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2017 ROUND-UP Blockchain gets down to business
The industry’s biggest buzzword continues its inexorable march to real- life, workable solutions. 2017 was the year we got to peek beneath the hood of innovation, but will it lead us anywhere?
Senior reporter Alexander Hamilton
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as 2017 the high-water mark of blockchain technology? Did we see the wave, which looked like an unstoppable torrent just a year earlier, crash and
break against the walls of disillusionment? According to the oft- referenced Gartner Hype Cycle, blockchain is now in the “trough of despair”. Usually this means that a lot is being done behind the scenes, that we’re only one major announcement away from things kicking off again.
So, who’s working on blockchain right now and why are they being so secretive about it? At Sibos 2017 many people who spoke to IBS Journal remarked they were happy that they didn’t have to talk about it so much – the relevant experts and technologists are getting down to business. So, no blockchain for core banking, Islamic finance or insurance broking just yet – but the future for global trade, documentation and security is looking bright.
For us 2017 was definitely a year of growth
says Marta Piekarska, director of ecosystem at Hyperledger. “Between January and December, we added 60 new members and 3 new frameworks – Hyperledger Indy, Burrow and recently Quilt. Blockchain is no longer an interesting toy. It is a technology that is being implemented as part of solutions in enterprises.”
2017 was a year for finance and identity, she adds. “It is no secret blockchain is perfectly suited for these fields. However, healthcare, supply chain and insurance are close behind. Very important problems can be solved with the use of blockchain: think sharing patient records across borders, sustainable food tracking, verifiable insurance claims, savings on life insurance payouts, responsibility tracking within projects. Blockchain can replace parts of existing systems and increase efficiency and transparency.”
Another big area for distributed ledger technology to break into is the authorship of data. “Already earlier this year we heard an announcement from DotBC (Dot Blockchain Music) building on top of Hyperledger Sawtooth to track music record ownership.
Similar efforts are being explored in literature, art, but also provenance and reproducibility of research.”
When it comes to recalcitrance in the sector, Piekarska says it’s a good thing that member companies are being careful, and not rushing headlong into the development of new software and services. “It’s important to note that it has been only been three years since we started thinking of blockchain for enterprises. It is still very early on, if you compare it to AI, which was born in 1956 or Machine Learning, a term coined in 1959!”
Some of the biggest news for the technology was the involvement of multiple governments in the proliferation of blockchain research. “There have been decisions by the government of Dubai, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the State of Illinois to build their solutions using blockchain where important for communities,” says Piekarska. “There is no bigger sign of support than when actual governments decide to back up your technology.”
As for Hyperledger, internally the firm was excited to see its Fabric system graduate to version 1.0 in July. “Adding new frameworks showed how much our community has grown. This lead us to launching the Massive Online Open Source Course on Blockchain and Hyperledger, which turned out to be a huge success with more than 20,000 participants.”
As we all look to 2018, what can we expect from blockchain? Will it be the year that it final gets down to business?
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www.ibsintelligence.com | © IBS Intelligence 2017
2018 will be an exciting year, no doubt
comments Piekarska. “There is outside pressure to go into deployment, and a common understanding from technologists that it is still too early to rush.” This traction might create unnecessary announcements that never really deliver, which could harm the reputation of the technology. Still, things will be pushing in the right direction. As for Hyperledger, the firm plans to go “where our members and our community leads us”.
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