Over time, there has been a lot of speculation about the potential of blockchain technology and how it is going to change the world forever. Several books and articles have been written to this effect. Conferences, educational centers, and research topics have been dedicated to examining the blockchain industry. Blockchain, no doubt, can revolutionize enterprises because it helps create an environment for secure transactions thus increasing the efficiency and transparency of the data sharing process to establish provenance.
While a host of experts believe in blockchain technology. There are some who don’t think blockchain technology added much value to businesses in 2018. These set of people do not believe 2019 is going to be any different. For example, United Parcel Service Inc, has started carrying out experiments on blockchain technology but where unable to find any significant benefits.
CIOs are now encouraging everyone to stop the digital transformation. The information and chief engineering officer at UPS, Juan Perez, said that his company is trying to figure out the right business applications of blockchain technology. In September, a project to track and manage logistics using blockchain technology was carried out.
The study by UPS Capital uncovered that there will be little significant benefits attached to implementing blockchain technology in 2019. Part of the report from Mr. Perez was as follows:
“I do not think there will be any significant benefit of implementing blockchain technology in the year 2019. This is because the technology is still evolving and maturing. A lot of parties need to come together to evaluate it.”
The chief digital officer and executive vice president of technology at United Airlines Inc had similar thoughts about the technology. In her words:
The chief digital officer and executive vice president of technology at United Airlines Inc had similar thoughts about the technology. In her words:
“We have a team examining blockchain technology but we are still looking for killer use cases.”
Ms. Jojo is one of many executives who saw through projects throughout the year in a bid to find the best use cases of blockchain technology. Some companies like IBM Corp., Walmart Inc, and Nestlé SA, are some of many that have been trying to revolutionize the global food tracking network using blockchain technology. Merck Inc. is exploring the use of blockchain technology in drug data shipping while the Bank of America Corp is looking into patented blockchain inventions.
Another technology research firm called Gartner Inc. recommends that businesses should start exploring how to use blockchain in their enterprises. Blockchain based businesses have been predicted to grow in value by more than $360 billion by the year 2026. By 2030 the value of business in blockchain will increase by $3.1 according to Gartner.
Even if some executives believe that blockchain technology is useful in many aspects of business, many tech executives claim that the technology was overly hyped this year. Lance Braunstein, the chief information officer at E*Trade Financial Corp said that blockchain got more attention than necessary this year. In his words:
“Blockchain technology generally got more attention than I believe was warranted.”
