Is Your Business Ready For Blockchain
Admin
Feb 20, 2022
Why is blockchain technology so hyped, and what is so revolutionary about it? Well, there are a number of ways to answer that question, and a number of reasons your business should at least be exploring the possibility of blockchain adoption.
It behooves business leaders today to explore the marvel of blockchain tech, and look for opportunities whereby it could be utilized.
As it currently stands, the primary reasons businesses are exploring and in some cases adopting blockchain technology are as follows…
Efficiency
Security
Cost reduction
Transparency
Financial remittance
Thanks to its secure infrastructure, blockchain allows for many intermediaries to become redundant. These intermediaries ensure stock is released accurately, money gets delivered to its intended destination, logistics are legally handled correctly, accounts are in order, etc. The list of different kinds of intermediaries is comprehensive, and if a company can remove the need for them, they can of course cut costs significantly. A company may only do this if they are guaranteed that the replacement infrastructure would indeed perform as securely and perhaps automatically as intended, but in many cases the cost reductions and efficiency improvements are so significant that the R&D is worth the investment anyway.
Furthermore, the transparency of a blockchain means that businesses, staff, suppliers and officials can be held to account in ways never before available. How this works itself out as companies grapple with the idea of making their affairs public will be interesting to see, but with forward-thinking companies like Buffer Inc. already releasing their financials to the public on an annual basis, public accountability could reach new heights, and the ideals of a far less unequal society could well become a reality. A reality that blockchain’s inventor/s had hoped for.
In the example of Buffer used above, auditors would have had to compile those financial records before they are confirmed as legitimate. Had Buffer been using a blockchain-enabled accounting system, those records would have been readily available without the need for an intermediary’s verification. This utility for blockchain is still some way out from being fully realised and implemented, but it is now a very real possibility for the future.
When it comes to Financial Remittance, businesses are already utilizing international, cross-border settlements within a matter of minutes using a whole host of different blockchain options. Whether that be Bitcoin or more traditional currencies now tokenized as digital currency. JP Morgan have already created their own cryptocurrency to ensure secure payment transfers for their institutional clients, no matter where they are in the world.
But what about your business? Can your business benefit from blockchain?
Well, that depends on two factors. How big is your business? And what industry does it play in?
Blockchain is, at the time of writing, only a 12 year old technology. And so it is still a rather niche environment within which to find affordable yet reputable software companies able to build bespoke products. For this reason it is admittedly a rather expensive undertaking, which many times eliminates small to medium businesses from this market.
As with all business: It comes down to 1) “how much of a need is the solution” versus 2) “the cost of implementing it”. If the need is greater than the implementation cost, then you need to make the investment. But if the cost is greater than the need, most small to medium businesses can get away without the technology until it becomes more widely available.
And it won’t be long until it is more widely available. With IBM, SAP, and Microsoft all working on enterprise blockchain solutions, we will see more cost-effective products on the market within the next 5 years or so, but until then, the “need verse cost” scenario is going to be the big debate in small to medium business boardrooms.
If you’re a larger corporate executive reading this, then we’d suggest ensuring doing a thorough cost analysis, and delving into your R&D budget, because there have been some remarkably projects surfacing out of corporate R&D departments in this industry in recent years, with Spotify and De Beers being the standout examples.
Wherever you find yourself in the corporate ladder or ecosystem, the reality is… blockchain tech could be significantly helpful to your operation. We encourage you to do as much research as possible in ascertaining where it could be most beneficial, and of course stay close to the MEX-D blog for more news and info with regards to the latest industry developments
