乌鸦传媒 Finland /fi-en/ 乌鸦传媒 Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:46:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 /fi-en/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2022/10/cropped-cropped-favicon-1.webp?w=32 乌鸦传媒 Finland /fi-en/ 32 32 192805541 Trends in 2025 for Public Administration /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-public-administration/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-public-administration/#respond Mon, 24 Mar 2025 09:39:55 +0000 /fi-en/?p=544113&preview=true&preview_id=544113 The post Trends in 2025 for Public Administration appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

]]>

Trends in 2025 for Public Administration

Ravi Arunachalam, Simone Botticini, Pierre-Adrien Hanania, Sandra Prinsen
Mar 24, 2025

The future of public administration lies in partnerships鈥攏ot silos鈥攚ith citizens, businesses, and civil society. In an era of rapid digital transformation, while the guiding principle of providing accessible, inclusive and high-quality public services remains fundamentally unchanged, the way public administrations are creating value for their citizens is undergoing a profound evolution.

As technology evolves and societal challenges grow more complex and interconnected, traditional siloed structures are increasingly being replaced by dynamic ecosystems where value co-creation is critical to the success or failure of public interventions.

In 2021, . Today, this approach has become a widespread foundational principle. Key technological enablers are driving this shift, empowering public administrations to move towards a collaborative approach of public service delivery that brings together governments, businesses and citizens to address challenges more effectively. From leveraging interoperability to dissolve boundaries and advance data-sharing ecosystems to the rise of GovTech, proactive service delivery and the transformative potential of government AI, these key trends are laying the groundwork for a smarter, more inclusive and efficient public governance designed to meet the demands of modern, interconnected societies.

In today鈥檚 interconnected world, traditional boundaries in government at every level (local, state, national) are increasingly dissolving. This shift is driven by the urgent need for integrated, citizen-centric service delivery and the efficient utilization of resources. Governments are moving from siloed operations to a whole-of-government approach, where entities collaborate across jurisdictions to achieve shared objectives and provide responsive, efficient public services.

At the heart of this transformation is interoperability. Governments are prioritizing interoperability principles to foster collaboration among agencies, sectors, and even across national borders. This requires the seamless exchange of data, systems, and processes, supported by a robust framework that addresses organizational, legal, semantic, and technical challenges.
Around the world, interoperable services are reshaping public administration, showcasing the value of integrated public services:
顿别苍尘补谤办鈥offers and consistently rank 1st in UN e-gov survey
础耻蝉迟谤补濒颈补鈥delivers life-event-based services through
厂颈苍驳补辫辞谤别鈥the integrates and provides a wide range of unified public services
Many societal challenges today transcend national or jurisdictional boundaries. Issues like climate change, public health crises, rapid urbanization, cybersecurity threats, and migration & displacement require coordinated, cross-border interoperability efforts.听 To assist governments in their efforts, several interoperability frameworks are gaining traction:
– : Established in 2017, the EIF provides guidance for EU member states to achieve cross-border public service integration. The Interoperable Europe Act (2024) promises to accelerate these efforts, mandating more rigorous interoperability initiatives (e.g. the Once Only Technical System).
– Defined as interoperable and shared digital systems open for collaboration across public and private services, DPIs are gaining traction along their promise to enhance initiatives in the field of digital identity or wallets.
– Currently in negotiation phase, DEFA emphasizes cross-border data flows, data protection, and cybersecurity. Once implemented, it is expected to transform digital collaboration within the ASEAN region.
These efforts promise not only more efficient service delivery but also better preparedness for collaboratively tackling global societal challenges.听 乌鸦传媒 is committed to helping our clients address the interoperability challenges to transform public services delivery within and across borders

As EU President Ursula von der Leyen aptly stated, “Europe needs a data revolution,” highlighting the urgency for governments to harness data鈥檚 untapped potential. Governments worldwide are now reimagining how they share and leverage data, moving away from centralized data hubs toward decentralized, sovereign data-sharing ecosystems.
Historically, centralized data hubs allowed limited collaboration due to agency concerns about losing control over their data. Today, data spaces, enabled by protocols and technologies that ensure sovereignty and security, are fostering new levels of trust and cooperation. These frameworks empower sector and cross-sector data sharing, facilitating innovation and improving public services.
Supportive initiatives like the EU and open-source projects like act as catalysts, standardizing and enabling broader adoption of data spaces, both on the implementation and the governance perspective. Stakeholders such as the have been instrumental in formalizing these efforts, promoting the Data Spaces Protocol as a potential global standard for interoperability.
The EU leads the way with its Common European Data Spaces initiative, creating sector-specific data ecosystems for health, agriculture, cultural heritage, and climate goals (Green Deal). These initiatives are already yielding results, such as the , which enhances cross-border healthcare and crisis response.
Globally, interest in data spaces is growing.听 through its leading national data infrastructure research agency Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), inspired by EU efforts.听 China, through its 2024-2028 National Data Administration Action Plan, aims to , driving an integrated national data market, while securely connecting with international partners.
Data spaces are evolving from niche proofs-of-concept to broader ecosystems capable of addressing complex societal challenges. Still there are significant developments happening in the application of decentralized identity management, privacy-preserving technologies, and robust usage control mechanisms at protocol and technology components level.听 These developments will further enhance trust and accelerate wider adoption, while the existence of such privacy-enhancing techniques should skip the human part, along needed organizational change and stakeholder management. The rise of new roles such as the Chief Data Officer, the role of scoping phases, and a tailormade data collaboration approach along specific use cases and the culture of the organizations, remain key features of a successful journey towards sharing data.

GovTech is no longer just a buzzword. It鈥檚 a revolution that鈥檚 transforming the way public administrations operate and deliver public services. What was once an afterthought relegated to IT departments, has now become a strategic priority of administrations worldwide. GovTech, defined as the public sector鈥檚 adoption and use of innovative technological solutions to improve public service delivery, is the key to achieving better social outcomes, digital inclusion, and improved public sector services.听

With government technology and become the largest software market by 2028, it麓s clear that public administrations do not want to be merely passive buyers of innovation鈥攖hey want to be innovative players themselves. Indeed, GovTech is not just about purchasing technology, it鈥檚 about co-creating value through partnerships. While legacy IT systems, siloed governance structures and traditional procurement processes that favor large vendors still pose challenges, public administrations are increasingly trying to overcome them by rethinking their engagement with the private sector, turning to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to tap into the creativity, agility, and expertise of startups and SMEs. These collaborations allow administrations to work with non-traditional players to co-create solutions, share risks, and scale innovations to improve service delivery. In this regard, a pivotal moment in the worldwide GovTech ecosystem came with the , a hub for collaboration and digital transformation.
乌鸦传媒 is proud to be a co-founder of this first-of-its-kind center, which brings together governments, startups, and private enterprises to accelerate the adoption of GovTech. GGTC promotes a systematic approach to GovTech, encouraging cross-sector collaboration and co-creation among global experts to tackle challenges like interoperability and siloed systems, ensuring that solutions can be shared across borders to benefit countries with fewer resources, helping bridge the digital divide.
Looking ahead, and as exemplified by the GGTC, a strategic, systematic, and sustainable approach to GovTech will mark the new era of innovation for public administrations. As the GovTech ecosystem matures, public administrations will unlock new technological solutions, ensuring digital transformation is inclusive, scalable, and impactful across borders, all while being more agile, innovative, and responsive to digitally native societies.

Digitally sophisticated citizens are demanding faster, seamless, and personalized digital services. Simply digitizing public services is no longer enough; public administrations must step up their game by adopting a human-centered approach, organized around citizens鈥 life events to proactively meet their needs.

While digital public services have become more efficient and accessible, many remain . Challenges such as persist in many public administrations, along with the growing pressure to match the intuitive user experience and responsiveness of private-sector platforms. Moving public services online is insufficient; administrations must ensure that citizens can and will use them. Governments with lower service design maturity levels are only now moving beyond basic digitalization, while more advanced administrations are shifting from fragmented electronic services to proactive, fully integrated service delivery. This transformation requires systemic reforms and interagency collaboration to co-create Citizen Services that are human centered by design and informed by real-time user insights rather than outdated government silos. Meeting citizen expectations today means providing multi-service, omnichannel experiences that anticipate their needs, mirroring the seamless interactions they have with private-sector services.
Some countries are already exploring proactive governance approaches, moving towards a truly , where services are seamlessly embedded into daily life. By leveraging data-driven insights, governments can determine eligibility and deliver services automatically, without requiring citizens to apply. For example, has been pioneering this transformation, offering bundled, proactive services that range from offering 18 housing services in just one platform to bundled services for hiring employees or saving families time and effort when a baby is born. This new reality extends public services鈥 reach to underserved populations, with the user-friendliness of private sector platforms. Citizens no longer need to apply or even be aware of service delivery, minimizing bureaucratic burdens while enhancing user satisfaction.
Ultimately, the future of public service delivery is not just about making public services digital, it is about making them intelligent, integrated, and anticipatory. Achieving this vision requires breaking down silos and fostering strong partnerships across government agencies, private-sector innovators, and civil society to co-create data-driven services that proactively meet citizens鈥 needs.

As citizen expectations rise, budget shrinks and workloads increase, AI has emerged as a powerful tool in the hands of public administrations to improve internal operations and deliver better public services. No longer a distant promise, and is now transitioning from experimentation to large-scale implementation, but challenges remain.
Unlike with previous technological innovations, accessible, 鈥渄emocratic鈥 tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot have empowered civil servants to explore (Generative) AI鈥檚 potential from the outset. In countries like and the , trials of Microsoft 365 Copilot and RedBox Copilot have demonstrated significant time savings on tasks such as document summarization, information retrieval, and briefings creation. This allows civil servants to focus on strategic high-value work, improving their productivity and job satisfaction. This is in line with which show how GenAI could increase productivity by up to 45%, automating 84% of routine tasks across over 200 government services, ultimately driving a global by 2033.
Beyond internal operations, AI is reshaping how administrations interact with citizens. Tools like chatbots and virtual assistants are improving transparency and fairness while creating more personalized, accessible, and inclusive public services. For example, the Generalidad de Catalunya in Spain partnered with 乌鸦传媒 to implement a GenAI chatbot for handling citizens鈥 queries in both Catalan and Spanish, reducing employees鈥 workloads and ensuring equitable access to services for all citizens. By incorporating human oversight to verify chatbot outputs, the AI-powered chatbot is driving efficiency and inclusion in public service delivery without compromising quality and trust.
These early successes are just the tip of the iceberg for (Gen) AI applications in public administrations. Now, the challenge is no longer experimentation but scaling these innovations to embed them into everyday processes. Beyond automation, the true transformative potential of AI lies in applications such as AI-driven decision-support mechanisms and predictive governance, which will redefine how administrations function and serve citizens. This path is not without obstacles: data privacy, security and biases in AI outputs remain top concerns as administrations grapple with protecting citizens鈥 sensitive information while integrating AI into their systems. The solution lies in developing customized AI tools with built-in trust layers and guardrails that will prevent inaccuracies and biases. Here Catalonia鈥檚 approach, balancing automation with accountability, offers a model for building trust in (Gen)AI.

Time for action in an increasingly interconnected world

To fully harness the potential of these digital trends, public administration leaders must adopt an action-oriented approach. A combination of political commitment to digital transformation, inter-agency collaboration and leveraging robust PPPs to bridge resource gaps and accelerate innovation will be key. Together they will help to overcome budget constraints, siloed institutional frameworks, cultural resistance to change and complexities in measuring and reporting progress that still afflict public administrations worldwide. While strategically investing in cutting-edge technologies like AI, leaders must also champion a culture of continuous learning and upskilling among civil servants, ensuring they are equipped to leverage effectively these emerging tools. Ultimately, aligning digital strategies with citizens鈥 needs through human-centered service delivery will enable administrations to build trust, improve efficiency, and deliver meaningful public value in an increasingly interconnected world.

Authors

Hanania-Pierre-Adrien

Pierre-Adrien Hanania

Global Public Sector Head of Strategic Business Development
“In my role leading the strategic business development of the Public Sector team at 乌鸦传媒, I support the digitization of the public services across security and justice, public administration, healthcare, welfare, tax and defense. I previously led the Data & AI in Public Sector offer of the Group, focusing on how to unlock the intelligent use of data to help organizations deliver augmented public services to the citizens along trusted and ethical technology use. Based in Germany, I previously worked for various European think tanks and graduated in European Affairs at Sciences Po Paris.”

Ravi Shankar Arunachalam

Public Administration & Smarter Territories SME – Global Public Sector
“As a Public Sector strategist and technologist at 乌鸦传媒, I assist local, state, and federal governments worldwide in harnessing the full potential of a collaborative, Government-as-a-platform model to revolutionize citizen service delivery. With a deep understanding of industry challenges, citizen expectations, and the evolving technology landscape, I develop systemic transformation strategies and solutions that provide lasting value to both people and the planet”

Simone Botticini

Associate Consultant, 乌鸦传媒 Invent Belgium
鈥淧ublic administrations worldwide are undergoing a major transformation, driven by digitalization, evolving citizen expectations, and the move toward proactive, data-driven governance. By leveraging digital technologies, they can improve service delivery, streamline bureaucracy, and create more inclusive, citizen-centric administrations. 乌鸦传媒 is leading this transformation, helping public administrations harness the power of technology to enhance public services while ensuring trust, transparency, and security.鈥
Sandra Prinsen

Sandra Prinsen

Group Client Partner and Global Public Admin Segment Lead
I work with our public clients to create a more sustainable, diverse and inclusive society, fueled by technology. The combination of this digital and sustainable transition offers governments the opportunity to navigate towards a society and a data-driven ecosystem that is ready for the future. That is why I am looking forward to think along in suitable solutions, to jointly make real impact in the lives of citizens.

    The post Trends in 2025 for Public Administration appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

    ]]>
    /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-public-administration/feed/ 0 544113
    Mulder and Scully for fraud prevention: Teaming up AI capabilities /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/mulder-and-scully-for-fraud-prevention-teaming-up-ai-capabilities/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/mulder-and-scully-for-fraud-prevention-teaming-up-ai-capabilities/#respond Wed, 05 Mar 2025 10:48:00 +0000 /fi-en/?p=543897&preview=true&preview_id=543897 The post Mulder and Scully for fraud prevention: Teaming up AI capabilities appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

    ]]>

    Mulder and Scully for fraud prevention:
    Teaming up AI capabilities

    Joakim Nilsson
    March 5, 2025

    While Mulder trusts his gut; Scully trusts the facts – in fraud detection, we need both. Hybrid AI blends the intuition of LLM with the structured knowledge of a knowledge graph, letting agents uncover hidden patterns in real time. The truth is out there鈥攏ow we have the tools to find it.

    Fraud detection can be revolutionized with hybrid AI. Combining the 鈥渋ntuitive hunches鈥 from LLMs with a fraud-focused knowledge graph, a multi-agent system can identify weak signals and evolving fraud patterns, moving from detection to prevention in real-time. The challenge? Rule sets need to be cast in iron, whereas the system itself must be like water: resilient and adaptive. Historically, this conflict has been unsolvable. But that is about to change.

    A multi-agent setup

    Large language models (LLMs) are often criticized for hallucinating: coming up with results that seem feasible but are plain wrong. In this case though, we embrace the LLM鈥檚 gut-feeling-based approach and exploit its capabilities to identify potential signs of fraud. These 鈥渉unches鈥 are mapped onto a general ontology and thus made available to symbolic AI components that build on logic and rules. So, rather than constricting the LLM, we are relying on its language capabilities to spot subtle clues in text. Should we act directly on these hunches, we would run into a whole world of problems derived from the inherent unreliability of LLMs. However, this is the task of a highly specialized team of agents, and there are other agents standing by, ready to make sense of the data and establish reliable patterns.

    When we talk about agents, we refer to any entity that acts on behalf of another to accomplish high-level objectives using specialized capabilities. They may differ in degree of autonomy and authority to take actions that can impact their environment. Agents do not necessarily use AI: many non-AI systems are agents, too. (A traditional thermostat is a simple non-AI agent.) Similarly, not all AI systems are agents. In this context, the agents we focus on primarily handle data, following predefined instructions and using specific tools to achieve their tasks.

    We define a multi-agent system as being made up of multiple independent agents. Every agent runs on its own, processing its own data and making decisions, yet staying in sync with the others through constant communication. In a homogeneous system, all agents are the same and their complex behavior solves the problem (as in a swarm). Heterogeneous systems, though, deploy different agents with different capabilities. Systems that use agents (either single or multiple) are sometimes called 鈥渁gentic鈥 architectures or frameworks.

    For example, specialized agents can dive into a knowledge graph, dig up specific information, spot patterns, and update nodes or relationships based on new findings. The result? A more dynamic, contextually rich knowledge graph that evolves as the agents learn and adapt.

    The power is in the teaming. Think of the agents Mulder and Scully from The X-Files television show: Mulder represents intuitive, open-minded thinking, while Scully embodies rational analysis. In software, there always have been many Scullys but, with LLMs, we now have Mulders too. The challenge, as in The X-Files, is in making them work together effectively.

    The role of a universal ontology

    We employ a universal ontology to act as a shared language or, perhaps a better analogy, a translation exchange, ensuring that both intuitive and analytical agents communicate in terms that can be universally understood. This ontology primarily consists of 鈥渇lags鈥 鈥揼eneric indicators associated with potential fraud risks. These flags are intentionally defined broadly, capturing a wide range of behaviors or activities that could hint at fraudulent actions without constraining the agents to specific cases.

    The key to this system lies not in isolating a single flag but in identifying meaningful combinations. A single instance of a flag may not signify fraud; however, when several flags emerge together, they provide a more compelling picture of potential risk.

    鈥淭his innovation shifts the approach from simple fraud detection to proactive prevention, allowing authorities to stay ahead of fraudsters with scalable systems that learn and evolve.鈥

    Hybrid AI adaptability

    The adaptability of the system lies in the bridging between neural and symbolic AI as the LLM distills nuances in texts into hunches. They need to be structured and amplified for our analytical AI to be able to access them. As Igor Stravinsky wrote in his 1970 book Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons, 鈥淭hus what concerns us here is not imagination itself, but rather creative imagination: the faculty that helps us pass from the level of conception to the level of realization.鈥 For us, that faculty is the combination of a general ontology and vector-based similarity search. They allow us to connect hunches to flags based on semantic matching and thus address the data using general rules. Because we work in a graph context, we can also explore direct, indirect, and even implicit relations between the data.

    Now let鈥檚 explore how our team of agents picks up and amplifies weak signals, and how these signals, once interwoven in the graph, can lead the system to identify patterns spanning time and space, patterns it was not designed to identify.

    A scenario: Welfare agencies have observed a rise in fraudulent behavior, often uncovered only after individuals are exposed for other reasons like media reports. Identifying these fraud attempts earlier, ideally at the application stage, would be extremely important.

    Outcome: By combining intuitive and analytical insights, authorities uncover a well-coordinated fraud ring that would be hard to detect through traditional methods. The agents map amplified weak signals as well as explicit and implicit connections. Note also that the system was not trained on detecting this pattern; it emerged thanks to the weak signal amplification.

    One of the powers of hybrid AI lies in its ability to amplify weak signals and adapt in real time, uncovering hidden fraud patterns that traditional methods often miss. By blending the intuitive insights of LLMs with the analytical strength of knowledge graphs and multi-agent systems, we鈥檙e entering a new era of fraud detection and prevention 鈥 one that鈥檚 smarter, faster, and more effective. As Mulder might say, the truth is out there, and with the right team, we鈥檙e finally close to finding it.

    Start innovating now 鈥

    Implement a universal ontology

    Create a shared ontology to bridge neural (intuitive) and symbolic (analytical) AI agents, transforming weak signals for deeper analysis by expert systems and graph-based connections.

    Form specialized multi-agent teams

    Build teams of neural (real-time detection) and symbolic (rule-based analysis) AI agents, each specialized with tools for their role.

    Leverage graph technology for cross-referencing

    Use graph databases to link signals over time and across data sources, uncovering patterns like fraud faster, earlier, and at a lower cost than current methods.

    Interesting read?

    乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Innovation publication, Data-powered Innovation Review – Wave 9features 15 captivating innovation articles with contributions from leading experts from 乌鸦传媒, with a special mention of our external contributors from, and .听Explore the transformative potential of generative AI, data platforms, and sustainability-driven tech. Find all previous Waves here.

    Meet the authors

    Joakim Nilsson

    Knowledge Graph Lead, 乌鸦传媒 & Data, Client Partner Lead – Neo4j Europe, 乌鸦传媒听
    Joakim is part of both the Swedish and European CTO office where he drives the expansion of Knowledge Graphs forward. He is also client partner lead for Neo4j in Europe and has experience running Knowledge Graph projects as a consultant both for 乌鸦传媒 and Neo4j, both in private and public sector – in Sweden and abroad.

    Johan M眉llern-Aspegren

    Emerging Tech Lead, Applied Innovation Exchange Nordics, and Core Member of AI Futures Lab, 乌鸦传媒
    Johan M眉llern-Aspegren is Emerging Tech Lead at the Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE) Nordics, where he explores, drives and applies innovation, helping organizations navigate emerging technologies and transform them into strategic opportunities. He is also part of 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 AI Futures Lab, a global centre for AI research and innovation, where he collaborates with industry and academic partners to push the boundaries of AI development and understanding.

      The post Mulder and Scully for fraud prevention: Teaming up AI capabilities appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

      ]]>
      /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/mulder-and-scully-for-fraud-prevention-teaming-up-ai-capabilities/feed/ 0 543897
      Are data spaces the future? /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/are-data-spaces-the-future/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/are-data-spaces-the-future/#respond Tue, 04 Mar 2025 10:44:41 +0000 /fi-en/?p=543886&preview=true&preview_id=543886 The post Are data spaces the future? appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

      ]]>

      Are data spaces the future?

      Peter Kraemer, Phil Fuerst, Debarati Ganguly
      Mar 5, 2025

      Europe is building a data-driven economy in a changing geopolitical context. As it strives for both innovation and sovereignty, decentralized ecosystems offer a way to create value with data, while safeguarding freedom of choice.

      Data has the potential to transform processes, businesses, economies, and society by unlocking new kinds of value creation. It鈥檚 also how we are going to make AI work as a crucial component of the future European data economy鈥攂ut only if that data is built on strong foundations that ensure its quality and relevance.

      Of course, value creation depends on the data that鈥檚 available to you, and you might not have all the data you need. That鈥檚 why data needs to be shared and combined. In this article, we consider how data spaces meet this need, offering what the as the 鈥渁bility to provide the essential foundations for secure and efficient data sharing鈥. While our focus in this article is on European data spaces, we recognize that this is becoming a relevant topic around the world.

      Why a decentralized data economy makes sense for Europe

      Data spaces are, in effect, decentralized ecosystems that have a powerful resonance in the world today. Indeed, recognizing their huge potential, the European Commission established a series of domain-specific/sectoral common European data spaces designed to help 鈥渦nleash the enormous potential of data-driven innovation鈥.

      We see three main drivers for these common data spaces in Europe: geopolitics, commercials, and choice. In the first instance, in light of the unstable geopolitical landscape, data spaces give you assurance that all your (data) eggs aren鈥檛 in one basket.  You select the datasets you want to reside in what data space. Interoperability and portability can help avoid the dreaded lock-in effect where changing from one service provider to another might be prohibitively complicated. Commercially, data spaces address any exposure to potential monopolistic lock-in effects by individual companies cornering the market in data platforms. Then there鈥檚 the matter of choice. You choose who you interact with in a common data space, which puts you in control of who to share data with.

      Why we need data spaces

      Sharing data is key to data-driven growth. Indeed, it鈥檚 a vital aspect of the European strategy for data. But over-reliance on data platforms predominantly controlled by a limited number of international technology firms introduces potential vulnerabilities regarding data security, access, and strategic autonomy. We may also lose the ability to share data on our own terms, in accordance with our own values鈥攆reedom, privacy, control.

      An alternative future for Europe is to share data on a sovereign basis. And that implies across industries. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e so excited to be working on the DSSC and on Simpl, the open source, smart and secure middleware platform that supports data access and interoperability among European data spaces.

      Beyond technology to value creation

      Let鈥檚 not forget that a data space is only an instrument. It鈥檚 what you do with it that matters. In a data space you will be able to aggregate, combine and correlate data that you can鈥檛 today because it is stored in different places. And that鈥檚 where we begin to create significant value from data, specifically in a number of areas, as follows.

      1. Global challenges: Data spaces will prove inordinately useful in tackling grand challenges that cut across sectors and geographies. Here we鈥檙e talking about achieving mission-oriented policy goals, such as reducing healthcare inequality and achieving net zero/carbon neutrality targets. For example, the (EHDS) will be an enabler of patient empowerment, with better access to and control over health data. Further, increased reuse of EHDS data for research and policy making will improve public health interventions. A 2025 from the World Economic Forum in collaboration with 乌鸦传媒 suggests the EHDS could generate 鈧5.5 billion savings over ten years. We鈥檝e already seen the huge value of data sharing in a global crisis when, in the Covid 19 pandemic, our governments needed data from many areas at once to form policy鈥攈ealthcare systems, pharma, mobility, employment and economic data. There will be future pandemics.
      2. Innovation: Data spaces will undoubtedly contribute to data-driven innovation across the EU as it continues on its mission to build the Single Market for Data. The states, 鈥淐ommon European Data Spaces will enhance the development of new data-driven products and services in the EU, forming the core tissue of an interconnected and competitive European data economy鈥.  In this respect, the combination of data from different sources across sectors can produce fascinating new applications. Think, for example, of the traffic flow in a city, where the observation of vehicle movement and a subsequent adjustment of traffic lights can help avoid congestion, and the monitoring of parking lots eases the burden of finding a parking spot, possibly connected to a recommendation of a charging port for the car鈥檚 battery. The energy grid could then be supplied with better anticipation of demand peaks and control energy distribution accordingly.  The seamless integration of real-time public transport data can then be used to recommend the best option for getting from A to B.
      3. Efficiency: Data spaces will help in the more efficient use of resources and improve public services. A great example here is that of road surface observation. By correlating data from cars鈥 electrical sensors, it becomes possible to monitor, in real time, the deterioration of the road, and carry out preventative maintenance to optimize spend / return. And returning to the healthcare sector, access to comprehensive patient histories in a shared data ecosystem has the potential to lead to better and faster diagnosis and treatment.
      4. Science and research: Shared data can create new evidence bases for scientific and medical research. Let鈥檚 consider the following scenario鈥擨 drive to work in a convertible most days; the farmer of the field sprays an experimental fertilizer; later I develop  neurological issues but doctors are unsure how to treat them. In the future we might be able to correlate this illness with the exposure to the fertilizer by aggregating mobility data, air quality data, times that the farmer used the fertilizer, and the contents of that fertilizer.

      Questions at the edges of our data economy

      The potential for value is clear, but there are numerous challenges still to overcome鈥攁nd they are not principally digital ones. One unknown factor is what it will cost to set up and run a common data space. At this point we don鈥檛 have an adequate way to price data, so this question remains unanswered. Other questions include: How can we quantify the value of new data-driven business models vs traditional business models? And how can we pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of data ecosystems and technologies?

      The answer to all of these questions at present is that we are all on a journey with common data spaces. We improve every day and the answers will come. But it is hard to imagine that the massive contribution of sharing data to the common good will not outweigh the costs and barriers that need to be overcome.

      Above all, the decentralized model depends on participants鈥 willingness to share data. That means they must trust the other participants and the infrastructure. There is no other way to build trust except enabling people to say no. Letting people choose in itself invites trust.

      Europe can do data differently

      Data spaces are a way for Europe to reap the benefits of data for economic growth and positive societal outcomes, while affirming European values in the digital domain. They remain an integral part of the European strategy aiming to make the EU a leader in a data-driven society.

      Find out more

      Peter Kraemer will speak about the future of data sharing in Europe at the Data Spaces Symposium in Warsaw on 11-12 March. Register at

      Authors

      Peter Kraemer

      Director Data Sovereignty Solutions, 乌鸦传媒
      鈥淎 European data economy based on openness, fairness and transparency is possible, and we are determined to help make it a reality. In a flourishing data economy, all sectors will have new ways to generate value. Sovereignty means making independent and well-informed decisions about our digital interactions: where data is stored, how it is processed, and who can access it. Data spaces make these principles concrete, and we are committed to helping them grow.鈥

      Dr. Philipp Fuerst

      VP Data-Driven Government & Offer Leader, Global Public Sector
      鈥淕overnment CIOs and IT experts barely need convincing of the benefits of interoperability. What has been missing is explicit guidance on the necessary non-technical requirements. The Interoperable Europe Act helps with exactly that. What鈥檚 more, with a critical mass of collaborators, individual public sector agencies will find that their investments into interoperable and sharable solutions will result in much bigger returns.鈥

      Debarati Ganguly

      Director, Data & AI 鈥 Global Public Sector
      Debarati is a seasoned expert in Data-Driven Government, specializing in data ecosystems, governance, and AI-driven analytics for the public sector worldwide. She collaborates with leaders and AI specialists to drive strategic initiatives, ensuring ethical, sovereign, and anonymized data solutions. Her expertise helps governments and citizens unlock the true value of data, enhancing decision-making, service delivery, and overall public benefit through AI and Generative AI innovations.

        The post Are data spaces the future? appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

        ]]>
        /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/are-data-spaces-the-future/feed/ 0 543886
        Navigating the unknown terrain of digital products & services monetization /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/navigating-the-unknown-terrain-of-digital-products-services-monetization/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/navigating-the-unknown-terrain-of-digital-products-services-monetization/#respond Mon, 24 Feb 2025 11:47:56 +0000 /fi-en/?p=540804&preview=true&preview_id=540804 Master digital, service & product monetization! Discover key challenges & strategies to build winning revenue models. Learn how to connect consumer insights & industry trends.

        The post Navigating the unknown terrain of digital products & services monetization appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

        ]]>

        Monetization Jungle
        Navigating the unknown terrain of digital products & services monetization

        aftersales service
        Sebastian Marschall
        Feb 6, 2025
        capgemini-invent

        The key to success in digital, service, and product monetization lies in a sound monetization strategy that connects consumer and industry insights.

        In today鈥檚 interconnected world, the challenge of successfully monetizing digital products and services has taken center stage. Digital technology continues to drive transformation across industries, but businesses must align their monetization strategies with these innovations to fully unlock their potential. It is surprising that many companies struggle to do so effectively. Research shows that just 53% of companies successfully implement digital monetization, revealing a critical gap. This article examines the obstacles and strategies necessary to navigate the monetization landscape successfully.

        Why is monetization so challenging?

        Monetization has become increasingly complex in a digital-first world, where companies are under constant pressure to innovate and meet evolving customer expectations. More than just generating revenue, successful monetization ensures business sustainability and enhances the overall customer experience. Without the right approach, businesses risk missing out on the full potential of digital monetization.

        Whilst many companies who are implementing the right monetization strategies have successfully established new revenue streams; broadening their customer base and strengthening their overall market position, many are still getting lost in this monetization jungle, and therefore not realizing the full benefit. This can be attributed to several key challenges that companies face when implementing their strategies. Let鈥檚 explore these challenges in greater detail and examine the common barriers to successful monetization.

        The five key challenges in monetization

        Business model alignment

        A critical misstep for many organizations is the misalignment between their business model and monetization strategy. Failing to ensure this connection limits the efficiency of their monetization efforts.

        Many companies struggle to gain adequate insight into how much customers value their offerings, hindering the development of effective pricing strategies.

        A lack of collaboration across departments can hinder the seamless integration of a monetization strategy into the overall business model, causing fragmentation in efforts.

        Insufficient technological capabilities prevent businesses from capitalizing on data-driven monetization approaches, further limiting their revenue generation potential.

        Without adequate tools and processes, companies face additional complexity in both maintaining existing monetization models and introducing new ones.

        With these challenges in mind, let鈥檚 now take a closer look at the different approaches companies can use for monetization.

        Direct and indirect monetization strategies

        Direct and Indirect Monetization Strategies infographic

        In tackling these challenges, it is essential to distinguish between direct and indirect monetization strategies. Direct monetization involves generating revenue directly from a product or service, while indirect monetization leverages secondary or complementary revenue streams. 

        • Direct Monetization: This includes strategies such as one-time purchases, subscription models, pay-per-use approaches, and freemium services. Each of these models has its own advantages. For instance, a one-time payment offers transparent pricing, while subscription models ensure consistent revenue streams. The freemium model, where users are offered a basic free version and then enticed to pay for additional features, is particularly effective for building a large user base and crafting a strong and relevant service monetization offer. 
        • Indirect Monetization: Companies can generate revenue indirectly through advertising, transaction-based models, or data monetization. Data monetization, in particular, is becoming increasingly valuable as companies collect, enrich, and sell customer data to third parties or use it to enhance their services internally. This creates new opportunities to drive revenue while improving the customer experience. 

        Having discussed the key strategies, we now turn to an equally critical component – how these strategies align with pricing models. 

        Aligning monetization with pricing strategy 

        Any successful monetization strategy must also be aligned with a robust pricing strategy. Businesses need to carefully consider several factors to set the right prices, including: 

        • Cost Structures: A comprehensive understanding of all associated costs 鈥攕uch as research and development, production, and marketing 鈥 is vital for setting profitable prices. 
        • Competition: Pricing should reflect a company鈥檚 market position relative to its competitors. By analyzing the pricing strategies of rivals, businesses can adjust their own prices to remain competitive. 
        • Customer Value Perception: Pricing strategies must consider how customers perceive the value of a product or service. A strong understanding of customer preferences can help segment the market and tailor pricing to different groups. 
        • Product & Service Lifecycle: As products and services evolve, pricing strategies need to be adjusted to reflect their lifecycle stage, ensuring the right balance between market penetration and profitability. 

        Let鈥檚 now explore how these strategies can be applied in different industries, each facing its own unique challenges. 

        Industry 乌鸦传媒: Applying monetization strategies across sectors 

        Monetization strategies must be tailored to the specific needs of each industry. 乌鸦传媒 from the automotive, manufacturing, and life sciences sectors provide valuable lessons on how companies can successfully implement monetization strategies. 

        • Automotive Industry: In the automotive sector, monetizing digital services through connected car data is a key focus. Subscription-based services, such as real-time navigation or diagnostics, provide recurring revenue streams while improving customer satisfaction. 
        • Manufacturing Industry: Manufacturers are transitioning from hardware-centric to software-driven business models. By leveraging IoT (Internet of Things) and AI technologies, they can create new revenue streams from data-driven services and platform-based solutions.听
        • Life Sciences Industry: Monetization in life sciences often involves the development of digital health platforms and the monetization of patient data. Outcome-based pricing models, which tie the cost of services to their success in improving patient health, offer an innovative approach to generating revenue. 

        How can businesses ensure they are on the right path to mastering monetization? 

        Moving forward: Strategies for navigating the monetization jungle 

        To successfully navigate the complex terrain of monetization, businesses need a strategy that aligns with both their overall business goals and customer expectations. Achieving this requires action from two perspectives: 

        1. The Business Perspective: Companies must start by conducting a thorough analysis of their cost structures and the market to determine competitive pricing. This involves understanding all cost components associated with delivering digital products and services and assessing how these costs can be distributed. Once the costs are clear, businesses can use competitor pricing analysis to find the best market position and adjust their prices accordingly, which in turn is how product monetization can be scoped before deploying any monetization strategy 
        2. The Customer Perspective: Building strong customer relationships is essential to successful monetization. Understanding customer needs, preferences, and their willingness to pay is key to tailoring pricing strategies and maximizing profits. Companies should also leverage tools like customer surveys and willingness-to-pay analysis to refine their strategies.

        Conclusion: Mastering the art of monetization

        As companies continue to expand into digital products and services, monetization strategies must evolve to meet new demands. Whether through direct or indirect monetization, success depends on a company鈥檚 ability to align these strategies with its broader business goals, pricing, and customer relationships.

        Mastering the art of monetization is essential for any business looking to thrive in today鈥檚 digital world. By overcoming the challenges that many companies face, businesses can unlock new revenue streams, enhance customer satisfaction, and ensure long-term growth and success.

        Authors

        aftersales service

        Sebastian Marschall

        Senior Director – Connected World Lead Germany & Head of Connected Products & Services Germany, 乌鸦传媒 Invent

        Marvin Boehm

        Senior Manager – Connected Products & Services, 乌鸦传媒 Invent

        Joana da Silva Cerqueira

        Joana da Silva Cerqueira

        Manager – Connected Products & Services, 乌鸦传媒 Invent

        Selma Heer

        Senior Consultant – Connected Products & Services, 乌鸦传媒 Invent

        Raphael Stabler

        Raphael Stabler

        Consultant 鈥 Connected Products & Services, 乌鸦传媒 Invent

        Experts

        Jeff Hebert

        Jeff Hebert

        Executive Vice President, Global Head of Intelligent Products & Services for Intelligent Industry, 乌鸦传媒 Invent鈥
        As Executive Vice President and Global Head of Intelligent Products & Services for Intelligent Industry, Jeff brings together experts from across the global 乌鸦传媒 Invent family, including frog, Synapse and Cambridge Consultants to imagine, make and scale the next generation of connected products and services. Jeff has been with Synapse product development for 14 years and President for over 5 years, having previously worked as a software developer, entrepreneur, venture capital analyst, and strategy consultant.
        aftersales service

        Sebastian Marschall

        Senior Director, Connected World Lead Germany & Head of Connected Products & Services Germany, 乌鸦传媒 Invent鈥
        Sebastian is a Senior Director at 乌鸦传媒 Invent, leading our Connected Products & Services unit in Germany, along with the associated offering 鈥淐onnected World.鈥 He helps clients to unlock top line growth potential and operational efficiencies by developing innovative digital service portfolios and new business models around connected solutions through leveraging an established end-to-end methodology.

          Stay informed

          Subscribe to get notified about the latest articles and reports from our experts at 乌鸦传媒 Invent

          The post Navigating the unknown terrain of digital products & services monetization appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

          ]]>
          /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/navigating-the-unknown-terrain-of-digital-products-services-monetization/feed/ 0 540804
          Trends in 2025 for Healthcare /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-healthcare/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-healthcare/#respond Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:21:15 +0000 /fi-en/?p=540789&preview=true&preview_id=540789 The post Trends in 2025 for Healthcare appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

          ]]>

          Trends in 2025 for Healthcare

          Elin Heir, Dr. Soumya Sampada, Reginald Samuel, Angela Heinrich
          Feb 28, 2025

          The healthcare sector is undergoing transformative changes, driven by technological advancements, data ecosystems, evolving patient needs, and a growing emphasis on sustainability. The focus is on shifting care from hospitals to patients’ homes and enhancing quality of life with minimal disruptions.

          Healthcare providers are embracing digital solutions and collaborative models to create more integrated, efficient, and patient-centered systems. At the same time, challenges such as an aging population and resource constraints are prompting the exploration of new care delivery models. Several emerging trends reflect these pressures, all underpinned by the critical role of data, which is key to optimizing healthcare delivery, improving patient outcomes, and creating a more connected, efficient, and sustainable system.

          Healthcare is shifting from hospital-centric care to an integrated, patient-centered approach across the entire continuum- from prevention to long-term wellness. Globally, aging populations and workforce shortages highlight the need for efficient and continuous care. Collaboration between local and specialist providers is crucial, supported by digital solutions that empower patients and reduce hospital dependence. Value-based care is replacing traditional models, prioritizing patient-reported outcomes and personalized health management.

          As healthcare evolves beyond traditional hospital settings, it is leveraging digital solutions to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and patient engagement. Digital home monitoring and virtual care are expanding rapidly, enabling patients to receive high-quality medical attention from home. Virtual hospitals integrate remote monitoring, teleconsultations, and AI-driven diagnostics, creating a seamless digital ecosystem.听
          AI-powered medical devices and data sharing are revolutionizing health monitoring, allowing real-time decision support and personalized care. While hospitals traditionally have managed these devices, there is a growing shift toward patient-owned health data collection. This transformation demands strong data governance frameworks and interoperability between patient devices and clinical systems.
          Empowering patients through education and engagement is crucial for proactive health management. Platforms that support self-monitoring, shared decision-making, and patient education enable individuals to take control of their health. Denmark鈥檚 鈥淒atadonor鈥 initiative, developed by 乌鸦传媒, allows patients to contribute personal health data for medical research while ensuring privacy and transparency.听
          Stronger coordination between primary and specialist care ensures better patient outcomes. National health portals and integrated care models facilitate real-time data exchange, fostering trust among healthcare providers and improving holistic care delivery.听
          Reducing hospital admissions through proactive measures is a key goal of digital health. Real-time patient monitoring and data access enable early detection of health issues, allowing timely interventions and reducing hospital strain.

          Over the past five years, the healthcare ecosystem has experienced exponential technological advancements. These developments have significantly enhanced efficiency and provide deeper insights into patient and population care.听

          The healthcare industry is at the forefront of data generation, contributing approximately . This trend is expected to continue, with increasing aggregation of diverse data sources such as lifestyle data, diagnostic results, genomic data, and more. These data are collected through various platforms, including health information exchange systems, electronic medical records (EMR/EHR), wearable devices, medical sensors, social media and others.听
          As data generation and aggregation continue to grow, the application of advanced analytics and AI will play a pivotal role in understanding and addressing patient needs, predicting health trends, and tailoring treatments effectively.听
          The following are just a few of the many AI applications in healthcare:
          Virtual health assistants: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide patients with medical advice, reminders for medication, and support for managing chronic conditions. They are also supporting healthcare professionals in summarizing patients鈥 medical records or recommending treatment plans.
          Personalized treatment plans: AI can help clinicians to tailor treatment plans to individual patients based on their unique genetic makeup and medical history.
          Predictive analytics: AI can predict patient outcomes and disease outbreaks by analyzing vast amounts of data, enabling proactive healthcare measures. AI can also create digital twins to simulate scenarios that validate clinical decisions.听
          A recent has shown that digital solutions have significantly improved health workers’ performance, mental health, skills, and competencies, which directly impacts the health and wellbeing of patients and the broader population.听
          While advances in technology have led to an increase in solutions with overlapping functionalities, this proliferation poses a significant challenge for stakeholders in selecting the most appropriate solution for their specific needs. Additionally, regulatory and compliance issues, seamless system integration for data sharing, and security concerns remain major challenges.

          Value-based care is a healthcare delivery model that focuses on providing high-quality care while improving patient outcomes and reducing costs. Instead of paying providers based on the volume of services they deliver, value-based care ties payments to the quality and efficiency of care provided. Healthcare organizations are moving away from the traditional brick-and-mortar delivery model towards a hybrid approach that combines virtual care with in-facility care to enhance clinical outcomes.

          The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) plays a crucial role in this transformation, as monitoring patients’ biomarkers and intervening at the right time is critical in virtual care. To build a sustainable IoMT ecosystem, collaboration is vital among healthcare providers, technology vendors, regulatory bodies, industry stakeholders, and academic institutions. These partnerships foster innovation, ensure regulatory compliance, and promote interoperability within the IoMT ecosystem.听
          The following IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) devices are among those already making a significant impact in healthcare:
          – Continuous glucose monitors: Used by diabetic patients, these devices continuously monitor blood glucose levels and send alerts if levels become abnormal.
          – Smart inhalers: These devices help patients with asthma or COPD by monitoring inhaler usage and providing feedback to ensure proper medication adherence.
          – Connected contact lenses: These innovative lenses can monitor glucose levels in tears, offering a non-invasive method for diabetes management.
          – Software as a medical device (SaMD): Software applications can measure vital signs, monitor stress levels, and predict strokes utilizing the inbuilt camera of a mobile phone.

          Health outcomes are shaped by more than just clinical interventions鈥攕ocial, behavioral, and mental health factors play a critical role. Research from the shows that while medical care accounts for only 20% of health outcomes, 80% is influenced by social determinants of health (SDoH), such as education, income, housing, and access to nutritious food.

          Addressing these factors is essential to improving health equity, reducing disparities, and lowering long-term healthcare costs. However, fragmented data, limited collaboration between healthcare and social organizations, and funding challenges continue to hinder progress.听
          With the shift toward value-based care, healthcare organizations are increasingly using data to bridge the gap between medical and social care. Innovative initiatives include:

          : Uses self-reported race, ethnicity, and language data to drive health equity initiatives, influencing insurers to adopt similar strategies.
          : Identifies economically vulnerable women at risk for breast cancer, providing social support and mobile mammography outreach to improve early detection.
          – Employs risk-adjusted data models to reduce emergency visits by 15% and enhance patient satisfaction.

          While these initiatives demonstrate progress, achieving full integration of SDoH into healthcare remains a long-term goal. To drive meaningful change, healthcare systems must invest in data interoperability, strengthen partnerships with community organizations, and adopt innovative funding models. Leveraging data-driven insights will be essential for transforming health outcomes, making care more equitable, and ensuring long-term sustainability in global healthcare systems.

          Data has long been a cornerstone of physical health management, yet its use in mental and behavioral health lagged despite benefits such as stigma reduction through implementation in routine medical visits and cost savings through early intervention and prevention. Conditions like anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders require continuous monitoring and personalized interventions, making data-driven approaches essential for improved outcomes.

          However, challenges including limited funding, inadequate workforce training, and data-sharing restrictions exist. Several healthcare systems have implemented innovative approaches to overcome these barriers:

          – Collaborative Care Model (CoCM): Implemented by the (SAMHSA) is a team-based approach that integrates primary care providers, psychiatrists, and care managers to improve coordination and treatment for complex mental health cases.
          – NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT) in the UK: The NHS鈥檚 Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program, now known as , enables self-referrals for evidence-based psychological treatments, improving accessibility and reducing stigma.
          – Community-based behavioral services: Peer support networks, such as those offered by the and telehealth solutions expand access to mental health services, particularly underserved populations and rural communities.

          By integrating mental health into primary care, utilizing unified electronic health records, leveraging digital tools, and expanding access through community-driven models, healthcare systems can improve patient outcomes, enhance accessibility, and ensure sustainable mental health care delivery.

          Data drives insights, predictions, and personalized care. For instance, the UK鈥檚 NHS initiative utilizes health data to identify at-risk populations and implement early interventions. Singapore鈥檚 leverages AI and genomics for early detection and personalized preventive care and the UAE鈥檚 centralizes data to enhance public health and community engagement. To maximize data鈥檚 impact, healthcare systems must build interoperable ecosystems, invest in predictive analytics, improve data quality, ensure privacy, and empower citizens with access to their health information.

          Effective incentives align actions with preventive care goals.听
          – For citizens, these include financial rewards and gamified health programs to incentivize healthier lifestyles. Examples include Singapore鈥檚 and Germany Ministry of Health鈥檚 offering bonuses for .听
          – Healthcare providers benefit through value-based payments such as US鈥檚 Pay for Performance (P4P) bonuses and the UK鈥檚 that rewards providers for achieving preventive health targets.
          – Lastly, policymakers are incentivized through performance-based budgets, public-private partnerships for innovation, and policy-driven taxes, such as Mexico鈥檚 that encourages healthier behaviors.
          Proactive care emphasizes early detection, health literacy, and lifestyle interventions. It requires a digital infrastructure for seamless data integration and real-time monitoring, workforce training for upskilling healthcare professionals in prevention-focused care, and public-private collaboration for driving innovation and scalable preventive models.听
          Data, incentives, and proactive care form a reinforcing cycle that drives preventive healthcare. Governments, healthcare providers, tech companies, and citizens must collaborate through effective policies, technologies, and shared responsibility. Investing in prevention reduces costs and improves societal wellbeing, making it essential for the future of global health.

          Summary and outlook: A digital, data-driven future

          Digitization, and a deeper integration of data into everyday care are bringing rapid change to the healthcare sector. As healthcare systems adapt to evolving patient expectations and increasing demand for sustainability, the focus will shift toward enhancing accessibility and efficiency through digital tools.

          Medical costs are projected to rise at a global average rate of in 2025, highlighting the urgent need for cost-effective solutions. Key trends will include the widespread adoption of digital home monitoring, AI-powered personalized treatments, the integration of behavioral and mental health services into primary care, and a stronger emphasis on prevention to reduce long-term healthcare costs.

          As medical technologies continue to drive up costs, nearly of insurers report that new medical technologies are the top cost driver globally. This trend is particularly significant in the Americas () and Asia Pacific (). To mitigate these rising costs, there is a growing push to make healthcare more cost-efficient without compromising patient care. The integration of digital tools, such as telehealth, will play a crucial role in this transition. added telehealth and wellbeing services to their portfolios in 2024, an increase from in 2023, underscoring the growing importance of remote care in improving healthcare access and efficiency.

          At the same time, demand for healthcare services is expected to rise significantly. With of insurers predicting higher or significantly higher medical trends globally, healthcare systems will need to adopt more sustainable, tech-driven care models to meet these demands. This is especially evident in regions like Asia Pacific, where of insurers anticipate increased medical trends.

          These trends will converge this year to create a more connected, data-driven healthcare system that prioritizes both patients wellbeing and system sustainability. The widespread adoption of digital health tools, personalized AI treatments, and integrated mental health services will help address rising costs and increasing demand, making healthcare more accessible and efficient.

          Learn more

          Authors

          ElinHeir_Sector Lead Healthcare

          Elin Heir

          Sector Lead Healthcare, Norway
          “Healthcare is changing fast, with accelerating technological developments, shifting demographics, and medical advances that enable us to treat more patients and more diseases. This puts increased pressure on the economy and our healthcare services. Digitalization and human-centered design are key to raising the quality of healthcare, and making life easier and healthier for both the public and healthcare professionals.”

          Dr. Soumya Sampada N. S

          Senior Director, Global Public Sector – Healthcare
          “As a recognized authority in healthcare, I see a pivotal opportunity to transform the industry through innovative solutions and collaborative initiatives. By harnessing integrated care strategies and emerging technologies, we can elevate healthcare outcomes and operational efficiency. This shift not only prioritizes preventive care and digital health transformation but also fosters partnerships among diverse stakeholders. Together, we can create scalable, impactful solutions that enhance the quality of care and shape a healthier future for our communities.”

          Reginald Samuel

          Director, Health Industries, 乌鸦传媒 Invent Middle East
          “The health industry is still one of the least digitized sectors worldwide. Over the past decade, I have dedicated myself to bridging the gap between clinical and technology. My experience encompasses working with healthcare providers, health insurance companies, regulators, and life science companies.”

          Angela Heinrich

          Healthcare Segment Facilitator in the Global Public Sector
          As a Healthcare Segment Facilitator within 乌鸦传媒’s Global Public Sector team, I lead efforts to address global trends and challenges through digital innovation. By fostering collaboration, we create value for both public sector clients and society. Advancements in AI, remote medicine, and biotechnology are reshaping healthcare, and we aim to drive a more sustainable, patient-centered system for a more equitable future.

            The post Trends in 2025 for Healthcare appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

            ]]>
            /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-healthcare/feed/ 0 540789
            Trends in 2025 for Tax and Customs /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-tax-and-customs/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-tax-and-customs/#respond Wed, 12 Feb 2025 09:56:27 +0000 /fi-en/?p=540770&preview=true&preview_id=540770 The post Trends in 2025 for Tax and Customs appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

            ]]>

            Trends in 2025 for Tax and Customs

            Karl Heinz Krug, Ellie Mills, Jonathan Sugden, Peter Thompson
            Feb 12, 2025

            Advanced technologies, data ecosystems, and artificial intelligence (AI) in government are driving transformation in tax and customs. How can authorities in these two areas make best use of these developments to enhance customer experiences, ensure compliance, and protect against cybersecurity threats?

            Tax and customs authorities have entered what鈥檚 known as the 鈥淩elationship Era,鈥 where they are redefining how they engage with customers. Inspired by the seamless digital experiences offered by the private sector, different customer groups now expect the same level of service when they鈥檙e paying their taxes. Tax authorities must rise to this challenge by providing frictionless taxpayer experiences that build trust in the tax system. This shift will be driven by a more interconnected tax system that places customers at its core.

            The predicts that paying taxes will become an increasingly seamless experience that鈥檚 integrated into daily life. As we move forward, it is imperative for tax agencies to embrace change and innovate continuously to meet the growing demands of today鈥檚 taxpayers.

            The trends we explore here are closely intertwined and constantly evolving.

            Current geopolitical shifts are causing significant changes in global trade, affecting governments, trade policy, and border operations. This has far-reaching implications for tax and customs. The reshaping of the political and trade landscape, including the potential for damaging tariff wars, will greatly impact the future of trade and its operations. This is coupled with a continued emphasis on combating sanction circumventions and illicit trade.
            In response to these challenges, the trade ecosystem is embracing and driving supply chain advancements. Trade blocs, like the EU, are seeking to reinvent their customs models. New legislation in political blocs, such as the (CBAM) and (ViDA), will also play a pivotal role in shaping the future of trade.
            The growing importance of global e-commerce, particularly highlighted by the Chinese e-commerce market, demands greater visibility of trade flows and stronger anti-fraud measures. China’s domestic digital policy regulations and the 鈥淕reat Firewall鈥 create barriers for foreign businesses. This dynamic is propelling initiatives like the , which aims to enhance visibility across the end-to-end supply chain, thereby improving control over customs flows. This transformation seeks to reduce the burden on traders, provide greater flexibility, and equip regulators with stronger control and more effective anti-fraud measures.
            The concept of intelligent customs is also becoming increasingly important in this context. Intelligent customs leverage advanced technologies, such as AI, data ecosystems and automation, to improve risk management functions within customs. This is enabling authorities to identify sanction circumvention and illicit trade, and to combat drug smuggling. These technologies enable real-time monitoring and pattern recognition, allowing authorities to detect anomalies and suspicious activities more effectively.
            That鈥檚 not all. The increase in tariffs further incentivizes non-compliance through the obfuscation of the true country of origin through circuitous shipping routes. This leads to a conflict between regulators and those traders attempting to exploit these loopholes. Tax authorities will need to leverage advanced technologies, including intelligent customs solutions, to combat this.

            Despite geopolitical volatility, the universal objective of all tax authorities remains to maximize tax revenue. To enable this, a significant transformation in customer services 听aims to create a frictionless taxpayer experience. This will enhance satisfaction and streamline processes to reduce the time and effort required for tax-related tasks, thereby improving upstream compliance.

            sets out a vision for the digital transformation of tax administration, under which those processes become more effortless over time. One of the key enhancements highlighted in the report is the use of mobile apps and API technology. These tools will play a crucial role in enabling natural systems, making it easier for customers to interact with the tax authority. By capitalizing on this, tax authorities will be able to leverage data that customers have already entered on other platforms. For instance, if a taxpayer is augmenting income through platforms such as Uber or eBay, the tax authority could automatically extract the necessary data without requiring the customer to re-enter it.
            Furthermore, integrating taxation processes into the systems taxpayers naturally use for their daily transactions and interconnecting them with tax authorities鈥 systems can allow data to move automatically through machine-to-machine processes. In addition, the exploitation of AI and the deployment of real-time data sharing, protected by privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) such as differential privacy, federated learning, homomorphic encryption, and confidential computing, will enable tax and customs agencies to better anticipate and address customer needs.听
            Collaborative data ecosystems will be essential for tax agencies to tackle these complex challenges, fostering improved customer engagement and data-driven policymaking. According to the 乌鸦传媒 Research Institute, 80% of public sector organizations have already started implementing these ecosystems, recognizing their potential to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and outcomes.
            Despite being the norm outside the public sector, open banking is still being introduced in many areas of tax and customs. For tax agencies, open banking will provide customers with personalized and convenient financial services, as well as efficient payment methods, exemplified by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the UK.
            Combined, these approaches will enhance the taxpayer experience and further integrate tax-related tasks into daily life. And this new trend, illustrated by HMRC, is : 鈥淣ow 100% of customers can pay by open banking鈥, while 鈥渋t鈥檚 already the 3rd most popular way for individuals and businesses to pay their taxes, coming behind other bank transfers and direct debit, but ahead of cards, CHAPS and BACS.鈥

            There is little point in improving the customer experience if you don鈥檛 simultaneously improve tax authorities鈥 internal ways of working. Therefore, a shift from program-based approaches to product-centered thinking 鈥 and underpinned by innovation 鈥 will be pivotal. This approach emphasizes the importance of collaboration at an enterprise level to deliver value faster and more sustainably. Furthermore, the rise of innovation labs within agencies is helping to foster a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation, enabling the development of cutting-edge solutions to complex challenges that all tax authorities face.

            The World Economic Forum鈥檚 highlights that 60% of employers expect advancements in digital access to transform their business by 2030. Within that specifically, advancements in AI and information processing are expected to be transformative for 86% of employers. This shift will allow for new roles in government AI and data analysis, such as data lab analysts, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) engineers, AI ethicists, data labelling specialists and prompt engineers, further enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of tax and customs operations.
            Similarly, the emergence of new roles, such as the chief data officer, underscores the growing importance of data governance and analytics in driving strategic decision-making on the back of the information an organization sits on. This role has been further explored in IDC鈥檚 Playbook for Public Sector Chief Data Officers in the Era of AI and Data Spaces, sponsored by 乌鸦传媒.
            In addition to these advancements, the integration of agentic AI will play a crucial role in transforming the tax and customs workplace. Agentic AI systems, which can work and act intelligently and independently, promise to revolutionize human-machine collaboration by automating decision-making and adapting to evolving tasks with minimal human intervention. This will enable tax and customs agencies to streamline workflows, improve incident response, and enhance overall productivity. By leveraging agentic AI, agencies can combine and integrate multiple tasks across the business process value chain, ensuring seamless coordination and execution of complex operations.
            By embracing these strategies, tax and customs agencies can navigate the complexities of the global trade environment, support economic growth, and ensure compliance through tailored interactions designed to change taxpayers鈥 behavior. The integration of advanced technologies and data analytics will further enhance customer satisfaction and processes, making tax-related tasks more efficient and effective.

            Making tax easier for taxpayers to interact with and understand is the most effective way to improve compliance. We expect tax agencies to build on this over the coming year, with compliance likely to be a top priority for many authorities. Automation and AI in government will be instrumental in ensuring adherence to tax regulations. By automating routine compliance tasks, agencies can concentrate on more complex issues, thereby enhancing overall efficiency and minimizing the risk of errors. This transformation will also improve the monitoring and enforcement of tax laws, ensuring that all entities comply with the necessary standards.

            Anomaly detection tools will play a crucial role in identifying unusual patterns or discrepancies in tax data, allowing tax agencies to detect potential fraud and non-compliance more effectively. The rise in the quality of AI-enabled tools, combined with the leveraging of larger and more relevant data sets, can provide deeper insights and more accurate risk assessments.
            Tax authorities will need to adopt a more proactive approach to influence upstream compliance through tailored interactions designed to modify customer behavior. This new operational paradigm leverages hyper-personalized interactions to predict, personalize, and learn, positively affecting both taxpayers and colleagues. By addressing compliance at an earlier stage, tax agencies can pre-empt potential compliance issues, ensuring adherence to regulatory standards from the outset.

            Cyberattacks on tax and customs systems are an increasingly real and present threat. This necessitates significant investments in cybersecurity measures. It will be crucial for agencies to implement robust security protocols, conduct regular audits, and stay ahead of emerging threats to safeguard their operations and build trust with taxpayers. Gartner in its emphasizes the critical need for advanced cybersecurity measures to counter increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, which are exacerbated by the rise in transnational organized crime and state-sponsored actors. These state-sponsored actors, often backed by national governments, are becoming more adept at launching cyberattacks to disrupt and exploit tax and customs systems for political and economic gain, as showcased in the by hackers toward the end of 2024.
            A report published by the 乌鸦传媒 Research Institute on what AI and Generative AI (Gen AI) can bring to cybersecurity shows that 92% of organizations surveyed in May 2024 had experienced a breach, a marked increase from 51% in 2021, with about half reporting losses exceeding $50 million over the past three years. It is no surprise then that in our Top Tech Trends of 2025, 89% of government and public service executives surveyed cited AI and Gen AI in cybersecurity as one of the top three trends. As cybersecurity incidents, including phishing, ransomware, and deepfakes, become more sophisticated, organizations must enhance their defenses by leveraging AI and Gen AI to transform how security professionals predict, detect, and respond to threats.

            Responding to complexity and change

            In conclusion, embracing advanced technologies, data analytics, and innovative strategies will better equip tax and customs authorities to navigate the complexities of the global trade environment and enhance customer satisfaction. We also expect these technologies, along with data ecosystems and AI, to help agencies ensure robust compliance and cybersecurity measures.

            Learn more

            Authors

            Karl Heinz Krug

            Vice President, Industry Lead Public Finance Europe
            鈥淚 am passionate about tax and public finance and how technology and digitalization can improve governments’ ability to improve taxpayers’ experience, revenue collection and government spending. The core areas of ministries of finance, such as tax, customs, budget and financial markets, are the focus of my interest. I help my clients address their biggest challenges by providing best-in-class technology solutions.鈥

            Ellie Mills

            Global Tax and Customs Segment Facilitator听
            Leveraging our global expertise and collaborative approach, 乌鸦传媒 delivers innovative tax and customs solutions tailored to drive value for clients worldwide. By sharing best practices and insights, we ensure efficient, equitable processes that support global prosperity and stability. Partner with us to navigate the future of tax and customs with confidence.

            Jonathan Sugden

            Chief Architect, Global Tax and Customs
            Unlock new opportunities through our expertise in applying innovation across global tax and customs. We help clients navigate complex regulations, optimize their operations, and achieve world class customer service, ensuring they stay ahead in a competitive market. Partner with us to transform your challenges into strategic advantages and drive sustainable growth.

            Peter Thompson

            Principal Solution Architect, 乌鸦传媒 UK
            Pete advises on solutions, tech trends, and strategy within 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 global customs community. He has been involved in some of the largest transformation programmes across UK border authorities and ensures 乌鸦传媒 can deliver innovative technology-driven solutions to drive sustainable change.

              The post Trends in 2025 for Tax and Customs appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

              ]]>
              /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-tax-and-customs/feed/ 0 540770
              Trends in 2025 for Welfare /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-welfare/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-welfare/#respond Tue, 11 Feb 2025 09:39:17 +0000 /fi-en/?p=540757&preview=true&preview_id=540757 The post Trends in 2025 for Welfare appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

              ]]>

              Trends in 2025 for Welfare

              Aarcha Zenya, Thilo Marquardt, Gustaf Soderlund & Vanshikha Bhat
              Feb 21, 2025

              How will digitalization accelerate transformation in welfare services throughout 2025?

              According to an OECD report, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). However, despite significant strides towards digitalization, welfare organizations are not fully realizing the potential of AI to improve user-centricity, foster innovation through collaboration, and speed up accessibility advancements. They have also yet to make the best use of increasingly sophisticated AI鈥攐r what鈥檚 known as agentic AI. A focus on these areas underpins the key trends for welfare services in 2025. 

              While the use of AI may have contributed to what the describes as a 50% increase in the delivery of social benefits, the fact remains that there is huge untapped potential for digital tools to help create a more inclusive, sustainable and effective welfare system for future generations.  Our work with welfare agencies worldwide has enabled us both to identify the trends shaping welfare services this year and to help organizations seize the opportunities these trends present, notably in advancing the use of AI.

              Welfare organizations have increasingly followed the private sector’s footsteps in placing citizens at the center of their operations. This shift involves adopting a focus on life events, such as birth, graduation, (un-)employment, marriage, and death. Public organizations recognize the need for proactive systems to support these life events鈥攆or example, an acceptance letter from a university should automatically trigger educational support schemes. However, making this a reality is easier said than done. Two key elements are essential for achieving this proactivity within user-centric welfare.
              The first is a joint systems architecture. Developing interoperable systems allows different welfare programs and services to connect seamlessly, providing a holistic view of beneficiaries. The 鈥渟ingle door鈥 concept for public welfare services is not new鈥攖he Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration (Nav) was established in 2006 with the goal of being a one-stop-shop for labor market, national insurance, and social service inquiries. However, from a technological standpoint, most welfare providers are only at the early stages of embracing a joint systems architecture.
              Second, data sharing and usage are pivotal for addressing citizen needs. Collaborative data ecosystems facilitate partnerships between multiple institutions to actively share and utilize data. These ecosystems enable joint value creation to gain deeper insights into the specific needs and preferences of different citizens. This allows proactive interventions, personalized service delivery, and optimized resource allocation. Robust data governance and protection policies are essential to maintain trust.
              Several countries are exploring joint systems architecture and data intelligence concepts to enhance user-centricity, positioning them as trendsetters in this area. The app in Singapore is a digital platform that offers access to over 100 government services, facilitating interactions with public agencies so that citizens can receive support tailored to their life events. Similarly, the UK’s initiative allows citizens to report a death to multiple government agencies simultaneously. This reduces the administrative burden on the bereaved, demonstrating the potential of integrated systems to enhance user experience during critical and emotional life events. Additionally, the is a good example that showcases how social security and welfare services can be improved with secure storage and sharing of personal information and credentials. These cases highlight that responsive and efficient welfare systems can be created with connected technologies and data intelligence.

              Welfare agencies recognize that innovation is necessary to keep pace with citizens鈥 needs and expectations, while enhancing service delivery and improving efficiency. Many are now looking at several game-changing technologies, such as AI, blockchain and virtual reality (VR). AI is already lowering the workload of social workers: AI-driven transcription for example can free up caseworkers鈥 time to focus more on citizens鈥 needs. Similarly, blockchain technologies aid in increasing the efficiency and security of welfare payments, ensuring accurate and safe payment to the right recipients. Furthermore, immersive training environments can be created for social workers with virtual reality, a prerequisite for preparedness and effectiveness in real-life situations.
              The drive for innovation can be achieved through collaboration. Initiatives such as the European Social Network facilitate sharing of learnings from innovation within the realm of social services, including welfare, employment and education. Collaboration setups are continuously evolving at the country level. For example, we are witnessing the rise of 鈥淕ovTech鈥濃攁 collaborative initiative aimed at fostering innovation and digital transformation within the public sector. Welfare organizations have joined GovTech Campus Deutschland to collaborate on a range of topics, related not only to the public sector but also to the broader ecosystem. Welfare agencies are also closely working on areas such as the future of multi-cloud within social security, the development of ecosystems of labs, technology radars, use cases and proofs of concept.
              However, welfare providers can go far beyond exchanging best and worst practices. They have much to gain from addressing common challenges together. By pooling resources and expertise, they can effectively tackle areas such as AI intellectual property, data sharing, and interoperability. This collaborative approach not only accelerates innovation but also ensures that solutions are scalable and sustainable across different regions and contexts.

              The estimates that approximately 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the global population, live with disabilities. Legislation such as the European Accessibility Act, Accessible Canada Act, Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act in Norway, and the UK鈥檚 Disability Discrimination Act, is designed to ensure that products and services are made accessible to people with disabilities, promoting inclusivity across nations and sectors. As a result, welfare organizations are increasingly prioritizing digital accessibility.
              Digital accessibility means designing and developing digital content to meet the needs of all users, including those with visible and non-visible disabilities. Websites, mobile apps, and all digital interfaces can be made more inclusive and accessible. Unfortunately, digital accessibility has sometimes been overlooked in the move towards digital-first experiences; but digital tools can also be used to close the accessibility gap.
              Welfare organizations can leverage customer experience technologies to offer alternative ways for citizens to interact, listen, write and speak. A 乌鸦传媒 report on digital accessibility underscores the growing emphasis on creating inclusive digital environments. For instance, the report mentions the implementation of voice recognition software and screen readers to aid individuals with visual impairments. Additionally, digital platforms are incorporating real-time captioning and sign language interpretation services to assist those with hearing impairments. These technologies not only enhance accessibility but also improve the overall user experience by making digital interactions more intuitive and user-friendly. Moreover, the report highlights the significance of user-centered design鈥攊nvolving users with disabilities in the design and testing phases. This approach ensures that the specific needs of all users are addressed, leading to better accessibility outcomes.

              Governments worldwide have quickly made the development and adoption of AI a core goal. The UK government鈥檚 cites it as potentially the “single biggest lever to deliver its听five missions, especially the goal of kickstarting broad-based economic growth.” Singapore鈥檚 drives for AI use that is not just project-based but systemic, with a conversational chatbot answering resident鈥檚 questions about public services. aims for 80% of the public sector to have adopted AI by the end of this year. How does the application of AI promise to transform the welfare sector?
              There is an increasing focus on AI agents, with AI applications that are capable of planning and executing tasks with minimal or limited human intervention. Additionally, the applications evolve from rule-based actions to reasoning-based actions by leveraging real-time data. With AI agents proactively and autonomously completing distinct assignments, humans are freed up to focus on more meaningful and impactful work. Examples of AI-assisted work include detecting fraud, managing administrative HR tasks, and assisting citizens with routine enquiries. While the AI ensures fewer mistakes and more efficient problem solving, humans can focus on building better relationships with both citizens and new staff.
              Many countries are now developing or piloting AI agents that could revolutionize interactions between citizens and government. AI-enabled virtual assistants can deliver a seamless and informative self-service experience wherever people need support in navigating public services and policies: from tax enquiries to social benefits, medical benefits and more. Key components include realistic and live interactive conversations, a robust knowledge base and multilingual support. The transformative potential of AI in enhancing public sector services is coming into view.

              2025 鈥 a year of maturity or uncertainty?

              Will 2025 be the year of maturity for agentic AI in social welfare? Being a crucial touchpoint for public sector interactions, welfare organizations stand to benefit immensely from the potential of AI. However, the journey towards maturity involves strong executive support, robust technological infrastructure, a solid data foundation, a trained workforce, and a clear AI strategy.

              Even with all of these building blocks in place, welfare organizations must also acknowledge鈥攁nd address鈥攖he associated challenges of AI. These include ethical considerations such as the potential for algorithmic bias, which might lead to unfair treatment of certain groups. Data protection is also vitally important: Clear governance and transparency are needed for all tools handling sensitive personal information. And organizations must consider how greater usage of AI can be compatible with their commitments on sustainability: .  

              Finally, while agentic and other forms of AI can contribute much to the transformation of welfare services, they should not be regarded as the only solution for digitalization within the welfare sector. Our work with Chief Digital Officers in welfare organizations often reveals a need to prioritize other pressing issues 鈥 for example outdated legacy systems, and gaps in the mobile friendliness of some public sector websites. All of these have their place in an ongoing story of digital transformation, and all can contribute in different ways to helping agencies deliver more for less.

              Learn more

              Authors

              Aarcha Zenya

              Client Manager
              The public sector serves as the backbone of our community. With technology and citizen needs evolving rapidly, public organizations must continuously update and enhance mission-critical systems. At 乌鸦传媒, we assist these vital transformations with our expertise and innovative solutions. As a Client Manager, I help Norwegian public sector organizations meet citizens鈥 dynamic demands, fostering a brighter future for all.

              Thilo Marquardt

              Vice President, Client Partner, Co-Lead Welfare
              We envision a society where people can realize their potential, where equal opportunities prevail, and social security is easily accessible to everyone. By modernizing their applications and services, welfare organizations can improve citizens鈥 lives every day, and we are proud to contribute to that with our deep technology expertise and international experience of optimizing social security systems.

              Gustaf Soderlund

              Global VP Public Sector Sweden, Nordics
              Gustaf has many years of experience selling, delivering, and leading business process and customer engagement solutions in a variety of industries, including banking and insurance Gustaf currently leads Pega globally and is the Augmented Services leader for Financial Services.

              Vanshikha Bhat

              Senior Manager, Global Public sector / Industry platform听
              ” We at 乌鸦传媒 public sector help governments organizations across the globe in driving initiatives that address the diverse needs of vulnerable populations. Our involvement also aids in navigating complex processes, optimizing resource, and fostering innovation. We thrive towards enhances the impact and sustainability of government programs, positively affecting the lives of those in need.”

                The post Trends in 2025 for Welfare appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

                ]]>
                /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/trends-in-2025-for-welfare/feed/ 0 540757
                AI Action Summit 2025: Should we worry about the harms AI might cause? /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/ai-action-summit-2025-should-we-worry-about-the-harms-ai-might-cause/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/ai-action-summit-2025-should-we-worry-about-the-harms-ai-might-cause/#respond Mon, 10 Feb 2025 15:15:36 +0000 /fi-en/?p=540986&preview=true&preview_id=540986 The post AI Action Summit 2025: Should we worry about the harms AI might cause? appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

                ]]>

                AI Action Summit 2025: Should we worry about the harms AI might cause?

                Lucy Mason and James Wilson
                Feb 10, 2025

                World leaders meet in Paris this week to discuss the future of AI. We need a shared vision for responsible use: both to maximize the benefits for society, and reduce AI鈥檚 potential for online harms.

                While the emergence of advanced and highly capable artificial intelligence (AI) models and systems is likely to lead to huge benefits for society, it is also likely they will lead to large increases in online crime through the malicious misuse of AI tools, products and services, as well as potentially accidental harms (mistakes or unintended consequences from non-malicious actors). Of course, many different technologies can be exploited to cause harms as well as for their positive benefits, but often these harms are limited in their impact by requiring a high level of expertise, access to the technology, and money. In the case of generative AI however, these factors are much less constraining. We are now seeing the development of generative AI tools which are free or very cheap, very widely available online, and which have the potential to catalyse several forms of harm, including financial crime, cyber-attacks, and online targeting of individuals or groups (cyberstalking, harassment, or political disinformation). The barrier to entry for committing such crimes is now merely access to a laptop and wifi.

                AI鈥檚 specific strengths in handling unstructured and variable datasets, data pattern recognition, replication at scale, tailoring content to the individual level, and predictive analytics, which are already being used by businesses to predict demand, anticipate user trends and identify gaps in offerings, make it uniquely valuable for all sorts of tasks, and also uniquely capable at being used as a tool to commit online crime. AI can facilitate the development of off-the-shelf 鈥渃rime-as-a-service鈥 products which vastly reduce the 鈥渂arriers to entry鈥, for those so inclined. AI software can be used to conceal the perpetrator鈥檚 identity and location, making it hard to investigate. AI models can also themselves be targets for crimes such as hacking, through prompt injection for instance, and data manipulation or poisoning, causing them to make mistakes, or to react in specific ways given the right trigger. These types of manipulation would be of particular concern in areas of critical national infrastructure and autonomous weapons systems.

                New potential for abuses of trust

                Some of the most concerning types of harm which generative AI tools, such as social 鈥渂ots鈥, may facilitate are crimes of persuasion and influence: exploiting an individual鈥檚 psychology or personal circumstances or actually affecting someone鈥檚 mental state to convince them to act in a way they may not have done otherwise, possibly using deepfakes (audio and visual media purporting to show a person or event that in reality never occurred), misinformation and disinformation. These effects could be exploited for deception, phishing, radicalisation and encouragement of social unrest. Early experiences show that our natural tendency to anthropomorphize means that people can become emotionally attached to AI-generated bots, divulge personal information to them, and that they may create an echo-chamber effect which normalizes harmful behaviours such as sex crimes. Even more subtly, the development and awareness of AI products generally creates an environment where people may expect or imply AI-related crimes, even if no AI was involved 鈥 for example threatening to use specific tools, making someone believe a certain effect was possible using AI even if it is not feasible, or making people believe a genuine video or photo was faked. It is also important to note that this type of criminality need not only be targeted at an individual. The capabilities of generative AI can be implemented just as easily for a large target audience, while still being personalized to the individual user to encourage their engagement.

                There is also the potential for emergent criminal behaviours, as AI agents become more sophisticated and interact in increasingly complex ways. They may autonomously commit crimes going beyond the user鈥檚 initial expectations or moral compass. An AI system has no innate understanding of ethics, pain, truth, or compassion, and is without human limitations of strength, tiredness and pace. It may propose or take actions which are unacceptable, too complex to comprehend, or too fast to prevent. As AI agents start to be entrusted with acting autonomously on our behalf, we will need to incorporate increasing levels of safeguards to prevent them from over-reaching; but because deploying bots is cheaper and easier than implementing effective governance to control their actions, it is likely to be very difficult to monitor and mitigate all risks and impacts.

                How can governments and business leaders take action?

                As senior leaders gather in Paris to debate AI safety standards 鈥 amid a complex multi-national arms-race of AI development 鈥 they need urgently to discuss and agree measures to prevent AI-enabled harms occurring. These measures could be defined and coordinated across state boundaries, implementing governance in a similar way to global civil aviation, which is effectively governed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with state-level measures that ensure adherence to these global standards. The United Nations is well-positioned and prepared to coordinate the required oversight. Such measures need to be thought of in three layers:

                1. Technical measures to prevent harm: removing any datasets from training data which contain harmful content; vetting datasets; fine-tuning models using reinforcement learning techniques to avoid harmful outputs; adversarial testing and evaluations; stress-testing to identify potential vulnerabilities such as prompt injection; developing explainable AI models; and guardrails to prevent certain types of output generation.
                2. Organizational approaches to deter harm: minimum safety standards; terms and conditions; user verification; content moderation and screening (including AI tools to automate content identification and removal); watermarking, labelling and tracking metadata; tagging verifiable data; correcting or flagging fake news; user behavior analysis; blocking, alerts and reporting mechanisms; education, training and awareness; restricted access; governance policies including ethics; and developing appropriate and proportionate law, guidance and regulation.
                3. Law enforcement responses to harm: monitoring and intelligence-gathering; detection tools (including AI tools to automate detection); investigatory processes; agreements with technology companies to access evidence; identifying high-risk individuals and communities; accessing technical skillsets; increasing capacity to address the growth in online harms; deploying counter-influence AI tools to mitigate the effects (for example redirecting to counter-radicalization resources); and working with technology companies to respond to emerging criminal behaviors.

                In conclusion, generative AI tools can provide great benefits; but could also lead to exponential increases in online harms. Technology companies, governments, and law enforcement agencies are working together to anticipate, understand and prevent such harms occurring, but ultimately everyone will need to be conscious and responsible in their use of AI.

                Authors

                Dr. Lucy Mason

                Innovation Lead, 乌鸦传媒 Invent Public Sector
                鈥淚nnovation is key to the future of public sector organizations. I鈥檓 passionate about helping them get there, to keep people safe and secure and to build a people-centered, technology-enabled world together. We need to build innovation cultures, upskill people in how to innovate effectively 鈥 how to apply great ideas successfully 鈥 and leverage rapidly evolving technologies, such as quantum and AI, for the public good.鈥

                James Wilson

                I&D Advisory, 乌鸦传媒 & Data, 乌鸦传媒听
                James is the AI Ethicist in the AI Labs at 乌鸦传媒, and the Lead Gen AI Architect in the UK 乌鸦传媒 and Data Team (I&D). He focuses on the safe and ethical implementation of Artificial Intelligence and has over 30 year’s experience in industry.

                  The post AI Action Summit 2025: Should we worry about the harms AI might cause? appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

                  ]]>
                  /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/ai-action-summit-2025-should-we-worry-about-the-harms-ai-might-cause/feed/ 0 540986
                  Increase Profitability in Digital Channels with Distributed Order Management /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/increase-profitability-in-digital-channels-with-distributed-order-management/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/increase-profitability-in-digital-channels-with-distributed-order-management/#respond Fri, 17 Jan 2025 07:19:44 +0000 /fi-en/?p=539034 Many e-tailers struggle with profitability and in this perspective, we summarize how distributed order management (DOM) can aid in some of the costliest driving processes.

                  The post Increase Profitability in Digital Channels with Distributed Order Management appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

                  ]]>

                  Increase Profitability in Digital Channels with Distributed Order Management

                  Leo Muid
                  Jan 17, 2025

                  Even though digital commerce has significant potential for high profitability, there are still a variety of e-tailers who have been struggling with strong headwinds. For most e-tailers, the primary strategy is to increase the profitability at scale. However, this strategy comes with several challenges.

                  • Buying more traffic can lower the quality of this traffic and reduce conversion rates.
                  • Competitors are driving the same thesis and will compete for the same clients.
                  • The recent economic climate has slowed down growth in most sectors.
                  • Perhaps most importantly, many costs will not decrease with scale but rather increase. Pick & pack, fulfillment, reverse logistics, and return costs will likely grow at the same pace or more than turnover growth.

                  If selling more isn鈥檛 an option, selling smarter is essential! You don’t make a profit on the first items you sell but on the last ones. Therefore, you must optimize and sell your entire inventory from the most cost-effective location with as few price reductions as possible.

                  When speaking with clients, many don鈥檛 initially see any major issues with Order management. However, after exploring capabilities and alternative ways of working, we often find numerous opportunities for optimizations within distributed order management. In this blog, we will share our perspective on how to:

                  • Take control of your sellable inventory
                  • Optimize sourcing & fulfillment.
                  • Improve and drive CX journeys.
                  • Increase Sustainability without interfering with the margin.

                  Take control of your sellable inventory

                  To drive successful digital commerce, you need to ensure you know what products you can sell. The importance of this can vary based on the cost of products, seasonal products/fashion cycles, return rates, the number of fulfillment locations, etc., but it will affect all e-tailers in some way.

                  It sounds simple, but can your company calculate what is available to sell if you include e-com inventory, warehouse inventory, store inventory, in-transit replenishment, returns (planned, in transit, in warehouse processes), and products in basket/e-basket?

                  What is then your available-to-sell stock balance?

                  Furthermore, the system must calculate an accurate sellable inventory in near real-time and simultaneously support several different channels with available-to-promise (ATP) checks in microseconds. On top of this, you must add some intelligence to the inventory with certain business rules. For example, how can you override the safety stock rules if certain criteria are met to sell the very last product at hand in stores? By increasing the accuracy of the stock levels, you can significantly lower your safety stock and hence sell more of your inventory without jeopardizing the risk of overselling.

                  Once you have better control of your inventory, you will significantly reduce underselling/overselling, thereby improving the NPS and reducing customer service calls. Make the sellable inventory a fact-based business decision rather than an assumed number.

                  Optimize Sourcing & Fulfillment

                  Once we know where we have these products, we can start to evaluate the most cost-effective way to fulfill these orders or allow customers to pick them up from stores or surplus inventory locations. How can you use these insights to optimize sales across all channels? Apply rules around your inventory so that you can take calculated risks in the sellable inventory balances you calculate and thus sell the last items, which often means 100% profit margins as the costs have already been carried by the first products.

                  Through transparent ATP (available-to-promise) controls, we can guide customers toward the most cost-effective, and sustainable fulfillment options. Split shipments can be managed and aggregated to achieve a single delivery to the customer. Furthermore, the pandemic and the subsequent component shortage and shaky supply chain have shown that flexibility is required in the fulfillment process.

                  When sourcing fails and we have oversold an item, ensure the best action is automated. For example, prioritize orders to critical channels like Amazon to avoid penalties for unfulfilled promises.

                  Improve and drive CX Journeys

                  There is a misconception that OMS processes start when an order is placed. Many areas of pre-purchase can improve significantly by improving your order management processes. Transparency will create opportunities both for better customer experience as well as guidance for improved margins and reduced cost of fulfillment.

                  There are several ways to influence fulfillment costs without jeopardizing the customer’s journey. For example, can we influence customers to place orders that can be delivered from the same distribution center, thereby reducing the number of deliveries? Can we drive different strategies for membership/membership levels, i.e., only offer free shipment/returns for club members or member levels?

                  Historically there has been a fear of touching the free delivery/return policies since that will have a significant impact on the conversion rate. Recently, more and more e-tailers have changed policies, but our investigation shows that there is still a lot to do in this area to offer more personalized and optimized fulfillment and return strategies.

                  Increased Sustainability without interfering with the margin

                  Sustainability comes in many shapes and forms. Optimizing the order management processes can significantly improve various areas that impact sustainability. Examples include:

                  • Reducing CO2 emissions due to optimized fulfillment and giving customers the option to choose delivery not only by speed but also by cost as well as emission footprint.
                  • Using these optimizations to reduce waste due to fewer returns and consolidated orders.

                  Adapting to new models in sourcing and fulfillment should be a configuration/automation of processes rather than a project.

                  乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Expertise: At 乌鸦传媒, we bring extensive experience in helping clients in retail, grocery, and consumer product sectors achieve their digital commerce goals with tailored strategies and solutions.

                  Author

                  Leo Muid

                  Global Fulfilment Lead, Director in Digital Customer Experience
                  Leo is a Director within 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Digital Customer Experience organization, bringing over 20 years of experience in Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sectors. As an Enterprise Architect and CTO adviser, Leo specializes in Technology Strategy and Digital Transformation. His expertise encompasses Order Management Systems (OMS), retail operations, digital supply chains, and eCommerce. As the global lead for 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Order Management capability, Leo has architected and delivered digital supply chain transformation programs for both UK and international retail clients.

                    The post Increase Profitability in Digital Channels with Distributed Order Management appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

                    ]]>
                    /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/increase-profitability-in-digital-channels-with-distributed-order-management/feed/ 0 539034
                    The evolution of hybrid AI:听where deterministic and statistical approaches meet听 /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/the-evolution-of-hybrid-ai-where-deterministic-and-statistical-approaches-meet/ /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/the-evolution-of-hybrid-ai-where-deterministic-and-statistical-approaches-meet/#respond Tue, 10 Dec 2024 11:09:44 +0000 /fi-en/?p=538834&preview=true&preview_id=538834 The post The evolution of hybrid AI:听where deterministic and statistical approaches meet听 appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

                    ]]>

                    The evolution of hybrid AI:听where deterministic and statistical approaches meet听

                    Jonathan Kirk, Data Scientist, I&D Insight Generation, 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 乌鸦传媒 & Data
                    Jonathan Aston
                    Dec 10, 2024

                    They come from different worlds. Now they鈥檙e meeting and sparks are flying. 

                    Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved through two distinct pathways in parallel over the decades: deterministic AI and statistical AI. These two approaches have historically shaped how AI systems learn, reason, and make decisions, each bringing its own strengths and limitations. One offers clarity and structure, while the other allows patterns to be learned from data and applied into the future. Each approach has a fundamentally different answer to the way AI systems learn, reason, and make decisions. Now, a new field of AI research aims to fuse these two forms of AI into one. If it works, things are about to get very interesting. 

                    Deterministic AI: the early era 

                    In the early days of AI research, the limitations were often computing power and memory. This led to AI being dominated by deterministic approaches, specifically symbolic AI. Symbolic AI uses formal logic and explicit rules. These rules-based systems allowed decisions to be made automatically based on intelligence; the intelligence was learned but was simple in nature and needed expert input. 

                    The most famous of these early systems were expert systems in the 1970s and 1980s. These systems used if-then rules to mimic human decision-making, offering clear, explainable reasoning. For instance, for a given input in a factory setting, a set of actions are defined and taken based on the input. Deterministic AI provides clarity and precision, as every rule is explicitly defined. It is therefore very easy to understand how the system is working and see why the outcome was achieved. The challenge with these systems is their lack of flexibility and dependence on pre-defined knowledge. The answer to this problem? statistical AI. 

                    The rise of statistical AI鈥 

                    Statistical AI had always existed, but it was not easy to use. Statistics were often done statically, meaning the analyses that businesses relied on were based on a snapshot of the past. The idea is that if you use statistics, you are understanding the past to inform the future (often through policy changes) rather than machine learning, which is predicting the future from the past and acting accordingly. The emergence of fast computing changed the game regarding statistical AI. Now people could build and experiment with more complex models and much larger datasets. AI began to move into areas of increasing complexity and uncertainty. 

                    Another noteworthy advancement was the increasing availability of machine learning libraries like ML++. These packages meant that machine learning models did not have to be built from scratch every time. A developer could now build a model on data and check whether machine learning could solve a business problem faster than ever before. In this way, AI proof of concepts emerged, allowing for testing鈥痶he feasibility of an idea quickly. 

                    However, the move away from expert knowledge being explicitly programmed into AI came with new challenges, especially around the explainability of the AI models built. This has now developed into an entire field of data science, and the more complex the model, the harder it is to understand (i.e., to explain the decision based on logical reasoning in a way the receiver can understand) and explain what the model is doing (i.e., explain the way the decision traces through the model, based on the functionality of the algorithm). The term 鈥溾 came into use, highlighting that we don鈥檛 know what happens in the 鈥渂lack box鈥 and therefore cannot inspect it.  

                    In many cases this might not be problematic, and a few ways developed to understand the models and trace back on the predictions they have made. In some cases (like with computer vision models), the visualization of model activation (i.e., which nodes in the model are triggered most or which areas of the image are most critical to the decision-making) can provide enough 鈥渆xplanation鈥 for us to decide on the quality of that model for the task at hand. 

                    The birth of hybrid AI: combining deterministic and statistical approaches 

                    As AI matured, the need to combine the precision and interpretability of deterministic AI with the flexibility and adaptability of statistical AI became clear. Hybrid AI systems (Neurosymbolic AI) have emerged that could handle complex tasks with both structure and uncertainty. 

                    Reasoning and logical inference: The essence of deterministic AI 

                    One mechanism of structuring data for use by deterministic AI is Knowledge Graphs (KGs),which can represent entities (such as people, places, or concepts) and then model these relationships in a structured, graph-based format. These graphs embody the symbolic AI tradition by providing a deterministic structure that can be reasoned through logically. For example, if John lives in London and Brian lives with John, then the fact that Brian must also live in London can be derived, while not being explicitly available through the data. Checking model quality automatically through logical constraints, inferring new and hidden knowledge, but also finding inconsistencies and flaws of information models, it is all within reach. The ability of knowledge graphs to handle complex and vast amounts of knowledge, in a structured way, can be very valuable. We can also look to include elements of statistical AI into deterministic AI, and in this way create hybrid AI.鈥赌&苍产蝉辫;

                    One example of this is a decision tree which can be used in conjunction with a knowledge graph to to add new elements into the graph, based on the statistical likelihood of a link being there. While a knowledge graph flags individual anomalies, the decision tree evaluates them collectively, enabling a more nuanced analysis. For example in a transaction for a credit card company, we can combine several factors such as the transaction amount being abnormally high, in an unusual location and into a new bank account. The probability of these individually can be 20%, 30% & 10% respectively but combined the likelihood of fraud is now 49.6%, which is greater than any of the individual factors alone. By leveraging the structured relationships and context in the knowledge graph, the decision tree identifies patterns that might go unnoticed, such as the compounded risk of anomalies occurring together. This integration enhances the accuracy of fraud detection by applying reasoning to the interconnected data in the knowledge graph, prioritizing cases for investigation with greater precision. The hybrid approach provides interpretability and scalability, as investigators can trace decisions back to both the individual features in the knowledge graph and the decision tree’s logic, improving transparency and trust. These methods can be immensely powerful and showcase hybrid AI in action.鈥赌&苍产蝉辫;

                    Generative AI: The latest buzz in statistical AI. 

                    Generative AI (Gen AI), which includes models like , Meta鈥檚 Llama 3, Mistral AI, etc., is the latest advancement in statistical AI and is the outcome of further advancements in computing power and availability. Huge models are built at great cost to be able to handle many different tasks, having learned on a huge corpus of information. They can generate text, images, and other forms of content. 

                    However, being statistical in nature, these models can get things wrong, in machine learning, a model cannot predict the correct outcome 100% of the time. In Gen AI we have these incorrect predictions as well but instead of an incorrect prediction of churn for example, the incorrect prediction of a word leads to the next word being incorrect and entirely plausible sentences being created from an initial incorrect prediction. As you can imagine this can give mean a passage of incorrect text is created in a snowball effect from one incorrect prediction. Therefore, incorrect predictions can be more sinister in Gen AI than in other statistical AI methods. In Gen AI we call these effects hallucinations. To explore this subject further, consider reading this blog we previously published from the AI Lab. The chance of error means they are not as reliable as deterministic AI. But deterministic AI can be coupled with Gen AI to make them more reliable. Here we see the emergence of for instance, where graph technology is used with Gen AI to improve information retrieval from free text questions. This is another example of hybrid AI and is one being .鈥赌&苍产蝉辫;

                    An LLM-generated knowledge graph built using GPT-4 Turbo:  

                    Conclusion: The future of hybrid AI鈥 

                    The journey of AI can be told as the parallel journeys of deterministic AI and statistical AI. However, the promise of AI throughout this whole journey has always been in the bridging of these two worlds, where AI not only holds and uses knowledge with reasoning but learns patterns from that data and applies those learnings to the real-world knowledge it has. The ability to abstract, reason, plan, predict and explain comes within reach, thanks to the combination of various types of AI models and methods of knowledge representation. This is where AI is heading, solving the challenges in both statistical and deterministic AI. The future of AI is hybrid AI enabling more intelligent, robust, and trustworthy systems.鈥&苍产蝉辫;

                    About AI Futures Lab 

                    We are the AI Futures Lab, expert partners that help you confidently visualize and pursue a better, sustainable, and trusted AI-enabled future. We do this by understanding, pre-empting, and harnessing emerging trends and technologies. Ultimately, making possible trustworthy and reliable AI that triggers your imagination, enhances your productivity, and increases your efficiency. We will support you with the business challenges you know about and the emerging ones you will need to know to succeed in the future. 

                     We create blogs, like this one, Points of View (POVs), and demos around these focus areas to start a conversation about how AI will impact us in the future. For more information on the AI Lab and more of the work we have done, visit this page: AI Lab.鈥&苍产蝉辫;

                    Meet the author

                    Jonathan Kirk, Data Scientist, I&D Insight Generation, 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 乌鸦传媒 & Data

                    Jonathan Aston

                    Data Scientist, AI Lab, 乌鸦传媒 Invent
                    Jonathan Aston specialized in behavioral ecology before transitioning to a career in data science. He has been actively engaged in the fields of data science and artificial intelligence (AI) since the mid-2010s. Jonathan possesses extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, where he has successfully delivered solutions to address critical business challenges. His expertise encompasses a range of well-known and custom statistical, AI, and machine learning techniques.

                      The post The evolution of hybrid AI:听where deterministic and statistical approaches meet听 appeared first on 乌鸦传媒 Finland.

                      ]]>
                      /fi-en/insights/expert-perspectives/the-evolution-of-hybrid-ai-where-deterministic-and-statistical-approaches-meet/feed/ 0 538834