INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Software for Business
is already ahead of the curve with the government ’ s April 2018 announcement of the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 .
Major IT providers like IBM , Microsoft , and Infosys are collaborating with banks and other financial institutions in a race to develop commercial Blockchain platforms . The advent of Blockchain is fuelling a large number of start-up companies focused on specific industries and consumer applications and governments are considering how Blockchain can make tax reporting easier while reducing fraud .
Is your business Blockchain-ready ?
Despite being in the news for several years as the technology driving Bitcoin , Blockchain for commercial use is still very new . Much of the commercial uptake is still in the proof of concept ( or start-up ) stage . There are four key areas to consider when deciding if your business is ready for Blockchain :
1 . Are the standards good enough for your industry ? Blockchain works as an application programming interface ( API ), which means standards need to be developed before there is widespread adoption . There are multiple groups working on standards , including Hyperledger and the Etherium Alliance
A GLOBAL REALISATION HAS EMERGED THAT BLOCKCHAINS CAN BRING NEW EFFICIENCIES TO COMMERCE .
Framework . However , Gartner expects the industry to stabilise in 2018 with 75 commercial Blockchain platforms before consolidating to about five platforms in 2019 ( source : The Evolving Landscape of Blockchain Technology Platforms .)
2 . Is the technology robust enough yet ? While Blockchain is conceptually simple , the underlying technology encompasses some difficult technology challenges . This is especially true for the distributed capabilities of Blockchain which allow each party to have their own writeable copy of the same historical record . An entry written to one replica will eventually arrive at the other replicas , which then have to collaborate and decide if the new entry is valid . This can be harder than it sounds to facilitate .
3 . Is Blockchain secure enough ? While in general , Blockchain is considered a step forward for securing transactions , like most things in computing , security is not inherent . Blockchain uses public key encryption , hashing , digital signatures and other mechanisms which are well known , but not always administered correctly . Missteps in securing a Blockchain , or simple bugs in the platforms , can cause serious disruption . For example , on
Erik Johnsson , Chief Architect , Epicor Software
November 6 2017 , US $ 280 million in assets were accidentally ( and temporarily ) frozen in a Blockchain managed by Parity Technologies due to a bug in the underlying platform .
4 . Will I be compliant ? As is often the case for new technologies , there are policy issues to be worked out . For example , if a Blockchain is immutable , how can the ‘ right to be forgotten ’, a mandatory requirement in the EU ’ s General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ), be applied ? There are also concerns that individuals making property transfers or declaring wills on a permissionless Blockchain conflicts with how existing institutions manage public records . These anomalies still need to be ironed out .
For many businesses in the UAE , the answer will be ‘ not yet ’. Ultimately , there is no doubt that Blockchain is a disruptive technology which has the potential to transform industries across the region . However , despite recent momentum , it is a technology that isn ’ t ( yet ) particularly easy to use for many businesses . The platforms are still maturing and , like many other software platforms , they are subject to bugs and operational errors . The potential risks of being a Blockchain pioneer are higher than other technology adoption waves because Blockchains typically apply to monetary transactions as well as transactions carrying fiduciary responsibilities .
However , Blockchain technology is likely to be intrinsically embedded within business processes in years to come . Those businesses that have technology with flexible deployment options , and those with modern enterprise resource planning ( ERP ) solutions in place , will be in a better position to take advantage of Blockchain technology and adapt faster .
So , is Blockchain right for your business ? Assuming you agree that it is a technology that can improve visibility , productivity and security for businesses , then maybe the answer is ‘ yes ’. Any technology that provides components needed to achieve business growth is worth paying attention to , in my view . Is it right for your business in 2018 ? I ’ d have to say that the chances are unlikely . So Blockchain , in some form appears to be in everyone ’ s future , even if it ’ s not just yet . •
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