5 must reads for the weekend

1. Aerospace and sustainability... really??

Can the aerospace and defense (A&D) sector really decarbonize? Yes. Alternative fuels could slash 55% of flight emissions. Improving operations - through optimized routes and enhanced air traffic management - could cut flight emissions by approximately 11%. Aircraft design and propulsion innovation could also cut flight emissions, by up to 21%. Lightweight composite materials have significant potential - and not just in the A&D industry. Every pound on a plane, from passengers and luggage to airplane parts, equates to approximately US$10,000 per year in fuel costs. Advanced composite materials such as carbon and glass-fiber-reinforced plastic are crucial both for reducing weight but also resisting intense heat, corrosion, and fatigue. Their use in aerospace has subsequently doubled every five years since 1987. Other industries like construction and transportation are cottoning on; these materials can now be found in wind turbines, luxury cars and more. How else can A&D take their innovations in new directions? There are plenty of opportunities.?

How can sustainability take flight in aerospace and defense??

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2. “Never mistake a clear view for a short distance”??

…was Silicon Valley forecaster Paul Saffo’s advice to technology investors caught up in the hype of emerging technologies. The same can be said today as chief information officers (CIOs) look for practical applications for a wave of emerging and potentially disruptive technologies (think - artificial intelligence and virtual reality). But there is a disconnect when it comes to leaders who claim to have a grasp of new technologies and their potential whilst almost half of all employees think they don’t. According to recent EY US consulting survey, 85% of senior leaders said they see the value of emerging technologies, yet 48% of all employees surveyed believe those same leaders are dragging their feet or don’t fully understand emerging technologies and their potential to change the business. Senior leaders live in a world where they develop stories and narratives about technology and its role within the organization – from articulating a vision to employees or explaining results to Wall Street. Meanwhile their employees are living in a world of ‘doing,’ and from their perspective, they’re not seeing enough follow-through in terms of action and investment.??

Emerging tech: Catch up to your “consumers”?

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3. Elasticity?

?Ever wonder how your online order can arrive at your doorstep within just 24 hours? Most consumers think little of the complexities behind their delivery. But behind the scenes, delivery and shipping models now require more technical agility than ever before - and far more complexity than simply entering a destination and letting an app factor the distance, time, tolls, traffic and mode of transport.?

In the fight to manage complex supply chains, businesses confuse improvising for optimization. They naively adopt cost cutting believing a better bottom line means a better-performing business. Or they’ll go through knee-jerk adoptions of new tech tools that, over time, don’t work well, leading to inefficiencies. Often supply chain problems are so complex, and the inputs for the solution are so numerous and constantly changing, that we can’t truly define what the optimal outcome should be. Solving that is supply chain optimization in action, and fixing this enormous problem requires elasticity.?

3 considerations for adding elasticity to your transportation strategy?

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4. Cyber is more important than ever?

Today, defense and national security industries place a significant emphasis on cybersecurity, with encryption playing a pivotal role in securing communications and data - underscored by the paramount need to protect a nation's sovereignty. You only have to look back at history, particularly World War II and the use of the Enigma machine, which underlines this truth. Today, quantum computing introduces a comparable challenge to the Enigma... During WW2, the Enigma machines played a pivotal role, encrypting critical messages dispatched to the front line, safeguarding strategic and operational secrets. The war turned when Allied forces managed to decipher the Enigma's daily key messages and algorithms, fundamentally changing the trajectory of numerous battles. Fast forward to today, Quantum computing presents a similar scenario, albeit cloaked in modernity. It is as if a new Enigma machine has surfaced. As history often has a way of repeating itself, the lessons learned from the past may very well dictate how successfully we navigate this new era of quantum encrypted communication.?

Quantum Power Play: Navigating the New Landscape of Cybersecurity and Defense?

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5. Elevating insurance with AI?

?We’ve all heard about how generative AI could impact the creative industries. But what about insurance? From underwriting and risk assessment, to claims processing and customer service, generative AI has significant potential to reshape the insurance industry. So where should insurance companies start? EY leaders believe that in the current market, claims would be a logical starting point. Implementing generative AI here allows for testing with minimal investment and disruption to live claims. In the long term, insurers envision significant workload reductions for customer-facing claims professionals, resulting in faster and more accurate decision-making capabilities. Navigating the implementation won’t necessarily be easy, but the effort and investment will be more than worthwhile for those insurers that get it right, both today and in the future.?

Unleashing the potential of generative AI: a game-changer for P&C insurance claims?

If you do one thing:?

Tackle a problem from a different and unexpected angle.?