It's safe to say that blockchain is on the verge of redefining traditional business models, changing paradigms around data security, accountability, and transparency. In fact, the potential to reshape a global organization's relationship with data is so immense that Gartner predicts blockchain’s business value will grow to slightly more than $176 billion by 2025, with projections to exceed $3.1 trillion by 2030.
Blockchain's status as a “disruptor” is attributed to an entirely new concept around logging and authenticating data. At its core, this technology offers a digital method of making, recording, and validating events or transactions. Each block is a record of new transactions and data types, including currency, digital rights, intellectual property, identity, and property titles, among other things, which are added to the chain. Like a page on a ledger, each block includes a record of the previous transaction recorded in chronological order, providing a sequential trail of all transactions. However, the ledger doesn’t exist in one place. Instead, copies are held and are simultaneously updated with each participating node in the ecosystem. Thus, it can be distributed across numerous participants throughout the network, with the ability to remain private or anonymous, depending on how the technology is implemented.
The implications of blockchain are vast for organizations across all industries, ranging from healthcare and finance to manufacturing, retail, and bio-sciences. Among other things, the technology allows industries to redefine or create new business models by eliminating intermediaries. Because blockchains are immutable, transparent, and highly secure, they also have the potential to significantly reduce fraud. In addition, blockchain will accelerate efficiency and speed, since organizations won't have to wait for verification through these intermediaries. As a result, the technology has the potential to significantly increase revenue and savings.
Blockchain is sure to offer all industries one thing—the ability to better manage their information
According to a study by UK-based research firm Juniper Research, nearly six in 10 of the world's largest corporations—57%—are either actively considering or in the process of deploying blockchain. Two-thirds of companies surveyed said that they expect to integrate blockchain into their systems by the end of 2018.
For example, Swedish Mapping Authority is already leaping ahead of the anticipated global curve by leveraging blockchains to record and automate property transactions, eliminating the need for physical archives of their contracts. The agency estimates that it will save Swedish tax payers over 100 million euro annually.
While the drivers for adopting blockchain may vary, the technology is sure to offer all industries one thing—the ability to better manage their information. The following are two of the most relevant examples currently being implemented that will serve to transform information management for enterprises.
Preserving the Integrity of Log DataMost information management systems sufficiently log all the key events in the repository. That said, most, if not all, of those audit logs can be corrupted. Despite millions of dollars spent on data protection mechanisms, it is relatively easy for administrators or malicious parties to copy, delete, modify, or falsify a company’s log data. For example, a security incident could remove or compromise log records in order to cover up the tracks of unauthorized users. Conversely, organizations also might struggle proving to third-party companies, auditors, or courts that their log records were created at the time stated and not recently fabricated.
When customers look at their management system for log entries—often accessible to a wide variety of users—they need to be able to trust that the data is pure and that the log is uncompromised. Yet, outsiders and employees alike have the ability to destroy the integrity of an organization’s data history, whether intentionally or by accident. Consequently, the inhere