I’m so excited! about Blockchain

I have to change my flight reservation so that I land in time for my doctor’s appointment after ensuring that I have paid my medical dues before the doctor’s visit.  A wide array of technology solutions enables me to do all of this in a timely manner -- but there is one common paradigm that could be at work behind the scenes across my end-to-end, secure, customer experience.  Hello Blockchain! As a paradigm, Blockchain is getting more and more visibility across multiple industries after its origins in the financial sector.  I take a step back and wonder about the forces at play that are driving up this interest.  Blockchain has actually placed itself at the fascinating confluence of many of these forces. While the forces by themselves are not new, their potential impact has grown by orders of magnitude.  Thus, at the turn of the new year, I am so excited about Blockchain and its potential impact across our daily lives whether it be while traveling, or listening to music, making your payments and getting open access to the healthcare data that matters.   

Travel exchanges are considering innovative ways of applying this technology which could be used to validate the identity of the passenger while making the reservation as well as en route.  Financial institutions are considering leveraging this technology for trade settlements while reducing the number of intermediaries.  Healthcare providers and payers are looking into the options of using this technology to make interoperability real.  All of these considerations hold true behind the scenes when I take my flight, make my payments and go to the doctor’s office.

So, what are these forces that are stimulating the potential adoption of Blockchain?

Risk.  Historically, whenever there is the risk of being struck by the adversary, collaboration has been the key tenet that has helped the impacted individuals put up a more united and therefore, secure front.  Blockchain requires all the parties concerned to not only share the data but also have the opportunity to inspect it.  A classic way to mitigate and potentially eliminate the risk of security fraud.

Trust.  The open collaboration and sharing of data results in increased trust in the transaction itself with continuous monitoring by all parties concerned.  Having this trust enables the focus on the business aspects of the transaction in question rather than being concerned about its validity.

Reliability.  With the data being distributed across multiple computers with full or partial copies, there are more options available for remedial steps to be taken to ensure its timely completion.  Also, the immutable nature of the transaction ensures that records can never be removed or changed.  

Efficiency.  All of these factors contribute to increased efficiencies in the execution of the transaction which translates into an improved customer experience with tangible business gains.

Open.  At the heart of this concept, is the culture of being open about the data in flight with completely transparency to all parties concerned -- a technology solution that brings home the concept of an open mindset.  Which would explain the underlying mindset of public blockchains.

There you have it.  None of these forces are unique to blockchain.  Most of them predate IT.  But, in the brave new world where Adversaries R Us are always on the prowl, there is a call for affected parties to put up a united front through collaborative, open technology.  Hence Blockchain.

Which is why you see its emerging potential for application across healthcare, government, music, telco in addition to its financial base.

Like many other technological paradigms, Blockchain has its own challenges -- some of them unique to certain industries.  Therefore, its level of adoption will vary by industry.  Ironic as it might sound, the financial sector may not be the first one to see broad adoption of this paradigm.

But, I say, so what!

I always experience a tinge of excitement when technology directly or indirectly has a positive impact on our daily lives making it a better experience for one and all.  

And thus, I wish Blockchain a brave new exciting year!

Twitter:@NadhanEG