The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution
for businesses and individuals to create wealth, altering
personal and professional environments.
The Uber model epitomizes the disruptive power of
these technology platforms. These platform businesses
are rapidly multiplying to offer new services ranging from
laundry to shopping, from chores to parking, from homestays
to sharing long-distance rides. They have one thing
in common: by matching supply and demand in a very
accessible (low cost) way, by providing consumers with
diverse goods, and by allowing both parties to interact
and give feedback, these platforms therefore seed trust.
This enables the effective use of under-utilized assets –
namely those belonging to people who had previously
never thought of themselves as suppliers (i.e. of a seat in
their car, a spare bedroom in their home, a commercial
link between a retailer and manufacturer, or the time and
skill to provide a service like delivery, home repair or
administrative tasks).
The on-demand economy raises the fundamental question:
What is worth owning – the platform or the underlying
asset? As media strategist Tom Goodwin wrote in a
TechCrunch article in March 2015: “Uber, the world’s
largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the
world’s most popular media owner, creates no content.
Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And
Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns
no real estate.” 9
Digital platforms have dramatically reduced the
transaction and friction costs incurred when individuals
or organizations share the use of an asset or provide a
service. Each transaction can now be divided into very fine
increments, with economic gains for all parties involved. In
addition, when using digital platforms, the marginal cost of
producing each additional product, good or service tends
towards zero. This has dramatic implications for business
and society that I will explore in Chapter Three.
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