"What is Blockchain?" A friend asked me yesterday when I told him about my new job and passion and the work that I have been doing for past year in the blockchain realm. Another friend quickly jumped into the conversation and says "It's bitcoin". "Wow, you are going to be rich soon", says another lady standing by us. I didn't have any response other than thinking about how little people are aware of blockchain, especially some of these friends have been in IT for over a decade. Then I told myself that it's not that people are just unaware of this technology but they are kind of misguided or have such a misunderstanding. I told another friend of mine - "I should write article on what is NOT blockchain , may be that's helpful?" everyone laughed but I kept thinking.
What is NOT Blockchain?"
1. Blockchain is NOT Bitcoin
Blockchain is the technology and Bitcoin was the first blockchain application.
2. Blockchain is NOT mature yet:
Some study says blockchain is 5 to 10 years from the plateau of productivity. With all the hype, it’s easier to think Blockchain for business is more mature than it is. A sense of reality must be maintained, especially when seeking out the use case for a blockchain first project.
3. Blockchain is NOT a product:
Blockchain is referred as a fabric (like middleware, or plumbing) that can be used to build an exciting array of business solutions. Blockchain’s utility comes from an appropriate set of applications built on top of it.
4. Blockchain is NOT needed when there is no business network:
The existence of a business network is the mandatory test for a blockchain use case. With no business network means blockchain is an overkill, and probably a distributed database would be a more appropriate (and more mature) solution.
5. Blockchain is NOT replacement of transaction processing system:
Blockchain can transform transactional processing across a business network for sure, but ONLY when one or more additional criteria are met – such as :
- Business Network, Asset & Transaction
- Multiple Parities to Verify & Validate Transaction
- To have audit trail of Who and When
- Trusted and Secured Transaction
- Single Record of Truth, shared and distributed across Network
If none of these criteria are important and if business are happy with the levels provided by their current solution, then a blockchain replacement is not needed.
6. Blockchain is NOT a distributed database replacement:
blockchain complements distributed database technology, with appropriate information partitioning between the two. A distributed database is likely a better solution where a business network is not involved.
7. Blockchain is NOT a secure messaging replacement:
There are many excellent secure messaging solutions which are invaluable in integrating together disparate business systems. Blockchain technology is complementary – indeed has much to learn far from secure messaging systems – and is certainly not a replacement for them!
8. Blockchain is NOT just about currency:
Whilst Blockchain is an excellent choice for a regulated digital currency, it can be used keep a trusted audit train of ownership of a vast range of asset types – both tangible (house, car, diamond, antique violin) and intangible (digital music, digitized video, financial instrument, document, digital goods) assets. This makes for a highly diverse choice of blockchain use cases.