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With the rise of countless proof-of-concept applications and potential use cases, it is clear that technologies like Blockchain are in the league to steal the spotlight. Talk of the Blockchain and its widespread applications are one of the hottest topics in the present-world IT industry. That’s the reason why most entrepreneurs are racing to see how they can utilize this technology in the most profitable way. Increased security, faster transactions, and a much more efficient supply chain are a few major reasons why most businesses across the globe are investing heavily in this innovative technology, but what about those who aren’t ready to take the plunge? Since it is the most talked-about concept these days, possibilities are that it may be over-hyped. So, how to determine whether your business would benefit from implementing Blockchain or not?

In this blog post, we will define some handy insights to help you make a decision on whether Blockchain is the right fit for your business or not. So, without wasting any more time, let’s get straight to the point.

Existing Blockchain Use-Cases

The features Blockchain can offer to a business are limitless but getting a detailed view of its benefits and existing use cases would effectively help you determine whether it is made for your business or not. To understand its capabilities and how it can be applied to your business, have a look at its unique benefits:

• Supply chain management: One area where Blockchain development can be successfully utilized is in supply chain tracking. It can be used to track the movement of goods, quantity, their origin and so forth, which will bring a new level of transparency in a B2B ecosystem. Several examples of Blockchain adoption are already functioning within the manufacturing and food industry.
• Quicker validation: Since Blockchain is a shared digital ledger database, it could make the validation process much faster. In order to validate a certain claim, the data passes through and is validated by the participants such as doctors, customers, regulatory bodies, insurance companies, which consumes a lot of time. That’s why companies within the insurance sector are using Blockchain to streamline the validation process.
• Data sharing: Blockchain can create a secure path for sharing sensitive data among multiple parties. It can be used in cases where several institutions need a secure network to share sensitive customer data. Banking is a very good example where KYC (Know Your Customer) practices could benefit largely from such Blockchain implementation.
• Enhanced security: With Blockchain implementation, information can be stored across a network of computers instead of a single server, which makes it difficult for hackers to hack sensitive data. In any industry where protecting sensitive information is crucial, Blockchain can assure security to critical information by preventing fraud and unauthorized activity.

Evaluating Viability and Suitability for Blockchain Solutions  

The most common mistake many businesses commit concerning Blockchain is to use it for the functions where non-Blockchain applications could be more effective. Using this innovative technology for solving problems where existing technologies could perform better can prove very expensive and time-consuming. For example, if you only want to manage transactions, then it would be more effective & feasible to use a modern database program using a distributed ledger. But at the same time, if maintaining the authenticity & integrity of data or other files is vital, then a Blockchain-based solution could turn out to be best solution for your business. Apart from that, you need to ask yourself the following questions in order to determine its business suitability:      

• Is your business burdened by customer data?

The first thing you need to ask yourself before adopting Blockchain would be, “do you have proper resources to manage customer data?” Without data protection and the burden of compliance, overhead cost for small scale businesses could be reduced, but if your business stores huge chunk of data and is struggling to protect it, then Blockchain could be a key to conduct transactions.      

• What types of assets you want to transfer on your network? 

After identifying resources to manage your customer data, you need to ask yourself, “what will you be transferring on your network?” It could be information, pictures, data, tokens, contracts, products, etc. Also, you need to understand whether the factors like trust, immutability, provenance & security are important to you or not. If they are, then you could adopt Blockchain technology for your business. Identifying correctly the type of asset you want to transfer would definitely help you decide whether it would be beneficial or not.

• Is it necessary for the system to be distributed?

Blockchain is a distributed database in which everyone downloads and access the information available on the network. So, check whether a centralized system would meet your business demands or not? A distributed database is quite expensive as compared to a centralized database. So, don’t use it unless your business truly needs the benefits that distribution brings to your system.

• Who are your business participants?

Your business participants could be suppliers, customers, regulatory bodies, a governmental institution or any other party you interact with. So, before moving any further, you need to ask yourself the following questions: Do your participants need to both update and read data? Are they willing to migrate to a new network? What benefits would it provide to them?

Final Verdict

So, these were some existing use cases along with the questions that you need to ask yourself to determine the suitability of Blockchain for your business. In the present scenario, most companies are talking about embracing Blockchain in one form or another. Today, people are keen to invest in this technology early and strike while the iron is hot to reap its multitude of benefits. But before you move any further, it’s necessary to have proper understanding of what Blockchain is and how it works. Once you have that profound knowledge, you can make informed decisions about integrating Blockchain into your core business operations.

Long story short, Blockchain is a new technology that is super-hyped. Even though it has many incredibly useful functionalities, it just might not be the solution for everyone. So, take a moment and try to understand whether it would actually benefit you before you jump into any conclusions or not. Need help with Blockchain implementation? We can help you with that! For a FREE one-week trial of our result-oriented DLT solutions, get in touch with us today at info@debutinfotech.com.