Hope, Empowered

The 2018 InnovateIN48 Finals wrapped up on September 13 as teams competed against the clock with hopes of emerging as this year’s winners. The challenge? Use emerging technology to develop an innovative solution aimed at solving a social problem in the world today. This year’s challenge paved the way for an exploration into social issues that personally and emotionally hit home for our competitors. Focusing on solutions to do good for their communities enabled competitors to integrate their expertise into a development for social betterment.

I am so impressed by the exceptional creations that all 14 teams came up with in just 48 hours. Their creativity, passion and hard work shined through in the final presentations. Teams from Asia, Europe and the Americas brought high energy and focus to the competition. And the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, USA provided the perfect setting for inspiration and excitement. This competition is a true testament to our employees’ brilliant capabilities and what minds can accomplish when put to a unique challenge.

Teams looked to solve problems across the gamut with solutions for reusing surplus supplies – such as food and medicine – combating homelessness and charitable-giving campaigns, to name a few. The final presentations highlighted each team’s personal connection and reasoning behind creating their solution- reflecting a community-wide theme of empowering hope. To these teams, it was more than just adhering to the FIS value of giving back; it was clear they all wanted to make a genuine, personal difference in the world around them.

After final presentations, the judges spent time carefully deliberating the creations, as only three teams could emerge victorious. Belgium team “Be-API” came in third place with a development to assist elderly patients maintain independent living. It featured motion sensors to monitor for falls and reminded the user of tasks around the house. In second place, global team “Ron Burgundy’s News Team” innovated a post-disaster relief platform to request and delegate available resources such as first responders, medical supplies and other equipment to those in need. First place was awarded to the Cambridge, England team “The Break FIS Club” who created a product to reduce caretaker strain for family members assisting elderly relatives with dementia or Alzheimer’s. The application, using augmented reality, would remind loved ones of their daily tasks and guide them through their day-to-day life, as well as using facial recognition for facilitating social interactions.

Overall, every participating team is considered a winner, given the cutting-edge developments that emerged after just 48 hours of coding.

Our goal is to take each of the concepts forward, by partnering with not-for-profits or other organizations focused on doing good. If you would like to partner with FIS, contact us at team.fisinnovateIN48@fisglobal.com.

How FIS and its clients benefit from InnovateIN48

Years ago, aviation expert Dr. Earl Wiener articulated the changes the airline industry would undergo upon embracing automation. His laws have transcended aviation, to adoption of modern technology in general, as new unforeseen challenges typically accompany embracing new technology. InnovateIN48 teams leveraged emerging technologies such as blockchain, hyperledger, IoT, facial recognition, biometrics, augmented reality, machine learning, and many others to produce their projects; all of which are new to FIS. Teams learned not only their technical uses and limitations, but also considered the challenges these technologies introduce from data privacy, application security and other dimensions.

Looking holistically at the technology, with teams going beyond the functionality alone, accelerates the time it will take for FIS to adopt them into mainstream product development. This experience provides a platform that ultimately fosters continuous innovative thinking among our employees to empower the financial services world.

And finally, congratulations to the competing teams on your successes! The 2018 FIS | InnovateIN48 was by all accounts the best one yet- we can’t wait to excel even further next year!

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Tags: Technology, Digital Innovation