There's no doubt that these are strange times in the digital age. Whilst the advent of technological innovation has made it easier than ever for individuals to access products and launch businesses, for example, stagnant economic growth and global, geopolitical tumult has prevented some from maximising the opportunities at their disposal.

Make no mistake; however, the so-called “Internet of Value” has the potential to change this and create a genuine equilibrium in the financial and economic space. In this article, we'll explore this concept in further detail and ask how this will impact on consumers and businesses alike.

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So what is the internet of value and how will it change things?

In simple terms, the Internet of Value refers to an online space in which individuals can instantly transfer value between each other, negating the need for middleman and eliminating all third-party costs. In theory, anything that holds monetary or social value can be transferred between parties, including currency, property shares and even a vote in an election.

From a technical perspective, the Internet of Value is underpinned by blockchain, which is the evolutionary technology that currently supports digital currency. This technology has already disrupted businesses in the financial services and entertainment sectors, while it is now evolving to impact on industries such as real estate and e-commerce.

What impact will the Internet of Value on the markets that its disrupts?

In short, it will create a more even playing field between brands, consumers and financial lenders, as even high value transactions will no longer have to pass through costly, third-party intermediaries to secure validation. This is because blockchain serves as a transparent and decentralised ledger, which is not managed by a single authority and accessible to all.

This allows for instant transactions of value, while it also negates the impact of third-party and intermediary costs.

What will this mean for customers and businesses?

From a consumer perspective, the Internet of Value represents the next iteration of the digital age and has the potential to minimise the power of banks, financial lenders and large corporations. In the financial services sector, the Internet of value will build on the foundations laid in the wake of the great recession, when accessible, short-term lenders filled the financing void that was left after banks choose to tighten their criteria.

Businesses and service providers will most likely view the Internet of Value in a different light, however, as this evolution provides significant challenges in terms of optimising profit margins and retaining their existing market share. After all, it's fair to surmise that some service providers (think of brokers, for example) would become increasingly irrelevant in the age of blockchain, while intermediaries that did survive would need to seek out new revenue streams.

The precise impact of the Internet of Value has yet to be seen, of course, but there's no doubt that this evolution will shake up numerous industries and marketplaces in the longer-term.

For an insight into recent trends within the Internet of Things, this month Finance Monthly spoke to Alex Sutherland, innovator and CEO of UK-based Artificial Minds - a company dedicated to the advancement of technology for the connected world with a vision to create computers that interact with people. The company currently specialises within the Internet of Things (IoT), providing a secure and simple way to give households and industrial devices intelligence. Below, Alex tells us about the hottest topics being discusses in connection to IoT, as well as the potential implications of the further development of this technology.

Can you tell us a bit about the services that Artificial Minds provides and the clients that you work with?

Artificial Minds created an IoT operating system called Cortex, which is designed with plug and play connectivity, efficient data management and intelligent automation. This system can be installed on to any device, it will automatically configure itself to a network, allowing it to transfer data to a user, and thus - allowing a user to monitor information. Cortex will learn how best to make use of the connected devices within its environment by learning from the data they provide.

For example, one of our client is a hydroelectric company Derwent Hydro, which has used Cortex to monitor water presser, water flow and voltage information from its turbines. They have also been able to use Cortex to intelligently control a robotic arm to clear any debris from turbines. Cortex is currently being used by over 40 hydroelectric sites across the United Kingdom.

What are currently the hottest topics being discussed in relation to the IoT?

The hottest topics within IoT currently are security, voice assistants, cars and fifth generation wireless systems (5G). Security is a big issue with anything connected to the internet, due to hacking. This is an issue IoT will overcome in the coming years, maybe with the help of Blockchain or with offline methods. Voice assistants such as Alexa, Google and now even Cortana are entering the home. In the consumer sector of IoT, there seems to be an enjoyment controlling things with your voice - if you look at this year’s CES, a toilet that can be flushed with the aid of Alexa. Additionally, vehicles are becoming fully autonomous sooner than it was predicted with the assistance of AI.

And last but not least, it is of course worth mentioning 5G, which is set to transform the IoT landscape in terms of more secure networks and allowing devices to be connected without the need of Wi-Fi.

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Looking into the near future, what do you anticipate for the development of the IoT?

I anticipate that once IoT would have solved its security issues. This will allow the healthcare industry to adopt IoT for hospitals for efficient operations and in hospital monitoring. Prisons could use IoT to monitor Inmates, identify contraband and alert for any behavioural or health issues. I also anticipate that there will be a lot more consumer adoption of IoT outside of wearables, so that more homes will in fact be ‘smarter’. For example, one will be able to interact with every room and object in your home or style your rooms based on your mood.

The world as a whole will be adopting IoT, so that the concept of Smart cities will be in full function and will begin to make an impact in society by providing greater benefits to it, such as safety. There will be more cars on the road that will encompass IoT for traffic management, fuel control and of course - self-driving. I believe that what is to come from the second generation of IoT is immeasurable.

What do you hope to achieve in the future with Artificial Minds?

Artificial Minds is growing the Cortex ecosystem into a fully capable AI for the world. We have started by implementing machine learning, which is designed to give your devices intelligence by learning, predicting, identifying and questioning the actions of devices and the environment around it. By the end of 2018, we would have Augmented Reality (AR) built into the platform and will grow it to see how we can evolve this with holography and further immerse the world into a full IoT experience. We’re taking steps to revolutionize IoT for the next generation. Within the next few years, Cortex will be the ecosystem of choice for IoT.

Here discussing the increased adoption of connected devices and sensors in banking and how IoT enables banks to respond in real-time to customer needs, is Neil Bramley, B2B Client Solutions Business Unit Director at Toshiba Northern Europe.

Internet of Things (IoT) technology is on the rise both at home and in the workplace, and will soon significantly impact and empower the way we live and work. To date, such solutions have arguably made a bigger splash in the consumer landscape than B2B, with connected fridges, cars and thermostats all resonating with the public. As consumers awareness of IoT grows, so too does their expectation that it will blend into their everyday consumer experience. No business is seeing this effect more than those in the financial industry as more IoT technology incorporates payment capabilities.

The case for financial organisations to introduce IoT into their internal infrastructure and consumer facing technology capabilities is gaining in strength, with solutions providers continuing to innovate and push the boundaries of what such technologies can achieve. The whole concept of IoT is that it can be anything organisations want and need it to be – all it takes is the right app or piece of code to be built around it. At this stage in its adoption, many IT managers in financial organisations don’t necessarily understand the potential of IoT. Given the personal, and often sensitive, nature of the data these organisations manage a fear of data and network security persists, particularly in the wake of recent global cyber-attacks. However, such concerns aren’t projected to hold the market back for long, with IDC research predicting that global spending on IoT technologies is forecast to reach nearly $1.4 trillion by 2021.

The scope of IoT solutions is evolving to fuel this demand. Whereas stationary M2M (machine to machine) solutions, such as sensors, kick-started the connected device market and remain popular, mobile IoT solutions provide vast opportunities across numerous sectors – helping to improve workflows, enhance interactions with staff and customers, and even improve the safety of workers. Key to this development is the introduction of peripherals to the workplace, which can be partnered with mobile gateway solutions to ensure cross-machine collaboration.

One natural example lies within banking. The increased adoption of connected devices and sensors will bring increasingly rich data to banks about their customers, allowing them to provide more personalised products and services, even enabling them to respond in real-time to customer needs. As connected technology becomes imbedded in our environments, and the connected home and smart city market matures, banks could provide real-time spending advice. For example if you have overspent on your budget that month your bank might suggest you avoid your usual Friday lunchtime treat.

Elsewhere, peripherals like smart glasses (wearable display technology) can ensure a hands-free solution to workers across a range of roles. Augmented Reality could give insurance sales teams a in-depth view of customers homes geographical locations and provide them with a better analysis of potential risks in order to give them a better deal, or provide a hands free look at a customers financial history enabling the creation of bespoke products and services.

Beyond devices themselves, operating systems will also play a crucial role in the progression of IoT in the financial services world. Currently the focus is very much on writing software for iOS and Android – a smartphone-onus which again signifies the advanced stage of the consumer market. Yet the natural progression is for solutions providers to expand their focus to incorporate Windows 10 – this will serve as a catalyst in creating a greater number of solutions designed for professional use, which in turn will inspire more financial organisations to turn their attention to developing IoT coding and apps to address different business needs.

It is only a matter of time until IoT becomes a major enabler for organisations across the finance industry – with such game-changing potential, it’s important for IT managers to get ahead of the curve to understand how these technologies can empower their business.

Today’s biggest tech ideas, explained so anyone can understand. A new series from Microsoft Story Labs. More: microsoft.com/storylabs

The Bitcoin (BTC), the first and original cryptocurrency worldwide, has been very volatile and seen incredible ups, with some downs, over the past few years. Last week saw its value fall once again, following days of gains, and after recently splitting to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCC). Nonetheless, 1 Bitcoin is equal to approximately $3907.82 at time of publication.

It’s also not the only cryptocurrency, with many others following suit and gaining traction. What keeps it together and functioning without a central bank is the blockchain.

In light of the popular rise of this type of currency and its systems, and now the unexpected coin split, Finance Monthly has heard from several sources around the globe on the latest Bitcoin opinion and analysis.

Richard Tall, Partner and National Head of Financial Services, DWF:

The surge in the price of Bitcoin began with its recent SegWit upgrade, a technical update which has made transactions of the cryptocurrency more efficient than ever before.

Since then, the upswing in the price of Bitcoin has received much attention, with many commentators speculating that its value could even climb as high as $5,000. And as Bitcoin’s price continues to hike on a daily basis, more and more people are looking to invest their hard-earned cash in the cryptocurrency, for fear of missing out on a big pay-off.

It is also interesting to note that there is strong demand in South Korea and the Far East for Bitcoin. With unrest taking place across both of these regions, it may be that some are buying Bitcoin as a convenient and safe place to protect their wealth – just like when people turned to gold during times of conflict – which may also be contributing to this recent surge in price.

Historically Bitcoin has suffered significant swings in value and while its pricing is impossible to predict, it may take little more than investor sentiment to reverse recent gains.

Dominic Williams, President and Chief Scientist, Dfinity:

The Bitcoin community was divided even before news broke that it would be splitting in two. There is a possibility we will see major instability in both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash over the coming months. Whilst the former has recently seen its price soar, the latter has seen its price slump, and so if Bitcoin Cash were to gain momentum we could potentially see major swings between the two currencies. As per expectations the new currency did not significantly impact Bitcoin’s market capitalisation when it was released. We must keep in mind though that the very first block of the new currency was only mined two weeks ago.

Jakob Drzazga, Co-Founder, Brickblock:

Before the final acceptance of the segregated witness update, people thought that Bitcoin had hit a ceiling in terms of price growth potential, and now there is widespread relief within the community that something is being done about scalability. This relief, along with the new capabilities of the blockchain to process more transactions goes a long way to explaining the surge in Bitcoin’s value.

It’s likely we’ll see even more growth of this kind in the future as people find new and innovative ways to use the technology. For example, Blockstream Inc.’s plans to make the digital ledger which underpins cryptocurrency available via satellite signal is also likely to contribute to this growth.

Looking at Bitcoin price surges and dips in the past, the trend seems to be cyclical. A rapid rise in price, many new users buy Bitcoin, price reaches previously unimaginable heights, then people start taking profit and converting to USD / GBP, price comes down. Eventually new features cause another surge of interest and so the cycle repeats.

In light of this, optimism around growth should also be accompanied by caution. Even as Bitcoin gains momentum, it is still capable of market contractions like the one we saw on Tuesday, which saw more than $6 billion to evaporate from the cryptocurrency market cap in a matter of hours. Volatility is still a big concern for those looking to invest in cryptocurrency, and has led to mistrust, especially amongst some larger investors.

As the industry grows, it’s important that more sophisticated ways of managing volatility-related risks are developed in order to make the market more inclusive and attractive to those who favour more passive investments.

Jimmy Nguyen, Chief IP, Communications & Legal Officer, nChain:

Bitcoin’s significant price increase since the August 1 ‘hard fork’ demonstrates increased confidence now that uncertainty over the hard fork’s impact has come and gone without major incident. Investors are believing in the future of Bitcoin as not just a cryptocurrency, but also a technology system that can change the way businesses and consumers operate.

While ‘original’ Bitcoin’s dramatic price rise is getting much of the attention, it’s important to remember that the Bitcoin Cash chain has also survived. Bitcoin Cash presents a preferred choice for forces supporting unlimited block sizes and massive on-chain scaling. At nChain, we believe that is the path to Bitcoin’s true maximum value. Massive on-chain scaling is needed to enable countless technology functions which can, and should, be performed in a decentralised manner on the Bitcoin network. We should have a Bitcoin network that powers a faster Internet of Transactions, and enterprise-level capabilities for payments, data, communications, smart contracts, and many other functions.

Today, the technology is not yet advanced enough to accomplish this, but nChain is working on many innovations and intellectual property assets - such as scalability solutions, security improvements, and software development kits - needed to achieve that level of Bitcoin network growth worldwide. The Bitcoin token is the key to delivering transactions on the network, and the token’s value will increase as the transaction capability increases. While more than one Bitcoin chain can certainly co-exist, we believe the highest value proposition for the future will be on a chain like Bitcoin Cash that supports much bigger blocks, lower transaction fees, and more exponential growth.

Jordan Hiscott, Chief Trader, ayondo markets:

The success of Bitcoin and other blockchain currencies this year has certainly been impressive. When Bitcoin initially began nine years it was only found in the dark corners of the internet, whereas it’s now becoming almost a mainstream financial asset.

The spilt from Bitcoin to Bitcoin Cash in the form of a SegWit hard fork could have been a catalyst for derailing the impressive upward momentum in price and general popularity of Bitcoin, but so far we haven’t seen this. I would call Bitcoin the ‘poster boy’ for successful cryptocurrencies – it’s established, secure to a certain degree, has a huge mining community, a large amount of speculation traders and its price has increased at an exponential rate every year. To me, it’s no surprise that since the hard fork, its price has increased from $2,700 to an all-time high of $4,449.

Interestingly, the spin off to Bitcoin Cash has hugely underperformed at the same time, initially increasing to $600 on the day of the spilt to now trading at $300. In my view this abundantly shows the importance in having a secure blockchain, and support of the mining community, in relation to how the transactions and sizes were recorded. At this stage it would seem this is still yet to happen with Bitcoin Cash.

However, I do believe that the price of Bitcoin has been kept artificially low in the run up to SegWit and now that the fork has happened, without significant issue, its popularity in general will greatly increase. Bitcoin represents a technology that has a finite amount, and also importantly is in a digital form, so unlike fiat currencies it is not affected by central banks printing more money. It is this aspect which I believe will drive its popularity to the next level.

David Parsons, CTO, TrustMe™:

It’s clear the recent price surges in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are composed of three distinct principal drivers. The first one involves demand generation coming from new speculators entering the market driven by media reports. In the case of bitcoin cash, new and old speculators are looking to reproduce their gains as they did when bitcoins where in the low hundreds. The second driver involves the hording of bitcoins as an appreciating store of value, as bitcoin goes up the supply further contracts thus correspondingly driving the price further up.

Lastly, the third driver and the most controversial one in my opinion signals the market’s realisation of BCC and BTC as the start of something that represents fundamental change to banks and financial institutions operations. Today, our economy relies on the ability of banks and other financial institutions to create currency out of thin air. When home mortgages or loans are issued by current financial institutions the physical currencies do not exits and never did. This enabled banks to dispense with the need of ever physically obtaining the actual currency being given out. BCC and BTC can be thought of as physical currencies that must be given and received. This is what’s driving the price surges, the realisation the current financial institutions will be forced to physically obtain the currencies to conduct business that they normally perform.

We would also love to hear more of Your Thoughts on this, so feel free to comment below and tell us what you think!

Technology is often remarked as evolutionary ammo, and the statement stands just the same for the growth of businesses. Finance Monthly below hears from Frédéric Dupont-Aldiolan, VP Professional Services at Sidetrade on the latest and upcoming innovations that have hit 2017 hard.

Artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning and the Internet of Things: 2016 stood out as a year marked by technological development and significant advances in several fields, not least that of connected, driverless cars. Against this backdrop, a clear trend is appearing: the growing influence of robotic technology in daily life.

In 2017, we have seen more promising innovations, here is my review of the top five things we are seeing:

5. IoT, the Internet of Things

Star of the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), which took place in Las Vegas in January, and Viva Technology, which took place in Paris, the Internet of Things was thrust into the spotlight in 2016 and continues to bring increasingly intelligent connectivity to our daily lives. Smart devices, equipped with bar codes, RFID chips, beacons or sensors, are taking the lead and enabling companies to gain greater visibility over their transactions, staff and assets.

In 2016, information and technology research and advisory company Gartner estimated that there were 6.4 billion connected devices globally, an increase of 30% on 2015. By 2020, this figure is likely to have grown to 20.8 billion.

4. The explosion of Big Data

Network multiplication brings with it a proliferation of data generation, whose analysis, use and governance have become a burning issue. According to estimates by IDC, an international provider of market intelligence for information technology, by 2020, every connected person will generate 1.7MB of new data per second.

The concept of ‘perishable data’ has lost validity. In 2017, companies now have the capability to use data before it becomes obsolete. Devices connected via the Internet of Things will rapidly speed up data decoding and processing for actionable insight.

3. The ramp up of artificial intelligence and automatisation

Artificial intelligence has been one of the main talking points in technology over the last year. Encompassing areas such as machine learning, robotic intelligence, neural networks and cognitive computing, it’s now in daily use in numerous forms including facial and voice recognition, endowing velocity, variety and volume.

This year, artificial intelligence has taken on an increasing number of repetitive and automatable tasks, beginning with wider use of ‘chatbots’ with the capacity to give coherent, easily formulated responses. IDC pinpoints robotics driven by artificial intelligence as one of the six innovation accelerators destined to play a major role in the digitalisation of society and the opening up of new income streams. Indeed, Amazon and DHL are already making use of warehouse handling robots.

2. Location technology, the Holy Grail of customer satisfaction

Location technology has taken great strides over the last year or so, to the marked benefit of customer satisfaction in the hotel, health and manufacturing sectors. Customers can now receive geo-targeted offers on their smartphones, for example for promotions or reductions, depending on their physical location.

In 2017, RFID chips enable yet more accurate tracking of customers and enhancement of their buying experiences.

1. Virtual reality makes way for augmented reality

One of the biggest innovations recently has been virtual reality, and with it came much media coverage too. From Facebook to Sony, Google to Microsoft, big brands grasped this new technology to offer an outstanding user experience, through the merging of virtual and real imagery.

In 2017, these virtual devices have acquired an awareness of their environment and give users a real sense of immersion of the digital environment from within their own homes. The potential of augmented reality for business will be harnessed too in the coming months. Some companies, among them BMQ and Boeing, are already employing it to increase their retention and productivity rates, or to provide training to their workforces across worldwide subsidiaries.

Over the next few months, as we gear up for another round of product launches, we should expect to see advancements in these key areas of technological innovation. Within business, this technology should help to improve customer service by streamlining production and processes, saving time and money, as well as providing new and exciting ways to reach and engage with customers, helping to retain existing clients as well as bring in many new ones.

Christopher Schorling, a partner in Bain's Technology practice, shares why Europe's focus on quality and security in a complex regulatory environment may be an advantage in the future.

Fintech now refers to the innovative use of technology that cuts across multiple business segments, including lending, advice, investment management, execution and payments.

The Internet of Things can be utilized to make systems interconnected and protect against information attacks, tampering and fraud. Another function is data generation.

Building on its strategy to drive innovation and adoption for IoT services in high-growth markets, Verizon recently announced that it has purchased Skyward, a private company based in Portland, Oregon. Skyward brings drone operations management to the Verizon IoT portfolio, simplifying drone operations and management for organizations of any size. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Internationally, companies rely on Skyward for managing operations, improving safety and lowering operating costs. Through this acquisition, businesses small and large will now have a single source for integrating, managing and wirelessly connecting their drone operations – linking all the people, projects and equipment involved into one clear and efficient workflow.

Mike Lanman, senior vice president - Enterprise Products and IoT at Verizon, said: "Last quarter we announced our strategy to drive innovation and widespread adoption for in-flight wireless connectivity through our Airborne LTE Operations (ALO) initiative, a new service to simplify certification and connectivity of wireless drones. This acquisition is a natural progression of our core focus on operating in innovative, high-growth markets, leveraging our network, scale, fleet management, device management, data analytics and security enablement capabilities and services to simplify the drone industry and help support the adoption of IoT."

Skyward founder and CEO Jonathan Evans said: "Drones are becoming an essential tool for improving business processes at large companies, but scalability has been a challenge. Skyward's drone operations management platform combined with Verizon's network, reliability, scale and expertise in delivering enterprise solutions will allow organizations to efficiently and safely scale drones across multiple divisions and hundreds of use cases."

Thanks to advances in technology and regulations, organizations are looking at drones to help run their business. From agriculture to telecommunications and from industrial construction to film production, major corporations, small businesses, and individuals are using drones to save time, improve safety, and operate more efficiently. The value is clear, but scaling and managing a drone program can be complex.

With Skyward's technology, Verizon will streamline the management of drone operations through one platform designed to handle end-to-end activities such as mission planning, complex workflow, FAA compliance support, supplying information about restricted airspace and pilot credentialing, drone registration and provisioning rate plans for drones on Verizon's network. All of this is designed to help developers and businesses create and manage a wide-range of services backed by Verizon's mobile private network, secure cloud interconnect and data analytics capabilities.

Through investments and strategic business and industry partnerships, Verizon continues to drive innovation via its Verizon Labs technology organization and Verizon Ventures, the company's venture capital division. Verizon Ventures brought Skyward in as a portfolio company and was the first wireless service provider to become a member of the Small UAV Coalition (SUAVC). The acquisition of Skyward speaks to Verizon's strategy to operate in innovative, high growth markets leveraging core assets to help accelerate IoT adoption. In 2016, revenue from Verizon's internet of things business approached $1 billion.

In connection with the transaction, GCA Advisors LLC acted as financial advisor to Skyward, and Perkins Coie LLP acted as legal advisor.

(Source: Verizon)