Blockchain: Revolutionising The Way We Do Business
Blockchain is an exciting decentralized, distributed ledger technology that has been popularised by the interest in Bitcoin global crypto currency.
Blockchain technology removes the reliance on a trusted third party to maintain a central ledger and whilst its application to date has mainly been associated to financial marketplaces we are witnessing, as was seen at last week's Blockchain Expo at Olympia, an explosion of exceptional levels of innovation that could unleash the potential of blockchain across other industries beyond just financial Services.
Below lists the key benefits which will enable Blockchain to potentially transform business performance:
Faster transaction times: in the context of financial Services and banks transcations between banks can typically take days for clearing and may be reliant on when the banks are open for business. A blockchain transaction is distributed across the network in minutes and will be processed at any time throughout the day.
Huge Cost saving for all industries: Maintaining multiple copies of the ledger across every node in the network means that the blockchain is better able to withstand attack. Even if one node was compromised by an attack, the blockchain would be maintained by every other node. In theory this means that an attacker would need to take control of every node simultaneously in order to corrupt the ledger.
Increasing Security and resilience. Maintaining multiple copies of the ledger across every node in the network means that the blockchain is better able to withstand attack. Even if one node was compromised by an attack, the blockchain would be maintained by every other node. In theory this means that an attacker would need to take control of every node simultaneously in order to corrupt the ledger. This is not the case for traditional ledger where an attack on a single trusted third party could bring down the record of transactions.
Immutability and unchangeable . This is seen as vital key benefits of blockchain technology. As changes to the public ledger are seen and verified by all the nodes simultaneously across multiple ledgers the transactions cannot easily be altered or deleted.
Privacy and User anonymity. Buyers and sellers use anonymous and unique address numbers to process the transaction. Whilst this has been criticised for giving rise to the use of cryptocurrencies in illegal online market places such as Silk Road, it could be seen as an advantage if used for other purposes, for example, electoral voting systems.
Smart contracts. A blockchain may be used to distribute a smart contract across multiple parties with the execution of the contract and the monitoring of compliance with its terms being recorded across every ledger.
Want to find out more about how blockchain could transform your business? We will be hosting a Blockchain Technology Masterclass- 1 Day Training Workshop in London on the 24th March. This is practical hands on workshop to really understand its unique qualities and how it can be applied to make a real bottom line difference to your business performance. If you'd like to find out about this workshop please email me on [email protected] or call on 07989 985922
David Reilly is a Digital Strategy Consultant and Trainer teaching organisations about ground breaking new technologies which can transform business