Blockchain technology opens up an array of opportunities that transcend industry boundaries. The first forays have been made – and the first successes chalked up – in retail, healthcare, the public sector and finance, with Bitcoin transactions proving to be the biggest use case so far. Large IT service providers (such as Google, IBM and Microsoft) are now also including specific applications in their palette of products, generally based on their own “Platform as a Service” (PaaS) development and deployment environment. 

For applications requiring trust and dealing with digital goods or services to be able to conduct secure transactions quickly in a network with many users is an enticing opportunity, but developing a blockchain business case remains a challenge. Implementation costs as well as associated change management issues and risks must all be comprehensively evaluated and weighed up against potential savings and earnings.

Possible advantages

• Lower costs through exclusion of third parties
• Greater efficiency: accelerated processes and reduced error rates thanks to decentralised digital “book-keeping”
• Data access and traceability in business ecosystems
• Transparent access control for all data and data ownership
• Maximum security for transactions in which individual parties exchange critical information 

Possible disadvantages

• Few realistic areas of use or business cases
• Extremely high resource requirements for transaction scenarios
• Extensive and complex resources required for implementation in existing IT environments
• Shortage of available experts

To blockchain or not to blockchain: does my firm need this technology?

Ergon provides support – from developing the business idea, evaluation of the use case and selection of suitable technologies right through to successful project implementation. 

Contact at Ergon