Author: Christoffer Hernæs

Forrige måned var nasjonal sikkerhetsmåned, og digital sikkerhet er viktigere enn noen gang. I følge NorSIS har antallet digitale angrep mot norske virksomheter, både store og små tredoblet seg siden 2019, og globalt har digitale angrep økt med hele 42 prosent i 2022 alene.

Angrep på datasystemer er allerede i dag et våpenkappløp mellom kriminelle og de som jobber med IT-sikkerhet, og metodene blir stadig mer sofistikerte og kreative. Med en stadig eskalerende krig i Europa som både utspiller seg på bakken og i den digitale verden.

If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. Fintech was for a long time believed to disrupt financial services without being subject to the same requirements as banks. As the market matures and access to capital becomes scarcer, all signs point towards the market coming to terms with the fact that many fintechs are in fact closer to financial services companies than software.

Det sies at en gjennomsnittlig voksen person tar 35 000 valg i løpet av en dag. Bare i løpet av denne korte artikkelen vil den gjennomsnittlige leser flere ganger gjennom teksten velge hvorvidt det er interessant nok til å lese videre, eller om notificationen som nettopp tikket inn på smarttelefonen virket mer interessant, eller hvorvidt det allerede nå er nok tekst og på tide og bla gjennom TikTok for litt enkel underholdning.

Blokkjedeteknologien representerer en teknologisk revolusjon når det kommer til å bevise digitalt eierskap, men uten å ta teknologiens og det omkringliggende økosystemets fundamentale svakheter på alvor vil vi neppe få nok tillit til teknologien til å se bred adopsjon.

Artificial intelligence is without a doubt the most transformative digital technology around. While the topic has been off the radar for popular science for some time, the alleged self-awareness of Google’s LaMDA created headlines a few weeks ago. However, that’s far from the only breakthrough in the path toward true artificial intelligence.

At kryptomarkedet har kollapset dette halvåret er i skrivende stund et ubestridelig faktum. For kryptovaluta henger det bratte fallet tett sammen med mekanismene som har drevet frem den sterke veksten – tro, håp og grådighet.

There has been no shortage of challenger banks competing for the customer’s attention in the past decade. However, it is far between the ones that manage to turn a profit. As capital becomes more scarce, and valuations are declining, challenger banks with no clear business models other than nifty features and a niche target audience, are facing a bumpy road ahead.

According to unconfirmed sources, Apple has allegedly acquired credit-scoring startup Credit Kudos. The deal marks yet another addition to Apple’s venture into the expanded payments space. What are the potential implications for incumbent banks and the payment industry as a whole?

Challenging the status quo is one of the hardest part of leading change. In a time when as good as all industries are facing radical changes over the next decade, innovation is necessary for survival. However, all too often, organizations and leaders are stuck in a “wait and see” mode. Rather than taking a leap of faith into the unknown, incumbents all too often find themselves on the steady decline into obsolescence by doing nothing.

Does Meta’s nightmarish stock performance in the past 24 hours mark the beginning of the end for facebook’s unrivaled dominance over social media, or it is merely a bump in the road towards a new future for the company?

Facebook’s digital currency Diem, formerly known as Libra, has faced a lot of controversy since it was announced a couple of years ago. Now it seems like it will never materialize beyond the headlines. Facebook/meta may have unprecedented distribution power, but that was not sufficient to realize this larger than life crypto project.

Ever since I wrote my master’s thesis on innovation capabilities in established companies, I have constantly been on a mission to understand how to lead real change and push the innovation agenda from an incumbent standpoint. Looking back at the combination of my theoretical background combined with several years of practical experience, I will try to summarize some of my experiences in a short and hopefully sweet playbook for corporate innovation.

Although DeFi is not the newest kid on the block in the world of crypto and blockchain applications, the segment has reached an inflection point where it has quickly become the hottest topic around. Even though true believers insist that DeFi represents the future of finance, there are several concerns to be raised in its current shape and form.

I am proud to announce that starting January 1st next year, I will be taking on the role of Chief Digital Officer at Skanska Norway and Director in charge of Skanska Digital.

In a world of digital ecosystems, data is the raw material that fuels the digital economy. In order to be a part of this value creation, there is a need to have a clear data strategy. How does one go from the traditional approach to collection, storage, and reporting to strategic use of data?

Of all the trends and technologies predicted to change the landscape of financial services, open banking has proven to be the most transformational. Even as the dust has settled after the implementation of PSD2, leading banks show no sign of slowing down their efforts towards an open banking future. With another regulatory push toward open finance looming on the horizon, how should financial institutions prepare to stay ahead of the curve?

Why do once-great companies continue to fail to keep up with the times? One possible explanation is that they attempt to solve the problems of tomorrow with the tools of yesterday without being aware of what was integral for success in the past might as well be the cause of failure in the future.

Defining a strategy is easy. Transforming those slides and spreadsheets into action is the tricky part. Instead of presenting an endless barrage of charts, boxes, and figures, leaders should embrace storytelling as a tool to inspire and engage the organization. With that in mind, who is the villain of your corporate narrative?

One of the recurring topics for increased competition in the banking sector is account number portability. Just like number portability evened the playing field between consumers and service providers in the telco industry, is it possible to achieve the same effect in the banking industry?

Open banking is one of the key concepts to understand when looking at how fintech has transformed the banking sector. Until now, a lot of the attention has been centered around retail banking, but in the next phase of fintech and open banking, SMEs are set to take the center stage.