Cyrille Joffre, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Sure
There's never been a better time to innovate – knowledge is a commodity and the adoption time for new technology is quicker than ever (it took just 60 days for PokemonGo to reach 100 million downloads).
It’s relatively cheap to have a minimum viable product and as established companies still struggle with innovation, there's an opportunity for start-ups and entrepreneurs to lead the charge.
Digital transformation is the top strategic priority for more than two-thirds of companies, as revealed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2016. According to industry analyst IDC, by the end of 2017 more than 70 per cent of the Global 500 will have dedicated digital innovation teams, with training focused on mobility, cloud application security and infrastructure as a service.
In Guernsey, Digital Greenhouse, Locate Guernsey and other entities operate largely independently. At a Channel Islands level, Digital Jersey and the Digital Greenhouse should consider spearheading digital initiatives in a more coherent, comprehensive and coordinated fashion whenever possible to ensure they reach their full potential.
Although technology has had a significant impact on many local business sectors, others, such as government, healthcare and education, remain relatively untouched. We expect to see an increase in strategic partnerships between policymakers, businesses and organisations supporting each other in order to scale opportunities.
The islands’ digital initiatives have begun this work and we think that further collaboration is inevitable. This in turn will have benefits for local start-ups and entrepreneurs, as well as for established businesses.
Internet of Things
Low-cost sensors and microprocessors linked to the internet have created the Internet of Things (IoT). Research firm Gartner predicted in 2015 that IoT would consist of four billion connected devices in 2016, and that this would climb to 20.8 billion by 2020. When things are connected, they become platforms for change, offering increasingly tangible benefits for businesses to enhance customer relationships and drive business growth.
Consumers also benefit from the growing range of connected services, including wearable devices and the ‘smart home’, where smartphones and tablets interact with connected objects and devices, from lighting to basic security systems.
In addition, some IoT projects will leverage ‘immersive interfaces’, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). An immersive user experience enables deeper workplace engagement and behaviour change.
The principal challenge presented by IoT is the lack of consensus around the new technology, which has penalised Channel Island investment compared with other European countries.
IoT devices require standards and protocols that are almost wholly distinctive and this lack of unity means the best way to deploy and monetise IoT is a bone of contention.
A poll of 1,000 industry professionals revealed that 79 per cent recognised a lack of consensus on how best to use IoT. However, the Channel Islands’ size will be an advantage as the existing 4G coverage and the rapid rollout of IoT will help them to close the gap.
IoT also presents opportunities in business intelligence. Organisations will demand analytical tools that seamlessly connect to and integrate cloud-hosted data. These tools enable businesses to explore any type of data and understand it quickly to make important decisions.
Engaging with customers
Channel Island businesses and organisations need to develop new, secure ways of engaging with customers. With an increasing reliance on data for personalised content delivery, the risk of data leakage and malware and infected devices represent major challenges for businesses.
Additionally, the upcoming NIS Directive (the first piece of EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity) will force many companies to re-evaluate their capabilities. Another challenge is the use of bulk data to build profiles, with the fundamental question being: who does it serve?
Consumers want to share their data but only if the benefits and the privacy controls are right. As we become more empowered over the data collected about us, we may soon allow access only in return for value.
Privacy policies like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) will act like training wheels, helping the industry ride the personal data economy faster.
Data protection
Ideally, the Channel Islands should seek to develop a data protection and identity management framework that is both futureproof and flexible enough to allow the development of new services, while providing robust protection.
The islands also need to act quickly to present themselves as the location of choice for high-value digital businesses, in particular across banking, funds and insurance sectors, where personal data offers pivotal opportunities.
Given the diversity of possible applications (just check out Friendsurance, Metromile or Driveway in the insurance sector), we need to adopt a risk-based approach that recognises the context in which data is captured and used.
For instance, it isn't always appropriate to ask for a consumer’s explicit consent to use data. An over-reliance on an explicit consent regime may create a high burden and lead to notice and choice fatigue, numbing people to the importance of making privacy decisions when it matters.