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Alan Simpson, Chief Technology Officer, Catenae Innovation P.L.C. (LON:CTEA) Interview
Catenae (AIM: CTEA), the AIM quoted provider of digital media and technology announces the following changes to its senior Management team and Board.
Proposed appointment of Alan Simpson CTO to the Executive Board
Alan is a highly regarded technologist with vast experience in a number of high-profile projects in a career ranging from Military Cryptologist through to those projects which can be publicly named such as being the Technical Delivery Manager for BBC’s flagship iPlayer project.
Alan joined the Company in June 2018 and has been responsible for the delivery of technical projects within the Company including Sequestrum, its DLT/Blockchain platform, and the recently launched Onsite. This appointment recognises the contribution and commitment Alan has shown to the Company.
This, combined with his broad technical expertise, and commercial experience will be a welcome addition to the Board. A further announcement providing information pursuant to AIM Rule Schedule 2(g) will be made in due course.
Blockchain – which do you choose VHS or Beta?
No sooner do most retail market investors finally understand the difference between cryptocurrency and blockchain, (simply put crypto needs blockchain, blockchain doesn’t need crypto), than the timely debate starts as to which platforms are actually commercially viable.
With Bitcoin and Ethereum taking up the most column inches, the uninitiated could easily believe they are the only platforms out there.
Whilst they are arguably the most popular names in the public blockchain arena, there are many other public and private platforms offering distributed ledger technology (DLT), each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
As you can probably guess, given the title the only certainty is that they don’t talk to each other. Older readers will of course remember the hackneyed comparison and discussions regarding VHS (JVC) and Betamax (Sony) home video recorder systems in the dim and distant past. While it would be nice to think that we we’ve learnt something about technical standards in that time, it appears not to be the case – after all who really needs interoperability anyway?
Accenture’s press release (1) earlier this month details its approach to enable two or more disparate blockchains to have some form of communication whether this be transfer of a tokenised asset or data mapping different blocks across different blockchains. The devil is of course in the detail, but this is obviously a move in the right direction; anything that helps bring together two organisations with different technical solutions and / or with disparate requirements must be good.
Interoperability is key to the take-up of DLT technology. Therefore, the ability to run an application on a DLT platform, any DLT platform is a key consideration with solutions like Sequestrum our Universal Digital Repository application (2). The universal element here was designed in from day one, we wanted to achieve an application that had near zero barrier to entry, an application that could be added to legacy systems to provide that immutable proof of record whether the use case be for copyright, audit or governance, without have to re-engineer vast swaths of code.
It was equally important that the application could sit on top of the client’s choice of DLT platform. Taking the approach adopted by some of the application development frameworks, we looked to separate the application from the DLT platform, choosing to interface these via an application programming layer (API). Not a new solution, but very flexible. In theory this API layer acts like the Babel fish, allowing two incompatible elements to communicate, sometimes easily, sometimes with a bit more complexity. In this case allowing the application to remain agnostic to whichever platform it is accessing its data from.
Sequestrum is fully owned by us at Catenae Innovation (CTEA.L), is already listed on the LSE and is in many ways well ahead of Silicon Valley as a proven, cash generating offering.
Developed by Alan Simpson, better known for building and launching the BBC iPlayer, Sequestrum is currently being developed on two private DLT blockchain platforms and is a leap forward both in being both cost effective to the end user and ultra efficient compared to current solutions.
Our next client implementation is based on a Hyperledger platform, after all if it’s good enough for IBM!
We may yet have to deliver the modern age equivalent of the morphing tape cartridge to fit all the VCRs in the world, but the Catenae team are more than happy that Sequestrum is a good start.
by Tony Sanders
Links
https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/accenture-enables-interoperability-between-major-blockchain-platforms.htm
https://www.catenaeinnovation.com/products-and-services/p/sequestrum
From iPlayer to High Speed Blockchain. Alan Simpson, CTO at Catenae Innovation (CTEA) tells all.
Alan Simpson is CTO for AIM listed Catenae Innovation CTEA, a technology company that has built a unique, high-speed Blockchain application which is already used across multiple industry sectors. As such, Catenae is the only UK listed technology company with the ability to generate revenues from blockchain products. Alan is an IT professional with 34 years experience as a developer and cryptographer, and has worked on numerous commercial and military applications. He is however best known for developing and launching the ubiquitous BBC iPlayer. Here, with Alan Green of Brand Communications, Alan discusses blockchain and cryptocurrency, and explains how Catenae’s unique high-speed blockchain product works across multiple industry sectors. Episode 1.
Catenae Innovation #CTEA: The Universal Blockchain Application – Zak Mir, Financial Journalist
Of late, the technology space has been characterised by the rise and rise of the so-called FAANGS (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet’s Google). Even taking into account the recent Facebook blip, which has seen the stock fall back to March 18 levels, the overall trend remains higher. These stocks epitomise how the development of a technological breakthrough, whether large (Google Search) or small (Twitter’s 280 characters) can create companies worth billions.
Sadly, very few technology giants to date have originated in the UK, but even so the search for the UK Unicorn continues.
Catenae’s Investment Proposition: World Beating Blockchain Technology In A £2M AIM Listed Company
The relentless growth of Blockchain technology is well documented, but among the companies developing the technology, several of the global leaders are based here in the UK. Catenae Innovation is one such company: in the space of just a few months following a change in name from Milestone Group, it has developed a unique Blockchain application which can be used across multiple sectors from music to image licensing and governance. Following exhaustive back testing procedures, Catenae’s “super-fast” Blockchain technology has been independently validated at 300k transactions/second, creating a unique and highly valuable IP. This stands wholly at odds with Catenae’s current market capitalisation of just £2m.
Post Hype?
From an investment standpoint, a tried and tested strategy for generating investor interest and rallying share prices is to put money into and around the latest tech and market buzzwords. The past 15- 20 years has seen anything with “China” and “Dotcom” generate arguably disproportionate levels of interest, while today “blockchain” and “cloud” are the buzzwords of the moment. By definition only a few of companies incorporating “blockchain” into the offering will go on and deliver a product that is both disruptive and works as it should. Catenae Innovation has already proved to be one such company.
A Long Standing Data Need
For years, business and finance has striven to create immutable records of data, identity and activity. In the digital age, accurate and secure data is everything, and although Blockchain, otherwise known as distributed ledger technology has been around for over 20 years, its time, relevance and application has finally arrived.
In the space of music and image licensing, Catenae’s proprietary technology is already at the forefront and providing solutions via with its “super-fast” blockchain offering.
Catenae’s Commercial Solutions Portfolio:
Positioning itself as a B2B solutions integrator with sector specific subsidiaries, Catenae also has both the product set and technical resource to deliver this Blockchain platform as a universal utility.
In addition to providing the technology to 3rdparty organisations either as a licensable product or as a consultative-based solution, Catenae’s offering is also being championed within its own media business Trust in Media, a joint venture with music mogul Martin Heath, who better than anyone understands the challenges presented by the industry. With a focus on royalties and copyright, the solution will also form part of a portfolio of Fintech products for KYC and AML applications, along with payment systems and pre-paid cards.
Zak Mir, Financial Journalist
Forbes: How Blockchain Could Start To Make Waves In Media And Entertainment In 2018 – Catenae Innovation #CTEA
Article by Nelson Granados for Forbes Magazine.
Blockchain technology made big news in December thanks to the bitcoin cryptocurrency surging past $10,000 to a $20,000 peak, the launch of bitcoin futures in major exchanges, and the announcement that the Australian Stock Exchange will use blockchain technology for trade settlement. Blockchain could also start to be implemented in media and entertainment in 2018.
The beauty of blockchain technology is that it enables a digital marketplace that is both decentralized yet tamper resistant. Transactions are recorded chronologically in a distributed ledger that is transparent to its participants, but encrypted so nobody can cheat by changing or faking transactions. Agreed business rules, logic, and contract terms can also be programmed to automate transactions, known as ‘smart contracts’.
To envision potential markets that are ripe for disruption in media and entertainment, you have to think of ones where participants would benefit from both security and transparency, like payments, funding, monetization, and contract enforcement.
Royalties
It is difficult to pay fairly for creative work in a digital world where it is easy to share and distribute copies, so royalty payment mechanisms are ripe for disruption. For example, music streaming sites and rights holders struggle to agree on compensation for trillions of song streams, leading to legal fights such as the $1.6bn lawsuit against Spotify.
The Open Music Initiative (OMI), composed of 200 members including the three major labels Sony, Music, and Warner, as well as YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, and Viacom, seeks to modernize royalty payment mechanisms. OMI revealed last week on CNBC that it’s considering blockchain as a foundational technology.
The vision? A transparent blockchain-based ledger that contains music assets and their rights holders. Smart contracts can then automate royalty payments based on a song’s consumption, including streaming.
Crowdfunding Of Creative Productions
2017 marked the uprising of blockchain start-ups across industries, often funded with initial coin offerings (ICOs). ICOs use cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to crowdfund new ventures.
Creative productions could also leverage ICOs for crowdfunding. In fact, last December Indiegogo launched its own ICO platform. So ICOs for films and other creative ventures could ramp up in 2018, contingent on how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) applies and imposes securities laws to ICOs.
A blockchain-based crowdfunding platform can securely record funding transactions that are transparent to all investors, allowing them to know real-time where they stand in the pecking order. Upon sale, licensing, or consumption of a creative asset, smart contracts can then automate payments to both rights holders and investors.
For example, iProdoos is a blockchain platform that launches in 2018 to enable aggregation of talent for premium TV & film production, and crowdfunding with traditional or crypto currency. This allows consumers to generate revenue from the projects they fund.
Digital Advertising
Despite the ability to target and personalize ads, the digital advertising ecosystem is pretty inefficient and opaque, to the extent that 40-70% of ad dollars can go to intermediaries. Developed in partnership with Nasdaq, NYIAX recently deployed a blockchain-based ad exchange platform that allows publishers and advertisers to efficiently trade advertising contracts. Richard Bush, Chief Product and Technology Officer, states: “With valuable experience in capital markets, NYIAX has a long-term vision to create a more financially rigorous model leveraging fin-tech best practices with advertising and media.”
Madhive is also deploying an ad exchange targeting digital video content sites. Its CEO, Adam Helfgott, states: “Our platform enables ad-based monetization of video in a secure privacy-compliant way so a viewer’s private information is shared only with an artificially-intelligent agent that pulls in relevant ads.” This could come handy in the EU market, where new strict privacy laws go into effect in May 2018 that require companies to track and protect consumer data.
Distribution
Piracy is one of the main headaches that digital distribution brought to media and entertainment. Phil Gomes, blockchain thought leader at Edelman, states: “I personally believe that a lot of piracy comes from friction in the legal distribution mechanisms. Blockchain technology can enable more frictionless monetization of content to better compete with pirates.” The key is to seamlessly match the legal user with the legally-purchased content, so that the payment mechanism is efficient and it is easier to compete with pirates, which by design don’t process payments.
Clearly, from the examples above, blockchain is not just about digital currencies. And whether it’s these or other ventures that succeed, all experts I talked to agree that 2018 will be a big year for blockchain in media and entertainment. Gomes stated: “2017 was full of corporate pilot projects to test applications of blockchain technology; 2018 will be the year when many of these will be deployed at scale.”
We are entering a hype period for blockchain technology reminiscent of the Internet bubble, so it will be hard to distinguish between hype and true potential. So how to know where the real opportunities are?
Keith Montgomery, Vice-Chairman at CyberOi, a consultancy that guides iProdoos and other blockchain ventures like QuantM.one and Cryptowork, states: “While in 2017 there were plenty of hype and ICOs, 2018 will be when the first business disruptions happen. The winners will focus on solving real business problems and use media effectively to create communities of mass adoption.”
So stay tuned. If you are in media and entertainment, 2018 will be a year to closely monitor and possibly experiment or invest in blockchain innovation.
Article originally written and published by Nelson Granados, Contributor to Forbes Magazine
Link to the original article here