Connected Economy

The innovations in technology, connected devices, software, payments and cellular technology make it possible for people and businesses to connect with each other and do business via any device, an in any digital or physical location safely, securely, and in real time. This integration of the digital and physical worlds will transform the economy across the ten pillars that today represent its key cornerstones – pillars that are already experiencing the impact of disruptive innovation as new blended, digital-first experience-driven ecosystems are now taking shape.

Microsoft Spends $2.5 Billion on Customer AI Deployments

Microsoft Spends $2.5 Billion on Customer AI Deployments
Microsoft Spends $2.5 Billion on Customer AI Deployments
July 02, 2026  |  Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft will spend $2.5 billion on a new unit aimed at helping its customers implement artificial intelligence (AI). The Microsoft Frontier Company, announced Thursday (July...

READ MORE >
Super Agents Are Connecting What Enterprise Software Kept Separate
Super Agents Are Connecting What Enterprise Software Kept Separate
July 01, 2026  |  Artificial Intelligence

Enterprise software is built around functions. Finance has its system. HR has its own. IT has another. Work that touches all three moves through each...

READ MORE >
Retailers Turn to AI Agents to Meet Shoppers Before Checkout
Retailers Turn to AI Agents to Meet Shoppers Before Checkout
July 01, 2026  |  Artificial Intelligence

Retailers have spent years enhancing digital shopping capabilities. Today, many merchants are evaluating which features still justify additional investment as artificial intelligence becomes a larger...

READ MORE >
Morgan Stanley Advances Blockchain Infrastructure Goal With Preliminary Bank Approval
Morgan Stanley Advances Blockchain Infrastructure Goal With Preliminary Bank Approval
June 30, 2026  |  Blockchain

Morgan Stanley obtained preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter a de novo national trust bank called...

READ MORE >
Europe’s Crypto Reset Begins: Who’s In, Who’s Out Under MiCA
Europe’s Crypto Reset Begins: Who’s In, Who’s Out Under MiCA
June 30, 2026  |  Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency has spent 15 years asking if regulators could catch up. Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the landmark digital asset regulatory framework that goes into...

READ MORE >
Visa Says Online Deal Hunting Sustains Consumers’ Discretionary Spending
Visa Says Online Deal Hunting Sustains Consumers’ Discretionary Spending
June 30, 2026  |  Consumer Finance

Consumers around the world are continuing to make discretionary purchases despite rising prices, according to Visa. Rather than cutting back, consumers are seeking deals, often with...

READ MORE >
Plasma Wants to Be the First Stablecoin Bank
Plasma Wants to Be the First Stablecoin Bank
June 30, 2026  |  Cryptocurrency

Watch more: The Digital Shift With Plasma’s Zaheer Ebtikar Start with the part nobody in the payments industry wants to hear. Stablecoins probably won’t win...

READ MORE >
How AI Erased a $184 Billion Supply Chain Blind Spot
How AI Erased a $184 Billion Supply Chain Blind Spot
June 29, 2026  |  Artificial Intelligence

Enterprise software has spent a decade telling companies where their supply chains are breaking down. The harder problem—deciding what to do about it and acting...

READ MORE >