An article by Anette Bronder, Director of Digital Division T-Systems and Telekom Security.
There are frequent stories in the media about wild animals co-opting cities as their new habitat. In California, for example, Pumas are leaving the mountains and coming ever closer to the suburbs of Los Angeles. Just like other wild animals searching for convenient sources of food, the pumas are simply entering new markets with their strategy. In this case the risks are manageable. The pumas have no enemies in the animal kingdom, and people usually don't notice the activities of this shy feline predator until it has long disappeared back into the mountains. Actually, there are many parallels between nature and digitalization, which is what this blog entry is about.
So, what are the factors that determine whether the hunt and finding food will be successful? First, there’s the individual strength of the hunter and then there's the right timing and often also cooperation in a team. But all of that only works in the moment.
Among lions, for example, nine out of 10 attempts fail. Astonishingly, this quote from the animal kingdom equals the success rate of start-ups: either the idea doesn't come at the right time, the market isn't ready, or the start-up’s business plan lacks proper validation.
Edge computing among ants
There are many parallels between nature and digitization, which focuses primarily on collecting and analyzing data. But therein lies the problem as well, because a large percentage of data is unnecessary for the analysis. Sensibly portioned transmission is the only viable solution to the flood of data we all face – and falling prices for cloud computing and memory capacity don't change a thing about that.
Ants and bees provide an excellent example in this respect. They transport information packets in a targeted manner, such as "I am part of your group", "there is food a few meters from here" and "danger above". This is similar to the edge computing approach, where data are already analyzed at their source. It really is enough, for example, for production machines to only send information to the cloud or to the customer if it is meaningful and deviates from the standard parameters. Why should you unnecessarily send data from point A to point B if point B does not need these data and if this increases analysis time?
Or how about self-driving cars? Sensors on the car collect information about location, direction, speed, and distances. The intelligent software analyzes these data in real time so that the car can respond immediately. All of this happens without the data going to the cloud and then back to the car again. The latency must be low. This is why the super-fast, high-performance 5G network is future-oriented, and not just for self-driving cars.
Bees and blockchains
Bees and ants are also "natural" examples of the blockchain technology. The communicative insects transmit small information packets across many stations to their ultimate destination. Each transmission ensures that the right contact receives the packet – directly, quickly and securely. If a package is lost, this does not endanger other packets in the "bee network". In nature as in business, it's all about building trust and a secure, mutual knowledge base. In industry, you can add legal certainty to this list. Data packets are saved individually and locally in the blockchain but are nevertheless connected by nodal points. If data are illegally manipulated at one nodal point, the transaction can be completed over the other nodes. Attempts at manipulation are therefore doomed to fail.
These properties are why Telekom Security uses blockchains for "smart contracts" and other applications in the industry. A program code ensures that the contract is only automatically activated after certain requirements have been fulfilled – legal auditing entities are no longer needed. If there are contract breaches, the entire process is transparent and traceable.
Hunters and (data) gatherers
Animals and plants develop sophisticated strategies that ensure their survival. In nature, "co-evolution" is the process by which two species mutually adapt to share a habitat. There are two phenomena at play here: a stealth tactic for warding off enemies and the creation of symbiotic relationships. The North American Viceroy butterfly, for example, imitates the appearance of the poisonous Monarch butterfly in order to protect itself from voracious birds and frogs.
Other species join forces with their natural enemies, thereby creating protective ecosystems. The cleaner fish rids the shark of parasites, for example, and the shark, in turn, offers the cleaner fish protection. It's a win-win situation! Supermarket chain Walmart and consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble (P&G) created a similar ecosystem. Walmart collects an inconceivable quantity of information about its customers, while P&G employs data analysis tools and experts. The conclusions drawn from this information benefit both parties and have allowed P&G to increase its sales at Walmart from USD 375 million to more than USD 4 billion. At this point, it should be mentioned that in Europe – and that's just fine – there are strict data protection requirements in place: Companies may only use anonymized data which is not associated with individuals. In addition, customers can decide for themselves whether they want to provide their data.
Deutsche Telekom and its corporate customer arm T-Systems also rely on partner ecosystems in the cloud and IoT business. We provide the network infrastructure and – if needed – our secure German cloud along with integration expertise. Our IT partners, as well as our customers, provide hardware, software or platform solutions, and above all their industry knowledge. Each partner provides that which he does best, and the customer gets everything from one source, resulting in a win-win-win situation.
Heading for new shores
The long-established company Schwaiger in the Franconian region of Germany, for example, made it big in satellite TV – and has now entered the home automation sector with the support of Deutsche Telekom. Schwaiger's customers can now control heating, lighting, and blinds using their smartphones and tablets. The operating app and digitally encrypted transmission protocols protect the system and personal data. The data are processed in our certified Open Telekom Cloud.
Ecosystems are constantly changing, both in nature and in business. Coral reefs are bleaching and dying because their ecosystem is changing as the water becomes warmer. Sadly, they can't adapt with the necessary speed or move away. In nature and in business, only the adaptable survive. The difference here is that in nature survival only depends on "ability" while in business it also depends on "willingness".
For industry, one thing is certain: No one can handle digitalization alone; it requires teamwork. In the digital age, opportunities for survival and success only arise if you join forces with the right trustworthy partners at the right time in the right ecosystem.
This article was published beforehand on LinkedIN.
