Despite the popular belief that blockchain technology is only intended for performing cryptocurrency transactions and earning bitcoins, blockchain continues to enter many areas of life: social media, gaming, healthcare, real estate, and more. Technology aims to increase business efficiency, reduce costs for businesses and improve customer experience.
Blockchain can be explained as a digitized database and it refers to digital ledger technology (DLT) that does not involve any central data storage or administrative functionality. Why is it preferred for enterprise? In addition to transparency, decentralization allows each participant to view all recorded data, secure it, and track important data.
These are the areas where Blockchain has already entered and proved that this technology is worth trusting.
For example, supply chain management is a key but sensitive part of many companies’ workflows. The parties involved in the process often do not communicate directly with each other and still use paper-based methods to collect and store information. Blockchain offers a complete elimination of paperwork: the movement of documents is automated, digital certification is also implemented. More importantly, every authorized member of the supply chain can trace the product from the producer to the consumer and prevent counterfeit distribution.
Faced with foodborne illness outbreaks and more food recalls, several American retail giants have implemented blockchain technology in their food supply chains. It used to take a minimum of 7 days to trace a product, and these days the origin of a food product can be determined in seconds.
Thus, blockchain solutions have made the recall process faster, more efficient and cost-effective. Meanwhile, customers have also encountered the application of blockchain in their hypermarkets. For example, in Walmart’s Chinese stores, they can scan the QR code and get all the information about the product: from the farm location to the inspection certificates.
Healthcare is an area where blockchain-based solutions are emerging as a highly secure and transparent way to store electronic health records (EHR). Both doctors and patients get permission to access the records and use them as needed. At the same time, blockchain solutions are equipped with smart contracts that allow to protect the privacy of EHR data. Healthcare device data and clinical studies are encrypted, and insurance can be implemented and stored. Another use case is supply chain control of prescription drugs and equipment.
E-commerce increasingly requires blockchain technology. Again, the supply chain is an important aspect here: monitoring goods and managing supplies are often difficult tasks, but blockchain helps businesses manage their inventory more efficiently. Consumers who trust their money and data to e-commerce organizations are concerned about data security and transparency, but this problem can be solved with blockchain development. Even slight changes in a transaction are visible on the blockchain, and tracking who made a mistake is no longer a problem. It is also possible to make cryptocurrency payments.
The next area is actually related to cryptocurrency transactions. DeFi, short for decentralized finance, refers not only to simple asset transfers, but also to more complex financial use cases. Blockchain implementation helps to eliminate middlemen and ultimately reduces costs. All transactions are encrypted and immutable, multi-step authentication mechanisms make it difficult for unauthorized members to access the system. Recent innovations include P2P lending services and the ability to apply for digital banking.
Social media also has the potential to be affected by blockchain. Despite its global popularity and ability to connect people around the world, social media is still vulnerable to account hacking, identity leaks, and copyright infringement. To solve these problems, blockchain offers copyright protection, digital identity verification, and impartial licensing.
Real estate, eGovernance, gaming industry and many others have joined the wave of blockchain adoption. Once your business chooses to innovate, outsource the implementation of the technology to one of the enterprise blockchain companies that will build a future-proof enterprise DLT for you. Your business with Blockchain will change the rules of the game in your field.