Blockchain Business Innovation

US Army Cloud Computing Class at Ft. Gordon, GA

By G C Network | June 24, 2011

A few weeks ago I had the distinct pleassue of teaching yet another US Army cloud computing class.  This time the venue was Ft. Gordon, GA and the students definitely…

78 Agency Services Identified for Cloud Transition

By G C Network | May 29, 2011

The Office of Management and Budget recently released a list of 78 projects slated for transition to cloud over the next year. The most common application, according to a FierceGovernmentIT,…

NGA Sets GEOINT Strategic Direction with Earth Builder

By G C Network | May 15, 2011

Last month Google and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency started sharing details about their “GEOINT on Demand” collaboration. The project, named Earth Builder, was built specifically to enable NGA to…

Teleology Systems Introduces CloudeFX at DoDIIS

By G C Network | April 27, 2011

Next week at DoDIIS, NJVC will be showcasing a few of our government cloud computing partners. One of the most exciting of these is the Cloud Service Orchestration Framework by…

Cloud Computing Highlighted at DoDIIS 2011

By G C Network | April 27, 2011

Are you going to DoDIIS? Schedule for May 1-5, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan, the conference highlights the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) commitment to developing and maintaining secure and reliable networks for…

Washington DC a Cloud Computing Trendsetter!

By G C Network | April 16, 2011

A TechJournal South article last week named Washington, DC as a leading trendsetter in cloud computing. Citing a Microsoft sponsored survey, conducted by 7th Sense research, D.C. was highlighted as particullarly receptive…

Melvin Greer Cited by IBM for Cloud Computing Innovation

By G C Network | April 5, 2011

Congratulations to my good friend Melvin Greer for being awarded IBM’s first ever ACE Award!! “Melvin Greer, Lockheed Martin Senior Fellow has won IBM’s first ever Awarding Customer Excellence (ACE)…

“GovCloud: The Book” Launched at National Press Club Event

By G C Network | March 30, 2011

As many of you know, today marked the official launch of my first book – GovCloud: Cloud Computing for the Business of Government. Today’s venue was the National Press Club…

“Cloud Musings on Forbes” Launched!!

By G C Network | March 24, 2011

Today I published my first post on Forbes.com!! At the invitation of Bruce Upbin, Forbes.com editor, I will be contributing posts monthly. I see this not only as an honor,…

Tech America and INSA Form Cloud Computing Advisory Groups

By G C Network | March 6, 2011

Last week TechAmerica announced the formation of a “cloud computing commission” to advise the White House on the current plans to steer more than $20B worth of IT services toward…

Is there more than bitcoin to blockchain?

 

Absolutely, because today’s blockchain is opening up a pathtowards the delivery of trusted online services.

 

To understand this statement, you need to see blockchain as more that it’s more famous bitcoin use case. As a fundamental digital tool, blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger for recording the history of transactions. If used in this fashion, it can enable transactional applications that can have embedded trust, accountability and transparency attributes. Instead of having a Bitcoin blockchain that is reliant on the exchange of cryptocurrencies with anonymous users on a public network, a Business blockchain can provide a permissioned network with known and verified identities. With this kind of transactional visibility, all activities within that network are observable and auditable by every network user. This end-to-end visibility, also known as shared ledgering, can also be linked to business rules and business logic that can drive and enforce trust, openness and integrity across that business network.  Application built, managed and supported through such an environment can now hold a verifiable pedigree with security built right in that can:
  • Prevent anyone – even root users and administrators – from taking control of a system;
  • Deny illicit attempts to change data or applications within the network; and
  • Block unauthorized data access by ensuring encryption keys can never be misappropriated.

 

From an industry vertical point of view, this approach can:
  • Give financial institutions an ability to settle securities in minutes instead of days;
  • Reduce manufacturer product recalls by sharing production logs with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and regulators; and
  • Help businesses of all types more closely manage the flow of goods and related payments with greater speed and less risk.

Innovators within just about any industry can build, run and manage their own business blockchain network. And even if the organization isn’t quite ready to do the heavy lifting, it can consume a blockchain service from companies like IBM.

 
Ready-made frameworks as also available from the Hyperledger Project, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. Available hyperledger business frameworks include:
  • Sawtooth – a modular platform for building, deploying, and running distributed ledgers that includes a consensus algorithm which targets large distributed validator populations with minimal resource consumption.
  • Iroha – a business blockchain framework designed to be for incorporation into infrastructural projects that require distributed ledger technology.
  • Fabric – a foundation for developing applications or solutions with a modular architecture that allows components, such as consensus and membership services, to be plug-and-play.
  • Burrow – a permissionable smart contract machine that provides a modular blockchain client with a permissioned smart contract interpreter built in part to the specification of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

 

If you’re team is looking to innovate and take a leadership position within your industry, business blockchainsmay be the perfect enhancement for your business focused application.
 
 

This post was brought to you by IBM Global Technology Services. For more content like this, visit ITBizAdvisor.

 

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