The depth of advancements in technology has heralded an industrial revolution today. By far, it is one of the most extraordinary epochs in the history of humanity. The present technology disruption rate has pushed organizations and businesses to the edge of the razor, henceforth providing them with enough time to nurture the technological skills and develop on-premises platforms and technology. Here comes the Blockchain-as-a-Service model.
Though the blockchain-as-a-service model is not a panacea concerning all the business challenges, it is one of those models that have succeeded in making transformation less risky and simpler for small and medium-sized enterprises whose primary competencies lie in fields apart from information technology.
Also Read: Blockchain – Bilateral or Multilateral?
The arrival of blockchain at this juncture is not a surprise, however, enterprises still happen to be grappling with doubts regarding how to harness it to the most. Hence, many small and medium-sized enterprises have buckled up to provide Blockchain-as-a-Service to assist in easing the journey of blockchain adoption. Find more on this article!
What is BaaS (Blockchain-as-a-Service)?
Blockchain-as-a-Service, also referred to as BaaS, refers to a managed blockchain platform facilitating buyers to develop digital Services and blockchain applications on distributed networks. Here, the vendor supplies blockchain-building tools as well as infrastructure.
With blockchain app development continuing to expand its use cases beyond cryptocurrencies, Blockchain-as-a-Service turns out to be more demanding. It is quite similar to software as a service as it allows businesses to get apps operating with the lowest possible. This facilitates quicker blockchain adoption along with higher agility.
Blockchain apps are turning out to be desirable, however, they also can be challenging for smaller enterprises with limited technical resources. Here, Blockchain-as-a-Service can provide export assistance apart from their hosting services.
Working Procedure of Blockchain-as-a-Service Model
Here’s how the Blockchain-as-a-Service model work:
- When a customer signs concerning a Blockchain-as-a-Service contract, they enter an agreement where the Blockchain-as-a-Service partner sets all the required blockchain infrastructure and technology for the client concerning a service charge stated in the agreement.
- The provider or partner deploys the required resources, thereby elaborating the infrastructure and technology for setting up and maintaining blockchain-connected nodes for the customer.
- According to the business requirements of the customer, the Blockchain-as-a-Service partner might configure the network on any distributed ledgers.
- Soon after, the partner acknowledges the responsibility of managing the essential blockchain-related artifacts and maintaining infrastructure running. Blockchain-as-a-service agreements also incorporate support activities like optimization of resources, bandwidth management, incident management, active security surveillance as well as system health monitoring.
By utilizing a Blockchain-as-a-Service model, clients can concentrate on their competitive strategies and core businesses, hence counting on their partner for managing the infrastructure along with its performance. It helps them empower when it comes to executing DLT workloads in frameworks that require an impeccable degree of tolerance of fault.
Features of Blockchain-as-a-Service
Blockchain-as-a-Service comes with a host of features like:
- Simple workflow setup
- Platform architecture management
- Pre-configured and modular infrastructure and networks
- Professional consultation
- Auditable transaction records
- Dashboard to analyze and view chain code
- Middleware for development and monitoring for application building
Why Should SMEs Adopt The Blockchain-as-a-Service Model?
Enterprises across numerous industries increasingly happen to be exploring the strategic benefits of adopting the technology of blockchain. But, the underlying technological challenges, a lack of operational overhead costs, and domain expertise involved in operating and developing the blockchain along with management infrastructure usually force essential decision-makers to slow down their adoption plans.
Blockchain demands a sizeable investment in setting up the infrastructure and managing it. It happens to be pretty much resource intensive when compared to regular databases. Apart from that, it additional consumes a large amount of power and demands a huge bandwidth. Currently, the Blockchain-as-a-Service model is being considered as a potentially suitable solution to such issues.
Picking the right provider of Blockchain-as-a-Service can provide businesses with access to skilled governance and process experts, blockchain developers, and advanced cloud infrastructure for deployment and development, without requiring to bother about overhead and start-up costs.
How Valuable is Blockchain-as-a-Service For SMEs?
BaaS happens to be ideal for enterprises that outsource the technical aspects and do not happen to be involved in knowledge in the working mechanism of blockchain. It facilitates these companies and additional organizations to readily get a grip with technology without requiring to develop their own blockchain.
BaaS allows these enterprises to concentrate on their core working procedures and do not waste time in setting up facilities for infrastructure. Blockchain-as-a-Service formerly happens to be developing across a variety of numerous industries for problems like identity management, supply chain management as well as payment. As an emerging solution to the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, Blockchain-as-a-Service can help SMEs gain broad access to trade financing resources, hands cutting out intermediaries from the entire procedure.
Challenges With BaaS
Blockchain as a service provides particular advantages to SMEs. But, there are specific shortcomings as well which an enterprise might encounter when choosing a service model. Here are some of them that Blockchain-as-a-Service organizations need to concentrate on:
- Scaling problems.
- Managing operations and fixing issues might get delayed.
- Installation procedure might require a lot of time as it is entirely dependent on the provider of technology.
Comparison Between BaaS and Other Options
When making a decision between different kinds of Blockchain-as-a-Service options, the main consideration should always be your call. Various platforms highlight financial investment in the technology space and concentrate on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. If you intend to support cryptos or sell non-fungible tokens, the finance concentrated services happen to be an ideal choice. On the other hand, if you happen to develop a different type of blockchain app, you can consider different options.
Also Read: Federated Or Hybrid Blockchain? Which One to Choose?
Wrapping Up
Despite its challenges, Blockchain-as-a-Service might turn out to be a catalyst leading to broad adoption of technology of blockchain, particularly by small and medium-sized enterprises. It could be instrumental when it comes to bridging the gap in trade financing globally.
Similar advantages can also be reaped by SMEs when it comes to supplies and procedures like traceability, transparency, and immutability. These possible benefits of blockchain technology for small and medium-sized enterprises may offer a notable boost to the market growth of Blockchain-as-a-Service in the upcoming years.
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