A blockchain specialist’s in-depth explanation of blockchain technology and why enterprises should care about it.
Guest article by Dominic Steil, co-founder and CTO of Dapps.ai
Blockchain Technology has emerged as the greatest technological revolution since the internet. It’s arrival via the digital currency Bitcoin has sparked a new era of computing that is fundamentally changing the way that systems are built on the web. Blockchain technology is a system that provides an immutable, replicated transaction ledger across a network of peers. For the first time, this technology enables the true transfer of unique data over the internet; not just copying data, but leveraging public private key cryptography truly transferring ownership of digital assets. It is information creation in its purest form.
Blockchain technology is a system that enables distributed consensus protocols; verifiable, tamperproof, immutable state machines that can be used to create decentralized application networks. The first decentralized application network was created for a global digital cash and transactional store of value layer, Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin protocol facilitates the transfer of digital cryptocurrency payments by using a (Unspent Transaction Output) UTXO model that is globally accessible and driven by proof of work and the largest deployment of public/private cryptography in human history. It is open source, censorship resistant, and is checked and balanced by a cryptoeconomic incentivized system that is operated by users, developers and miners.
Other decentralized application networks have been created to facilities use cases other than digital value and payments. One of these protocols is the Ethereum Blockchain. Ethereum is a world computer, a generalized computational singleton that enables applications to be built and deployed to update the state of this one global virtual machine. Rent is extracted to update and run your application on this machine in the form or Ether, a gas to the platform that fuels computational resource extensive operations. Ethereum has enabled developers and users to create tokens on this global machine and these tokens can be offered in crowd sales known as in an initial coin offering. Private implementations of the Ethereum Blockchain can be used and there are many forked or modified version of the protocol as well with various tradeoffs of decentralization, security and scalability. Distributed Ledgers that have similar consensus properties to the Bitcoin and Ethereum Blockchain ledgers have been created with more of a focus on commercial and enterprise infrastructure level applications. One of these protocols is the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain protocol. Hyperledger is a permissioned blockchain ledger focused on validating and ordering business transactions between multiple peers in a blockchain based business network. These are just a few of the Blockchain technology protocols that are going to continue to revolutionize the way that digital assets, identity systems and transactions are created and verified on the internet.
Why should the enterprise care about a technology that enables a digital transfer of ownership on the web? How can companies leverage their existing networks and turn them into markets using this technology? What if the enterprise adopts blockchain technology for all types of general ledgers; operating against information that is logically centralized but organizationally decentralized amongst partners and customers. We are able to leverage this technology to remove data siloes within organizations. This is bringing about a new business model where the enterprise has trusted data that can be shared and operated on. There is a shift that is happening that is being driven purely be decentralized blockchain networks. This type of shift is rooted in who owns the data, where the data lives, and how can the data be changed. For the first time there is verifiable transparency that is driven by these distributed ledgers. The applications of the technology in verticals where there is opacity cannot be understated. By providing a holistic view on trusted data, companies will provide a better customer experience ultimately leading to top line growth.
About Dapps
Dapps Inc. is the premier Enterprise Blockchain Company for Salesforce Customers to swiftly build next-generation operating models. The San Francisco-based ISV Partner, delivers enterprise-grade blockchain enabled solutions, tools and infrastructure that integrate Salesforce with blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, advanced data and analytics. Companies — from SMBs to Enterprises —leverage any one or all of the managed-packages, Blockchain-as-a-Service (Baas) licensed products, or patent-pending middleware between Force.com and the blockchain to accelerate Dapp development on the Force platform. The DappServices™ team is leading and defining design thinking for global companies interested in developing and deploying their own proprietary next-generation operating lens into the end-to-end customer journey. DappSuite™ and DappSolutions™are available on the AppExchange and consulting services, DappServices™ are available by directly contacting your nearest Dapps office. Dapps Inc. was founded in 2017 by industry leaders in Blockchain technology, CRM and international business with additional offices in New York, Barcelona and India.
DappSolutions™ powered by Hyperledger Fabric allows users to rapidly design and develop solutions between Salesforce platform and the blockchain.
DappSuite™ is the SDK (software development kit) that allows companies to build and manage proprietary blockchain applications on Ethereum. The product is available on the AppExchange.DappScape™ (Coming Soon) is a proprietary search-engine for permissioned blockchain networks.