What Does Oracle’s Blockchain Cloud Service Mean for the Future of Business?
In the last three years, inventors filed more than 2,300 patents involving the word ‘blockchain,’ with exponentially more expected as this technology goes mainstream. However, blockchain is still in its earliest stages of practical application. It’s expanding beyond Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies — where it first gained traction — into a more legitimate light as innovators find more ways to leverage its many benefits, such as:
- Transparency — Blockchain operates on a completely decentralized public ledger, meaning no single user has control over transactions. It’s open to all, with no way to obscure or manipulate data once recorded in the ledger.
- Unchangeable, accurate records — The peer verification system that’s fundamental for blockchain technology maintains all data integrity. Changing information invalidates all other distributed copies of the ledger, allowing users to immediately catch and trace manipulations.
- Security — Users encrypt all blockchain transactions to prevent forging or spoofing and require approval before they’re recorded. Moreover, a blockchain’s peer network distributes data in a way which makes it more difficult for hackers to target.
For financial institutions, health care companies, and even government agencies, this combination of benefits is paving the way for better handling of sensitive data — especially in a modern world plagued by data breaches.
Oracle paves the way for blockchain normalization
Blockchain still has a long way to go before it becomes a mainstay in enterprise technologies, but it’s getting closer thanks to innovations like Oracle’s Autonomous Blockchain Cloud Service. Oracle’s foray into blockchain is a major show of faith in the future of the technology and the culmination of smaller steps made to integrate blockchain technology into modern enterprise platforms.
Blockchain technology operates on a ledger system — Oracle’s blockchain uses Hyperledger. Run and maintained by Linux, Hyperledger is the result of a development between IBM and 30 founding corporate members.
Through the Hyperledger Fabric codebase, Oracle establishes blockchains granting enterprise users the security, transparency, and reliability necessary to manage data, which includes everything from property titles to financial transactions.
Oracle’s Autonomous Blockchain Cloud Service does more than deploy blockchain technology: It also incorporates features that establish it as the future for enterprise platforms. Some of the many benefits offered to organizations include:
- Public and permissioned blockchains
- Pre-assembled, managed platform
- Broad governance and reliability
- Programmable automation
- Scalable implementation
The most important driver for the impending success of Oracle’s blockchain model is the company’s willingness to educate customers. Through education programs, Oracle is normalizing blockchain technology, creating informed users who work with and embrace it.
Is it time to seriously consider blockchain?
With Oracle making a long-term play on blockchain, the question bodes for many enterprise software users: Is it time to start looking into blockchain seriously? The answer right now depends on the industry and the potential return on investment (ROI) gleaned from making the switch.
The earliest adopters of blockchain-powered enterprise systems should be finance and health care companies — who reap immediate benefits from blockchain innovations. Securing data, keeping better records, and thwarting data theft are all immediate solutions to eminent issues.
Other industries — such as manufacturing or commodities — can still reap the benefits of blockchain implementation, but the urgency isn’t as great. As time goes on and blockchain solutions are better purported, more and more industries will need to examine its benefits against the backdrop of their own business model.
One thing is certain: Blockchain is here to stay. As more major players join Oracle in rolling out new Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions, blockchain is sure to become central in the next wave of business innovations.
[cta]Thinking about adopting blockchain for your business? Arisant helps businesses navigate this new technology – including Oracle’s Autonomous Blockchain Cloud Service. To learn more, contact the Arisant experts at 303-330-4065 or by email at sales@arisant.com.[/cta]
