Blockchain and edge computing are both hot topics in the domestic financial industry and play an important role in the digital transformation of the financial industry. In the ISO Standardization Foresight Framework Trend Report 2022, published on the ISO website and distributed to its leaders at all levels, Special to the blockchain and edge computing and other new technology development direction of the relevant prospects.
According to ISO, the world is rapidly moving towards a post-digital age. In this era, leaders need to look beyond the ongoing digital transformation. As digital capabilities in themselves are no longer a differentiating factor, future-conscious business leaders need to replenish their technological Arsenal in order to succeed.
In this paper, the content related to blockchain and edge computing in ISO Standardization Trend Outlook Framework 2022 is introduced, and the development direction and focus of blockchain and edge computing in the future are briefly analyzed by ISO. Many examples in this paper are not directly oriented to finance on the surface, but from the perspective of financial scenarioization and open banking, in all examples, we can see the signs of payment, credit, insurance support, and the influence of similar industry sectors on the capital market.
I. Blockchain
Blockchain technology, a form of distributed ledger technology (DLT), offers unprecedented potential for disintermediation, allowing parties to exchange not only information but also value (currency, contracts, property rights) without trusting a specific, predetermined medium (such as a bank or server). This is because DLT enables transaction data to be validated in the system, with control spread over multiple independent parties, and stored in a way that is designed to be tampered with and immutable once stored. DLT can be used to promote privacy, security, transparency, and integrity of the transaction process by ensuring system-wide consistency about the state of the ledger.
Distributed ledgers open up many new possibilities: for example, to monitor supply chains or manage digital permissions. DLT is therefore seen as a core enabler of digital, automatically executed contracts, known as smart contracts.
Many industry leaders have realized significant business benefits through DLT, including greater transparency, greater security, improved traceability, increased efficiency, faster transactions, and lower costs. The most common target industries for DLT service providers are financial services such as banking and insurance, with capital markets leading the way, followed by insurance and trade finance. Gartner research says 300 million blockchain transactions were processed globally by the end of 2017, with more than $270 billion worth of assets under management using DLT.
As we all know, blockchain is the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, and its role in facilitating the trading of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is increasingly well known. Cryptocurrencies (like physical currencies) are "homogeneous," meaning they are equivalent and can be traded or exchanged with each other (a dollar is always worth another dollar; A bitcoin is always equal to another bitcoin) and each NFTS has its own digital signature, which makes it impossible for NFTS to be interchangeable because no two are equal, hence the term "non-homogenous". NFTS are digital assets with programmable scarcity and are therefore ideal for representing unique virtual assets and digital identifiers in Web 3.0 and the metaverse.
But blockchain could be used much more widely outside cryptocurrencies, financial services and banking. While the focus remains on what money can be used for, there is growing interest in other aspects beyond the use and application of money, such as digital identities, healthcare, supply chains and energy. Here are some examples:
In West Africa and Kenya, blockchain enables verification of the validity of property records and transactions, and further extends credit access to some previously informal sectors of the economy.
London-based startup Resonance uses blockchain to automate the transfer of product information between brand owners, manufacturers and retailers. According to Resonance's survey, more than 30 percent of the product data in the catalog is incorrect, with an average correction fee of $60 per error. This innovative technology ensures that only trusted information is forwarded, and the retweets are anonymous. The receiver reviews the data sheet it receives before integrating the information into an internal system, such as a material requirements plan.
In Switzerland, Streamr has developed an anti-theft stick-on tag that protects valuables without revealing their location. The label is equipped with a series of sensors that can identify parameters such as position, acceleration, and temperature. The data collected in this way is managed by the Streamr's blockchain network and is based on smart contracts. For example, pasting labels can be used in the transportation of goods. The customer will only be made aware of the current location of the item if the transporter of the item breaches the previously agreed terms and conditions of carriage.
In Australia, the Power Ledger company has developed a blockchain-based platform to empower users to invest in major renewable energy projects. This allows users who want to invest in renewable expansion to buy a small equity stake in the project and accelerate its growth. The first offers are for commercial solar parks and a grid-connected battery storage project in Australia that will be traded via cryptocurrency in the blockchain.
CSIRO (Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) has explored the use of blockchain to verify food provenance, so consumers can know exactly where their food came from and what happened at every step along the chain.
According to Gartner's value forecast for the blockchain business, after some notable successes in 2018-2021, there will be larger, more focused investments and more successful models in 2022-2026. These numbers are expected to explode between 2027 and 2030, with a global scale of more than $3 trillion. In 2018, China alone accounted for nearly 50 percent of blockchain-related patent applications, and together with the United States, it accounted for more than 75 percent of all such patent applications.
Overview of blockchain standardization:
At present, blockchain technology is not mature, but it is expected to continue to develop rapidly and find its significant use in the next 5 years or more. ISO/TC 307 (Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology) has been working on blockchain and DLT standardization since 2016. Deliverables of the breadth of coverage in its work plan (both published and under development), such as data standards, reference architectures, use cases, frameworks, guidelines, and interoperability, Standards for depth of coverage for specific areas are prepared. The committee has even recently begun work on standardizing NFTS.
In blockchain, the following topics are closely related to standardization:
One is interoperability, ensuring that data can be exchanged and communication seamless between different blockchain and DLT protocols and platforms.
The second is governance. In the work of decentralized platform, the best practices and standards of blockchain project and blockchain alliance are effectively governed.
The third is identity, which promotes a common identity framework and interoperable identity between different blockchain protocols and platforms.
Fourth, security, to ensure the safe operation of different nodes, networks and services.
Fifth, smart contracts, which support best practices and standards to ensure the security of smart contract technologies.
Two, edge computing
Cloud technology allows users to instantly access scalable technical services over the existing Internet, thereby reducing the cost of infrastructure and inventory, reducing overhead, and making leaps in computing power and speed, data storage, and bandwidth. However, it has a major problem -- latency (time lag or cross-network communication delay), which is caused by the physical distance between the user and the data center where the cloud service is hosted. Edge computing can solve this problem.
Edge computing is a different technology from cloud computing, and its relevance will grow as the "Internet of things" becomes ubiquitous and exponentially larger with the amount of data that needs to be moved and processed. This is because edge computing allows users to overcome latency problems by performing computations near or right at the data source -- the data is processed directly on-site using dedicated hardware. Therefore, when processing time-sensitive data, or data processing in remote locations with limited interconnection capability, edge computing is prominent. In the future, edge computing will be important for medical, automotive, and manufacturing applications, as the speed and security of processing data directly on the device, rather than sending it to the cloud, will increase.
In addition to reducing latency, edge computing has other benefits, such as bandwidth and network cost savings, and enhanced security and privacy protections. Microsoft, for example, claims that edge computing can enable more industries to use the cloud safely while still meeting the requirements it is supposed to meet. McKinsey found that the industries with the most use cases for edge computing are travel, transportation and logistics, energy, retail, healthcare and utilities. Here are some examples of edge computing applications:
"Autonomous vehicles" can collect data generated by the vehicle's sensors and cameras and process, analyze and make decisions in just a few milliseconds to keep vehicles and pedestrians safe.
Intelligent transportation system enables passenger information system, vehicle monitoring and tracking system, intelligent monitoring of traffic vehicles and stations, intelligent traffic management system, etc. Fleet management has a wealth of information that enables organizations to manage their fleets intelligently.
Remote monitoring of oil and gas assets can be deployed in the field and processing conditions, such as extreme temperature changes, can be effectively and safely monitored and managed in the field.
Patients can be tracked in real time, improving care through better tracking of compliance and early identification of early health complications.
The global edge computing market size is expected to reach US $61.14 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 38.4%, according to a report from Grand View Research.
Overview of Edge Computing Standardization:
Edge computing is expected to be an important application in the future. ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38 (Cloud Computing and Distributed Platforms) has been working on the standardization of cloud computing and distributed platforms since 2009. ISO/IEC TR 23188:2020 An Overview of Edge Computing for Information Technology Cloud Computing examines the concept of edge computing, its relationship with cloud computing and the Internet of Things, and the key technologies to achieve edge computing. This ISO/IEC technical report is a step towards delivering results at further levels of data standards, reference architectures, use cases, frameworks, guidance, and interoperability.