In my last post, I explained what Blockchain is and explored some of the challenges that Blockchain architecture aims to resolve. With that knowledge, companies can start exploring the use of Blockchain in their respective industry verticals.
The table below presents example use cases for industry verticals that are actively researching Blockchain. The current research is being led by well-established enterprises as well as promising startups in the financial, healthcare, insurance and other technology areas.
| Vertical | Use Cases |
|---|---|
|
Financial Services |
Escrow/custodian services |
|
Insurance |
Regulatory reporting |
|
Supply Chain & Logistics |
Order fulfillment and tracking |
|
P2P Markets |
Ride sharing |
|
Retail |
Luxury goods authentication |
|
Media & Entertainment |
Proof of authorship |
|
Travel & Hospitality |
Airline miles |
|
Healthcare |
Decentralized patient record management |
|
Public Sector |
Voting |
|
Enterprise IT |
Digital asset storage and management |
|
Utilities |
Energy distribution |
Clearly, there are many use cases for Blockchain across industries, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the technology is mature enough to be deployed and used right now. With the exception of cryptocurrencies, each of these use cases is still in proof-of-concept mode.
In the end, it may not be the current Blockchain architectures, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Hyperledger projects—that turn out to be the most feasible, viable and desirable solution for all the use cases. Each industry or use case may evolve its own version of distributed ledgers and smart contract management solutions. There would be, easily, a three- to five-year maturity cycle after the proof-of-concept mode has ended.
The industry vertical that proves the scalability and resolves the concerns related to regulatory directions, security and privacy may be the first to come out as a winner, but the underlying technology of distributed ledgers and smart contracts could still be beneficial when implementing new business models and designing modern technical architectural solutions for other industries. The financial services industry leads the maturity curve at present, but insurance and supply chain are closing the gap fast.
In upcoming posts, I will discuss how to choose a Blockchain solution for specific use cases given the plethora of constraints on many industries and the pros and cons of each architectural solution.
Until then, I’d like to hear your perspective on Blockchain and suggestions for other use cases that fit the Blockchain model.
Post Date: 2016-09-21