Practice area 05
Technology Research
Research and advice in the latest fields of technology: we examine emerging technologies for their practical value to industry – and turn our findings into insight our clients can act on.
Blockchain research
A shared, tamper-proof ledger
Blockchain is an attractive solution whenever data that would normally be stored together needs to be fragmented at source, or whenever data security needs to be strengthened. The technology offers advantages in data reconciliation, standardisation and integration, and risk mitigation.
Put simply, it is a shared database that – much like a logbook – records all transactions and data in chronological order, forming the ‘chain’ that gives the technology its name. In doing so, blockchain answers a long-standing question at the heart of distributed systems: how do you establish an undisputed consensus on the state of the data, visible to everyone, in an open network?
Distributed ledger technology
All network participants have access to the ledger and its immutable record of transactions. Each transaction is recorded only once, eliminating duplicated effort.
Immutable records
No participant can alter or tamper with a transaction once it has been recorded in the shared ledger. If a record contains an error, it is corrected by means of a new, documented transaction.
Smart contracts
A smart contract is a set of rules stored on the blockchain. It executes automatically as soon as predefined conditions are met, speeding up transactions between the parties.
Use-case monitoring
Quality assurance across the entire supply chain
When complex digital products are brought to market – usually developed in close collaboration with partner companies – one question arises: how can consistent supplier management safeguard service delivery across the entire supply chain?
We research this kind of process support. It involves monitoring all the digital services associated with a product while ensuring rigorous quality assurance and data analysis. Our research also extends to adjacent fields such as quality strategy and customer satisfaction. Robust use-case monitoring helps identify early on which preventive measures can be taken, and when, so that quality standards are maintained at all times.
New robotics & artificial intelligence
Exploring machine intelligence and its potential
As an interdisciplinary field, robotics is among the most groundbreaking areas of science of our time and has made major advances in recent years – in hardware and software alike. Autonomous, learning and self-learning systems, together with the broad field of artificial intelligence, form part of our research portfolio.
Specifically, our aim is not only to identify everyday applications of robotics and AI and potential uses in precisely defined areas, but to investigate them in hands-on tests and studies and make them accessible – for our clients and their projects.
Which technology deserves your next pilot?
In a no-obligation initial consultation, we establish where your organisation stands today in attracting and retaining freelancers – and which measures offer the greatest leverage.