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March1,2017

DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&Technologydeborahweinswig@fung1937.comUS:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

Mobile World Congress Day 2: A Preview of Samsung’s Nexshop Retail Solution; More on Conversational Commerce and Ethereum

1) DuringDay2ofthe2017MobileWorldCongress,theFungGlobalRetail&Technologyteamattendedsessionsonconversationalcommerce,bigdataandthedevelopmentofenterpriseapplicationsonthegeneralpurposeblockchain,Ethereum.

2) Samsungshowcaseditssleekin-storeapplicationNexshop,whichincludesmobilePOS,storeassociatetrainingandtargetedmarketingfunctionalities.

3) Withacombinedtotalofover68trillionmessagesperyear,Whatsapp,MessengerandWeChatarethepremierglobalcommunicationchannelsandtheirfutureischatbotintegration.

4) VitalikButerin,co-creatorandinventorofEthereum,discussedthatEthereumisstillfacingchallengeswhenitcomestoovercomingitscurrentlimitationsaroundthenumberoftransactionsandusersonitsblockchain,butovercomingtheseisonthedevelopmentroadmapforthenextthreetofiveyears.

HighlightsfromtheFloor:Samsung’sNexshopSolutionWesawdemosofSamsung’simpressivein-storeretailsolutionsuiteNexshop.Samsunghascurrentlydevelopedthreeapplications:NexshopSales,MarketingandTraining,whicharefocusedonimprovingin-storeperformancebyprovidingstoreassociatesamobilePOSsolution,amarketingtoolandatrainingappwithitsveryownAIlearningassistant.TheNexshopsolutionprovidesdetailedanalyticsonfootfalltogetherwithheat-mappingvisualizations,which,insomecases,canbebrokendowntotheproductlevel.Duringthedemos,thetechnologylookedsleekandperformedseamlessly.

Day 2

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March1,2017

DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&Technologydeborahweinswig@fung1937.comUS:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology

TheFutureofMessaging:Engagement,E-CommerceandBotsWeattendedapanelorganizedbyOvum,whichdiscussedthefutureofmessaging.ThepanelwasmoderatedbyPamelaClark-DicksonfromOvumandfeaturedMattAsay,VPofMobileatAdobe,MitaliDhar,DirectorofGlobalProductPartnershipatGoogle,BeerudSheth,Co-FounderandCEOofGupshup,HarperReed,SeniorDirectorofSoftwareDevelopmentatPaypal,andRyanSullivan,VPofProductEngineering&DevelopmentatSprint.

Thepanelistsbeganbydiscussingthescaleofglobalinstantmessaging(IM)—thecombineduserbaseofWhatsapp,WeChatandMessengerisunder5billionandthetrafficisover68trillionmessagesperyear.DiscussionthencontinuedaroundwhyChinaandKoreaareseeingmoresuccessinmonetizingIM.BeerudShethcommentedthatAsianIMappsareacombinationofsocialmediaportalandcommunicationtool.MitaliDharaddedthereisaneedtointegrateintooneapp,whichincludeschatbotsinthefuture.Messagingappsnowincludecorporate/brandaccounts,ads,browsers,chatbotsandpaymentfunctions.Companiesandbrandsarelookingatmessagingplatformsastheirprimaryengagementplatformfortheirnow24/7customerrelationships.Onthedevelopmentofchatbotswithinmessagingapps,Dharmentionedthatinteractingwithbotsisstilldifferentfromchattingwithfriends,andsheexpectsthiswillbewillbethenextphasechatbotsneedtoadvancetoinordertoestablishamorenaturalwayofcommunication.

Customerserviceandcommerceviamessagingappscreatesauniqueopportunitytosimplifyhowbusinessesandconsumersinteract.Consumershaveadoptedthisnewplatform,butmostcompaniesstillneedtotakethesteptomessagingandconversationalcommerce.MattAsayexpressedconcernaboutthenegativeimpactofinformationsilosonmessaging—itwillbehardtoachievemonetizationorevenimplementchatbotsinthecurrentmessagingecosystemduethefragmentationofdatabecauseofsilos.

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March1,2017

DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&Technologydeborahweinswig@fung1937.comUS:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

4YFN: Ethereum Enterprise Applications andHowOrganizations Should Think aboutDataDay2at4YFNofferedakeynotefromJPRangaswami,ChiefDataOfficeratDeutscheBank,andadiscussiononEthereum,thegeneralpurposeblockchain,withtheFoundationCouncilPresidentoftheEthereumFoundation,VitalikButerin.

Rangaswamicommentedonthe“digitaltransformation”resultingfromtheexponentialgrowthofdataandsomeofthechallengesassociatedwithit.AccordingtoRangaswami,therehasbeenafundamentalshiftfromsellers’markets,wheremarkettransactionsaredefinedbyasingleprovidertomanyagents,todistributed,ornetwork,models,wheretheagencyisinthehandsofconsumers.Oneexampleistheblockchain,whichoffersanalternativetocentralizedbook-keepingandverificationofvirtualtransactionsandassets.Thispowershiftfromcentralizedorganizationstoconsumersnecessitatesthatorganizationsbreakthroughsilostructuresinordertoadapttothenewmarketparadigm.

Oneofthemostimportantaspectsofthefutureroleoforganizationsishowtheycollect,filterandusedata.Withtheincreasingspeedandvolumeofdata,theneedtoverifyitsaccuracyandguaranteeitsprovenancebecomesparamount.Themainissuestemsfromthefactthat,atpresent,thetimeittakessystemstoveritythetruthfulnessofdatais,insomecases,longerthanthetimeittakesforthetruestateofthedatatochange.Inaddition,thesheervolumeofdatacreatesafilteringproblem,ifthedataisnotlabeledandorganizedfromthesource.Asaresult,theorganizationofdatahasbecomeapriorityforbusinessesacrossindustries,togetherwiththeabilitytoexplainwhyapieceofdataistrue;inotherwords,tounderwritetheimmutabilityofdatathroughoutitsjourney,fromitssourcetoitsenduse.

Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology

Thesecondsessionweattendedat4YFNwasadiscussionbetweenButerinandMontserratGuardiaGüell,DigitalChallengeDirectorofBancoSabadell.WiththeannouncementoftheformationoftheEthereumAlliance,whichincludescompaniessuchasIntel,MircosoftandJ.P.MorganChase,thebigquestiononpeople’smindswashowfarawaywearefromseeingscalableenterprise-levelapplicationsrunonEthereum.ButerinwasquicktopointoutthatEthereumisstillfacingchallengeswhenitcomestoovercomingthecurrenttechnologicallimitationsaroundthenumberoftransactionsandusersonitsblockchain,butthatovercomingtheseisontheroadmap

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March1,2017

DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&Technologydeborahweinswig@fung1937.comUS:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

forthedevelopmentofEthereumoverthenextthreetofiveyears.Healsopointedoutthattherearemultiplepilotsandprojectsalreadydevelopedontheblockchain,suchasapplicationsgovernanceandvotingmechanisms,supply-chainsolutionsthattargetprovenanceandapplicationsinhealthcare.

Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology

TheFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteamwillkeeppublishingupdatesontheconferencecontentfromMWC17,togetherwiththeexcitingtechnologycompaniesandstartupsweinteractwithonthefloor.

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March1,2017

DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&Technologydeborahweinswig@fung1937.comUS:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:86.186.1420.3016deborahweinswig@fung1937.comKirilPopovSeniorAnalyst

SimicChanSeniorResearchAssociate

HongKong:8thFloor,LiFungTower888CheungShaWanRoad,KowloonHongKongTel:85223004406London:242-246MaryleboneRoadLondon,NW16JQUnitedKingdomTel:44(0)2076168988NewYork:1359Broadway,9thFloorNewYork,NY10018Tel:6468397017FungGlobalRetailTech.com