How can blockchain help break down barriers in business?

Businesses across all sectors such as real estate, financials, healthcare, consumer goods, and industrials, handle reams of data daily as part of their everyday processes. As their databases grow and the need for information security becomes increasingly more imperative — businesses are looking for ways to not only handle their data more efficiently but also more securely.

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So where does blockchain come in?

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A hallmark of blockchain technology — understood as “…a distributed database or ledger that is shared among the nodes of a computer network” [1] — is how data is stored and held in a transparent and immutable manner.

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Blockchain not only ensures data integrity while affording protection from tampering or loss but also simultaneously provides rapid retrievability by multiple parties. Taking that into account, it’s not hard to surmise the benefits of such technology on how businesses handle data for their ongoing operations.

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In a nutshell? Blockchain adds value to existing businesses by providing previously unavailable solutions or efficiencies to an ever growing need for data solutions.

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First, let’s define ‘barrier’.

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In terms of business, a barrier is seen as an impediment to growth and profitability to survival. Each industry invariably has unique realities and obstacles, but let’s break it down to this list of ‘universal’ barriers[2]:

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1. LACK OF TRUST/KNOWLEDGE either in counter parties OR due to lack of proof of data integrity received by management (risk of false, incomplete, or unaudited data).
2. LACK OF SPEED to execute due to inefficient and bureaucratic processes subject to human error or due to duplications of systems and processes amongst different entities.
3. LACK OF RESOURCES, either human or financial, due to the high maintenance or upgrading costs.

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Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s take a look at some examples of where blockchain can improve the processes, services, or products of a business and eliminate these barriers.

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Real Estate

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In the real estate sector, one of the many uses of blockchain would be through the use of smart contract technology. Blockchain is tremendously efficient compared to archaic paper systems prevalent in many countries, some of which require notarization. Smart contracts deployed on the blockchain allows all data to be securely stored and accessible by all parties without the risk of being altered.

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This implementation would allow for secure and facile global transactions, further expanding niche or local markets globally. It also provides an unalterable historical record of all previous sales and purchases.

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We’re even seeing some companies begin developing platforms that use blockchain technology to facilitate real estate and rental property transactions[3]. By tokenizing property, transactions can be done online and assets can then be traded much like stocks on an exchange. Those tokens can then be exchanged for fiat, with buyers owning a percentage stake of the property.

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Healthcare

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When it comes to the healthcare system, the blockchain can be used to preserve and exchange patient data throughout the entire medical system. Not only can Blockchain store the data securely, improve the performance, and transparency of sharing medical data in the health care system, and even identity costly mistakes. In fact, with the help of the blockchain, medical institutions can gain deeper insights and help enhance their analysis of medical records.

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One example of the blockchain already being used in healthcare is the The Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus. Which was one of the first hospitals worldwide to implement a digital certificate concerning the vaccinations against Covid-19 via the E-HCert Application developed by the VeChainThor Blockchain [4].

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This digital certificate system stores patient records efficiently on the blockchain, avoiding the limitations of paper-based systems. The data was unalterable, accessible, and, more importantly, managed patient privacy in compliance with national statutes. Singapore and Malaysia deployed similar systems shortly after.

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Tracking of Consumer Goods

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For consumer goods, a great use case is how the blockchain can be used to certify authenticity of an item and even employing blockchain technology to track consumer goods and products (including luxury goods, food, or even medicine) from the manufacturer to the end consumer.

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In the luxury goods industry we’ve seen the assembly of the The Aura Blockchain Consortium[5]. It was created in April 2021 by luxury brands LVMH, Prada Group, Cartier, OTB Group, and Mercedes-Benz to develop applications of blockchain technology and raise the standards of luxury. It describes itself as “…the first blockchain solution made by luxury brands for luxury brands” [6]. Through blockchain, they provide proof of tracking to their high-end clientele.

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Concluding Remarks

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Blockchain has already been successfully implemented in a myriad of industries, and its utility and application will expand with greater adoption. It seems inevitable that cryptocurrencies will become a critical building block across all industries and how we conduct business. It’s only a matter of time before the the infrastructure of data as we know it is completely stored and transacted on the blockchain — for any business looking to interact digitally.
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Written by Chris Cachia, edited by @crptogrl2

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References:

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[1] Hayes, Adam. (2022). Blockchain Explained. [online] Investopedia. Available at: www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blockchain.asp. [Accessed 29 June 2022]

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[2] Andrade, Ana. (2016). Legacy Application Modernization — Barrier or Opportunity? [online] Morphis Insights. Available at: www.morphis-insights.com/legacy-systems-stand-in-the-way/. [Accessed 29 June 2022]

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[3] Liebkind, Joe. (2020). How Blockchain Technology is Changing Real Estate. [online] Investopedia. Available at: www.investopedia.com/news/how-blockchain-technology-changing-real-estate/. [Accessed 18August 2022]

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[4] Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus. (2021). Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus: Digital Certificate concerning the vaccinations against Covid-19 via E-HCert Application. [online] www.medihospital.com.cy. Available at: https://www.medihospital.com.cy/en/news/292 [Accessed 29 Jun. 2022].

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[5] auraluxuryblockchain.com. (n.d.). AURA — The Aura Blockchain Consortium. [online] Available at: https://auraluxuryblockchain.com/. [Accessed 29 Jun. 2022].

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‌[6] Ledgerinsights.com (2021). Prada and Cartier join the LVMH Aura blockchain consortium. [online] Ledger Insights — blockchain for enterprise. Available at: https://www.ledgerinsights.com/prada-and-cartier-join-the-lvmh-aura-blockchain-consortium/. [Accessed 29 Jun. 2022].

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/vvvexchange

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