Long gone are the days where going digital was a matter of choice. Nowadays, technology is king. What once was a competitive edge for businesses is today an expectation from clients and partners alike.

With very few spaces left untouched by the hand of technology, even physical transactions are in some way imbued in tech. Accenture’s Technology Vision Report reflects this change in our societies, and the message is clear: the DARQ age is upon us, and the future has never looked brighter.

But, what is DARQ technology?

It’s actually not one single technology, but a set of technologies, powerful enough to carry us into the post-digital era. The DARQ acronym stands for (D)istributed ledger technology, (A)rtificial intelligence, extended (R)eality, and (Q)uantum computing. These technologies are already being used, in one way or another, by 89% of businesses, where they are helping to make processes better.

So, are you ready to explore the DARQ? Let’s find out more about it.

Before DARQ technologies

Companies and individuals began developing their digital dexterity with SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud technologies) during the last decade. SMAC revolutionized the way clients interacted with brands. It changed a 9-to-5 service window to a 24/7 availability, put printers to rest and created consumer communities.

Now that tech is no longer uncharted waters and businesses can understand their client base more fully thanks to increased data collection capabilities, the time has come to get immersive.

Breaking down the DARQ

DARQ technologies mean to disrupt our reality.

The marriage of data and innovation allows companies to create tailored experiences, services and products for their clients.

For example, DARQ technologies are what will transform movie theater 2- and 3-D screenings to “true first-person” narratives in which the viewer is an active participant within the story.

Let’s breakdown each of the technologies and understand how they will impact our lives:

• Distributed ledger technology stands for data control and verification. DLT promises to reduce costs (and to allow transactions to be carried out in totally new ways) by streamlining processes using blockchain. DLT is also being used, for example, in smart contracts that can be automatically executed.
• Artificial intelligence has multiple benefits such as automating processes and cataloguing data at an unprecedented speed. By increasing data processing power, companies can redirect their employees’ efforts towards other projects and endeavors. 
• Extended reality allows businesses to open the gates to immersive environments where users can gain a more profound understanding of their products and services. Recreating these types of environments would be impossible through a two-dimensional platform.
• Quantum computing, perhaps the most enigmatic and least developed of these technologies, presents the possibility to solve problems and equations that no human or computer has been able to tackle. To do so, quantum computing calculates probabilities way beyond our current scope of 1s and 0s.

But are these technologies too far-fetched for today’s market?

How Ria Money Transfer implements DARQ technologies

At Ria Money Transfer, we are no strangers to the DARQ.

As a natural step in the era of Big Data, we’ve turned to AI information management systems like Watchlist, which helps us maintain our robust compliance procedures.

AI software allow us to integrate heterogeneous data sources, extract implicit or previously unknown information, discover unexpected patterns, regularities and restrictions and adapt to changes in data sources.

In this way, we can offer our clients not only a responsive service but also a comprehensive and reliable network, amped up with visual analysis tools and advanced real-time processing for illicit activity detection.

The shifting tech landscape has undeniably heightened the digital side of our business. Advanced engineering processes such as machine learning and predictive analytics for revenue forecasting have become second nature to our IT teams.

Raúl Gómez de Zamora, Ria’s IT Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, shared, “The current tech landscape is fascinating, with something new to test and try out every day. At Ria, we incorporate technologies that serve both our employees and clients in the long run, improving our efficiency, our services and helping customers in this digital transition. For us, it’s about maintaining the balance between innovation, sustainability and social responsibility.”

DARQ’s place in the world

According to Accenture, 41% of business and IT leaders place the greatest value in AI for the next three years, with another 19% going to distributed ledgers.

The time might not be ripe for the whole of DARQ technologies, but their influence is starting to seep into businesses worldwide.

However, corporations shouldn’t take this transition lightly. Like the Accenture report states, “As businesses use technologies to reach further into people’s lives, shaping the very fabric of reality, they must address the privacy, safety, ethics, and governance questions that come along with that level of access.”

Can doesn’t always mean should, and technology must remain at the service of the people, not the other way around.

That being said, there are many exciting possibilities in store for clients and businesses alike. It’s hard to imagine a world without SMAC, and DARQ technologies promise to make an even bigger splash.

When it comes to sending money, our commitment is to provide our customers with fast and secure money transfers at a great value. Need to send? Download the Ria Money Transfer app for iOS or Android to get started.