NASHVILLE—Already challenged to keep up with technology solutions? One person said credit union executives should hold on, because a “tsunami” of new technologies is developing that will transform financial services.
Among those technologies, said Shazia Manus, CEO of TMG, are sophisticated nano-technology, 3D printing, virtual reality, robotics, neural networks and machine learning.
“The world is filled with problem solvers, eager to quickly innovate and offer a better solution,” said Manus in remarks to the company’s Executive Summit. “To help us be better prepared for disruptive innovation, we need to understand which of our business verticals are the perfect breeding grounds for disruptive technology.”
Manus outlined characteristics of these so-called perfect breeding grounds: They create complex user experiences, are suffering from broken trust, contain redundant intermediaries, and offer limited access to only a few options. The resulting big question, said Manus: How soon will many of the core services offered by traditional financial institutions exhibit these characteristics?
Other macro-themes touched upon by Manus:
- Convergence and Connectivity: The fabric of our society is being transformed through the connectivity of mobile, broadband and a global cloud platform, noted Manus. As an example of the added value and the optimization of everyday experiences Manus shared was the June oven, a smart oven with a built-in camera that recognizes food and already knows how to cook it. Another example: example of Beam, a robotic solution based on smart presence technology that allows telecommuters to have a physical presence in their offices. Innovation like this and the innovation yet to come has created an insatiable need for people to be and feel connected to the world around them – anytime, anywhere, anyone.
- Democratization and Sharing Economy: The sharing economy describes a global willingness to collaborate and share all things – from ideas to new products to alternative services. “This has triggered the democratization of innovation, meaning innovators create and pass their ideas on for everyone to use openly,” said Manus. Importantly, Manus added, the criminal element has leveraged the sharing economy, as well, as they are often the earliest of early adopters.
- Cognitive and Machine Learning: Manus noted consumers have already been exposed to artificial intelligence at a cursory level with Siri and Alexa. On a grander scale, IBM’s Watson and the autonomous vehicle are probably two of the most widely recognized innovations based on cognitive and machine learning.
Manus urged those at the conference to develop cultures of exponential leadership within their financial institutions and other businesses. “Reaping the significant benefits of new users, connected things, data-driven insights and platform-based resources starts with an innovative and exponential mindset,” she said. “Leaders today must be as comfortable with ambiguity as they are with certainty. Organizations with the greatest hope of surviving and contributing to the world will be led by those who embrace strategic paradoxes.”