Blockchain technology has been around for more than a decade now, but many still do not understand its value and significance. For instance, a business owner will acknowledge the importance of blockchain technology if it can neutralize a crucial issue within the operational architecture.
So, the next time you are going to be a champion of blockchain, focus on propagating how it can solve the problems and shortcomings of the legacy systems across different sectors. DLT has immense potential to modernize the existing infrastructures and offering people a higher quality of life.
Blockchain integration can make payments and transactions quicker and cost-effective. It brings the values of transparency and traceability into supply chains. The enhanced security protocols ensure that all your data remains protected, and within your control. It is a highly scalable technology that makes integration with the traditional systems quite easy.
The Emergence of Blockchain
Blockchain technology debuted along with Bitcoin, the first-ever cryptocurrency. It was the underlying tech that started the crypto revolution. Since then the technology has been implemented in multiple sectors, especially in finance and supply chain management. The results that it has shown is astounding.
As a use case, when introduced to the pharmaceutical supply chain, it was able to address multiple pain areas. There are too many steps and third-party intermediaries involved in the existing supply chains within the pharmacy industry. It is both time-consuming and costly. When integrated with DLT, it remarkably reduced the cost in different stages such as sourcing the raw materials, manufacture, and distribution of drugs.
It also made the entire process highly transparent and traceable, addressing major issues like drug counterfeiting. Uganda initiated a blockchain project for provenance and auditing of the manufactured drugs, to prevent counterfeiting, and it showed promising results.
This is one of the numerous blockchain use cases that have been initiated over the years, but the approach remains fragmented, which is the main hurdle in the road to mass adoption.
If we talk about blockchain as a problem solver, then the technology has already proven its potential. Every sector has its supply chain, be it goods, monetary or information. The biggest issue in supply chain management is the lack of provenance and no other technology addresses it better than blockchain. It is excellent with provenance and can digitally record everything while maintaining transparency.
Blockchain Application Across Industries
The best part about Blockchain technology is that it fits snuggly into any sector when applied. Here are a few applications:
- The United Nations World Food Program uses blockchain to track the course of aid from the source to the destination. What started as an experiment, is now expanding rapidly across its offices around the world. It has been a great success, which allows the organization to help the people they serve with the best resources.
- Georgia in Europe has its blockchain-based real estate registry system that helps the people to have a seamless set of processes around real estate transactions. DLT empowers the system and the community with its value of integrity and transparency.
- The World Health Organization has launched a blockchain platform in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. It is an open-source platform that allows the network participants to exchange information related to the disease and authenticate it.
Read Also: Blockchain During COVID-19 Crisis to Streamline Critical Medical Supply Chain
There are numerous other applications of blockchain across geographies and sectors, that have paved the way for a new digital future, one that is secured and transparent.
The roadblock here is the implementation of the technology into the traditional systems and making it acceptable to the masses. To that aim, education should be the primary goal of experts and industries. People need to be educated about blockchain and all the positive changes that it can bring into our day to day life.
Once businesses start to acknowledge and understand the merits of Blockchain, implementation becomes frictionless. It doesn’t take long for the market to respond positively.
Let’s take the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as an example here. Since the disease started to spread, there has been a record surge in blockchain deployments in every sector especially, medical supply, insurance claims, information sharing, drug discovery, and even news provenance. Even crypto got its fair share of exposure with international charitable organizations accepting it as donations.
When the crisis hit, the blockchain industry rose to the occasion and proved its merit and relevance in tackling critical situations. All these are positive signs that we are gradually moving towards a blockchain-backed digital and smart future.
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