Digital Transformation

CHAPTER 9Blockchain

This chapter provides an overview of blockchain as a distributed ledger technology along with its benefits to the enterprise and a detailed understanding of the architecture supporting it. It also discusses the implementation methodology and some of the typical applications and use cases for deploying blockchain to securely transfer information with trust and make the enterprise intelligent.

Blockchain Overview

Blockchain is in its nascent stage; it is a complex technology capable of disrupting many businesses and operating models of enterprises in the long run. Blockchain is generally associated with bitcoin, but that is not correct. While blockchain is the technology, bitcoin is just one of its applications for which it has been proven to date that the technology works.

Blockchain is considered to be one of the most transformative innovations since the inception of the internet. As it poses threat to the existing businesses, it also encompasses new opportunities and business models for the enterprise to adopt. This is one of the paths for an enterprise to become intelligent and get ahead in the race from its competitors.

What Is Blockchain?

Without going deep into the technical aspects, let's understand the fundamentals of what blockchain is, how the technology works, and most important, how it can be leveraged in various use cases both within the organization and to customers.

Blockchain is the list of data that is shared among the users or participants ...