Staying Relevant In the Fourth Industrial Revolution

August 13, 2018

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We’re in the fourth industrial wave: an era that is drastically shifting the way we live, work and connect to one another. Latest trends like Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, Self-driving Cars, Robotics, and Nanotechnology are what essentially included in the industry 4.0.

The exponential digital developments and connectivity — a harbinger of openness — is considered to be a cornerstone of the fourth industrial revolution.

No man is an island. The same is true for the businesses as well. Every business — irrespective of its size, geographical realm and industry — exists in a deep ocean of ideas and services. This may seem intimidating to many, however, the smart thing to do is to turn it into an advantage. The digital natives like Airbnb and Uber, for example, have been exponentially growing globally. Uber doesn’t own any cars and Airbnb doesn’t own any real estate. Despite this, they are the market leaders in their respective industries: transport and tourism. How did they connect the dots? All such disruptors are working in a digital ecosystem that is leveraging the openness.

There are many ways of attaining this. One way is to partner with conforming services from the get-go, saving time and money through open APIs. What could be a simple example? Launching an ad on Facebook that also, automatically, is launched on the company’s Instagram! That is the openness at its most basic and just the tip of the iceberg. Think about a world where you can get in touch with a nutritionist (literally, at any place in the world) to design your diet plan, through a connected coffee mug, based on your caffeine intake. And the payment that you make will be through a bank account that is not in any physical bank rather a virtual pocket.

These disruptive modifications and technological shifts have brought the whole mankind into a time that is very promising yet imperil; the revolution has affected every corner of the world. Being a part of this revolution doesn't mean functioning the same way in every market; it is also about adapting to the needs of different markets. Pakistan is at the very nascent stage of automation and connectivity; nevertheless, progressing! One recent example is the collaboration of JS Bank — Pakistan’s first bank with open APIs platform — with a startup for a unique amalgamation of gaming and banking.

In a nutshell, if we really want to make the best out of these times, the entire ecosystem has to orchestrate collaboratively. In these times, businesses have to rethink their strategies — the focus needs to move away from the inside out. By exposing the digital assets to the ecosystem — basically an uberization of your services and platforms— can enable the businesses to dramatically improve its own efficiency and uplift the whole ecosystem, viz, unleash the true potential of the industry 4.0.