It’s hard to think of a technology whose promise has been as hailed as blockchain. At the same time, I don’t know of another technology related to failed deployments or abandoned projects. The latest is the closure of Maersk/IBM TradeLens and the Australian Stock Exchange blockchain.
It’s not hard to see why so many business and technology leaders are so enthusiastic about blockchain. This technology has the ability to deliver highly valuable outcomes for businesses of all sizes. The biggest draw is that blockchain enables real-time data sharing across multiple parties, clouds, and regions. We can also ensure that all copies are always consistent, complete, and accurate, regardless of where they are located or who owns or operates them.
These accuracy and efficiency gains are powerful for any business, and even in supply chains and financial services. please think about it. Without real-time communication with partners, automakers will struggle to ship vehicles faster and more cost-effectively. Chocolate suppliers cannot trace the origin of cocoa beans or tell buyers where they come from without accurate supply chain tracking. Also, without access to up-to-date information on seat availability and customer profiles, travel agents cannot offer passengers the best itineraries at the best prices.
Despite its potential, blockchain has so far not lived up to those promises. But this is not the end of the story.
Why First-Generation Blockchains Fail in Enterprise Environments
First-generation blockchains such as Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric continue to fail in enterprise environments for a variety of reasons, but the reason is simple. Too costly, too complex, too time consuming to implement, and no real benefit to be seen. About investment. Other features missing from 1st generation chains include:
- No data model support – Unlock the database where the data model (schema) is one of the most business-critical elements of the solution. Both public and private blockchains ignore data types. A bunch of shapeless strings—an architectural mess like trying to build a house on a base of wet spaghetti noodles.
- No file support – Related to data model issues, 1st generation chains “forget” that most business data is actually stored in files, and would-be users are I’m having trouble sorting out how (and where) most are actually obtained. represent and manage.
- No SaaS offering or horizontal scaling – First-generation blockchain is the epitome of 1990s “DIY” data center technology. It’s pure vertical scaling with a “single box” deployment and doesn’t support SaaS-style deployment and adoption simplicity, so trying to use this technology requires expensive manpower. It reduces the burden of setting up support and infrastructure, even before the project is off the ground.
- No cloud integration – First-generation blockchains, plagued by dissident paranoia induced by cryptocurrencies, avoided using (or integrating) modern public cloud data services and threw all integration projects (queuing, streaming, cloud databases, etc.) somewhere in between “expensive”. A “nightmare” of complexity and cost scale.
…and the list goes on. No wonder even well-designed and well-funded blockchain projects by Fortune 100 companies continue to fail left and right. This technology was simply not ready for use in an enterprise environment.
What the Next Generation Blockchain Learned from Failure
History shows that second waves of technology often succeed where the first failed. Emerging 2nd generation blockchains can learn from the failures and missing features of the 1st generation, and the latest innovations have a few signs of success.
- Rather than focus on supporting the “dark web” with servers that may run outside the sight of U.S. and European regulators, second-generation blockchains focus on scaling implementation techniques and development It adopts the public cloud as both a consolidation target that facilitates the work of users.
- Rather than a “spaghetti foundation” of just strings, second-generation blockchains will provide a data model that functions like a regular database table, defining business data as companies have done for decades. , storage, and ease of use.
- Files in 2nd generation systems are first-class entities that are as easily embedded as any other data type, and are a cumbersome, expensive, or complex way to store semi-structured or unstructured data. No need for expensive third-party solutions.
- The solution is delivered as a low-code SaaS service. With no infrastructure to deploy, no downtime or staffing for upgrades, it comes with seamless behind-the-scenes scalability and fault tolerance right out of the box.
- Compliance programs like SOC2 and GDPR are built into the core of the platform, ready to handle mission-critical storage and PII/PHI data.
The future of business blockchain is brighter than the present
The failure of previous blockchain projects does not mean the technology is doomed forever. Appropriate use of distributed ledgers and blockchains is the most cost-effective way to perform data sharing between businesses, allowing businesses to eliminate stale, incomplete, or partially inaccurate data. Potentially save millions of dollars in data-driven reconciliation costs. Not only do you not have these issues, but you simply don’t have the manpower needed to deal with them on a daily basis, which can contribute significantly to your bottom line.
We are in the early stages of innovation for the next wave of Web3 technology. While these early failures are frustrating, we also provide the critical product feedback you need to correct your course and get the most out of the next generation of blockchain as a business and cloud infrastructure solution.
