The global economy is undergoing digital transformation at breakneck speed.

Market research firm IDC predicts that by 2023, the economy will reach a tipping point, where over half of global GDP will be driven by products and services provided by digitally-transformed enterprises.

In other words, the digital economy – which is the economic activity from everyday digital connections among people, businesses, devices, data and processes – cannot be ignored.

As the digital economy grows rapidly, more governments and businesses will be compelled to place digital-first strategies at the centre of their organisations.

In a digital-first strategy, technology is brought out of the back office, where it was focused on executing, and into the boardroom, where it will engage in decision-making.

Some argue that a digital-first economy is already here: in this economy, many more organisations use digital-first strategies to develop new business models that create competition and value at an accelerating rate across industries.

At the core of a growing digital or digital-first economy is increasing economic activity driven by increasing digital connectivity.

This principle informs digital licensing products such as Coherence Business Licensing, where our aim is to help governments and businesses around the world tap into digital licensing to boost economic activity – particularly in the digital economy.

Coherence Business Licensing is a one-stop, online licensing platform for governments and businesses to digitally manage licences easily and effectively.

Our product amps up connectivity among multiple stakeholders – such as the relevant government agencies and businesses – by enabling them to collaborate seamlessly on different processes via just one digital platform.

Through automated, streamlined and interconnected workflows managed by our platform, these different parties communicate with one another while performing their required tasks to efficiently complete the licensing cycle, from issuing and enforcing to renewing and verifying.

Coherence Business Licensing also employs AI, which intelligently guides users through licensing steps, ensures the process is simple and makes it a breeze for business owners to set up enterprises quickly. Businesses experience reduced time and costs when transacting with the government; they also find it easier to comply with licensing and regulatory requirements.

We make the licensing process collaborative, faster and effortless through digital, so that businesses and agencies can precisely focus on what they do best, and devote their resources to business growth – this is the potential of digital licensing as a catalyst for the rise of the digital economy.

For governments, licences are extremely important. Not only do citizens spend millions on licences; there are also massive amounts of data that can be gathered, as licences are issued across a wide variety of citizen needs such as births, marriages, businesses, transport, food, entertainment and more. Digital licensing makes data collection and analysis possible for better insights on their needs.

Governments can also use digital licensing to lead the way for best practice in the digital economy. They can show that e-payments and digital workflows are efficient and secure, and hence promote digital-first thinking as a proven solution to organisational inefficiencies.

When businesses are required to digitally connect with the government and the outcomes – seamless transactions, cost savings and reduced burden – are positive, they are also convinced to adopt similar practices.

More crucially, as businesses digitally transform, such as by upskilling workers and investing in the right technology, they place themselves in a more resilient position to confront the future of work. Take for example the 2020 pandemic, which has beckoned this future quicker than expected: through digital licensing, entrepreneurs can still set up business, since applying for and managing licences are done online entirely. Imagine the increase of economic activities and opportunities as more and more services are similarly made accessible through digital!

Recall that at the core of a digital economy is connectivity: government, society and business are connecting more than ever through digital to collaborate on activities that add value to life and the economy.

Effective digital services help to build these bridges of connectivity and collaboration into a coherent flow, where different stakeholders, components and tasks are brought together to function seamlessly as a unified whole.

This coherence inspires our product name; it is also exactly what our platform offers. With Coherence Business Licensing as the bedrock of business growth, governments and businesses can be better prepared to participate in – and even boost – the digital economy.