News by AUN News correspondent
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
AUN News – ISSN: 2949-8090

Summary:

• The news article explores the growing influence of digital transformation on cross-border trade, highlighting its impact on businesses, civil society, and policymakers.
• The ever-changing digital age demands a closer embrace of technology to bridge the gap between progress and policy. Advanced technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoT are reshaping international commerce, providing new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and collaboration.
• The article begins by introducing the concept of digital transformation, which encompasses digitization, digitalization, and their economic impact.
• As technologies like 5G networks, cloud computing, and big data analytics mature, they are transforming the landscape of cross-border trade.
• Policymakers are recognizing the need to adapt regulatory frameworks to fully embrace digital transformation, focusing on data privacy, security, and interoperability.
• AI and blockchain are empowering global e-commerce, connecting businesses with customers worldwide.
• Workshops by APEC emphasize the potential of these technologies to enable seamless e-commerce and improve trade facilitation. Data plays a critical role in shaping trade policies and decision-making processes.
• The OECD identifies seven key vectors of digital transformation that businesses and policymakers can leverage to drive growth and innovation.
• Beyond trade, digital transformation extends to sectors like healthcare. Digital technologies offer innovative healthcare solutions, and investing in infrastructure and training is vital to harnessing their full potential.
• The industrial Internet, smart systems, and AI drive innovation and global trade.
• AI’s transformative impact in international trade reduces barriers, enhances transparency, and boosts efficiency in cross-border transactions.
• The growing influence of digital transformation is reshaping the future of global commerce.
• AI, blockchain, and IoT offer tremendous opportunities for businesses and governments to thrive in the digital economy.
• Embracing these transformative technologies is imperative for businesses seeking success in the interconnected world of cross-border trade.
• To promote growth and innovation in this new digital era while ensuring that everyone benefits, policymakers must adapt.

Introduction:

In the ever-changing digital age, embracing technology is crucial for narrowing the gap between progress and policy. Digital transformation, encompassing digitization, digitalization, and the economic impact of these changes, has far-reaching effects on our society and economy. As advanced technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G networks, cloud computing, big data analytics, blockchain, and quantum computing continue to mature, they are reshaping the landscape of cross-border trade. In this article, we explore the growing influence of digital transformation on international commerce and its real-world benefits for businesses, civil society, and policymakers.

Unlocking Efficiency and Collaboration through Technology:

The digital transformation of cross-border trade has paved the way for enhanced efficiency and collaboration among stakeholders. By integrating AI, blockchain, and IoT, businesses can securely exchange data, leading to streamlined trade processes. This transformation holds the promise of TradeTech, where technology becomes an indispensable tool for seamless data exchange in global commerce.

Adapting Policies for a Digital Future:

Policymakers are recognizing the need to adapt regulatory frameworks to fully embrace digital transformation. International agreements on data privacy, security, and interoperability are becoming imperative for TradeTech to thrive. These technologies offer robust solutions for secure data exchange across borders, empowering businesses to thrive in the digital economy.

Growing Influence: Empowering Global E-Commerce with AI and Blockchain

Digital technologies have revolutionized e-commerce, connecting businesses with clients worldwide. APEC workshops have exploited these digital advancements. These workshops use AI and blockchain technologies to boost global e-commerce and trade facilitation.

AI and blockchain are making e-commerce smooth in today’s interconnected world, allowing businesses to expand into new areas. These cutting-edge technologies are expanding fast, giving enterprises unprecedented global access.

AI’s capacity to analyze massive volumes of data and provide insights changes how organizations understand and interact with customers. Businesses may improve customer experiences, product recommendations, and marketing strategies with AI-powered algorithms. This level of personalization gives firms a competitive edge by meeting clients’ regional and cultural needs.

Blockchain technology enhances e-commerce security and transparency. Blockchain eliminates intermediaries and makes transactions tamper-proof, saving money and time. Businesses can establish secure and direct links with clients worldwide, boosting confidence and reliability in cross-border transactions.

AI and blockchain can automate procedures, improve supply chain management, and reduce paperwork and bureaucracy to improve trade facilitation. This streamlining allows organizations to adapt quickly to market needs and capitalize on new opportunities by speeding up cross-border transactions. Global e-commerce boosts economic growth and corporate collaboration with decreased barriers and efficiency.

AI and blockchain are transforming global e-commerce. Businesses that adopt these technologies are ahead of the curve in the ever-changing digital landscape. Businesses now operate and interact with clients globally due to the opportunity to expand into new regions and personalize interactions.

AI and blockchain have opened up new e-commerce possibilities. These technologies enable organizations to cross boundaries, enter new markets, and connect with global customers. AI and blockchain-powered companies are set for global success as cross-border trade digitizes.

Growing Influence: Data: The Backbone of Trade Transformation

In the ever-evolving landscape of international commerce, data emerges as the true backbone of trade transformation. It plays a pivotal role in shaping trade policies, guiding decision-making processes, and unlocking the potential for exponential growth and innovation. As businesses and policymakers delve into the realm of digital transformation, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identifies seven key vectors that underscore the significance of data in driving this influential change.

Data, in its myriad forms, is the lifeblood of the modern economy. Every transaction, interaction, and decision leaves a digital footprint that contributes to the vast ocean of information shaping global trade. The power of data lies not just in its volume but also in the insights it holds for businesses and policymakers alike.

The OECD’s identification of seven key vectors of digital transformation provides a roadmap for harnessing the potential of data effectively. These vectors act as guiding stars, illuminating the path towards a digitally transformed future. By understanding these vectors, businesses can unlock the full potential of data-driven decision-making, enabling them to navigate the complexities of international commerce with confidence.

Transformative Vectors: Unleashing the Power of Data in Cross-Border Trade

The first vector, scale without mass, emphasizes the minimal marginal costs of digital products and services. This opens up unparalleled opportunities for businesses to scale rapidly and explore new markets without the constraints of traditional physical limitations. Data empowers businesses to analyze market trends, consumer behavior, and demand patterns, guiding them towards strategic expansion and growth.

Next, the vector of intangible capital and the new sources of value creation highlight the rise of software and data as valuable assets. Businesses can package physical capital with new services, blurring the lines between goods and services. Data-driven insights allow businesses to identify new revenue streams and innovative business models that capitalize on the ever-changing demands of consumers.

The third vector, the transformation of space, underscores the borderless nature of data and the challenges it poses to traditional principles of territoriality and sovereignty. As data flows effortlessly across borders, businesses and policymakers must adapt to a new paradigm that values policy interoperability between countries and regions.

Data-driven AI and machine learning applications embody the fourth vector, business models using online platforms. These platforms have revolutionized the way businesses operate, enabling seamless interactions and transactions on a global scale. Data analytics fuel the efficiency and effectiveness of these platforms, enhancing user experiences and enabling businesses to reach a broader audience.

The fifth vector, next-generation wireless networks, catapults data to new heights by enabling lightning-fast communication between devices and machines. This opens up a world of possibilities for businesses to optimize supply chains, improve logistics, and enhance customer experiences through real-time data exchange.

Unleashing the Potential: Data as the Driving Force of Cross-Border Trade

Big data analytics, the sixth vector, provides businesses with a treasure trove of valuable insights. Retailers can tailor personalized suggestions to customers, while other industries, like healthcare, use data analytics to predict and prevent potential issues. The power of big data lies in its ability to transform raw information into actionable intelligence.

Lastly, the vector of blockchains signifies the dawn of secure and transparent data transactions. Businesses can leverage blockchain technology to ensure the integrity and immutability of their data, enhancing trust and reliability in cross-border interactions.

Data stands as the bedrock of trade transformation, driving the growing influence of digitalization on international commerce. By understanding and harnessing the power of data through the lens of the OECD’s key vectors, businesses and policymakers can forge a path towards sustainable growth, innovation, and success in the global marketplace. As data continues to shape the future of cross-border trade, embracing its potential is not just a choice but a necessity for those seeking to thrive in the ever-changing landscape of the digital age.

Driving Healthcare Advancements through Digital Transformation:

Beyond the world of commerce, digital transformation is affecting industries like healthcare. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) places emphasis on how digital technology might result in ground-breaking medical advancements. For the digital transformation of healthcare and other industries to fully realize its promise, infrastructure and training investments are essential.

The Industrial Internet and AI: Driving Innovation and Global Trade

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) highlights the expansion of the industrial Internet, smart systems, virtual value chains, and AI in production processes. These advancements drive innovation and have a profound impact on international trade. Embracing these technologies opens up new avenues for growth and collaboration on the global stage.

AI’s Transformative Impact on International Trade:

AI emerges as a game-changer in international trade. As The Brookings Institution notes, it has the potential to reduce barriers, enhance transparency, and boost efficiency in cross-border transactions. While AI presents exciting opportunities, adapting international trade rules is essential to accommodate these new realities.

The Road to a Digitally Transformed Future:

The digital transformation of cross-border trade is reshaping the future of global commerce. Advanced technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoT offer tremendous opportunities for growth, efficiency, and collaboration. As businesses and policymakers continue to embrace these technologies, the benefits will be realized, propelling the world towards a digitally transformed future that benefits us all. Reaping the benefits and addressing the challenges of the digital age require narrowing the gap between technological developments and public policies. Many policies are the legacy of the pre-digital era, and difficulties in understanding the changes underway and their implications may delay the review and adaptation of these policies. Such an understanding is imperative as digital transformation affects the entire economy and society.

What is digital Transformation?

Digitization is the conversion of analog data and processes into a machine-readable format. Digitalization is the use of digital technologies and data, as well as interconnection, that results in new or modified activities. Digital transformation refers to the economic and societal effects of digitization and digitalization.

This ecosystem is much stronger and more functional than its individual components because they interoperate with and complement one another, opening up new possibilities. Some of these technologies have already arrived and are part of our daily lives. Others are still on the horizon. All of these technologies hold potential benefits for growth and well-being.

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) enables a host of new business models, applications, and services based on data collected from devices and objects, including those that sense and interface with the physical world. IoT devices involve those with both short- and long-range communication connectivity. Massive machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, which are composed of sensors for smart cities, agriculture, manufacturing, and the like, are a subset of the IoT.

Next-generation wireless networks: “5G” and beyond

A major difference with 5G is that it is designed to connect not just people but things, underpinning a world of M2M communication that takes place largely hidden from human eyes. 5G networks will improve communication between self-driving vehicles, roads, and traffic lights, making “platooning” feasible—the automatic linking of vehicles on highways in a convoy so that they are much closer together than what would be safe with human drivers. This could ease road congestion as well as improve safety and fuel efficiency. In addition, sensors embedded throughout farms will be able to communicate crops’ water and fertilization needs directly to agricultural machinery and systems. Realizing the potential coverage of on-demand media from almost any location that 5G networks can reach, personal devices will download data at much higher speeds, even in crowded areas.

Cloud computing

Cloud computing applications abound and go well beyond simple storage of personal files, photos, and videos; they also allow remote access and enable people to collaborate on documents at a distance. Personal CD and DVD collections, for instance, are becoming obsolete as we switch to cloud-based streaming audio and video services like Deezer, YouTube, and Netflix. We can carry access to our entire personal libraries around with us on a single tablet, thanks to e-books that are stored in the cloud. Duplicating copies of computer files onto a locally connected hard drive and then manually moving them off-site for disaster recovery purposes is no longer needed. Instead, backup and disaster recovery services are directly accessible through the cloud. Mobile apps reside in the cloud and often rely on it to function even after they are downloaded. Smart thermostat systems use cloud computing to monitor, analyze, and adjust to temperature trends in homes, leading to less energy consumption, lower utility bills, and “greener” living.

Big data analytics

Big data analytics have enormous potential, some of which has already been realized. For instance, retailers frequently use big data analytics to offer customers personalized recommendations based on their prior browsing and shopping behavior. In a quite different setting, neonatal units monitor the heartbeats and breathing patterns of premature and sick babies, feed the data into an ever-growing database, and, with the assistance of analytics, can predict infections 24 hours before the babies show any physical symptoms.

Blockchain

Blockchains can be public, called “unpermissioned,” whereby access and transfer occur between parties unknown to one another (e.g., Bitcoin). One of blockchain’s most widespread applications so far has been for cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin, Ripple), but it is starting to affect many other sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, energy, transport, and the public sector. Eventually, a major application of blockchain may be securing data in the cloud. It could also be used to make everything from charitable donations to elections more verifiable and secure. However, the immutability of blockchain may impact the “right to be forgotten” in some jurisdictions.

Computing power

Quantum computing (QC) takes a fundamentally different approach. Traditional computing processes data in an exclusive binary state at any point in time (that is, bits take a value of either 0 or 1 and cannot be a superposition of 0 and 1). In contrast, QC relies on qubits,” which are organized in “states” that represent some combination of 0 and 1. The qubits, even when separated by huge distances, can interact with each other instantaneously (they are not limited to the speed of light).

Digital data differ from analogue data insofar as they can be used, re-used, copied, moved, and processed cheaply, without degradation, and very quickly. Again, in contrast to natural resources, the processing and movement of data are neither constrained by gravity nor by material resistance. Data can flow at the speed of light, underpinning its velocity, between people, businesses, and machines across borders and the globe in milliseconds, thanks to the first truly global infrastructure ever built, the Internet. Delivering exploding volumes of data around the globe, the Internet has evolved as a network of networks, made up of cables, exchange points, masts, etc.; however, fast data delivery increasingly relies on local caching of data, close to where people demand and expect it.

Content delivery networks and local caching of data

Content delivery networks (CDNs) serve as aggregators of content, systems for the delivery of traffic directly to the terminating network, and providers of quality-enhancing inputs, such as caching of data close to the end user. CDNs are useful to providers of online services, such as the BBC, Google, Netflix, and Hulu, which seek to improve their customers’ experiences. More direct delivery, fewer intermediate loops, and local caching reduce latency and improve the quality of service.

Vectors of Digital Transformation: Scale, Scope, and Speed

Scale without mass Core digital products and services, notably software and data, have marginal costs close to zero. Combined with the global reach of the Internet, these products and the firms and platforms that use them can scale very quickly, often with few employees, tangible assets, and/or no geographic footprint. The scale effect of being digital may allow the rapid acquisition of market share, which may be fleeting, suggesting that policies should ensure that barriers to entry and innovation are low and adjust size-based approaches such as de minimis thresholds and categorization based on the number of employees.

Business models based on digital payment innovations

Intangible capital and new sources of value creation Investment in intangible forms of capital like software and data is growing. Sensors that generate data allow machinery and equipment to be packaged with new services. Platforms enable firms and individuals to monetize or share their physical capital easily, changing the nature of ownership (e.g., from a good to a service). Policymakers may want investment incentives to be more aligned with the economics of digital innovation and production.

Business models that combine online and offline features

Many traditional firms are increasingly moving online and combining both digital and physical components. While traditional firms are going digital, some firms that started online are now moving in the other direction. This extends beyond traditional firms simply having a website; instead, it relates to viewing online environments as a seamless extension of the brick-and-mortar store and vice versa. On the one hand, traditional retailers make use of websites, mobile applications, self-check-outs, electronic kiosks, and smart shelf technology; on the other hand, online retailers are starting to build digitally enhanced physical stores.

Vectors of Digital Transformation: Relationships, Markets, and Ecosystems

Transformation of space Thanks to their intangible and machine-encoded nature, software, data, and computing resources can be stored or exploited anywhere, decoupling value from borders and challenging traditional principles of territoriality, geographically based communities, and sovereignty. This separation creates opportunities for jurisdictional arbitrage. Policies relying on geographical specifications like nexus, rules of origin, or defined markets may need to be revised to consider other points along the process of value creation and distribution (e.g., location of value creation vs. value delivery). This separation of value creation from use increases the need for policy interoperability between countries and regions.

Conclusion:

Digital transformation is rapidly revolutionizing cross-border trade, providing businesses, civil society, and policymakers with new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and collaboration. Advanced technologies such as AI, blockchain, IoT, and big data analytics are reshaping international commerce, driving innovation, and empowering global e-commerce. Policymakers must adapt regulatory frameworks to fully embrace these transformative technologies. By leveraging data effectively and embracing digital innovation, businesses and governments can drive growth and shape a digitally transformed future that benefits everyone.

FAQs:

What is digital transformation, and how does it impact cross-border trade?

Digital transformation refers to the economic and societal effects of digitization and digitalization. It significantly impacts cross-border trade by streamlining processes, enabling secure data exchange, and facilitating collaboration among stakeholders.

How does AI contribute to international trade?

By lowering obstacles, improving transparency, and boosting efficiency in cross-border transactions, AI improves global trade. It provides new chances for companies to broaden their presence on the world market.

What are the key technologies driving the digital transformation of cross-border trade?

IoT, 5G networks, cloud computing, big data analytics, blockchain, and quantum computing are key technologies driving digital transformation.

How does digital transformation impact healthcare?

Digital transformation in healthcare leads to innovative solutions and advancements in the sector. It enables improved patient care, efficient processes, and data-driven decision-making.

What policies are essential for embracing digital transformation in trade?

Policies related to data privacy, security, interoperability, and adaptation of regulatory frameworks are crucial for embracing digital transformation in cross-border trade.