This is the first of a seven-part series looking at artificial intelligence and its implications for the consulting industry. AI in Consulting: The Beginning of a New Era How AI is Changing the Game for Consultants The Role of Consultants in an AI-Driven World AI-Powered Consulting: Tools You Need to Know About Real-World Examples of […]
Category: Technology
In the past two decades, Tesla, Inc. has disrupted the auto industry and established itself as a leader in sustainable energy. Founded in 2003 by CEO Elon Musk, the company has rapidly expanded its offerings from luxury electric vehicles (EVs) to renewable energy solutions, positioning itself at the forefront of the transition to a low-carbon […]
As a strategy consultant at a boutique management consulting firm, I am always on the lookout for new tools that can help organizations become more efficient, effective, and innovative. Recently, I came across ChatGPT, a new chatbot developed by OpenAI that utilizes a powerful language processing model known as GPT (short for “Generative Pre-training Transformer”). […]
Microsoft’s recent announcement to invest $10 billion into OpenAI is a significant move that demonstrates the company’s commitment to advancing artificial intelligence (AI) research and development. This move highlights the growing importance of AI in the business world and its potential to drive innovation and growth. At the same time, the investment is not without its risks. […]
Web 3.0 is the next big thing in the technology space and something which will bring a revolution on the internet, but how and when this will unfold remains to be answered. As we transition into a Web 3.0 world with technologies like blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), consumers will enjoy better data security, transparency, […]
Governments, businesses, and individuals are developing new use cases for blockchain as barriers to adoption continue to decrease. Blockchain has already had a significant impact in the finance industry with the global cryptocurrency market cap now exceeding $1 trillion. Blockchain looks set to be deployed in many other industries. The technology adds value by enabling […]
In this article we will provide a beginner’s guide to the Ethereum blockchain. What is Ethereum? What challenges does it face? 1. What is Ethereum? The purpose of Ethereum boils down to the transfer and storage of money and data. According to Ethereum.org, Ethereum is a “technology that lets you send cryptocurrency to anyone for a […]
The effects of the pandemic have exposed faults in the structure of healthcare systems. To date, more than 5.9 million people around the world have died due to COVID-19. Although lack of funding is a significant factor that needs to be addressed, the non-resilience of many countries’ health systems to this unforeseen calamity is a crucial […]
Figure 1: Innovations from NASA will help the US meet its sustainable aviation goals Aerospace is one of the fastest growing markets. While both the size of the market and its growth rate are both large, so is its carbon footprint. While electric vehicles are already replacing conventional automobiles, no electric aircraft is ready for […]
Blockchain technology is making a strong impact in the finance industry due to the fact that it enables decentralization and direct peer-to-peer transactions. Removing the financial intermediary, i.e. the bank, can increase convenience, efficiency, and security. Direct peer-to-peer transactions can be settled instantly compared with interbank transfers that traditionally take several days. Transaction fees can […]
With the emergence of cryptocurrencies in 2009, the financial industry has experienced major disruption. This invention acted as a catalyst for many subsequent innovations, which came about by building on the revolutionary blockchain technology, or by reacting to it. A prime example for this phenomenon are Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). As opposed to cryptos, […]
Cryptocurrencies are some of the hottest commodities among investors, and also the subject of heated debate. While some of the most respected investment banks, such as JP Morgan, are investing heavily into blockchain technology, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler has often vocalised his scepticism towards cryptos as an inflated speculative […]
Skyrocketing energy prices in the wake of the post-pandemic economic recovery has been all over the news, and for good reason. The rising cost of energy feeds into the pricing of all goods, causing inflation globally. What is more, these market trends have tremendous geopolitical significance, since the price of oil and other hydrocarbon-based products […]
Energy transitions occur from time to time, due to the discovery of new energy sources such as coal or due to policy changes, such as France’s embrace of nuclear energy. However, no transition is likely to be as fast paced and forced as the shift to clean energy, required to keep global temperatures from rising […]
The online gaming industry is one of the few areas that have thrived throughout the lockdowns and restrictions of the pandemic. According to ESPN, when the entire casino industry was forced to close in March 2020, those who wanted to play poker or slots shifted their attention towards online games. This resulted in a large […]
5G networks are a promising wireless technology that online bookmakers and sports betting operators should factor into their business strategy. Once implemented, this technology offers the potential to serve more sports betting enthusiasts. It will also enable new product development with sportsbooks being able to offer customers new services – such as multiplayer and interactive […]
I have recently been asked questions on how pioneering inventions will interact with government regulation in multiple consultancy interviews. Cryptocurrency, electric and self-driving cars, 5G bandwidth, and the Internet of Things represent some of the technologies with the greatest market potential for the upcoming decade, and so making predictions on how they will develop is […]
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have caught people’s attention. For those interested in collecting original digital assets, NFTs have become the new way to legitimize ownership of anything that can be digitized. An asset is fungible if one unit can be directly exchanged for any other unit of the same asset. In other words, each unit of […]
Like it or not automation is coming In the past decade, robots have made drastic improvements in terms of the tasks they can perform. From military grade and industrial robots to household ones, there is no doubt that many of our daily tasks will eventually be performed by them. Although Tesla had to pull back […]
In the previous two articles, we explored the questions ‘what is digital currency?’ and ‘what is the value of digital currency?’ In this article, we will examine the potential risks. Why are some people hesitant about digital currency? What could go wrong? In outlining the potential risks of digital currency, we are not making predictions […]
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What is the value of digital currency?
In the previous article, we explored the question ‘what is digital currency?’ In this article, we will examine the value of digital currency. Why would anyone want to use one? What benefits do they bring? Digital currency derives its value primarily from confidence. If people have faith that the currency will be accepted by others, […]
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What is digital currency?
Since the advent of Bitcoin in 2008, digital currency has been a growing trend and a growing area of interest for consultants, businesses, fintech investors, central banks, and governments. In this article series we will explore three basic questions: What is digital currency? What is the value of digital currency? What are the potential risks? […]
Augmented reality operates by transforming data and analytics into information and images which are overlaid on the real world. Although the term ‘augmented reality’ wasn’t coined until 1990, augmented reality actually dates back to 1968 when Ivan Sutherland developed the first head-mounted display that allowed users to view computer-generated graphics. Augmented reality has been designed […]
Overview As technology is continuously crafted to simplify the daily tasks in our lives, it is no surprise that peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payments have revolutionized the way we spend and transfer money. The market demand for these payment systems has been monumental, as the ability to pay friends and family was previously inefficient and had […]
In the modern world, your data is more valuable than your device. If you lose your iPhone or laptop, you can replace them within 24 hours. If you lose your data, you may never get it back. From a young age your mother should be telling you not just to clean your teeth but also […]
Cloud computing has become a fundamental part of the IT architecture for all shapes and sizes of companies. According to the Computing Technology Industry Association, around half of all US companies have 30-60% of their IT systems based in the cloud. In this post, we will try to understand this trend by looking at some […]
Companies are changing the way they operate by leveraging internet and cloud services. Conventionally, businesses stored hardware, software and data on their own computers and databases. With cloud computing, they have access to their programs and data outside of their computing environment. They can use a cloud computing service on demand via the Internet. Rather […]
RPA, which stands for ‘robotic process automation’, is a technology that consists of software robots (bots) that can mimic a human worker performing operations on their laptops. RPA bots can log into applications, enter data, calculate and complete tasks and then log out, send emails, extract data from websites and excel, and generate reports. RPA […]
“Robots could take over twenty-million jobs by 2030” (Taylor, 2019). Economists have analysed long-term trends around the level of automation in the workplace. Currently, we live along-side 2.25 million robots worldwide. This statistic has multiplied threefold in the last two decades (Taylor, 2019). Humans invent things that society needs. This reasoning forms the basis of […]
Cryptocurrency has often been a divisive and controversial topic in the world of finance and economics. Some notable figures have written it off, claiming it to be nothing more than a complex Ponzi scheme, while others are insistent that cryptocurrencies are the future of the monetary system. Regardless of which party is correct, the near […]
This question comes up often. It is typically asked when you are thrown multiple data sources, running up to millions of rows. Sometimes you are lucky — you may be asked to solve a very specific and well-studied problem (e.g. predict which customer is likely to cancel their subscription within the next month). But often […]
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Berlin Blockchain Week 2019
In my last blog post I interviewed a fellow CEMSie, who heads partnership advisory at ScanTrust by day and co-runs BerChain by night, about the potential focus areas for blockchain in supply chain and one of the world’s most impressive blockchain ecosystems: Berlin. We learned that due to the ecosystems varying focus areas, the many […]
I recently sat down with blockchain aficionado Ricardo Garcia to gain some insights into the Berlin blockchain space. We dove into an hour-long Q&A session with three main objectives: To learn how Ricardo found himself in the blockchain world after working at a strategy consulting firm To gain insights on potential focus areas for blockchain […]
Cloud computing is basically network computing conducted on a large scale. The process is heavily reliant on servers that are distributed across the globe. These servers can, however, be accessed at any given moment. The user interface of cloud computing today runs on internet browsers installed on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. As such, globally […]
The idea that technology can be configured to drastically improve the delivery and usability of finance began taking off following the financial crisis of 2008, when consumer distrust for traditional banks combined with the increasing popularity and functionality of smartphone apps. Although fintech, short for “financial technology”, originally began as a back-end system where businesses […]
I’ve mostly looked at demand driven components of health economics in previous articles. Now though, I will look at an aspect of health economics that flips the equation on its head. Organ donation has a fairly steadily increasing rate of demand, but the rate of organ donations has not risen in tandem. Therefore, there is […]
In part one of my series about health economics I gave an overview of the drivers of demand in the medical care market. In this post, I will go beyond a general interpretation of demand and give you an in-depth overview of a specific and expensive issue: the rising cost of public liability insurance. Public […]
This post is the first in a series of articles exploring concepts of one of the lesser known fields of economic study – health economics. When one thinks of economics their mind usually turns to concepts of trade, resource allocation, and other similarly business-related concepts. However, ideas of supply and demand have gone beyond traditional […]
Back in 1985 when Back to the Future II was first released, we all thought hoverboards and flying cars would be our future. Flash forward over 30 years, much of the tech that the film predicted has come true. But one thing it didn’t get right was the flying cars; instead, the closest thing we […]
Right now, we are surrounded by technology that allows us to access information about anyone and anything with the click of a mouse. Large organisations use technology to store data for accessibility and efficiency but because of this, can be brought to their knees and resort to using pen and paper after a deadly cyber-attack. […]
“Data scientists, fast computers, and advanced software are replacing traditional decision-making processes and disrupting tried-and trusted traditional consulting methodologies, with Big Data being one of the main forces of disruption” (Tras, 2015). The words “big data” have become a “buzzword” in the business industry. It is a concept that revolutionised old-school industries, gave birth to […]
Even though unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have been around for a decent amount of time, we don’t see many in the sky or many industries using them yet. This could be because of the perception that drones are expensive and only used for fun and outdoor activities. However, drones are no longer just toys. These […]
In recent years, players in the healthcare industry have strived to create more effective systems in order to improve overall patient outcomes. Traditional ‘fee-for-service’ business models have seen America spend more on healthcare than any other nation and are no longer producing the results that patients need. How to break out of the old model? […]
The modern day organisation faces a major concern that its predecessors did not: massive, widespread globalisation. Large businesses are past the days where their sole customer base existed in their home country; in order to stay competitive, bigger companies must expand overseas while still managing their customer base on their home turf effectively. Blitzscaling This […]
Does a hospital really need a branding strategy? If you had asked that exact question 15-25 years ago most hospital administrators would have said: “No.” That was arguably because patients were going to their nearest hospital not necessarily choosing a specific location. Years ago, being a physician meant you were most likely one of a […]
As the American health system continues to find ways to improve care and do so at a lower cost, one of the most costly aspects for the healthcare industry is high administrative costs due to low healthcare literacy. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, health literacy is “the degree to […]
Over the last several years there has been an increase in the number of outpatient visits at hospitals throughout the U.S. Outpatient services encompass medical procedures (minor surgeries and chemotherapy) and diagnostics (MRI, CT, and lab tests) performed in a medical center that doesn’t require a patient to stay overnight. The American Hospital Association (AHA) […]
The cloud – which refers to storing, managing, and processing data via a network of remote servers instead of locally on a server or personal computer – is quickly becoming a critical source for innovation. Without a robust cloud strategy, an organization’s pace and breadth of innovation is likely to be hampered. Here are five […]
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Stanford Professor Andrew Ng has stated that “AI is the new electricity”.[1] In other words, it is a technology that has the potential to completely transform every major industry. Similarly, Executive Chairman of Alphabet Eric Schmidt has declared that “we are in the process […]
Your website is live and you’re ready to sell, but you just can’t seem to attract enough customers. Even when you get shoppers to your site, they’re just not converting. Sound familiar? Don’t give up hope for a bustling business. Here are 7 e-commerce marketing techniques to boost your online sales. 1. Leverage Email Email […]