Samuel OskysVarious blockchain experts have encouraged experimentation on this technology, “trying to move from proof-of-concept to production, but Blockchain is maturing now” and in 2020 we are to expect something new.
George Spasov adds:
While in 2018 the proof-of-concepts were failing due to lack of product-market-fit, this year struggles with adoption are due to much more fixable reasons: technological immaturity… Now though, the technology promises to add significant value.
Having mentioned the above, technological hurdles regarding its value will be overcome and blockchain will play a larger role in the coming new year.
Take a look at some of the trends you should be aware of in 2020:
Blockchain passed the ‘Tourism’ phase
Blockchain has been tested by thousands of companies around the world, but between 2018 and 2019, not many of them actually pursued blockchain projects. This is changing now that 2019 is almost up.
The Blockchain tourism phase has passed and most companies have understood how the technology works and what its intent is.
According to Delloite representative Chris Broderson:
From an enterprise perspective… companies are beyond feeling the need to understand the underlying technology details.
Barriers to blockchain adoption, like security threats and regulatory issues will decrease, since the recognition that Blockchain technology is real and that it can solve problems to businesses across industries.
Blockchain transition from POC to MVP
Broderson also states that this technology appears to be moving into a new era of broad and practical adoption.
George Spasov expects that blockchain will be adopted by many companies and actually implementing production use.
Companies that have run proof-of-concepts (POC) are beginning to take a minimum viable approach (MVP) approach.
Although it may not seem that way, improvements have been made in regards to the distributed ledger technology (DLT) and this has increased the potential to address real issues in the world today. It’s simply a matter of time until companies begin to transition from POC to MVP. Spasov believes this to happen in 2020.
At the same time, Broderson believes that research of Blockchain has promoted the growth of blockchain-inspired systems that will help solve business problems and other data sharing challenges like reconciliation and data-processing. Broderson believes that a new large scale ecosystem is around the corner.
Blockchain Platforms evolving
The increase in adoption will be based on Blockchain maturity. Spasov points out that “key ecosystems are adapting their platforms based on lessons learned to this point and on the needs of actual businesses.”
Major DLT group, Hyperledger Foundation has heard and seen the case of failing experiments and decided to address their issues. Spasov continues to use the private data concept in the Hyperledger Fabric as an example, where transparent transactions do not mix with the realities of running a business that generates profit, on the contrary, it hinders adoption. Blockchain evolution and adoption could solve this conflict.
Spasov says:
While in theory, the idea for a fully transparent system seems incredibly powerful, it is also a utopian one… In the real world, trade secrets generate profit. Very few companies will ever be able to operate in fully transparent mode without losing their edge.
Spasov is confident that these types of issues have been recognised by blockchain platforms and necessary fixes are already underway.
Integration with Existing Systems
Companies need to overcome obstacles like data protection, privacy, interoperability and integration. This also involves integrations between ecosystems and public Blockchains.
In order for Blockchain to support companies in solving various issues, this technology would have to integrate with currently existing systems. Spasov continues further:
The DLT technology still lacks the developed components to integrate and interoperate with these existing systems.
The use of two systems working side by side has not worked well for software projects but Spasov believes this will change in 2020.
He adds,
I expect blockchain to be integrated into more existing applications to serve tracking, auditing, and recording functions at a higher degree of efficiency than what we can do with existing technology today.
Conclusion
It’s expected that Blockchain will be integrated into more existing applications and systems to serve tracking and recording functions at a higher degree of quality and efficiency that what’s done so far with today’s technology.
As time progresses and we move into a new year, blockchain obstacles will be removed one by one, but others will appear surely. The lack of overall understanding of the Blockchain technology will continue to be an issue as it evolves, and the same can be said about the lack of technical skills.
Broderson hit the nail on the head with an important point:
The largest potential blockchain pitfall is enterprises focusing on the hype created by blockchain enthusiasm and rushing into projects driven by fear of missing out, rather than having rational conversations of Blockchains fit and purpose.
Image Source by IBM
