ISO has recently established a technical committee to support this new business model in reaching its full potential.
A lot has changed in the sharing economy in the ten or so years since the likes of Airbnb and Uber were launched. Then, there were just a handful of platforms, now there are literally thousands, some doing better than others. A few are going bankrupt, while others are worth a fortune, such as Uber, which was recently valued at USD 120 billion).
The sharing economy was born, at least in part, with the spirit of creating communities and reducing over-consumption. While some of that remains, there has also been a sharp shift of focus towards price and convenience, bringing with it as many opportunities as challenges. Consumers may pay less and get new forms of goods, services or experiences, but questions are sometimes raised over privacy, reliability or trustworthiness. There are also issues related to working conditions, providing convenience for some, precarity for others. Some believe that issues such as these are preventing the sharing economy from reaching its full potential.)
