The Velocity of Change: Enter Blockchain

Moving beyond the principals of Moore's Law and beyond the hype-de-jour is the practical application and integration of technology into your organization, no matter the size or mission. During my 20+ years in IT, I have lived the client-server debate, rise of virtualization, cloud, mobility, and now blockchain. I am a self-diagnosed Tech Junkie; however, I know how and when technology can create real business value.

About 18 months ago, I dove head first into the blockchain world. I have attended multiple events world-wide and have seen some of the craziest ideas. Through the fog, real blockchain solutions have evolved. Practical applications have emerged such as supply chain integration, payment systems, and election systems. I was the Chief Operating Officer of a blockchain enabled election company. We persevered as technology grew around us eventually, enabling our solutions to work on private and public blockchains.

Blockchain is immature and far from perfect. Technical issues such as scalability and operating speed will be solved while the complexity and interoperability will likely be a problem for some time. Keep your eye on hybrid solutions that offer flexibility with practical applications.

Of course, the confusion around blockchain and cryptocurrency continues to muddy the waters. The lines between discreetly different concepts are blurred by the rise and fall of coins and tokens. The near criminal get-rich--quick schemes tainted the birth and growth of blockchain. Yes, tokens are required to fund blockchain transactions; however, there are distinct differences between security and utility tokens (and the myriad of other token types).

Keep the faith, blockchain is evolving faster than other technologies, it will grow out its toddler status quickly. My advice….see how it integrates into your organization. Step 1, study, learn, and join support groups. Blockchain is a valuable tool that should be considered by most organizations. Step 2, identify processes and workflows in your organization that will benefit from blockchain and deploy an internal solution. Consider testing it on a non-critical workflow then evolve with it as the blockchain matures. Step 3, deploy to production once value is established and the solution is fully vetted.