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Business
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pandemic, and a further proverbial avalanche of regulatory changes in response to Covid-19 is likely to be hitting the corporate world soon.
The global crisis has prompted organisations all over the world to update their systems and technology. Technological advancement, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, combined with secure remotely accessible digital storage, is quickly becoming the norm. Whether they are big or small, companies will have to make business more adaptable and future-proof during times of change.
Digital identity
Various studies show that daily face-to-face contacts during lockdown periods in 2020 reduced by 80% on average, increasing again post-lockdown, though remaining considerably lower compared to pre- pandemic numbers. Vaccine or not, the experience of Covid-19 is likely to continue to limit societies in terms of close physical contact and restrict access to public and private services for the foreseeable future.
The digitisation of services and identities offers a way to continue providing services under the current and future threat of a pandemic. Secure, trustworthy digital identities promote safety, both from a physical perspective, by allowing people to stay apart from each other if needed, and from a digital perspective, by facilitating efficient and thorough user identification.
In its December issue, The Economist
featured an article on biometric technology developed and used by the world’s biggest democracy, India, spurring governments around the globe to draft national plans to provide its citizens with digital identity in future.
Consumption has moved significantly to online channels and all research seems to point out that rates of adoption have exponentially grown compared to pre- pandemic trends. When the world does eventually get back to “normal”, there is no way that businesses will be going to go back to the old way of doing things. The digital approach saves them significant time and money and reduces the likelihood of error.
Digital identity however should be implemented with care and be subject to a broad political dialogue. Aspects of data privacy, traceability and applicability must all be taken into consideration, to carefully balance the long-term benefits this can bring to society.
Digital dividends
The ability to prove one's identity is increasingly recognised as the basis for participation in social, political, economic and cultural life. Yet at least a billion people in developing countries lack any form of officially recognised identification. This problem disproportionally impacts rural residents, poor people, women, children and other vulnerable groups in Africa and Asia. Digital identity, combined with the extensive use of
mobile devices in the developing world, offers a transformative solution to this global challenge and provides public and private sector entities with efficient ways to reach the poorest and most disadvantaged .
In tempore non suspecto, 2016, long before Covid-19, the World Bank published its World Development Report 2016 , addressing this theme and launching the term “Digital Dividends”, pointing at broader development benefits from using modern technologies.
It couldn’t be more relevant today. As a matter of illustration, in September 2020, the World Bank
announced a $143 million project to support digital transformation and identity management systems in Madagascar , making it today one of the leading funders supporting digital identification.
This is not only about developing countries though; whichever part of the world we are from, we should keep in mind that, as digital transformation develops, we risk widening the gap between those who turn to digital solutions and those who don’t. We all have a shared responsibility - countries, businesses and individuals – to take advantage of this rapid technological change, now. This is not just to render business or public service more efficient; the ultimate aim should be to make the world more prosperous and inclusive.
Just like the man in Horatius’ story, we should not wait for “the stream to cease flowing, before attempting to cross it”. This pandemic has put us in front of new challenges. Let’s use our common knowledge to dare to know and be wise, in order to make businesses and the world better. Indefinitely.
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