• Christopher Vogt, Co-founder and Managing Director at BillFront


• 24.02.2017 09:45 am
Predictions , Christopher Vogt is the co-founder and Managing Director of BillFront, a leading financial technology company which gives media companies (affiliate/ad-networks, exchanges, DSPs, SSPs) and publishers faster access to their revenues. Christopher has extensive experience in digital media and financial services and was previously Global Head of Marketing at Applift, a major demand-side platform in Germany, and resident entrepreneur at Team Europe Ventures.

Ahead of the start of Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Monday 27th February, please find three predictions from Christopher Vogt, co-founder and Managing Director of BillFront, on what this year’s biggest trends will be:

1. 5G will be top of the agenda:

In 2016, 5G was the hot topic at Mobile World Congress and will continue to be so this year. Gigabit LTE technology will be showcased and is set to hit everything from smartphones and laptops to portable hotspots and cars. It is a significant upgrade on existing technology that provides higher connection speeds for devices.

It’ll be a number of years before consumers get their hands on 5G connections, however, a range of industries will see firsthand how the technology can handle a video-first mobile approach, which has a much heavier reliance on fast internet connections.

5G offers huge opportunities to digital media companies and advertisers, especially as mobile video revenues are matching broadband revenues in some countries, such as South Korea, already. From a B2B perspective, this technology will create an entire ecosystem based on monetisation.

2. B2B Is Finally Being Disrupted By Fintech:

Undoubtedly the fintech revolution has reshaped finance for everyday consumers around the world. However, for business, it has had less of an effect. Traditional financial institutions have been very slow to make financing decisions for firms in need of quick capital, especially startups.Because of this, many businesses are now looking to alternative financing options, powered by fintech innovation, which are now worth £3.2 billion in the UK alone and will only keep growing.

A range of industries, including digital advertising, are now being affected by B2B fintech innovations on offer. Due to outdated methods of dealing with payments, many companies within the digital media industry are unable to conveniently and quickly access their revenues. This hampered ability to readily access capital makes dealing with unexpected economic issues, such as Brexit, more difficult, particularly for small to mid-sized companies who are more cashflow dependent. Those with readily available capital can pivot faster and more easily in the face of unexpected events than those who don’t. Alternative fintech financing solutions, which are driven by a mobile-first approach, are driving this long needed change.

3. A Year Of M&As:

This year, we’ll likely see more M&A activity as mobile and telecoms businesses will look to form strategic partnerships with a range of industries, from digital services to fintech firms, all with the aim of enhancing what they do. Fintech will be a key driver in this industry shift, especially as decisionmakers in the B2B space believe it to be, with 83% feeling that their business is at risk of being lost to fintech companies.