The world is going through a massive technological transformation. Evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, blockchain, and big data proves that the 4th Industrial Revolution is no longer a distant myth. Being a developing country, Bangladesh has tremendous potential to be the deployment hub of the finest technological innovations.
But, is the nation ready to embrace these technologies? If yes, then who will be benefitted by these? There is room for everyone to take part in it. Sectors like health, finance, agriculture, manufacturing, retail, communication and more are all potential technological breakthrough areas.
Bangladesh has shown significant progress in terms of digital transformation over the past few years. The Bangladesh government's A2I programme has paved the path for further mobilisation. Government initiatives like smart meter reading, online utility bill pay and e-governance has brought the country a step closer to becoming a digitalised nation. Still, there are many areas that can embrace technology and its advancement to bring about positive changes in the lives of people in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's countrywide mobile penetration is 156.5 million. Digital payment methods are on a rise between both B2B and B2C transactions. Alongside the drastic change, fraudulent activities have also been noticed as bank security systems were compromised in recent times. This is where blockchain technology can protect organisations from financial loss and safeguard the image of the company in the market. The best part of blockchain technology is the decentralised control mechanism and the strong encryption of data which makes it difficult for hackers to crack the entire network. Besides financial data, every piece of information that needs to be monitored like patient records, data of shipping goods, land registry records etc. can be packaged with blockchain ensuring its safety, security and reliability. Be it a bank, a stock trading company or a supply chain audit, blockchain can safeguard data well.
Customer communication is an integral part of any business. Today, digital assistants and chat bots are changing the methods of traditional customer interaction. These applications, powered by Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Natural Language Generation (NLG), can deliver answer to queries that the client may have. Financial entities can empower themselves with these AI-driven applications to establish superior customer experience in service areas such as payment transactions, bill-related queries, complaint management and so on. Mobile operators have already started to leverage these technologies, which will replace traditional IVR (Interactive Voice Response) platform. For telecom companies and banking institutions, chatbot and digital assistant is going to be the next generation contact centre executive for smart and faster resolution of customer issues.
Agriculture is one of the largest contributing sectors to the country's GDP growth. Yet, the sector has experienced very little technological advancements. Issues like crop infection, infertile soil, and the slow growth rate of plants can hamper yearly production rate. Crop diseases can be detected faster by image processing along with machine learning (ML) or deep learning (DL) framework. IoT based monitoring of soil, temperature and plants can also help farmers to carry out timely irrigation, optimal harvesting, address crop anomalies and control overflow of insecticides. From sowing seeds to harvest, each step of the farming system can be incorporated within an ecosystem consisting of IoT, image processing, robotics and data analytics. Through the technology, farmers will be able to take precise decisions that can lead to better results in production with less damage.
The e-commerce market is booming like never before. Alibaba is already operating in Bangladesh. Giants like Amazon and Walmart are also interested to invest in the Bangladesh market. So it is the right time to address some of the biggest concerns of the e-commerce sector including quality, reliability and product authenticity. Rate of sale will increase if customers trust the sellers. Blockchain can help customers put back the trust on a product by providing its back-story. This can ensure authenticity and transparency at the same time. Through Machine Learning (ML) and predictive analytics, companies can promote personalised offers by analysing buying pattern or tracking the footprint of a customer in websites and social media.
Think about a scenario, in which a CEO is fully satisfied by faster deliveries from each and every department of his organisation. It can sound like a dream as companies often struggle to get the best outcomes from their established processes. This is because companies are heavily dependent on manual intervention, which also compromises the efficiency. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can be a game changer in this case. Regular operation that is time consuming and complex in nature can be automated with RPA. RPA is a great fit for bulk data processing, data migration projects, IT-managed services and so on. It can break the hassle of a finance team by automating all the tasks starting from invoicing to payroll generation. By reducing human efforts and increasing efficiency, RPA creates a win-win situation for both employers and employees.
Industries such as readymade garment, manufacturing and aviation often face serious threats to their revenues through unwanted incidents and reactive problem solving approaches. It is quite common for an entire shipment to be delayed following a sudden machine error or a flight is delayed due to the malfunction of internal parts. IOT can be the secret agent that can identify hidden issues in these cases along with futuristic prediction. In an IoT-based architecture, sensors streams data 24/7. Adding an analytic layer on top of these data can provide real-time insights of the entire systems functionality to address any anomalies before they occur. With IoT, retail companies which operate a large number of fleets can get a better grip in route optimisation and pilferage control.
Dhaka has been in the list of the least liveable cities for quite a long time. It is high time that IoT is implemented to make this city smart, energy-efficient and pollution free with automatic waste control management, disaster management and infrastructure management.
farhan.galib@pwc.com