News, views and analysis from the A/NZ tech sector
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Hi there,
With 346 million active accounts, PayPal is no small fry. So when it announced recently that it was going to allow users to buy, sell, hold and (soon) spend cryptocurrency, the world took notice. It’s been dubbed as a tipping point towards crypto's mainstream adoption.
Certainly the news prompted a gold rush for both PayPal and Bitcoin, with Bitcoin prices and PayPal shares surging.
There are, nonetheless, obstacles, including legislative blocks, the spectre of central bank digital currencies and stable coin bans, alongside extreme market volatility.
PayPal is positioning itself to cash in on transaction fees to convert crypto to existing fiat currencies, but is also well placed to work with regulators and policymakers to legitimise crypto as a stand alone currency class.
Whether that will drive mainstream adoption of crypto, however, remains to be seen. Meantime, approach your next ICO pitch with caution.
In other news this week:
- Digital dust becomes IoB gold in Gartner's 2021 trendwatch
- ScoMo recommends tech adoption, while NZ cranks innovation
- Dropbox gets out of the box and goes 100% virtual
- Toyota's forklift pricing simplified with CPQ
And if you’re keen to improve customer experience (and who isn’t?) we’ve got an e-book detailing how efficient order-to-cash processes can improve customer service.
Enjoy the read,
Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.com.au
CRYPTOCURRENCY
PayPal jumps into crypto
This time for real…
PayPal is jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, enabling customers to use their PayPal accounts to buy and sell virtual currencies in a move that may spur greater acceptance of crypto.
“The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable.”
INTERNET OF BEHAVIOUR
The lives of others: Exploring the Internet of Behaviour
Connected data will increasingly influence our lives and our decision making…
From IoT-enabled healthcare to facial recognition and mass body temperature surveillance our lives are growing more defined by a cookie trail of internet-connected data.
“[IoB’s] social reception might depend on how heavy-handed organisations are with what they’re trying to do.”
[Read more]
ERP BUYER"S GUIDE
TECH SECTOR
Tech-ing up the economy
NZ says innovation please, Australia’s more keen on adoption…
It’s New Zealand’s fastest growing export sector – and Covid-19 has only accelerated its importance in rebuilding New Zealand’s economic future.
“Sourcing data relating to the tech sector was like a treasure hunt, without the fun.”
[Read more]
WORK FROM HOME
Dropbox goes 100% virtual
File sharing giant says ‘go home, stay home’ to staff…
As companies around the world dip their toes into remote working concepts, Dropbox has decided to cannonball into the deep end, announcing that its 3,000 employees will now be a virtual workforce.
Half measures have their downsides.
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SALES TECH
Slashing pricing complexity with CPQ
Leading forklift provider moves to bolster sales effectiveness…
No matter what your industry, sales drive success. But when you’ve got hundreds of products each with a vast array of potential variations, configuring, pricing and quoting can be a headache.
“It will cut days off our processing times.”
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
eBook: Improving the customer experience
How order-to-cash automation unites your most strategic teams…
There’s no doubt about it: Efficient order-to-cash (O2C) processes are important to company success.
Addressing the root causes of inefficiency makes future initiatives much easier to implement.
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