About Artyom
Artyom Leydiker has been interested in technology for as long as he can remember. Now more than ever, technology has become a domineering force — both in our individual everyday lives and in global shifts toward change and progress in business, entertainment, education, and much more. Artyom created this blog to share some of the news and trends in technology that inspire him, including but not limited to virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the rise of blockchain. Check out his blog page for all content, or get started with a few posts below!
Understanding Fintech’s Impact on Finance
Every year, new terms are added to a number of dictionaries, from urban to traditional. Over 800 words were added to Merriam-Webster in 2018. Many of these words were created by combining two words together such as “glamping” (glamorous + camping) or shortening them, such as “avo” for avocado. There were new words formed with prefixes, such as “cryptocurrency” (crypt- meaning secret) as well as words that explained an action instead of being a noun (e.g. “force quit”). And when there are advances in an industry, there will be new terms. The term “fintech” made this list last year. It is simply a combination of the words finance and technology. The term is applied to new technology that improves and automates finance services for people and businesses.
Fintech’s Expanse
But what exactly is fintech? To put it one way, it is software and algorithms used on computers and smartphones. The term is fluid in that it changes as its base (technology) changes. Originally, fintech was applied to the technology used for the back-end of computer systems of financial institutions. It now includes automation applied to the financial industry. It’s even applied to subcategories of finance, such as wealth management, transactions, investments as well as developing technologies (e.g. bitcoin). Fintech has changed the way we bank as well as manage businesses. This is evident from the number of fintech products consumers use. According to EY’s 2018 Fintech Adoption Index, the survey shows 15.5% of consumers use at least two fintech products. As for regions that must the most fintech products, Hong Kong is the winner with 29.1% of the market share. The United States followed with 16.5%.
The Future of Fintech
Fintech also includes artificial intelligence (AI) in its application to finance. AI is evolving (like computers did) and will soon be anticipating our banking needs, regardless of age or type of business. There are many fintech startups with the sole purpose to revolutionize established banking practices. However, some may see it as a disruption of traditional banking and money management. One of the goals of fintech is to perform banking tasks without human assistance. It’s interesting to note that this idea was similar to the use of computers when they came on the market. Yet, fintech has a better chance than computers of achieving this goal, as it has already infiltrated the finance industry. Only time will tell the level of evolution fintech will reach.
Technology Trends of 2019
Technology is quickly changing each year. It’s important for a person to stay abreast of these changes as it will affect both their personal life and their business life. Here are five emerging technologies that are on the radar for 2019:
Blockchain
With the rise and fall of cryptocurrency prices in 2018, more people were exposed to blockchain technology. While it is still in its early stages, there is a lot of potential for the technology. Smart contracts have been created that use blockchain technology in the transportation, financial and consumer spaces.
By being decentralized, these applications will not suffer from any downtime, censorship or fraud and run as they are programmed. For example, Slock is a company that uses blockchain technology to rent bicycles. Patrons can unlock a bike after the contract is agreed upon by both parties.
Quantum Computing
In just a few years, quantum computing will begin to be applied to business problems in the real world. This will be especially important in the areas of materials science and chemistry where it is near impossible to find answers using the computing power available today.
Immersive Experience
Mixed reality, augmented reality and virtual reality are changing how humans interact with both the digital world and each other. This is proving highly useful in situations where two parties are physically separated.
For example, an engineer could guide another individual who is located in a remote area to repair equipment and get it back online.
Empowered Edge
The goal of edge computing is to drive greater capabilities into computing systems that are located in remote areas. Even though these localized computers are far away from their primary data center, they still need to perform reliably and stay connected.
While cloud computing is currently being used, it just can’t keep up with the quantity of data that is continuing to increase. Edge computing has been designed to bypass cloud computing’s latency and transfer data to its destination faster for processing.
AI chips will help edge computing by providing more storage and greater computing capabilities. In addition, technology like 5G will also help drive edge computing.
Cybersecurity
While the cybersecurity space may not seem like it’s a technology that’s emerging, it is having to evolve as the threat from hackers continues to grow each year.
A list of technologies is being adapted to help enhance cybersecurity. These include deep learning, client technology, behavioral analytics, data loss prevention and hardware authentication. As long as there continue to be hackers on the internet, cybersecurity will have to evolve its technology.
Reedsy / Behance / Twitter / Stumbleupon / Crunchbase / Medium / Slideshare / Soundcloud