Having been highlighted as one of the most promising technologies of recent times, blockchain technology is an exciting development which came to the fore during the cryptocurrency boom in 2017. With many potential uses having already been found for this innovation, it has the potential to revolutionise businesses and their processes, and could well be commonplace in the businesses of the future. Here are some of the uses for blockchain in today’s businesses.
Intermediaries
Blockchain allows information to be transferred seamlessly and efficiently through any given network, allowing for transparency in every transaction. Typically, businesses make transactions through an intermediary (such as a bank or similar), which will charge a fee for using their service.
This can be costly, but until now has been viewed by the business world as a necessity. Now, however, blockchain has offered the chance for businesses to completely cut out these intermediaries, with new technology being developed designed specifically to do just that. This will allow businesses and customers to transact directly, and businesses will also be able to pass the resulting savings on to customers.
Security
Blockchain also offers an unparalleled level of security when it comes to the transfer of data, given that it is a distributed ledger system. Every transaction which is made through blockchain is timestamped and the data cannot be changed without consent from everyone on the network.
This could easily be applied to areas such as payroll management and anything else to do with managing money, as it means that virtually no mistakes could be made when it comes to payments.
Supply Chains
Another innovative and incredibly important use for blockchain is in the area of supply chain management. Blockchain technology can easily remove inefficiencies throughout an entire supply chain by providing everyone in the supply chain (from manufacturers to retailers) with an unchangeable, accurate history of each part/stage of a product’s movements.
Currently, supply chains tend to be filled to the brim with paperwork and inefficient processes, so blockchain could cut all this out and, ultimately, save businesses significant amounts of time and money in the process.
Ultimately, blockchain is one of the technologies of the future, and its full potential is yet to be realised. With the blockchain industry already growing at an incredibly rapid pace, there is scope for blockchain technology to completely take over many aspects of today’s business operations, so it is well worth keeping an eye on.
