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The Spirit Of Change: Interview With Esther Katz, Marketing Lead At Opacity Storage

While the 1990s were characterized by a spirit of innovation fueled by the widespread use of personal computers and the widespread adoption of the internet, the following decade was marked by a lack of innovative capabilities and productivity growth. Investors, who were pessimistic about the prospect of another global growth revival at the time, gradually began to lose their enthusiasm and became more apathetic about the future economic prospects. That used to be the prevalent mood at the beginning of 2020, just before the fatal breakout of the covid-19. But things changed after that. The unanticipated outbreak of a small virus in a Chinese province and its rapid spread throughout the entire world had consequences that far exceeded the most optimistic predictions of industry analysts – namely, that the entire world came to a grinding halt even one year after the pandemic began. In fact, upon closer examination, covid-19 could prove to represent something far more significant than the bottom of yet another economic crisis. Covid-19 may bring about more than just a period of downward pressure on global markets; it may also herald the rebirth of the economy from the ashes and a resurgence of innovation that will change the modern world once and for all.

As the preceding year has successfully demonstrated, covid-19 was the much-needed spark that prompted the economy to embark on a rally towards digitization and the digital economy. The new vector towards digital transformation has now been adopted by all industries, from healthcare to online retailing. Everything, from artificial intelligence to blockchain, is now being experimented with a vigor that has never been seen before, and the exploration of the capabilities of biotechnologies appears to have only just begun. The rapid paradigm shift suggests that cryptocurrencies may finally become a part of the new reality, and the growing institutional adoption of Bitcoin is a living testament to that possibility. At the end of the day, the millennia that began with little promise may finally provide the world with the ray of hope it has been waiting for thousands of years.

As a result, the decadent market practices will be eliminated from the marketplace. Many businesses have already realized that the new environment will be much more stringent in terms of security and protection of consumers’ rights, and they have begun to direct their efforts toward strengthening data privacy protections in their operations. As a result, companies such as Opacity have already begun to establish a more solid foothold in the market for centralized data solutions that are also democratized. Opacity, which is entirely based on blockchain technology, could be a compelling catalyst for the sharing and storing of private business files on decentralized technology, ensuring that no single piece of information leaks or becomes entangled in the hands of a single organization. However, Opacity provides an encrypted, fully network-managed cloud storage environment in which any company can be confident in the confidentiality and non-disclosure of all information stored with the utmost care.

To conduct a more in-depth investigation into the matter, I spoke with Esther Katz, a Marketing Lead at Opacity, in an interview. Our conversation included her thoughts on the gradual proliferation of blockchain-based applications in business, as well as a glimpse into the future of blockchain and digital currency that will be opened up by the covid-19 conference in 2021.

Hello, and thank you for joining me for this discussion. First and foremost, what drew you to the concept of a decentralized cloud in the first place? And what are the technical characteristics that distinguish Opacity from other competitive solutions that were introduced earlier in the game, such as IBM Storage?

Hello there, my sincere pleasure! Because only a decentralized cloud can provide complete encryption and data security, Opacity, in my opinion, stands apart from the rest of the market. That is not always true of corporations with a highly centralized organizational structure, even if their products purport to be fully democratic. At Opacity, we believe that everyone has the fundamental right to privacy, provided that this right is exercised within strict legal boundaries. To be more specific, Opacity is not yet a decentralized storage system, but we are progressing in that direction and making significant strides towards it daily.

The past year has seen unprecedented growth in the Defi industry – a period after which new solutions will, unsurprisingly, appear in droves to fill the void. Are you prepared to compete in a fiercely competitive environment? What, in your opinion, are the best strategies for achieving a winning streak when your competitors are breathing down your neck?

Because Opacity is not a Defi in the traditional sense, we intend to benefit from the growth of the sector and collaborate with established players in the field. Decentralized exchange is one of the directions we intend to take in the future, which is why we are already collaborating with Uniswap. The current challenge may be that there are only a few products available on the market that truly meet the needs of decentralized trade, but we have a vision of bringing something truly valuable to the market that will generate a great deal of interest. The incognito team is working on a fascinating project, and we are exploring the possibility of working with them in the future as well.

The adoption of decentralized technology has already made significant strides, largely as a result of the pandemic’s devastation, which prompted these developments. It is unclear how much more time will be required to complete a full-scale global transformation towards decentralization, and whether the centralized economic model will ever be completely abandoned.

I would say that it is dependent on several variables, with the level of acceptance by global governments being only one of them. I would say that On the whole, we can see polarising viewpoints on the topics of cryptocurrency and blockchain, but as of 2020, the consensus is that these topics will be bullish. I believe that investors have become more optimistic as a result of the performance of Bitcoin over the past year, and they have also become more inclined to believe that decentralized currency may provide them with an umbrella during the current financial crisis. Decentralized currency, on the other hand, is unthinkable without decentralized technology. I’m confident that the time will come when these two companies will be able to dominate the market.

In general, we’re talking about the advancement of technological innovation. What are the future trends that we can already predict when it comes to artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and cybersecurity? Is it possible for them to play a role in the development of blockchain capabilities, and how might both trends benefit from this synergy?

In my opinion, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) may have a self-destructive effect in the long run. I understand that it is a bit extreme and that there are numerous benefits as well, but we must be prepared for the possibility that things will go wrong at any time. The problems will only grow in number, and as problems grow in number, solutions will appear. That’s where, in my opinion, blockchain technology can be of assistance. For example, businesses are currently facing a serious threat from ransom – this is especially true in the case of research and development. Only blockchain-based solutions, which provide complete safety and protection, have the potential to get us out of this bind.

Because of the deteriorating economic conditions, I’m aware that many businesses are currently struggling with mounting debt and may, as a result, be paying little attention to the most recent technological advancement. What can companies do to accelerate the adoption of new technologies in the current stagnant environment?

Right now, the pace of technological advancement is accelerating, and many technologies that we have only heard about in passing will soon become a part of our everyday lives. There is no question that no one will be able to avoid the effects of this major technological shift – it is simply not possible. The responsible and foresighted leaders are aware of this fact, and they make it a point to stay one step ahead of the competition. This includes investments in new technology as well as adoption at an early stage. The rest of the market is merely a group of followers, and they are not necessarily committed to remaining at the forefront of this competition. I would say that each company must define its position, particularly over a few years, and then act by that position.

What types of data threats do users find themselves most vulnerable to, and how can blockchain assist in bringing user security to a new level of sophistication? Do you believe that covid-19 will prompt a fundamental rethinking of how users approach their data treatment and management?

The most pressing issue in our day and age is, of course, data anonymity. No one can steal something that does not exist. You must be constantly aware of the fact that data should never be left unprotected. The flow of information comes to a halt at our doorstep.

What would you consider to be your competitive evaluation of the environment in which you are currently engaged? How many similar solutions are currently available on the market, and what factors could enable Opacity to gain a competitive advantage over them?

In general, blockchain-based cloud computing is still a relatively new phenomenon. We are in a stage where the industry is taking its first tentative steps into the global marketplace. While corporate players such as IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle are attempting to broaden their product portfolios to include decentralized solutions, it is unclear how much attention they will pay to privacy issues in the process. At the end of the day, only Opacity is capable of ensuring complete data democratization, which is the company’s core mission and is therefore ingrained in our company’s DNA.

What are the difficulties associated with marketing a decentralized platform, particularly if it is a solution that was previously unknown to the general public? To establish product loyalty and emotional attachment to a particular brand or solution that has only recently begun to gain traction on the market, how much time will it take to do so?

When it comes to digging deeper and conducting a thorough investigation into what it is that you are doing, the general public tends to show little interest. It is for this reason that communication is so important. We must develop a message that is concise and easily understood by a wide range of audiences. So far, the message has been this: we are a user-friendly SaaS, and we will communicate with our users in their native language. With time, our message will gain traction, and we will be able to build a fully functional platform that will meet the needs of consumers all over the world.

Was your platform instrumental in creating a safe space on the internet that is free of cyber-attacks and other types of malicious threats? What are the scenarios in which users must exercise caution regarding their security, even though the data on the blockchain is protected behind an iron wall?

We are a focal point in the transition from partial data security to complete data security. And the way it appears is quite straightforward. With complete anonymity as a solution, you can keep track of your payment structure and who you are sharing your information with. Once you begin to take control of your data, you automatically put yourself out of reach of any cybercriminals operating in this environment.

And, as a final twist in the tale, there’s the question of your native asset, the OPCT token. In this digital asset, what are the most important technological characteristics, and how can users take advantage of them? What are the primary factors that have contributed to the rise in the value of your asset, and what do you think the long-term prospects are for it?

It has been assigned to storage. It enables the provision of anonymous services. It contributes to the decentralization of the payments network.

In the future, it will be used for staking and app payments, among other things. We are unable to use another token and maintain the ability to easily peg value or expand the platform. It is fundamentally a payment token, but it also represents a certain amount of storage space.

The peg, on the other hand, will be removed in the long term. The price of the Opacity token will fluctuate in response to the supply and demand for services and applications in the ecosystem. Some service providers will be able to provide faster download speeds or greater reliability, for example. Finally, what matters is that the token allows the system to have a single representation of storage value rather than having multiple representations of storage value depending on what other factors influence the value of other tokens. It is also important to note that Opacity is not restricted to any particular payment method and that there are credit card plans available for users who are less tech-savvy and prefer to use traditional payment providers.