Businesses Love Blockchain Technology - Here’s Why

When people hear the words ‘blockchain technology,’ they immediately think of cryptocurrency and digital currency coins like Bitcoin. However, the distributed digital ledger technology which underpins how Bitcoin works has been piquing the attention of major businesses for some time now.

Blockchain Technology Explained

At it’s most basic, a blockchain is a distributed ledger system which can never be hacked or edited retrospectively. The easiest way to imagine a blockchain is, therefore, to imagine a sequence of records.

Whenever a new record is created on the blockchain, it is time stamped, encrypted, and becomes unalterable and impossible to hack or share with any unauthorized third party. Already it is, therefore, easy to see how blockchain technology can be used to securely store medical records, sensitive financial data, and personally identifiable customer information.

Real World Blockchain Technology Use Cases

Thanks to the way blockchains store data, companies like Maersk are already using blockchain technology to facilitate smart tracking of goods. This is thanks to the fact that worldwide freight items can be tracked through every step of the supply chain. However, blockchain technology can also be used to add new business capabilities and monetize existing business resources.

Europe’s Biggest Telecom Operator is Already Using Blockchain Technology

In February this year, Europe’s biggest telecom operator Telefónica, partnered with blockchain startup Ankr.

Telefónica itself owns vast data centers in Europe. However, each data center often sees data processing and storage resources sit idle. To combat this problem, partnering with the Ankr blockchain allows Telefónica to lease idle IT resources in real time to third-party businesses which don’t have similar data resources at their disposal.

In the case of Telefónica, the Spanish telecom company can now monetize its idle IT infrastructure. At the same time, third-party businesses are now able to add new IT capabilities for a fraction of the cost associated with investing in new IT infrastructure themselves.

Of course, the blockchain technology which underpins how Ankr works is a little more evolved than that of a basic distributed ledger. However, even this is just a glimpse of what blockchain technology is capable of.

l Car manufacturer BMW is currently developing blockchain technology solutions designed to streamline supply chain logistics.

l Germany is encouraging businesses to come together to develop a national blockchain technology strategy.

l Penang in Malaysia is presently implementing a blockchain technology solution to track agricultural produce through local and international supply chains.

The Future is Bright - The Future is Blockchain

Blockchain technology is still an altogether alien concept for many businesses in 2019. However, soon companies will be forced to adapt to and start incorporating blockchain technology, in a similar way to how businesses had to adjust to the Internet. The only question is, will your business be one of the first to embrace what some are calling Industry 4.0 ?

When people hear the words ‘blockchain technology,’ they immediately think of cryptocurrency and digital currency coins like Bitcoin. However, the distributed digital ledger technology which underpins how Bitcoin works has been piquing the attention of major businesses for some time now.

Blockchain Technology Explained

At it’s most basic, a blockchain is a distributed ledger system which can never be hacked or edited retrospectively. The easiest way to imagine a blockchain is, therefore, to imagine a sequence of records.

Whenever a new record is created on the blockchain, it is time stamped, encrypted, and becomes unalterable and impossible to hack or share with any unauthorized third party. Already it is, therefore, easy to see how blockchain technology can be used to securely store medical records, sensitive financial data, and personally identifiable customer information.

Real World Blockchain Technology Use Cases

Thanks to the way blockchains store data, companies like Maersk are already using blockchain technology to facilitate smart tracking of goods. This is thanks to the fact that worldwide freight items can be tracked through every step of the supply chain. However, blockchain technology can also be used to add new business capabilities and monetize existing business resources.

Europe’s Biggest Telecom Operator is Already Using Blockchain Technology

In February this year, Europe’s biggest telecom operator Telefónica, partnered with blockchain startup Ankr.

Telefónica itself owns vast data centers in Europe. However, each data center often sees data processing and storage resources sit idle. To combat this problem, partnering with the Ankr blockchain allows Telefónica to lease idle IT resources in real time to third-party businesses which don’t have similar data resources at their disposal.

In the case of Telefónica, the Spanish telecom company can now monetize its idle IT infrastructure. At the same time, third-party businesses are now able to add new IT capabilities for a fraction of the cost associated with investing in new IT infrastructure themselves.

Of course, the blockchain technology which underpins how Ankr works is a little more evolved than that of a basic distributed ledger. However, even this is just a glimpse of what blockchain technology is capable of.

l Car manufacturer BMW is currently developing blockchain technology solutions designed to streamline supply chain logistics

l Germany is encouraging businesses to come together to develop a national blockchain technology strategy

l Penang in Malaysia is presently implementing a blockchain technology solution to track agricultural produce through local and international supply chains.

The Future is Bright - The Future is Blockchain

Blockchain technology is still an altogether alien concept for many businesses in 2019. However, soon companies will be forced to adapt to and start incorporating blockchain technology, in a similar way to how businesses had to adjust to the Internet. The only question is, will your business be one of the first to embrace what some are calling Industry 4.0?