Page 10 - August 2018 Disruption Report Flip Book

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF GOVERNMENT JAUNGUUASRTY 2018
through multiple different systems. So we created one user interface, collected 90% of the information that we needed to collect on the front end, and then we identified choke points in our business process and we automated that. By automating those choke points, we were able to cut the in the proof we were able to cut the acquisition lifecycle time from 110 days to 10 days. I think the technology is very powerful, if you think of it as a foundational technology that’s an enabler for things like machine learning and cognitive intelligence. I think that the technologies go hand in hand.
The other thing that I would keep in mind is there’s a different pricing structure when you do this type of work. You’re actually structuring the way that you execute in a different way. You have to actually look at your existing business process and you have to say, ‘Ok, if we didn’t have any technology constraints at all, how would we modernize? So what is our process? What parts of our process are driven by technology constraints? And then, how can we modernize?’
A simple example is: If I add two decimal points to an application—whether it’s a [purchased] product or something that I’ve built in-house—I have to do the engineering work to change those two decimal points in every system that I interface with. Then I have to run [tests] on that entire stack to make sure that functionally it works—that’s why we’re spending so much money in O&M [e.g., Operations & Maintenance]. Now let’s kind of think about what I just said. If I have a data layer with data that’s accurate and I’m just building micro-services off that data layer to drive the specific outcomes that I want, all I have to do is deconstruct that microservice and rebuild another micro-service that gives me the new outcome that I want.
...I think the biggest misconception about blockchain relates to Bitcoin. Bitcoin is an application that exists on top of blockchain technology. It’s an application. It is a single application of the technology. What I just described to you is a model for leveraging the technology for a different set of applications. I think the biggest misconception is that
you have to use the crypto aspects—proof of work, proof of stake—of blockchain and a network where you’re trying to create trust between two individuals that don’t know one another. What I just told you is I’m using blockchain in a non-crypto method. I know the individuals I’m doing business with because it’s easy to know an industry partner. You got a tax ID. You pay taxes. You have to register with the IRS. So, I know who you are and I’m using it so that I can have trust in the data and a record of the data that you submitted to me. I’m not using proof of work and proof of stake, which generates a ton of energy costs. I’m using something called proof of authority, which doesn’t use a ton of energy cost. I don’t need proof of work or stake, because I don’t have to engage with an entity that I don’t know. I already know you. ...So, I think the biggest misconception is everybody applies the
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