Blockchain Three Steps How Businesses Started

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The hype about cryptocurrencies made Blockchain famous. But not only can Bitcoin and Co. be managed with this technology: Blockchain sets itself step by step and finds more and more application scenarios.

What companies need to observe if they want to use blockchain?

Original Article Industry of Things :  requests, managing patient data, or blocking a lost smartphone: While most people now only know Blockchain in conjunction with crypto-coins, it’s a basic technology that can be used in completely different scenarios. There are also pioneering projects in the field of corporate IT. As a central, non-manipulable database that covers many nodes in a network, it allows for the recording of tamper-proof transactions, making subsequent changes impossible.

1. Definition of application scenarios

Blockchain is ideal for all business processes where trust and immutability are essential. In this regard, companies must first analyze which of their processes could benefit from the use of blockchain. The following examples show how the use of blockchain in everyday business may be similar:

Logistic application scenario: 

Perishable products must be cooled during transport permanently and should not be significantly higher or lower than a predefined temperature. Product sensors can be used to create a digital twin of refrigerated products in blockchain using IoT (Internet of Things) technology. This ensures complete transportation documentation, which increases trust among all parties involved.

If a product is exposed to higher temperatures than intended during transport, it is automatically and immutably recorded in the blockchain which is no longer edible. All recipients, resellers, or subsequent end users can understand this in a simple way.

Application Scenario Medicine:

Patient data, currently distributed to different physicians and health facilities, can be consolidated into a central patient registry using blockchain technology. Patients may receive a digital file that they themselves can control.

If patients visit a new doctor or are admitted to the hospital, they can provide unequivocal access to data from previous treatments.

Research could also benefit if patients in a health care network volunteered to provide anonymous data. Particularly in modern treatments involving collection, processing and reimplantation of cells, for example, in cancer therapy, blockchain technology is a well-tested test tool to eliminate the confusion of cell samples.

Smartphone usage scenario:

If a smartphone is lost, it is now possible to lock the SIM card. With the SIM card from another provider, however, the device is usually ready for use again. Strangers can continue to use their smartphone and gain access to the stored data.

With a block-based directory of the identification numbers of each device, it is always possible to understand the collection. Smartphones that are reported as stolen or lost would therefore be known to all participants and protected against further use through a blacklist.

2. Privacy in Blockchain

Companies need to be aware of what data protection means in blockchain. Immutable data storage is one of Blockchain’s key features and makes this technology particularly reliable for storing information.

However, “safe” in the sense of protection against tampering does not mean “safe” in the sense of data protection: the information in the blockchain is, by definition, available to all network participants.

That is the uniqueness of technology. Unlike crypto-coins, this absolute transparency is not always wanted, especially in the business context. For any company it may make sense to give your business partners, suppliers or even the competition access to confidential data. So, what you do?

For Blockchain to become productive for use in the business environment, an intermediate step is often required, which further encrypts the data once more. This system stores only confidential information locally and registers it with a hash value in the blockchain.

For example, this allows an agency to prepare in advance if a particular regulated ingredient is in a food, while the entire recipe and other ingredients are not visible to them. Camelot ITLab has developed the Trusted Computing Appliances solution for this type of encryption, a system that adapts the blockchain for business use.

3. Test run in real environment

In addition to the three applications mentioned above

, there are a large number of individual application scenarios in companies that can provide a great competitive advantage. Taking the first steps towards Blockchain is still difficult for many companies. Camelot ITLab, for example, has developed a solution that allows companies to test the blockchain and work with prototypes.

This prototype is developed based on configurable software modules, which are based, among other things, on “SAP Leonardo”. By linking these building blocks to your own IT in a secure environment, you will get a first concrete impression of the possibilities in the blockchain. It can be used to derive RoI forecasts and insights that help them make more decisions and engage stakeholders.

Large companies, in particular, are currently examining the use of blockchain technology in promising pioneering projects. Interaction with other IT megatrends, such as Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, will result in much more application scenarios in the coming years. For business, now is the right time to take the pole position.