ESG Blogs

If you haven’t been paying attention, welcome to the year of blockchain. It was only a matter of time until the next big hyperscaler announced a blockchain service offering. There’s IBM with Hyperledger, Microsoft, Oracle, and now AWS has some skin in the game.

Late last week, Amazon announced AWS Blockchain Templates with a goal of simplifying the deployment and management of customized blockchains. Start by selecting the underlying blockchain technology – either Ethereum or Hyperledger – and instantly deploy and customize. You can selecte the type of consensus algorithm, set access controls (think private blockchain), and create applications with smart contracts. And being AWS, you have the ability to easily manage and monitor the service, as well as leverage the on-demand resource capabilities, meaning you only pay for what you consume when you consume it.

In my previous blog, I walked through why blockchain matters, highlighted the core tenets that make it disruptive, and mentioned some of the enterprise IT vendors to keep an eye on. What I left out was a deep dive on the technology. So, based on feedback, requests, and the ongoing level of confusion that can be seen across the internet, here is my Explain It Like I'm 5 (ELI5) version of what a blockchain is and how it actually works.

As blockchain continues to progress outside of cryptocurrencies and into the enterprise IT space, organizations are beginning to look for ways to leverage the benefits of blockchain. Let me stop right there. You’re probably thinking, “What benefits? It’s just Bitcoin.” While Bitcoin gets the headlines, as it should since it’s the top use case within the financial vertical and has a massive consumer-based following, blockchain is so much more than Bitcoin. It’s truly disruptive technology that will enable organizations to recognize massive efficiency gains and cost savings across all verticals, from communications & media, and transportation & logistics to business services and retail. Check out my video below where I talk about the top reasons why blockchain should matter to you.

Think 2018 was a massive culmination of multiple and previously separate IBM events (Edge, InterConnect, World of Watson, Amplify, and Connect). While I was never able to get an official headcount, estimates were north of 30,000. And attendees nearly overflowed the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Kodak recently announced a blockchain copyright platform, KODAKOne, at CES 2018. Is it a me too product? Does it have a real business use case, and can it succeed?

Amidst the euphoria on cryptocurrency and ICOs, it is worthwhile going back to understand the practical uses for distributed ledgers and cryptographically secured blockchains to see where they can provide true business value.

Blockchain receives a lot of attention these days for some very good reasons. Some of the common attributes that are frequently used to describe Blockchain are distributed, sustainable, secure, indelible, transparent, auditable, consensus-based, transactional, orchestrated, and flexible. This is certainly a good start for a distributed ledger, but some are questioning whether this goes far enough. A recent conversation with Dr. Leemon Baird, CEO of Swirlds, shed light on some of the issues with Blockchain and the advantages of his hashgraph alternative.