Innovative ecosystems in the blockchain technology market
Blockchain has already passed the hype stage in the product lifecycle. The rapid pace of Industry 4.0 adoption in many areas underscores this. Undoubtedly, any industry looking for a technological basis for intelligent processes can ignore the blockchain only at its own risk.
The Transformation Potential of Industry 4.0 and Blockchain
Blockchain technologies, based on security and privacy pillars, have expanded the scope of their implementation through the use of solutions based on them.
The overarching principles of decentralization, peer-to-peer contracts, transparency, record irreversibility, and immutability are the lifeblood on which the adoption of blockchain technology thrives.
Blockchain technology has evolved from a distributed ledger in financial applications, to peer-to-peer networks that are of great value in any industry and sector. Baffled by the growth, organizations are creating their own blockchains. And, funnily enough, startups don’t want to fall behind. Expanding use cases for joining smart objects are what determines the potential revenue of the blockchain technology market. Therefore, it is not surprising that a recent forecast by a global analytics company showed that between 2016 and 2024, the market will grow at an impressive average annual growth rate of 58.90%.
Disintermediation as a new business model for Industry 4.0 drives application development. Some of the industries that businesses are betting on are energy, healthcare, supply chains, the Internet of Things, transportation, and education. Blockchain-based business models are obviously seen as accelerating the emergence of new consumer offerings. The introduction of blockchain in the private and public sectors is likely to generate growth for stakeholders in the blockchain technology market. Each industry will do this for its own offering, and to bring transformative value to the parameters that matter most to them.
To take just one case out of many, the implementation of blockchain for the IoT supply chain has helped them gain trust. Companies in this sector are integrating IoT with blockchain to increase the traceability of products from raw material sources, to the consumption of the final product. And all this with unprecedented transparency and security. We are talking about the food industry.
The potential is so incredible that even very conservative areas, such as governments, have realized the value of supporting new economic models for a country’s growth. Smart cities using blockchain-based IoT can whet their appetite. The Smart IoT-blockchain framework will provide them with new opportunities in resource management, such as intelligent water management and waste management. These areas are of sharp concern to any Government. To begin with, the attractive areas are anti-fraud and identity management.
Learn or die
With such incredible potential, the adoption rate is surprisingly slow. Contrary to popular belief, blockchain technology is still a concern for corporations.
What makes corporations see obstacles? The widespread lack of awareness, and a lack of understanding of the value to the development of the blockchain ecosystem, is to blame. Some of these bottlenecks are undoubtedly technical in nature. The prospects of blockchain technology have not been able to surpass its image based on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Over the years, the controversial activity has largely fueled the myth. Cooperation between all stakeholders will change the image in many ways, bringing positive emotions and stimulating investment in the blockchain technology market.
Solving organizational problems is a necessity of the hour. Corporations should implement blockchain technology applications by carefully evaluating business cases. Moreover, regulatory obstacles must be overcome through a multi-pronged approach and a concerted effort by all.
The lack of standardization in the blockchain protocols and the ability to interact across different networks are some of the key issues that should attract the attention of stakeholders.
At the end of the day, technology adoption is not a piecemeal effort.