The Knowledge to Decide

The Fintech or financial technology industry is booming. Banks, insurance companies, telecommunications carriers and financial corporates are being urged to embrace the digital wave. There has been a 60 per cent rise in global Fintech investment in 2015, valued at USD20 billion1. As financial services go digital, will cash become obsolete? What is Fintech? Fintech is, simply put, the use of technology to enhance financial services and make it more accessible as well as efficient. From asset management and lending services to ledgers and payments, Fintech is transforming the financial services realm rapidly. Fintech is providing all these services at a lower cost, threatening to disrupt large financial institutions. Since 2008, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) exposed loopholes in the financial system and was a wake-up call to service providers. Moreover, it opened an opportunity for better, innovative finance models and banking services. For instance, in April 2016

Traffic congestion in densely population Asian cities is nothing new. To address this growing menace, emerging Asian economies continue to invest heavily in new transport infrastructure in cities like Jakarta, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City. For instance, Manila suffered annual economic losses of USD18 million due to road congestion. According to a recent study, Southeast Asian emerging states under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – excluding Laos, Brunei and Singapore – need an investment of USD147 billion each year in infrastructure through 2020 to maintain growth momentum. Will new infrastructure and traffic management technology address traffic congestion in emerging Asian economies? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/new-transport-systems-in-asian-cities-to-curb-traffic-congestion/

What if the visually impaired could actually ‘see’ their surroundings? Aira, a San Diego-based company, has developed smart glasses equipped with a camera which sends live video stream to a remote agent who then narrates what they see in real time over the phone for the visually impaired user. Just like an audio description of life, the visually impaired can now hope to experience life around in all its sensory glory. Can smart technology unlock visual sensory experiences for the visually impaired? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/real-time-vision-for-the-visually-impaired/

Researchers at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul in Brazil and University of Technology Sydney have developed a stabbing machine to help forensic scientists study cuts in fabrics. Criminologists are often unable to recreate how stab wounds happened, since each cut will be unique. This new machine provides consistency while cutting through fabrics, thus making the analysis of textile damage a science. Can fabric cutting technology help solve crimes? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/fabric-cutting-technology-to-help-nab-criminals/

Blockchain is set to go beyond financial services and affect all sectors, especially retail. Blockchain enables a decentralized digital ledger to record information and transactions on a shared online network. In Australia, this technology will soon enable consumers to scan a product and check the actual journey from farm to store shelf, alongside product quality. Can the internet of things plus Blockchain revolutionize retail supply chains? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/blockchain-technology-is-set-to-hit-retail-sector/

Virtual Reality (VR) technology may be a pathway to minimize chronic pain. The USA is facing its worst ever drug epidemic with more than 16, 000 deaths recorded in 2015, mainly due to opioid overdoses. US researchers are now exploring VR as an alternative solution to minimize pain. In a trial group, VR medical therapies helped reduce pain by 60–75% after 60 sessions. Can VR technology provide an alternative to addictive pain killers? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/virtual-reality-to-replace-medicinal-painkillers/

The future of retail seems to be here. E-commerce giant Amazon has launched Amazon Go – a new grocery store concept with no checkout process. The order is posted to the customer’s Amazon account address later via a mobile application. The store is spread across a 1,800 square foot area. It offers pre-made snacks, fresh meals as well as grocery goods like bread, cheese and milk. As you grab what you need, the Amazon Go app adds the items without the hassle of a check-in line. The detection technology of Amazon Go works on the basis of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning. The first store in Seattle is open to Amazon employees for further testing and would open to the public in early 2017. Is retail ready to become mobile app based? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/no-more-check-out-lines-at-stores/

As wearable technology grows, attention is shifting to internables. These are internal sensors in our bodies used to measure wellbeing. Internables may well become the new wearables. We are naturally looking for better ways of living, trying to minimize our time spent on mundane chores but maximizing productivity. The ability to augment our sensory abilities with advanced technology might herald a new beginning. For instance, the Sgnl smart strap – developed by Innomdle Lab – enables a user to make phone calls with their fingertips, via a mobile device. Will the ability to augment sensory abilities with technological advances become a reality? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/internables-next-big-thing-in-wearable-technology/

Consumers today are spoilt for choice. To win them over, brands need to deliver real-time customized experiences. New technologies and techniques are allowing them to do just that. Consumers today are extremely brand savvy. With access to various media platforms to conduct research, compare prices and ultimately purchase products, consumers favour brands that deliver experiences that suit their needs in the present moment. Consumers have begun to recalibrate what is expected from their media, stores and brands – demanding real-time personalized information every step of the way. What is real-time marketing? Real time marketing is defined as using apt communication tools to provide a more profound yet personalized consumer experience and information – at the right time and place – so as to address a consumer’s needs with accuracy. This is a component of Present Tense Marketing, which concentrates on ways of understanding consumers’ current situation for a personalized experie

Spire Research and Consulting was honored to be appointed as the Official Knowledge Partner at the Global Summit on Bitcoin & Blockchain: The State of Cryptocurrency – Opportunities and Challenges for Indian Economy – organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). The summit was held on 3 March 2017 in New Delhi. It aimed to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by the new technology. Yap Far Loon, Business Development Director, Telecommunications of Spire Research and Consulting, was honored to be a guest speaker at this event. He highlighted key facts about the Bitcoin & Blockchain ecosystem in India and other countries, focusing on market acceptance of cryptocurrency, security risks and regulatory issues. Following last year’s demonetization move by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the government is not in favor of legitimizing Bitcoin as legal tender. However, a few industry players are working on Distributed Ledger T