up small stakes of ownership in larger assets (such as art, commercial properties, sports cards, precious metals, cars, or industrial machines), which helps level the playing field for smaller investors across the world.
A resulting wave of new startups will challenge our assumptions in every industry as they experiment with ways to tokenize assets and employ new business models. Likewise, tokens will also streamline how companies raise capital to fuel growth. Historically, funding has moved slowly because of due diligence, paperwork, and investor uncertainty.
When blockchain is backing up the exchange of private equity, though, the details surrounding deals are completely secure, transparent, and automated. It accelerates raises by issuing security tokens and eliminating the middleman. With private equity (as with all other assets), turning items into asset tokens makes it simpler than ever to exchange value among trusted parties — increasing the liquidity of the underlying assets.
Companies can also rethink how they allocate capital when tokens are an option. For example, if a company needed an excavator, it could purchase tokens to own a percentage of the equipment and pay rent to use it whenever necessary. As an owner, the company would then earn back some of its excavation expenditures through rent money, making this option more economical and flexible than buying or leasing equipment and improving cash flow.
For startups trying to make the most of limited resources, tokens truly maximize the value of every asset and investment.
Is Tokenization Right for You?
There’s a lot to love when it comes to tokenized assets, but that doesn’t mean all assets should become tokens or that all investments should go toward tokens. Keep these considerations in mind before diving in:
It’s tempting to say that asset tokenization changes everything. However, it’s more accurate to say it changes very little but improves upon a lot. Imagine if assets could be transacted automatically — without delay, confusion, or unnecessary friction — with a global reach. That’s the future that asset tokenization offers, and everyone should be excited about the possibilities.
If you’re ready to map out your own asset tokenization framework, reach out to the experts at Chainyard
Solving Healthcare’s Provider Directory Challenge With a Single Source of Truth
Provider directories are one of the most fundamental parts of the healthcare infrastructure: They list all the physicians in the area broken down by the insurance plans they accept and the medical services they offer, and some might include professionals like nutritionists or physical therapists. Without these essential directories, it would be difficult or even impossible for patients and providers alike to understand the medical resources available in a given area.
Provider directories become better with more data, but they also become more complex to manage. Details such as a provider’s address, contact information, service offerings, equipment availability, insurance affiliations, and more can (and do) change frequently. With this, keeping everything updated for hundreds or thousands of providers — ones with various healthcare networks and ever changing service offerings — proves to be a serious administrative challenge. Without the time, staff, or tools to keep up with the pace of change, we get inaccurate provider directories that only make healthcare less accessible and efficient.
Various mandates require directories to undergo complete updates monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or yearly. This repetitive provider directory management undertaking contributes to the estimated $300 billion the healthcare industry spends every year due to administrative complexity “that could be eliminated without harming consumers or care quality.” Everyone agrees we need a better way to manage provider directories — and emerging technologies could certainly provide that solution.
The Cost of Provider Directory Management
Inefficient provider directory management might sound like a minor problem that creates a small cost. However, the healthcare industry spends $2.1 billion on provider directories annually — and often with underwhelming results. (In fact, a Medicaid audit found that more than half of provider directories contain significant errors.) The scope of this problem should be cause for alarm. When provider directories aren’t accurate and complete, there are implications beyond wasting a few billion dollars.
Those include patients who go to out-of-network providers, providers that struggle to keep their billing and administrative costs down, health information exchanges that cannot share information securely, and health plans that risk regulatory noncompliance. The point is, anything less than a perfect provider directory has negative impacts on both the healthcare industry as a whole and the patients it serves. Unfortunately, the scale and complexity of provider directory management make it highly prone to imperfection. That’s where blockchain in healthcare comes in.
Blockchain Technology in Healthcare: A Revolution in the Making
There’s no shortage of blockchain applications in healthcare, and there will be many more as healthcare-related digital transformation becomes a priority throughout the industry.
When it comes to provider directory management, blockchain could eliminate the need for directory managers to contact each provider directly to inquire about information updates. Instead, those providers could report that information to a blockchain — a distributed ledger with immutable information — whenever something changes (think phone numbers, office addresses, and so on).
At the same time, a smart contract can trigger such changes to all records that are applicable, thus reducing manual efforts. In this way, keeping a provider directory up to date would simply mean having providers update the blockchain directly in one place (rather than forcing insurance companies to make their own lists).
A decentralized repository of provider information — one that’s verified by trusted third parties and acts as a single source of truth — could also eliminate the need for multiple entities to manage common data elements across different directories. Finally, a provider directory based on blockchain could integrate with other technologies and data sources to become a high-value resource by providing additional services on top of such a network. These capabilities might include automated credential checks, real-time notifications on facility status, and the automation of repetitive and mundane tasks that go into managing provider data.
Blockchain and healthcare are natural partners because they have similar priorities: accuracy, security, privacy, efficiency, and accessibility. For the purposes of provider directory management (and countless other aspects of healthcare), a blockchain serves as a single source of truth that integrates all critical information under one umbrella for all participants. In this particular blockchain use case, it integrates up-to-date information from providers so individual entities don’t have to solicit updates themselves or operate with an incomplete, out-of-date directory.
Even in other aspects of healthcare, blockchain’s use cases promise to streamline almost all aspects of administration. Imagine what could happen if countless patient directories — each with its own issues — consolidated into one accurate, authoritative directory that also happens to be simple for the patient to privately control, manage, and share.
The network might provide sufficient privacy protections and protocols using zero-knowledge proof to exchange personal health record information without revealing sensitive information. Because it can safely integrate with systems, blockchain’s applications in this healthcare function promise to upend expectations and elevate results faster and further than we’d ever think possible.
In short, provider directory management is simply the foundation for many future healthcare-focused solutions that can be built on the blockchain. This sets the stage for a shareddigital transformation in the healthcarespherethat benefitsall parties — whether that’s by paving the way for scalable precision medicine, ensuring pharmaceutical provenance, enabling real-time collaboration on healthcare claims, or one of its many other promising capabilities.
Now, the question for leaders in the healthcare sphere is this: How could blockchain-based digital transformation shift your organization’s day-to-day functioning for the better? Learn more about blockchain’s array of use cases in digital transformation here, or reach out to Chainyard to discuss how it could fit in your own strategy.
This article was originally published on Trust Your Supplier..
Today in the world of Supplier Information Management speed and risk mitigation are tremendously important in establishing the partnerships so critical to business growth and success. Unfortunately, most organizations have been unable to address these challenges. Did you know that the typical timeframe to onboard a new supplier within many enterprise organizations is more than 30 days? In a world where speed is currency, that can have a huge impact on a business’s ability to pivot, grow, and innovate. A lot of that has to do with the information required to vet a new supplier, and the work required to do that vetting. Numerous spreadsheets, portals, systems, and unsecured document exchanges make this a very cumbersome process. And on the supplier side, each customer demands this same information, creating an incredibly repetitive and non-value added work effort. In summary, it’s a lot of inefficiencies and unnecessary attracted cost for everyone.
Trust Your Supplier (or TYS), addresses these pain points and more. Built on IBM Blockchain, TYS is a strategic collaboration between Chainyard and IBM and a revolutionary solution that brings efficiency and optimization to address these challenges. It’s compellingly different than any supplier management network in operation today. Simply put, TYS creates a Trusted Source of Supplier Information and Digital Identity that simplifies and accelerates Supplier Onboarding and Lifecycle Management. Supplier-provided trusted data, their identity, is used by buyers to validate and manage the partnership. It’s immediate access to real-time data that generates massive savings and reduction of risk. The value proposition is compelling for suppliers too. The single blockchain-based profile eliminates redundant submission of the same information multiple times to different buyers and reduces time to the first transaction and ultimately when they get paid. They are also discoverable on the network, creating opportunities for new business with other buyers on the network.
And the game-changer is the TYS Data Marketplace. Such as an App Store on your mobile device, this marketplace is a collection of gold-standard services available from firms that are the world’s leading authorities on financial health, sustainability, risk & resilience, and a host of other capacities that help evaluate the performance of your partners. Renowned firms like Dun & Bradstreet, Rapid Ratings, Ecovadis, and many others offer their services directly on the network where their ratings, scores, and evaluations are aggregated into a single, seamless view for the user. This dramatically reduces the time required to conduct due diligence and qualify a partner, saving time and cost. Best of all, free content is available from practically all of these providers, while advanced premium services are can be purchased ala carte to meet your specific needs.
To ensure state of the art, enterprise-grade trust, TYS is built on Blockchain, creating a decentralized system that is not controlled by a single company. It can quickly become a global standard for supplier and buyer collaboration as well as increasing the participation of third parties who can provide services into this neutral environment.
It’s clear the new normal in supplier management centers on trust. Knowing and trusting your suppliers, in corporate responsibility, sustainability, diversity, financial stability, and a host of other areas are key to ensuring enterprises can responsibly conduct business. Suppliers need to build that trust and continually demonstrate this commitment to their partners. The partnership has never been so important.
