Blockchain Platforms

Looking for a tamper-proof software solution to help your company secure and track transaction records?

With a blockchain platform, businesses are able to securely record their transactional data in a digital ledger that can be duplicated and distributed across an entire network of computer systems. This enables businesses to efficiently conduct transactional audits and maintain transparency with stakeholders.

This guide will help you understand blockchain platforms and their common features so you can make an informed decision when investing in a platform for your company.

Here’s what we'll cover:

• What is blockchain platforms software?
• Common features of blockchain platforms software
• What type of buyer are you?
• Benefits of blockchain platforms software
• Market trends

What is blockchain platforms software?

Blockchain platforms, otherwise known as distributed ledger technology (DLT), allow users to develop blockchain-based applications. Blockchain is a ledger that facilitates the recording of transactions and the tracking of assets within a business. Blockchain software typically assists businesses with the verification and tracing of multi-step transactions, which proves useful when conducting financial audits. Blockchain software is an ideal platform for delivering sensitive information due to its use of encryption and cryptography, which works to ensure confidential data remains secure.

Common features of blockchain platforms software

While features vary from product to product, blockchain platforms typically offer some or all of the following functionality:

What type of buyer are you?

The trackable nature and security benefits of blockchain technology prove useful to a variety of industries. Here are a couple of buyers that may benefit from blockchain software:

• Government institutions: Government institutions often deal with sensitive information that must be stored in a way that ensures all information is kept accurate and unaltered. These buyers are concerned with maintaining a transparent audit trail for regulatory compliance and identity management purposes. They should choose a blockchain software solution that has the ability to store hash values (often referred to as file fingerprints) to efficiently locate electronic identification documents at any time.
• Retail companies: Maintaining customer confidence in available goods is key to maintaining a top spot in the retail marketplace. If customers do not feel confident that the products they purchase have been properly vetted and transparently marketed, they are not likely to return to the same retailer. These buyers should choose a blockchain platform that helps verify the authenticity of their companyʻs goods for sale, so that they can assure their customers that the products they purchase are as advertised.

Benefits and potential issues of blockchain platforms software

Here are some other benefits of using blockchain platforms for your business:

• Increases transparency: Itʻs crucial for businesses to establish a trustworthy relationship between themselves and their customers. With blockchain platforms, customers and partnered businesses no longer have to question the recordkeeping of the companies they interact with. Blockchains operate on a shared, unchangeable ledger, eliminating the need to question whether the data has been altered, which ultimately increases company transaction transparency.
• Enhances auditing speed: Industries that deal heavily with production concerns (typically environmental or human rights concerns) need to be able to quickly and effectively audit transactional records to comply with government regulations. With blockchain software, companies can streamline their auditing process by directly accessing data and sharing it securely with the appropriate entities.
• Streamlines operations: Transaction processing takes up a large portion of most businesses’ daily activities. Blockchain programs have the ability to automate transactions by implementing smart contracts that prespecify conditions and trigger transactions once the conditions are met. Smart contracts automate the transaction process and eliminate the need for human intervention, streamlining all daily transactional operations.
• Enhances security: Customers and businesses alike understand the importance of keeping data secure. Blockchain platforms allow users to create records that are not only encrypted, but canʻt be altered from their original state. By using blockchain technology, businesses can prevent fraudulent and/or malicious activity from occurring, enhancing their companyʻs network security.

Although there are many benefits to implementing blockchain software into your companyʻs content creation workflow, there are a few potential drawbacks:

• Lack of universal standards: Since blockchain technology has a multitude of applications in a variety of industries, the implementation of blockchain software can be quite unique every time. This makes collaborative efforts between two companyʻs blockchains nearly impossible without the development of additional programs to aid the flow of information between the two blockchains.
• High environmental costs: In a blockchain platform, complex algorithms must be run to prove that a user has the appropriate permissions to write the chain (this is how blockchain software encrypts its data). These complex algorithms often require massive amounts of computing power, which can prove harmful to the environment.
• Lack of adequate skill set among operating personnel: Blockchain software is relatively new, meaning that there are a limited number of professionals that possess the appropriate skill sets to adequately support blockchain technology. Professionals that do have these skill sets often require large salaries, meaning that if you intend to successfully implement blockchain technology within your business, prepare to cover these expenses.

Market trends to understand

As you evaluate blockchain platform packages, consider this important emerging market trend:

Rise of sustainability efforts: Industry professionals and government entities are beginning to explore the idea of using cryptocurrency as a means of mainstream payment. With this interest in cryptocurrency comes a push to make the blockchain spaces that these cryptocurrencies operate in more sustainable. For instance, most Bitcoin-based blockchain networks run on Proof-of-Work systems where crypto miners solve cryptographic puzzles to earn cryptocurrency rewards. This process consumes a large amount of energy, producing an annual carbon footprint of 114.06 metric tons of carbon dioxide. In a recent attempt to reduce the annual carbon footprint of the Bitcoin blockchain network, more than 250 businesses and organizations have expressed their support for the Crypto Climate Accord (CCA)—an agreement to work toward the decarbonization of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Be sure to keep track of trends in sustainability efforts within blockchain spaces, as it is becoming increasingly evident that if cryptocurrencies become mainstream, government entities will likely implement sustainability requirements for businesses that use and/or distribute blockchain technology.

Note: The application selected in this article is an example to show a feature in context and is not intended as an endorsement or recommendation. It has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.