Quanta Value Network

29th September 2020

QUANTA VALUE NETWORK

The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace with new intelligent products and services linked to greater individualized needs and expectations. New technologies are providing a foundation for this cultural change. But we haven’t fundamentally changed the way in which we architect the business landscape and still use methods and models that were introduced many years ago. So now is the time, I think, that we need to seriously look at how better to approach the design of the new business architecture to enable true digital transformation.

So why Quanta Value Network (QVN) as a name? Well, we know that in physics, classic mechanics had a challenge in explaining certain phenomena when dealing with the very small or very fast. This led to the field of quantum mechanics and how to describe the interactions among small particles. The result being the formation of new technological advances that make modern life possible today.

The idea behind Quanta Value Network, therefore, is to also look at new ways and approaches by focusing on the very small (and fast) in order to provide new architecture design models for the digital transformation period we find ourselves in today. Let’s look at some significant examples (just a few of many) where we are witnessing the business value of thinking more micro:

·      Smart Sensors: The ability for a device to take input and use built-in compute resource to process data before passing it on further. Examples include Internet of Things (IoT) applications whether for city infrastructures, factories, cars or wearable health tracking devices. The growing web of interconnected devices is changing the way we live and redefining the role of big data. We need new ways to model the ‘air-traffic-control’ from the huge volume of micro data being transmitted in near real-time.

·      Personalized Services: The expectations from consumers is that everything should be tailored to their specific minute needs. Obvious examples include precision medicine in healthcare and the use of AI/ML to drive individual offers in retail.

·      Shared Risk Reward: Everyone is talking about the importance of outcomes and how we measure the improvement of same. Here we are seeing how each individual component plays a part to building a successful outcome with new ways to transparently identify those resources and the roles they play – to more accurately distribute the rewards.

·      Self-Sovereign Identity: As individuals are playing much more of an inclusive role within end-to-end business value streams, they need to better control their identity and be able to dictate the terms and conditions under which they transact business (again in very detailed and specific ways).

In addition to the business observations mentioned above, we can also look at the new and emerging technologies that build a foundation for a more micro business world. Again, here are just a few examples:

·      Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning: An ability to compute huge amounts of small data items and glean new insights. Can also be deployed in areas to drive more predictable accuracy with automation.

·      Blockchain: Not just a cryptocurrency but a whole new environment for distributed apps and data. The ability to share information in near real-time with automated compliance driven through smart contracts.

·      5G and IoT: Access to multi-action edge devices supporting online actions at high speeds.

·      Homomorphic Encryption: The ability to share and collaborate small amounts of monetizable data elements to obtain new insights.

·      Digital Communications: New more rich forms of collaboration and communication through social media, video, gaming, virtual/augmented reality, and emerging user experiences.

The above are just a few of many examples (others are digital twins, containerization, API intelligent integration, etc.) that we are now seeing driving business in new directions. But how do you bring all of this together? Our existing approaches simply do not ‘cut-it’ as they tend to be guided through looking for inefficiencies in existing ways and not focused on creating new innovative models.

Quanta Value Network is a new approach that takes into account the new/emerging technologies and the ways in which these can drive the design of new business architecture industry models. At the heart of QVN is a new 3 tier architecture model:

The intelligent orchestration layer (end-to-end orchestration driving value outcomes):

If we view the world from end-to-end value streams, then there is a need for an overall ‘air-traffic-control’ intelligent governance function. Think of this as an umbrella control that actively monitors all the activities and provides the intelligent business process orchestration. It is ideally placed to support new shared reward models and fulfills the need of having more centralized rules that apply across the full value stream. Certain technologies such as AI/ML, digital twins, digital communication, 5G/IoT, and homomorphic insights fit into this layer. A great opportunity to start to think of new ‘Industry-as-a-Service’ business models.

The process engineering layer (plug-and-play specialized autonomous business services):

Think of this as the old workflow layer. This is where all the main services work is performed. Each service being positioned within the context of a wider value pathway. However, this is no longer fixed and linear. Each service may be performed by any company entity in a more stochastic manner. It is loosely coupled designed to be more plug-and-play. This is collaborative applications far beyond our current reach.

The trusted data sharing layer (data integrity through trustful collaborative ‘immutable’ data sharing):

This layer is all about the sharing of immutable data in near real-time. The participants in this layer are not based just on those within the process engineering layer, many other stakeholders may want to have visibility on certain value stream aspects (for example regulatory bodies). The trust at this layer comes from the consensus agreements of parties into what is shared and who has the correct authority to view. You can think of this as a ‘knowledge chain’.

There is a lot of detail behind each of these 3 layers and how they collaborate within an end-to-end value pathway. I have used this approach now on a few real-life cases and the results are very encouraging. Now is the time to expand the research wider and test out more use cases whilst continuing to refine and iterate on the QVN model. I believe QVN is a very pragmatic way to design new business architecture models that demonstrate the new digital business world we now belong to.

Thank you for any interest and looking forward to hearing from you.

Mal Postings,

Founder, Vincigravitas

[email protected]