(a preliminary concept & business overview)
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Mission & Structure
Advantages & Capabilities
Employees (Executors)
DApp’s Features for Executors
Potential Executors
Cases of Clients
Call to Action
Introduction
The global security market is destined to growth due to the instability and uncertainty that remain dominating in the contemporary world. Just watching the daily news is enough to find that the terrorist acts and cyberattacks emerging every single day, unprecedented hybrid warfare (Syria, Ukraine), religious violence and nationalist hatred caused by enormous migration, a rash of street crime based on further polarization between the rich and poor, and the rising suicide rate related to overstressing due to financial and social problems constitute only a few of numerous preconditions and reasons of why people need a highly developed and easily accessible online security service.
Security Service Market
The Global information security products & service market revenue exceeds $82 billion in 2017. The sustained dynamics since 2011 demonstrates an average growth of the market by 12-16% annually. The US security guard and patrol services will reach the annual revenue of about $31 billion by 2018 showing 16-21% annual growth. The global private security services industry will reach $220 billion by 2019.
In 2016, the US federal government alone spent a total of $3.8 billion on Security Guards & Patrol Services. It has awarded 12,865 contracts to 501 companies, with an average value of $7.6 million per company. In the same year, the US federal government spent a total of $4,9 billion on Armored Car Services.
Taking into consideration the growing political and economic instability all over the world, reducing demand for security services seems highly unlikely over the medium and short term.
B-Umbrella Mission and Structure
B-Umbrella project aims at creating a decentralized application based on the blockchain technology which can provide users with a possibility to find and hire the security guards of various specializations as well as the opportunities of sharing the personal and corporate security services offered by those individuals, groups, and companies whose security skills and capabilities can be in demand on the market. The application will provide peer-to-peer cashless transactions based on pre-designed smart contracts (templates) identifying the relations between clients and executors as well as the terms and conditions basing on which the security agreements are considered satisfactorily completed.
The application will cover the following types of the conventional security service: guard dog services, property protection services (including armored cars, security systems), body guard services, parking security services, security patrol services, personal protection services (except security systems services), cybersecurity services (including information security and protection from wiretapping), protection of industrial, commercial, and infrastructure facilities, security checks, crowd management (event security) etc.
Besides, B-Umbrella will offer some unique opportunities and features going far beyond the conventional security services (more on that later).
Social Mission:
B-Umbrella intends to reduce the global unemployment by representing new blockchain-based opportunities for those social strata whose environment, situation, and skills currently keep them out of the official employment for whatever reason. Besides, B-Umbrella offers a new level of accessibility to various security services for everyone who needs protection and security without being able to appeal to the conventional security service providers.
As the DApp implies the peer-to-peer interaction between clients and executors, there should be no any compulsory requirements to both communities. It means that everyone who is confident about his/her ability to deliver security service can register with the relevant section of the application offering oneself as an executor. It is up to the clients to select the most appropriate candidate from the pool of the executors. The executors in their turn are responsible for the information indicated in their profiles. In each particular case, the clients can make their choice basing on the “skills – fee”, “experience – reputation”, or “availability – location” ratio of the executors as well as on any other relevant and important characteristics indicated in the executors’ profiles.
In other words, the B-Umbrella application offers an online platform where clients and security specialists can find each other in order to sign security agreements without having to correspond any official authorization. Both the functionality of the app and the relations between communities of the clients and executors are to be built upon concepts of the self-governance and genuine freedom of choice.
The B-Umbrella DApp is intended as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) operating within the district0x Network as one of the districts under control of a corresponding entity created on the Aragon governance and management network.
The final version of the architecture and UI as well as the specification, number, and functionality of all sections and features of the application will be developed in accordance with suggestions and advices of both district0x Network and Aragon executives along with opinions and proposals of district0x Community Advisers.
Some Tentative Advantages & Capabilities
In contrast to conventional security providers, the B-Umbrella service will offer the clients considerably new opportunities and advantages such as:
- The full anonymity when the safeguarding agreements are signed within the blockchain between two parties in a trustless mode without any third party involvement.
- The smart contract technology will provide execution of the safeguard agreements automatically on achieving specific conditions predefined by the code of the corresponding smart contracts.
- The geographical irrelevance when both clients and executors can make agreements with no regard to their spatial or official jurisdictions.
- The guaranteed security of invoicing and rewarding when all the transactions are executed in the blockchain
- The self-governance and personal responsibility when security services are provided with no regard to any compulsory licensing, certification, and governmental authorization inherent in the conventional security service environment.
- The anonymous security service (proxy security) provided by a client for the third parties (children, parents, relatives – any kind of loved ones) without their awareness about the safeguarding service applied to them.
- The “charity” security service when a group of clients donates a special wallet which rewards safeguarding on the crowd-funding basis. It can be applied when the anonymous security is required for some objects or people that can not be protected with traditional methods due to financial, social, or legal constraints (regularly defaced monuments and cemeteries or abused migrants and minorities, for example).
- The hyper low-cost safeguarding solutions when private persons offer babysitting-like hourly paid security services for tiny rewards unacceptable for the professional security providers.
- The survival services in the wilderness when ordinary tourists (hunters, fishers) are protected by well-trained guides and traffickers during their tours to the hard-to-get-to remote locations. The similar service also can include visiting various high-risk or criminalized places and districts in megalopolises where escorting by a local resident is necessary.
- The barter-like security agreements when two persons can make a mutually beneficial deal based on their skills. Hence, a cybersecurity specialist can be rewarded by hairdressing or dental services of his/her client, for example
- The atypical security services related to religious, mystic, psychological, superstitious, and any other exotic concerns of clients. A security agreement for protection against vampires (or aliens) is to be possible here.
- The discreet protection and covert security in the form of escorting by the average-looking guards (a lady-bodyguard accompanying a businessman to a restaurant for negotiations under the guise of his girlfriend, for example).
- The group security services (crowd management) when a pool of guards is gathered via the app to provide protection of various one-time events (parties, celebrations, meetings, exhibitions, concerts etc).
- The security courier services when transportation and delivery of some valuable assets are executed without ordering a conventional armored car provider.
- The chain-type security services when a client can hire various guards from different places to provide security on his/her way through several remote locations (cities, countries, etc) where the guards can pass the “baton of protection” from one to another as the client moves.
- Any other type of security service that can be offered by the executors or demanded by the clients.
The executors’ audience
While the potential audience of the employers (clients) can include almost everyone who needs a security guard service, some preliminary recommendations and explanations dedicated to the potential employees (executors) are to be defined with regard to the app-specific features. The Uber-like model of the B-Umbrella service should focus on how to make the app attractive for the executors first of all whereas they are the ones who can either make the service popular or bury the very idea.
As it was mentioned above, everyone can create a profile on the B-Umbrella platform selecting a relevant security section of the application. The only formal procedure necessary to enter the service is an online registration. A potential executor will need to fill in a profile data including an avatar, a nickname and an informal description of skills and services he/she can offer. Besides, the interface of the app will propose selecting an appropriate type of available security services by adding to a profile specially designed icons identifying the types of services and some specific skills of the executors (possession of weapons, martial arts knowledge, remote service possibility etc). In addition, a candidate for executors will have to indicate his/her crypto wallet and buy some specific tokens to be able to use all B-Umbrella services. The rest functionality of the executors’ section of the app is to be similar to other various online freelance job platforms. Executors will be able to gather in groups (pools) basing on their interests, skills, locations etc. There will be a ranking system based on the clients’ feedback where executors can be classified with 1-5 stars. In addition, a special messenger-like section will provide executors with an ability to share their experience in two rooms – the “Walk of Fame” (for positive feedback) and the “Whipping Post” (for something negative). By the way, clients will have a similar section too.
Attractive features for executors:
- the full confidentiality of deals based on the peer-to-peer relations with clients where B-Umbrella does not interfere into the details of the security agreements. The smart contract templates used for making the security agreements should automatically withdraw only 1% of the total sum of a contract as a service fee at the moment of the contract execution. Thus, B-Umbrella will be able neither to dictate the pricing nor to get more than 1% of the contract amount.
- the absence of any compulsory licensing or certification of the executors as well as of the age, gender, nationality, experience, and any other possible restrictions.
- the voting rights inherent in everyone who purchased either DNT or the app-specific tokens when the governance and management issues concerning the B-Umbrella district can be solved upon the direct democracy and crowd wisdom principles.
- the part-time work opportunities when the executors can deliver their security service to several clients simultaneously as well as reconciling their possible official positions with the secondary job for B-Umbrella clients.
- the anonymity provided by both the B-Umbrella code of conduct and the very nature of the blockchain-based p2p platform.
- the self-promotional opportunities provided by the informal structure of the executors’ profiles where everyone can indicate everything worth mentioning with regard to the business.
- the opportunities to offer some atypical and even weird services that can hardly relate to the conventional security service providers but which nevertheless can be in demand among some specific audiences.
- the narrow market specialization of the B-Umbrella platform where just the security services are available despite the vast variety of tasks and assignments that clients may order.
- the special “veterans’ fund” in the form of a multicurrency wallet to where both executors and clients may voluntarily transfer any amount of cryptocurrency in order to compensate medical or any other expenses of the security guards who appeared in a precarious financial position due to trauma and injuries resulting from the service-related activities.
- the absence of any obligations against the B-Umbrella platform when executors can leave the service whenever they wish.
Potential Executors
- military veterans and retired personnel who face problems with official employment due to various reasons;
- former and actual athletes looking for extra earnings;
- unemployed bodyguards having no official opportunities to be employed by the conventional security service providers;
- white-hat hackers capable of delivering cybersecurity services on a private basis;
- martial artists and coaches looking for extra earnings apart from their training jobs;
- former inmates having difficulties in finding their way in society;
- taxi and truck drivers capable of providing confidential courier and delivery services of valuable assets;
- guides, survivalists, and traffickers capable of arranging safety visiting of various dangerous locations;
- well-trained and able-bodied students looking for some side business in their spare time;
- spiritualists, healers, and psychics whose extrasensory capabilities can deliver some atypical security services to those clients who feel vulnerable to the forces of evil from the beyond;
- actual officially employed bodyguards whose work schedule allows them to have a secondary job;
- everyone throughout the world who is confident in his/her ability to deliver a particular security service.
Exemplary customer cases
The advantages and attractive features described above should draw attention of potential clients to the application. Nonetheless, some imaginary illustrative cases can help to better comprehend the unique opportunities and solutions provided by B-Umbrella.
- business persons who operate within highly corrupted environments where appealing to official security service providers may likely entail persecution by governmental and criminal organizations practicing racketeering activities (former USSR countries);
- individuals whose business, political, or social reputation may be negatively affected when their contracting with security guards is widely publicized (discreet protection);
- people who need protection and security service for one-time situations (events, tourist and business trips, negotiations etc);
- people and organizations who suffer from cyberattacks having no sufficient financial resources to contract official cybersecurity specialists or being distrustful to their professional capabilities;
- people who want to arrange bodyguard service for their children, parents, relatives, friends, partners etc, on a confidential basis in order to keep their loved ones unaware about the service due to psychological, social, ethical, or any other possible reasons;
- individuals, groups, and communities seeking for security services while their official status (migrants, refugees, national or sexual minorities etc) does not allow them to be officially protected;
- people who need to visit some high-risk areas or criminalized districts where escorting by a local guide is necessary;
- people who need security service rewarded through the mutual exchange of another service (cybersecurity – hairdressing, security courier delivery – dental service, etc);
- individuals who believe in danger and threats rooting somewhere beyond the conventional physical reality (vampires, aliens, evil spirits, ghosts etc) and thus being unable to ask for protection of the conventional security service providers;
- individuals, groups, and communities who seek for remote protection of people or object locating in distant areas (memorials, cemeteries, cultural or business facilities, etc);
- everyone who feels vulnerable to the actual or imaginary threats without intend to publicly disclose any fear and vulnerabilities, however.
Call to Action
In order to figure out how to best implement the concept of the B-Umbrella DApp we invite the entire web community – all “netizens” to follow our discussion about everything relevant to the project. Advices, suggestions, proposals, clues, and hints are always welcome.
We strongly believe in the decentralized future of the Internet where blockchain technology is to transform the current inefficient and HTTP-addicted web 1.0-2.0 into the truly invulnerable, revolutionary distributed, and genuinely democratic Web 3.0.
Looking for suggestions from netizens we rely on the “crowd wisdom” that is best suited to the self-governance incentive we are going to share with district0x, Aragon, IPFS, and other blockchain projects as well as with all adherents and promoters of decentralization.
We are always on waiting for your kind feedback:
Konstantin Rovinskiy
rokos2009@gmail.com
+380987836125
+380995073797
https://medium.com/@rokos2009