Blockchain for corporations: How corporates experiment with blockchain in a safe way

Last week we discussed why private blockchains are a game-changer for the enterprise. There’s no denying that the value add of blockchain technology and distributed ledgers could be immense, while there’s literally unlimited room for innovation, both on a user/consumer level and on an enterprise level. The technology is just that ground-breaking. And that can be a show stopper.

Even the biggest proponents of the technology cannot expect enterprises to go all in and dive headfirst into adopting a technology so new and so contrarian. It just doesn’t make sense from a risk perspective. By no means, however, should enterprises stay away from blockchain. Potential benefits are just too big to be ignored, particularly in terms of optimizing business processes, cutting down transaction costs and enhancing information security. In a market more open and more competitive than ever, every bit of an advantage matters. Blockchain for corporations is definitely something that any company on a large scale should investigate.

What’s the right way for innovation-hungry enterprises to approach blockchain?

Research, experiment and analyze. Ignoring the blockchain for corporations technology and its potential means eventually getting overtaken in the marketplace. A fail-safe way to tap into the benefits of blockchain and distributed ledgers is to start small and scale accordingly. This could be everything from starting to accept cryptocurrency payments to building a Proof of Concept or even doing a small-scale pilot project.

In 2017, a market leader such as PwC was already accepting cryptocurrency payments in Hong Kong. Almost 2 years later, the company is now providing audit services for clients that deal in crypto. Walmart is playing around with blockchain for food traceability, namely to track and verify the origin of their mangos. Notice how it all starts with just mangos before scaling up. At LimeChain for example, we recently built a Proof of Concept blockchain solution that optimizes claim management in the FMCG/retail sector for a Fortune 500 company.

Hold on! What’s a Proof of Concept?

A Proof of Concept is a project aimed to validate or invalidate the feasibility of a proposed solution. It’s done in a completely controlled environment, with dummy data being used more often than not. It’s a great way for enterprises to experiment with emerging technology, before implementing it into real-time market conditions.

Any other newsworthy implementations so far?

Too many to be covered in a single article. Insurance giant AXA is using Ethereum smart contracts as a foundation of their flight delay insurance product Fizzy. JPMorgan is working on its own digital currency to settle institutional payments instantaneously. The bank even went a step further and open-sourced a private instance of the Ethereum blockchain called Quorum. Nestle is experimenting with blockchain to trace milk from farm to factory.

All these examples show us how Fortune 500 companies are experimenting with the technology. For corporations, it’s no longer about whether to explore blockchain or not. It’s about creativity and speed. It’s about staying ahead of the pack. It’s about considering blockchain for corporate organizations.

For questions and inquiries about blockchain, don’t hesitate to get in touch via limechain.tech