Over the past few years, the Internet has revolutionized many facets of society and business–making individuals as well as organizations more productive. Yet the basic technicalities of how people and organizations accomplish transactions with one another have not been modernized for the 21st century. Blockchain has the capability to bring to those processes the efficiency and openness we have come to expect in the Internet Era.
Blockchain is a mutual and immutable ledger for keeping track of the history of transactions. It promotes a new generation of transactional/operational applications that establish trust, transparency and accountability. Solution providers today are emphasizing on the development of a blockchain for a business that provides an authorized network, with known entities, without the need for cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain is paving way across varied business applications including BFSI, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, government, media & entertainment, logistics & transportation, and legal. For instance, manufacturers can minimize product recalls just by sharing production logs with OEMs, and financial institutions can resolve securities in minutes rather than days. Businesses can more closely supervise the flow of goods and associated payments with less risk and greater speed.
Today, however, the capability to turn blockchain from proof-of-concept to acceptance and production has been nominal. While the market still gives blockchain companies plenty of room to prove themselves, shareholders are becoming more concerned about outcomes. Nevertheless, high efficiency of this technology for asset management, intra-organizational execution, identity management, and transaction processing have led to elevating adoption by enterprises to better manage resources and produce better results.
The industry is witnessing an upcoming trend of financial institutions and venture capitalists investing heavily in blockchain which is also anticipated to propel demand over the forecast period. In addition, several benefits offered by blockchain including cost savings, efficiency, and security is further expected to catapult demand.
Uncertain regulatory status paired with lack of awareness is expected to pose challenges for market growth. However, a new breed of programmable blockchain platforms coupled with technology disruption across varied industry domains is expected to provide significant growth opportunities over the coming years.