As the technological foundation for cryptocurrency, blockchain has been front and center during the volatile ups and downs of the digital currency age. Yet blockchain has yet to play a prominent role in most enterprises, with only a few established pilot applications and tepid enthusiasm from business. Blockchain adoption hinges on finding the right use cases, creating a strategy and focus, and galvanizing people, Northeastern University professor Ravi Sarathy said during a recent MIT Sloan Management Review webinar about the business case for blockchain. With the right tactics, companies can overcome the organizational, economic, and interoperability challenges of incorporating blockchain into operations, said Sarathy, the author of a new book about blockchain and business. Enterprises need to make a serious effort to advance the technology, he said, though building an effective cost-benefit case for blockchain requires consideration beyond the usual return on investment. There are still only a handful of enterprise blockchain initiatives, and Sarathy pointed to a few he believes are harbingers of what’s to come. One was IBM and container company Maersk’s TradeLens partnership, a blockchain-based supply chain monitoring application used to track shipments and help global trading partners share information and collaborate securely.
Read more : 7 ways to advance blockchain in the enterprise.
