When Hitachi Consulting merged with Hitachi Vantara, this year, one of the projects that they brought to the combined company was the use of Hitachi’s “Kizashi” method to anticipate future changes in consumer values and to develop attractive services that will suit such an era.
The Kizashi method works by identifying dynamic social trends and determining what effects those trends will have on people so as to document the potential changes in consumer values that might result. The method is used to develop a common vision of the future with companies and other partners so as to collaboratively determine the best form for social systems and services that will power good. Specifically, it uses political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) analysis to identify external factors that will be present in the future and then determines the relationships these factors have with each other. Scenarios for changes in consumer values are then developed to identify “Kizashi” (future signs) that provide valuable insights for making sense of the future.
Hitachi is currently using the Kizashi method to promote the creation of future signs relating to finance. The objective is to obtain insights that will help in devising solutions for the future by determining how consumer behaviors will change over time in a finance industry where the border between finance and other industries is becoming increasingly blurred.
Based on the future signs that are studied through the Kizashi method, Hitachi is also trialing techniques for developing innovative financial services through workshops with financial institutions. The workshops involve a detailed analysis and understanding of the management challenges and requirements of the financial institution, working together to come up with concepts for services that can overcome these challenges, and using business models to test the resulting concepts. The goal is to develop innovative technologies or ideas for services that can resolve a wider variety of societal challenges and expand business opportunities.
The research and collaboration is done primarily at the Financial Innovation Laboratory at the Global Center for Social Innovation – North America, which is collocated with Hitachi Vantara Headquarters in Silicon Valley, California.
The finance industry is experiencing a period of rapid change driven by the changing structure of the market and new business models and innovations such as those of the FinTech companies. This change carries with it the potential to transform society by creating new relationships between people and money, and by giving rise to new values.
To prepare for this future, financial institutions are entering a period in which they will transform themselves. Hitachi intends to contribute to society by working with financial institutions to develop a vision for the future and to create innovative solution concepts for a new world. The Kizashi method is proving to be useful in determining the future impact of COVID 19 on employment, education and social interactions.
For more information on how Hitachi Vantara is using this in the development of financial solution concepts., please go to this link
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