Category: Government

Digitizing the Titling Process, Safely and Efficiently

On November 14, 2022

Henry Ford shook the automobile industry with the introduction of his Ford Model T back in 1908. By turning the current business model at that time upside down, he created a path forward for every consumer and family to own their own vehicle. Now, just over 100 years later, we’re witnessing a new automotive transformation, powered by the likes of Tesla, CarMax, Carvana and Vroom, strengthened by a global pandemic and solidified by consumer demand: the digitization of car buying.

Online car purchases represent about 11% of all car sales. That’s expected to grow considerably—over 50% in the coming 4-5 years—and along with this new frontier, other aspects of the process are following suit. Vehicle titling, for example, has long been a time-consuming process for state governments and their motor vehicle constituents, in addition to being prone to errors, expensive and susceptible to fraud. That could soon change as states begin to adopt a digital solution that can effectively serve today’s unique challenges.

Prior to the digital age, vehicle records were kept via paper and filing cabinets. The process was intensive, and the information wasn’t available to anyone outside of the physical location where the records were kept. Along came expensive back-up systems, then computers and finally e-titling. While all seemed well, a bigger, more dangerous problem emerged: cyber threats. The rise of malicious attacks and other potential cyber threats made it difficult to manage the data safely. Even still today, the e-titling process remains fragmented, with each state having their own system, leaving the door open for fraud and driving up costs while lowering productivity.

“Titling is complicated, involving numerous stakeholders, and it’s getting more difficult to manage in a digital world where the average online car sale is purchased from someone living 900+ miles from the dealership and across state lines,” said Shane Bigelow, CEO of CHAMPtitles (“CHAMP”), a Cleveland, Ohio-based technology startup. “For companies buying and selling vehicles throughout the country, this issue is much more prevalent, often leading to even longer delays and more opportunities for bad actors to take advantage of the system.”

CHAMP is revolutionizing the vehicle titling and registration process with a first-of-its-kind Digital Titling, Registration and Lien Management SaaS software. Not only does it modernize DMV title and registration management, but CHAMP’s new Digital Title and Registration Services (DTRS) also offers NSA-level security protections against fraud.

“Our security-first titling, registration, and lien management platform is secured by a three-pronged approach that includes a segmented and segregated network; encryption of data in transit and at rest, using elliptic curve cryptography; and the utilization of private-public key infrastructure. In short, aggregate government is waking up to the risks of not using today’s best thinking in technology, and we are excited to be part of the solutions they seek,” Bigelow said.

The state of West Virginia was an early adopter of this innovative titling technology. “We are proud to be the first state to allow this groundbreaking technology to be a reality for all members of our community. We do believe that enabling blockchain based vehicle titling will offer significant benefits for our auto dealers, lenders, insurance companies, all of their service providers, and most importantly, our citizens,” said Everett Frazier, Commissioner of West Virginia’s Division of Motor Vehicles. “Since the launch, the benefits have been abundant for those who have onboarded to our dealer submission service or our electronic lien and title service, with lots more to come thanks to the forward-thinking design of the DTRS solution from CHAMP. Realizing benefits incrementally has really been great for West Virginia and all who are enjoying these improved ways of transacting, not least of which is the DMV.”

People often do not think of the consequences of poor record keeping, but it can and does cause major financial or legal problems, as well as the potential for data to be corrupted by bad actors. These consequences can be multiplied in the vehicle titling space, where there are so many stakeholders involved in every transaction, each represented by their state’s own unique government procedures and regulations. Paper processes create incredible costs and slow the pace of commerce, while limiting innovation and providing the easiest path for fraud. Digital processes solve these concerns but require extensive knowledge of cyber security protocols to keep information secure.

“Many of the legacy systems still in use today don’t have the ability to effectively and safely process the thousands of transactions per day and store or transfer the millions of files that otherwise become printed pieces of paper,” Bigelow said. “And when the systems go down, no one knows how to fix them because those who understand the outdated technology are no longer in the industry.”

CHAMP is on a mission to make these problems relics of the past. Its online solution creates legal, verified digital car titles that enable transferability between state governments, insurance carriers, financial institutions, auto dealers and consumers.

The patented software digitizes title and registration processes for states as well as their constituents in the title and registration process – vehicle dealers, lenders, service providers, salvers, and insurance carriers to name a few. Further, the technology allows the transfer of ownership of titles to occur in minutes instead of the weeks that most states and their constituents endure today. Other companies have offered their versions of online titling and registration but not to the extent of CHAMP’s, and none have successfully built their platforms with DTRS and limited the change management burden for states—and that’s a major differentiator. DTRS offers a proven method for encryption that certifies corrupt-free data, reducing the risk of fraud and cyber threats, while offering the fastest modernization available in the industry today.

As the world continues to move toward the digital landscape, partners in the title ecosystem are awakening to the security benefits of this digitized titling and registration process. And now that states, banks, vehicle retailers, insurance companies and many others can quantify the savings and benefits, consumers will soon benefit greatly from the adoption of this technology by government.

CHAMP’s end-to-end vehicle titling and registration solution is rapidly becoming the go-to answer for states to modernize their title, registration and lien management capabilities.

To learn more about CHAMP and its revolutionary encryption titling and registration software, please visit champtitles.com.

Digitization in Government

By CHAMPtitles

On January 6, 2022

In Consumers, Government

By Joanna Allegretti, CHAMPtitles

It is 2022, and US government is ripe for adopting digitization for two main reasons: the benefits (cost, security, ease just to name a few) are significant and the touchpoint are numerous (331 million citizens and counting).

When most people think of government, they do not consider it a first mover for adopting innovative technology, but the desire is there. According to an Accenture survey, more than 65% of public service leaders have cited creating a personalized citizen experience as a priority. More than a mere preference for policy makers, digitization in government is now being adopted at a faster pace than ever before. There are plenty of good examples of implementation to mention.

Here is one to start: Nearly all US citizens must file a US federal individual income tax return each year. If you submit your return online, you are the beneficiary of this digital government process. E-filing is a huge improvement on completing form 1040 by hand. It also saves the time spent mailing the return at the post office and the cost to send it to the IRS. Best of all, because of the digital process, the tax refund arrives more quickly. Citizens are not the only ones to benefit from this simplified process, so too does the Internal Revenue Service. Between 2010 and 2015, the IRS budget decreased in part due to increased electronic filing. It is no surprise that converting a paper return into a machine-readable format is costly! The more user-friendly digital process also means government resources are freed up for more important things. Customer engagement and satisfaction are also improving; in 2020, 94% of all individual tax returns were filed electronically! Mother nature is equally pleased about this change. Electronically submitting an income tax return is an environmentally friendly alternative to printing and mailing.

Sadly, not all government processes have transformed like this one though, and there is far from broad-based support for digital government by key decision makers. It is the reason many government agencies at the federal and state level still employ legacy and paper-based processes using mainframes or cloud-based systems to process transactions.

Take the Department of Motor Vehicles, a government agency that many adults in this country have interacted with whether it was to apply for or renew a driver’s license or title a new car upon sale. Citizens know all too well that these processes are cumbersome and paper-based: long lines and wait times at the DMV office, piles of paper to manually fill in, and the result: a paper license or title mailed home weeks later. For the DMV, these paper-based processes are costly, inefficient, and prone to human error and unnecessary delay. Even moderately sized states use an estimated 18 million sheets of paper per year to process car titles!

A digital solution for DMVs would be one that modernizes their title and registration systems. For citizens, a digital vehicle title would be profoundly better than what they experience today, lowering costs, increasing security, easing the transfer of ownership, and improving customer satisfaction. As was the case with electronic tax filing, digitization is seamless for citizens and innovative for government. Digital systems replace legacy ones for a fraction of the price, which is a direct savings to taxpayers. A digital process is also more secure for government, and the time efficiencies and cost savings realized by this transformation allow them to pursue other priorities.

The DMV is just one interesting example of the future of digital government, but the good news is interest in this idea of digitization is on the rise. We, as citizens, eagerly await the simplification and savings of all these once onerous and costly government processes.

The Case for Digitization by Blockchain

By CHAMPtitles

On November 23, 2020

In Business, Government

By Ben Walton, CHAMPtitles

Digitization is the process of creating a digital representation of an asset. You can read more about that in our earlier post here.

Blockchain technologies are well suited to be the system of record for these digital representations. They have the potential to improve asset security, efficiency of the processes involving the asset, and trust among the parties using the asset.

The blockchain structure can be thought of as entries in a book (or ledger). Each entry represents a transaction which includes creating, modifying, and destroying the digital representation. Due to the structure of a blockchain, an entry itself cannot be altered or removed. The only way to modify the state of an asset is through a new transaction. With this additional security, users of the blockchain are more inclined to trust the authenticity of the data on the ledger.

If you imagine that the entries in the ledger are about an asset (perhaps medical records) being shared or exchanged between two parties, then you can use the ledger to understand who has modified or transferred which assets. This provides built-in trust to the system due to the transparent nature of how the ledger stores data. A third-party auditor could easily look at the ledger and follow the flow of data to construct a timeline of which parties own or have edited which assets. This transparency will help to reduce fraud and eliminate disputes arising from two parties having differing information.

Another feature of blockchain data storage is that the ledger can be held in multiple locations. This way, the data is no longer siloed in one location, so it is more secure from cyberattacks that attempt to hold the data hostage until a ransom is paid or corrupt it in some way.

With this inherent trust between users of the blockchain system, the concept of programmable logic called smart contracts can be introduced. In the blockchain system, these smart contracts can be written in such a way that they automatically execute when certain conditions are met. For example, let us assume the asset is an eBook where Party A (Alice) owns the book and Party B (Bob) would like to purchase it. Alice has set a price of $20 for the book. Bob enters his payment information and creates an order to purchase the book up to a price of $50. Once the blockchain system recognizes that the book is available for purchase and someone has agreed to buy it for that price, the smart contract is automatically triggered and purchases the book for Bob from Alice for $20. The power of smart contracts is that they significantly improve efficiency. They can automate many of the processes, if not all, involving an asset.

Blockchain technologies enhance asset security, improve the efficiency of the transactions involving the asset, and increase trust among the involved parties. Blockchain may not be suited for all digitization efforts but is worth exploring and testing as a path for achieving digitization.

How Government Should Change After COVID-19

By CHAMPtitles

On August 1, 2020

In Government

By Shane McRann Bigelow, CHAMPtitles

Abridged version originally posted on GCN.com

These days, it seems, everyone has a prediction about what life will look like in a post-quarantine world. In the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught Americans a lot, and there can be no doubt there are further learnings yet to come. Two things we have learned in my busy household: we are so grateful for all that can be done online, and so aware of that which remains stubbornly anchored in the physical world, dependent on personal interactions.

As it turns out, many of the routine tasks we used to carry out in person were ripe for migration into the digital realm – grocery shopping is one example to which many can relate. The rapid growth of virtual doctor visits is another remarkable adaptation during our troubled times. Some of these changes may become habits borne of heightened convenience, long after COVID-19’s stay-at-home policies are lifted.

However, there are many tasks that can still only be completed in-person. Many examples involve personal administrative work – tasks that rely on paper, pen, and another person present. Examples that spring to mind are those where we may need to visit a government department or another local authority: a visit to the DMV, a passport application, a home purchase, the execution of a will.

Of course, it is precisely these sensitive, even crucial, administrative tasks that have been most disrupted by the pandemic as offices have been closed, employees sent home, and no secure digital alternative exists.

To elaborate on just one of these examples, in nearly all of the United States you cannot complete a driving license application, ID application, or car retitling online today, nor is it possible to designate someone to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles on your behalf. A car trip cannot be replaced by a video-call transaction with a DMV representative. If a driver needs to register their newly purchased car with the local DMV, there is simply no alternative to travelling to the DMV, waiting in line, presenting ID, and signing on the dotted line. In the current moment, it is clear to see how such a visit unnecessarily risks public health and safety. It is worth noting that since the DMV is responsible for issuing IDs, as well as licenses, many who travel on public transit to reach these local DMV offices are disproportionately affected by not being able to acquire these standard government services. Unfortunately, the poorest in our communities or the ones most negatively effected in these circumstances.

In time, we hope that the public health and safety concerns which occupy us today will fade. However, in the interim, it is reasonable to assume that Americans will have become increasingly accustomed to shopping, communicating, and conducting their business online, securely and efficiently. In the wake of COVID-19, society will have become even more expectant of paperless, online, secure, and always-open services. In short, we will expect all services – both private and governmental – to be responsive to our needs as customers, taxpayers, and citizens.

How can we be so certain which changes taking place today will persist in the future? Will we not simply revert to the prior status quo in many aspects of life? Of all the predictions offered these days, those with the greatest likelihood of materializing fall into two categories. Firstly, those trends which were already underway before the pandemic and which have only been accelerated during it. Secondly, those trends which are being propelled by strong financial incentives.

For example, it is reasonable to imagine that working remotely will continue to be a feature of professional life long after COVID-19, because it promises real estate savings for employers and saves commuting costs, both in terms of time and money, for employees. These are strong financial incentives. Moreover, we know that many employees have long wanted to work remotely for lifestyle reasons. In other words, this trend was already well underway and has simply accelerated, particularly in light of recent announcements from major technology sector employers.

I propose that the digitization of administrative processes and transactions, such as those carried out at the DMV today, is another candidate for permanent change. Digitization has swept through innumerable industries and is a trend set to accelerate. With clear financial incentives in place for taxpayers, consumers, government, and private enterprise, we should all welcome this evolution.

We are pleased to report that numerous state governments, agencies, and businesses are collaborating in an effort to embrace the digitization of critical records and paper processes currently responsible for much cost, time, and inconvenience. Perhaps one day before long, your car title will no longer be filed away in a safety deposit box, or worse yet, exist as a crumpled piece of paper in your glove compartment, but will instead be a secure online record – always available to you, and always current, without a trip to the DMV.

As we tackle the issue of the day, perhaps digitization of vital records can even help securely and safely reopen the American economy. The more day-to-day business can be executed instantly, securely, and without long-lines, signatures, copy machines, mail, and face-to-face interactions, the more resilient our economy will be.

The good news is that investment in new ways of recording, storing, and sharing data is set to accelerate due to the stress on legacy systems during these uncertain times, and the growing awareness of the opportunity within reach. As interested citizens, we should demand from government the service level we have come to expect from our best service providers during these difficult times. As a technology and business community, we must continue to develop and implement secure, scalable, and efficient information systems that can win the trust of both government and private enterprise.

The prize is clear, and within reach: a world where taxing but vital offline processes are finally migrated into the digital world, unlocking vast efficiencies and benefits both predictable and unforeseeable.

How to Digitize

By CHAMPtitles

On July 17, 2020

In Business, Government

By Ben Walton, CHAMPtitles

When starting an initiative that has never been done before, there is a high level of risk and uncertainty. Since there is no precedent, the approach needs to be highly iterative and adaptable as new information is discovered. This applies to the process of digitization since creating a digital asset is usually breaking new ground. To then reduce the associated risk and uncertainty, it is crucial to be well versed in a standardized methodology for digitization. A common method consists of these five phases:

Problem definition

Discovery

Implementation

Testing

Launch

The goal of the first two phases (problem definition and discovery) is to answer four questions:

What is the problem?
Who is affected by the problem?
What is the solution?
How will the solution solve the problem?

Common risks in these phases include having a poorly defined problem, the wrong problem, or a problem that cannot be solved now. By taking the time to truly understand and then define the problem – the project’s why – these risks can be identified and managed. There are three core steps to this phase. First, use current knowledge to identify and describe all the pain points associated with the current paper asset including frequency, current cost (time/money), future cost, and so on. Second, write down a clear problem statement with a potential solution. Third, list out all the assumptions made for the chosen problem statement and solution.

To validate the problem, the first step of the discovery phase is to conduct primary and secondary research to prove or disprove the assumptions made and further detail the identified obstacles of the current state. This ranges from finding data online to interviewing stakeholders. Common assumptions are that the current regulatory environment of the paper process would support the digital asset and the competition does not pose an immediate threat. The output of this phase should be a business case for pursuing digitization that details all possible risks.

Based on the business case, a decision must be made to continue or end the project, which requires understanding the feasibility in terms of technology and regulatory environment and the amount of effort in terms of time and funding. If the project continues, then the implementation phase kicks off a solution pilot. Before that starts, certain success criteria should be defined so that the results can be measured in the testing phase. Testing will also validate the solution with customers and users to understand their reactions and solicit feedback. After testing is finished, the pilot is likely launched in a controlled environment and monitored to measure its effectiveness. Possible next steps include expanding upon the pilot, starting another pilot, or working to finalize a full solution.

For many, digitization is unchartered territory so following the method outlined above provides a road map while reducing the risk and uncertainty common to a brand-new initiative. Key milestones include having a clear problem definition backed up with data, a business case to pursue the digitization effort, and a pilot to validate the benefits of the solution. By using or adapting this methodology, the foreseen challenges can be anticipated, and the unforeseen ones can be managed to result in a greater chance for a successful digitization project.

Impacts of Digitization (Part lll of III) – Environment

By CHAMPtitles

On June 16, 2020

In Business, Government

By Ben Walton, CHAMPtitles

A process can be evaluated from an environmental perspective by measuring the amount of non-reusable resources required. A more environmentally friendly process uses fewer resources. To understand the relationship between digitization and its environmental impact, let’s look into the number of resources consumed by a process pre and post digitization.

An example to consider is a driver’s license. A paper driver’s license requires resources for its creation, transportation, and distribution. The industrial processes used to create the physical license consume water and fuel to run the machines and plastic for the license itself. Packaging the license uses paper or plastic and then more fuel is needed for the transport to state motor vehicle agencies. Paper may again be needed for envelopes to distribute licenses by mail. From the industrial processes to software applications used to manage the entire process, electricity will be consumed, which requires more fuel unless the generation of electricity is from a renewable source.

With a digital driver’s license, the paper version is eliminated, and with it, the resources needed to create, transport, and distribute it. However, there will likely be an increase in the number of software applications or features and internet-connected devices required. As a result, electricity usage will increase, which requires more fuel. To produce more devices, various metals and plastics will be consumed for the device itself. For the industrial manufacturing processes, packaging, and transportation of those devices, water, chemicals, paper, plastic, and fuel will be used.

Digitization reduces some of the non-reusable resources required by a paper process but also demands new ones, so there is a clear trade-off between the two. There must then be some sort of inflection point where the resource reduction is greater than the resource increase. Determining that point is highly process dependent and out of scope for this post, but we can look at current trends to predict its future.

Three of the biggest cloud providers have made significant environmental commitments:

In 2017, Google reached 100% renewable energy for their data centers and offices¹
In 2018, IBM set the goal to purchase 55% percent of its global electricity demand from renewables by 2025²
In 2019, Amazon committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040³

On the smart device side, Apple aims to “transition to recycled or renewable materials in [their] products”⁴. In 2018, the company wanted to use 100 percent recycled aluminum and had to develop a new alloy for it to be 100 percent recyclable⁴.

No one process – digital or paper – is without any impact to the environment. Digitization saves trees and water, reduces pollution, and cuts down on fuel used by paper, but increases the demand for electricity and devices. The future date when a net positive environmental impact will be achieved from digitization has yet to be determined. Though with many technology companies taking greater action to reduce their environmental impact, there is hope that digitization will win out in the not-so-distant future.

https://www.blog.google/topics/environment/100-percent-renewable-energy/

https://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/climate/renewable_energy.shtml

https://blog.aboutamazon.com/sustainability/the-climate-pledge

https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2019.pdf

Impacts of Digitization (Part ll of III) – Enhanced Security

By CHAMPtitles

On May 26, 2020

In Business, Government

By Ben Walton, CHAMPtitles

There is no process with zero risk, only those with very little risk. When improving the security of a process, the goal is to minimize risk as much as possible. To do this, all potential risks are identified, prioritized, and then mitigated, reduced, or accepted. In a paper-based process, there are inherent risks including fraud and loss. When the process becomes digitized, these risks are nearly eliminated.

Fraud can occur in a paper process due to the time lag between when a transaction takes place and when the system of record is updated. Let’s look at a hypothetical situation to better understand how this could happen. We have three individuals: A, B, and C. Individual A sells an asset to individual B. B verifies the authenticity of the asset against a third-party system – it is authentic, so B purchases the asset. B then mails a paper document to an authorized individual to update the third-party system with the change in ownership. Now A sells a duplicate or forged copy of the asset to C. Individual C verifies the authenticity of the asset against the system – it is still authentic because B’s paper document has not yet been received, so C purchases the asset. This time lag has allowed A to commit fraud and receive two separate payments for selling the same asset.

In the digital world, real time communication eliminates the time lag for transactions. Returning to our hypothetical situation, the system of record is updated or flagged as soon as individual B purchases the asset. When individual A attempts to sell a duplicate or forged copy of the asset, the authentication test fails revealing the inauthenticity of the asset attempting to be sold.

Loss, damage, or theft can occur when a paper-based process has an associated physical asset. Let’s look at the example of paying for something. Cash or a credit card can be stolen and then used to make a purchase. Cash can always be used to transact, and a credit card can be used until it is deactivated by the owner, which takes time.

In the digital world, digital payment methods such as Apple Pay provide more security. Theft can still occur; a smart device with a mobile payment option can be stolen and then used to purchase something. However, more built-in security checks mean there is a lower chance of it happening. For example, Apple Pay requires a password to unlock the smart device and then another password to access the application. Multi-factor authentication can also be enabled to add yet another password.

To be clear, digitizing a process does not make it completely secure, but it is infinitely more secure than a paper-based one because it eliminates the inherent risks that lead to fraud or loss. Digitization allows for real-time communication, which removes the time lag for transactions to be recorded and eliminates the chance an asset can be transacted upon twice. A digital asset in place of a physical asset allows for more security measures to be enabled to protect the owner from loss or theft. The relationship between digitization and enhanced security is appealing and further underscores the benefits of creating a digital asset. And still, there is one more to be addressed up next: the environmental benefits.

Impacts of Digitization (Part I of III) – Increased Efficiency

By CHAMPtitles

On May 12, 2020

In Business, Government

By Ben Walton, CHAMPtitles

Creating a digital asset may seem foreign or technically challenging. Is it time-consuming to create, does it cost more, and is it safe from bad actors? If the current process works well enough, why change?

That last point is the crux of the issue here. There are so many processes that remain paper based simply because they work reasonably well. Here we will make the case for digitization, starting with an argument for efficiency.

Let’s look at three different ways to buy and then start reading a new book. In each scenario, the process becomes more efficient.

Method 1: Travel to a bookstore to buy a book in person and begin to read at home.

Method 2: Go online to a website to buy a book for delivery and begin to read when it arrives.

Method 3: Pick up an eBook reader to buy a book electronically and begin to read immediately.

Before we further analyze this example, we want to be clear that we are assuming the purchaser (new owner) of the book has no preference between a physical book and eBook.

For the customer, the biggest enhancement is the reduced time to transfer ownership of the asset (the book). The first method requires the buyer to leave home and perhaps not find the book in stock. The second method allows the buyer to stay home but requires them to wait days or weeks for the arrival of a book by mail. The third method allows the buyer to stay home, and the book is available to them immediately after purchase. The third method eliminates the transportation time to acquire the physical asset (a book) since the book is now a digital asset (an eBook). In this case, the time to transfer the asset is then instantaneous.

For the seller, the biggest enhancement is the reduced cost to transfer ownership of the asset. The first method requires the seller to rent a physical storefront to sell their books. The second method requires the seller to pay for a warehouse to store their books as well as the shipping and handling costs for each book. The third method only requires the seller to pay to build and then maintain the software/hardware used to access the eBook.

To better understand some of the potential cost savings, let’s look at some numbers. According to Statista.com¹, there were 675 million physical books sold in the U.S. in 2017. Let’s assume half of those books (337.5 million) were bought online and require delivery. Amazon² charges $3.99 for domestic standard shipping for each book. If we take that as the cost of shipping and multiply it by 337.5 million books, we arrive at about $1.35 billion spent on shipping annually! Of course, there were many assumptions made here, but even if the savings amounted to a fraction of what was calculated, that would be a substantial amount. And that is in addition to the money saved for the buyer on gas or public transportation and the seller on physical storefronts or distribution centers.

We have established that digitization reduces the time and cost to transfer ownership, but it is also more efficient due to the elimination of paper. After all, eBooks do not have to be printed! It costs $3 to print a book³so printing all the 675 million physical books sold each year would cost about $2 billion. If half of those were sold as eBooks, that saves $1 billion on printing books! By eliminating paper in the process to create and then transfer an asset, the cost savings become very appealing.

There are costs for publishing in a digital format that are analogous to printing in a paper format. According to one eBook converter and distributer⁴, a 100,000-word book manuscript in Word costs a one-time fee of $249 to convert into an eBook format and $99 for eBook distribution. These fees add up to the cost to print 116 books. Therefore, the cost to digitize a book becomes insignificant when compared to printing large numbers of books. The general trend is that the costs of digitizing an asset remain the same no matter the number of transactions on the asset.

For digitization, the final piece of the efficiency puzzle is that it also reduces the time and cost to verify ownership. We will cover this in more detail in a future post.

In summary, a more digitized process generally leads to a more efficient process as we saw with the shift to eBooks. The close relationship between increased efficiency and reduced process time and costs may alone convince you that the benefits of digitization outweigh most costs and risks. Still, we continue forward in our next post with the impact of enhanced security.

What is Digitization?

By CHAMPtitles

On May 10, 2020

In Business, Consumers, Government

By Ben Walton, CHAMPtitles

Digitization is the process of creating a digital representation of something of value, resulting in what is called a “digital asset”. So, what is a digital asset?

Let’s break that down. First, the asset part.

According to the Merriam–Webster dictionary, one definition of an asset is “an item of value owned”. Value can be monetary and/or give an individual access to something else. Ownership is required so that the asset can be transacted upon for a specific entity be it an individual, company, trust, etc. For any asset, there will be certain rules that define ownership, verification, and transference (if possible).

An example of an asset is a music festival wristband. It has the monetary value of what it cost to buy and gives an individual access to the concert venue. Ownership is defined as possessing the wristband. Verification happens at the festival venue when the staff visually checks the wristband to confirm its authenticity. To transfer the wristband from one individual to another, the owner physically hands it over.

Now, let’s define the digital part.

For an asset to be considered digital, there are two key components. First, the asset’s information must be stored electronically. Second, the electronic information should be coded in a format that makes it receivable and acceptable to third parties. Simply put, the electronic asset must have utility to the original creator and any future owner. It is important to note that encryption and immutable ownership records are not a pre-requisite for digital assets, but as society looks to store more valuable assets in digital form, these features have grown in importance as they ensure the asset is correctly and honestly used to prevent theft, fraud, and forgery.

Let’s consider the evolution of the humble concert ticket. Years ago, a paper ticket was used to enter the concert venue. The venue staff would tear off a portion of the ticket to show that it had been used. Nowadays, we receive an email of the ticket with a specific QR code. Once you arrive at the venue, the staff scans the code to confirm its authenticity and permit entrance. The concert ticket with the QR code has the same authority as the original physical ticket. Now why does this matter?

When dealing with an asset that enables a person to access valuable benefits from the state or an employer, there needs to be a heightened degree of security to assure the legitimacy and provenance of the asset. An example is an asset like a birth certificate that provides an official government-issued record of a person’s birth and is generally required for school registration. So, for an electronic birth certificate to be considered “digital”, it must be accepted by the school as valid proof of one’s name, sex, and date and place of birth, meaning the digital version allows for the same action as the physical one.

We can now conclude that a digital asset is electronically stored information that defines an owned item of value and has the same authority as the non-digital asset (if one exists or existed). By establishing this common definition of a digital asset, we can start the conversation around creating them and then using them. We can begin to explore the possibilities of what they can do, how they can be created, the internals of implementation, and so much more.

Before we can dive into the specifics of digitization and digital assets, we should understand the argument for pursuing digitization. That is up next.