- After several years of taking a conservative approach
to blockchain technology use in the enterprise,
business executives are turning a corner.
Despite a number of valid reservations
that I discussed in detail previously,
leaders to varying degrees
are ready to invest in blockchain experiments,
prototypes, pilots, and even develop
and deploy production solutions.
They recognize that the technology
may be required due to demands from the marketplace.
For example, if you're a bank,
you've got to decide
whether you're going to support cryptocurrencies or not.
Leaders also see a lot of value
in the unique qualities of blockchain technology
to enhance their internal processes
and to deliver better services to their customers.
Now that organizations are moving forward,
they've still got some hurdles to overcome.
One glaring challenge is ensuring
the right skills are available.
Of course, many businesses will engage
a third-party business to assist,
but there is a lot of value
in having full-time staff
to lead and maintain efforts.
The availability of qualified talent
is in short supply.
It's a great market for people
with expert skills in blockchain technology,
but it's a challenge for internal recruiters
who are tasked with sourcing the best talent.
Organizations may find it beneficial
to train existing staff
by investing in their skills development.
This can be an excellent route to take,
as it demonstrates an organization's willingness
to invest in their own people.
There are a growing number of avenues
to acquire skills
as the training marketplace for blockchain heats up.
My related courses and other instructor offerings
on LinkedIn Learning are excellent resources, too.
Organizations will need to recognize
that the advantages of blockchain
may result in making some of their services
and market value obsolete.
While this is a feature of a lot of innovation
and should drive a business
to anticipate market and technological-driven change
and evolve accordingly,
it can, in the short term,
be a source of significant anxiety.
For example, if an organization demonstrates value
through forms of intermediary services,
blockchain solutions can make those intermediaries obsolete.
Peer-to-peer and smart contract-driven processes
means skipping human-based facilitation services.
Some new technology focus mortgage offerings
already demonstrate that many human services
are no longer required in their value chain.
When blockchain solutions are being adopted,
plugging the technology into an existing environment
still has a high level of complexity
and risk associated with it.
For example, a decentralized proof-of-work system
may need to coexist and interact
with one or more centralized multi-tier systems,
both inside and outside an organization.
It may also need to work with other blockchain systems
that aren't yet standardized for interoperability.
It's not impossible, of course,
but it's certainly not easy,
and there are risks in relying on
these heterogeneous environments
to provide the kind of reliability
we've come to expect in centralized tech.
Arguably we have no choice.
Contemporary information technology architecture
is almost heterogeneous by definition.
An enterprise taking the positive leap
into blockchain territory will do so
knowing that there are still insufficient regulations,
many trust and privacy challenges,
and a lot of risk in both the maturity of the technology
and the cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
These are not showstoppers,
but they will shape how an enterprise
might think about the blockchain solutions it pursues.
Perhaps the greatest risk is doing nothing.
For an enterprise, this is always a choice.
Faced with an array of legitimate concerns
in a technology still emerging,
it could be tempting to kick the can down the road.
The spirit and intent to pursue blockchain may exist,
but the commitment to invest
and take some balanced risks may not.
Some industries will be able to delay their efforts,
or perhaps continue to just remain
in the experimental phase of blockchain exploration
for some time.
But others, such as those in the financial sector,
supply chain, government, healthcare,
the internet of think space,
and many more will find that delaying their efforts
or only proceeding tentatively
may backfire badly.
Today, in the opening decades of the 21st century,
taking risks, embracing uncertainty,
and making bets on where the market is going
is just the nature of business.
Those that are agile,
that make informed choices,
and get a bit of luck along the way
may well reap the biggest rewards.