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    Blockchain Technology: Industry Applications and Use Cases

    by TOPS Infosolutions December 4, 2017
    Blockchain Technology industry applications use cases

    Blockchain technology is an answer to the question that, we have been asking since the dawn of the internet age –

    “How can you trust everything that is happening online?”

    Blockchain technology has popularly become buzz not only in the financial industry but also across other verticals ever since Satoshi Nakamoto published his invention in 2009.

    What Problem Blockchain Can Solve?

    Today, World Wide Web is no longer a place of content but a revolutionized place for interaction. We shop online, share or exchange information back and forth, and much more; but is everything that we do secured and error-free?

    Databases merely cannot chat with each other; it needs fault-prone human administration or central authority to run every node. On the other hand, Blockchain technology is a decentralized database, shared by multiple users without any third party.

    Blockchain records everything that happens on the internet – every digital transaction, exchange of goods & services, private data, etc. Data is encrypted into blocks that never get modified and get scattered into pieces across a worldwide network of distributed nodes.

    And due to this:

    • Electronic ledgers can become much cheap than traditional account systems as the number of head-counts can be reduced
    • Distributed ledger system results in fewer errors and eliminates repetitive steps
    • Minimize the processing delays so no risk of pending transactions

    Let’s See More about How Blockchain is Used in Different Verticals:

    • Internet-of-Things

    IoT is integrated with sensors in the objects like vehicles, embedded electronics, and many more to communicate with the outside world, typically over an IP protocol.

    IoT, when combined with Blockchain technology, will help to track the history of every device; it records a ledger of data between the devices, web services, and human users.

    The connected vehicles enable the car or truck to behave as a super-giant smart app and with Blockchain, it will enable this device to be tracked on the digital ledger, providing inter-vehicle communication, automatic tracking of fleet insurance policies, vehicle registration renewals, etc.

    Example: IBM and Samsung have teamed up for the concept of Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry (ADEPT), which uses Blockchain for secure transactions. ADEPT would act as a public ledger, which eliminates the need for a central hub, operated at a low cost, and communicate autonomously to update bugs.

    • Voting

    What if technology allowed for a more secure and streamlined voting process during elections?

    As per today’s voting scenario, when a voter submits a vote, it is passed through a publicly accessible vote forwarding server to the vote storage server where the data is encrypted and stored online until the voting period is over. Then the vote that carries all identifying information is cleaned and transferred to the vote-counting server which is disconnected from all networks. At every stage, the process is logged and audited.

    But, what if malware is present on the client-side machine?  It can monitor the vote placed by users and later change votes with a different candidate.  Blockchain technology can be used for tracking and counting votes so that the question of voter fraud, lost records, or foul play never arises. Moreover, it can also verify that no votes get changed or removed, and no illegitimate vote gets added.

    Example: In 2014, Liberal Alliance, a political party in Denmark, became the first organization to use Blockchain technology for secured and verifiable electronic voting in order to safeguard electoral integrity and encourage the public’s trust in their use.

    • Digital Identity

    Digital identity is very crucial in the digital world for many businesses as it provides ways to interact with billions of users in digital world.

    How many login IDs and passwords do you have? Corresponding to the number of ids, your identities are fragmented and duplicated across the digital world, making them difficult to link together and the risk of being stolen, faked, lost, or altered occurs no matter how much security they are.

    Blockchain technology empowers consumers to control their own identity and share between trusted entities with their consent. Blockchain ID is a single ID that can replace all other IDs enabling it to be the same everywhere and anywhere.

    It can track and manage digital identities in a secure and efficient way, resulting in seamless sign-in and reduced fraud. With this, you can receive better service as all your information is integrated and consistent everywhere.

    Example: IBM was the first company to study and test Blockchain technology to solve identity-related issues. They are working on creating a new digital identity and attribute-sharing network to make it easier for users to verify their data in a privacy-enhanced, secure and efficient way.

    • Decentralized cloud storage

    Cloud Storage enables the users to access the files from any location via the internet and is centralized which means you are giving control of your digital assets.

    For instance: you are using Google Drive for storing your data on a cloud server. When you upload, Google saves it on its data center and when you want to access it, your computer sends the request to that data center and you are all done to access it.  But using such giant server farms involves risk.

    It can be expensive, needs to have a controlled temperature, must be updated and maintained rigorously, and can have a high environmental impact. Although, Google provides rigorous safety, no matter how careful you are when humans interact with the system it leads to the human-error, privacy danger, and more.

    Google already have stated in their privacy policy that they can legally access and share your data, large companies can look for encrypted files, and much more.

    But, Blockchain, enables decentralized cloud storage which offers the facilities of safe, fast, and cost-effective cloud storage. Your data (what happened, who accessed it, how it was processed) can be verified by anyone who has the access to the Blockchain.

    It has a time-stamped facility that freezes the computing platform time and cloud users can verify that the platform is in the correct state in real time. Such a system helps in giving complete traceability, accountability, and transparency for cloud storage.

    Example: Storj Labs uses Blockchain technology to create a decentralized cloud system using open-source software to provide security, privacy, and transparency.

    • Supply-Chain Communication

    Most of the products that we purchase are not made from a single resource but from a chain of suppliers involved in that product. The supply chain industry is a complex process (varying with the size of the business and the number of items manufactured) and depends on multiple suppliers to deliver different elements.

    This may result in a lack of accountability, transparency, lack of monitoring between supply chains. If any component fails in between the process, it results in affecting the final product.

    By using Blockchain technology, it holds the record of digital transactions in such a way that it makes them accessible and visible to multiple suppliers in the network while keeping them safe and secure.

    The digitally shared ledger is updated and authenticated with every transaction, resulting in a secure and permanent record exchange. The result is faster, more reliable, and auditable for B2B interactions between resources like buyers, sellers, and logistics providers.

    Example: IBM announced that it is collaborating with key food producers and distributors Nestle and Walmart to reduce contamination in the global food supply chain. They intend to use Blockchain technology to create a “trusted environment for transactions”.

    • Healthcare

    Blockchain technology can allow hospitals, pharmacies, and other entities in a chain to share access with their networks without compromising data security and integrity. Prescriptions can be written electronically and every doctor in the network can see everything about medications and act accordingly.  Every healthcare provider will have an immediate view of the patient’s current medication ensuring accuracy and loyalty.

    Example: SimplyVital Health is using Blockchain technology to give the healthcare industry a facelift. The company is using the Blockchain-based data storage and analytics platform with the goal to streamline medical data sharing and storage.

    The Bottom line:

    Blockchain technology is here to stay; creating a connected world by driving more and more values and transforming the way how our society functions. While the above applications do sound promising, a business would need a software development company to convert its ideas into reality.

    So, are any thoughts whirling in your mind? Connect with us today!

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