Blockchain: Building a Blockchain Ecosystem for the Enterprise

Blockchain: Building a Blockchain Ecosystem for the Enterprise

Summary

The blockchain market is still in its infancy, clouded by technology complexity, significant if not convoluted investment requirements associated with a business processes sea-change and controversy over how the market began and should unfold, based upon differing platform approaches. As a result, there are hundreds of players involved in the blockchain market segment ranging in scope from networking to platforms providers. In the enterprise space, application platform vendors have begun offering blockchain platforms aimed at developers creating new blockchain apps such as smart contracts. Telecoms providers have also entered the space offering comprehensive platforms and services to support enterprise customers. Systems integrators have also proven they have a major role to play leveraging their integration strengths and ensuring interoperability among disparate blockchain technologies.

Blockchain is best known for its ability to enable transactions to be executed in a distributed fashion with no need for central third-party coordination and validation, resulting in time and cost efficiencies. While best known as the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, blockchain is widely considered the next-generation architecture with the potential to reshape many industries, in terms of their operational and business models. Blockchain technology, or distributed ledger technology (DLT), is applicable to many types of transactions and assets, owing to its capability to store, record, and exchange (but not edit) digital information without the need for a central clearinghouse (the so-called middleman). This will help produce more cost and time efficiencies while ensuring more security and traceability.

Although still emerging, blockchain is being driven by increasing demand for digital security along with government investments and the promise of reducing transaction time and cost. Blockchain network applications are valuable in transaction-based industries. The technology can benefit businesses dealing with the recording, storage, and sharing of both data and transactions among several stakeholders. Blockchain removes intermediaries and results in more secure, traceable, and efficient transactions. Candidate industries for blockchain include: financial services, food services, healthcare, telecoms, education, music & entertainment, and energy.

Scope

• Blockchain implementation will help drive enterprise transformation, expanding services and solutions portfolios and streamline internal operations.
• Blockchain platforms, tailored APIs, reliable connectivity and computing power are key value chain pillars for blockchain use-case production.
• A number of cloud vendors have positioned themselves in the blockchain value chain, launching commercial blockchain services to try to seize new revenue streams.

Reasons to buy

• The report highlights the industry’s current leading Blockchain platform providers, including IBM, Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, and Accenture, their technology strategies and key differentiators.
• The report provides four different case studies of various types of blockchain players, helping to illustrate each provider's unique approach for addressing the emerging technology.
• The report serves as a thought-leadership piece, helping to educate readers on the still emerging distributed ledger technology (DLT) and nuances of a next-generation approach for conducting business transactions and supply chain.
• The report provides detailed reasons on how blockchain increases operational efficiency and drive new business opportunities specific to various vertical industries.