Blockchains, or distributed ledger technology, makes digital transactions safer for all parties, assuming that organizations apply traditional business orchestration and integrated process management to tightly connect legacy systems of record with emerging blockchain networks, promoting trust and true collaboration across their value chains.
Blockchain Computing: Prospects and Challenges for Digital Transformation Pr...eraser Juan José Calderón
Blockchain Computing: Prospects and Challenges for Digital Transformation . Professor Syed Akhter Hossain.
Abstract:
A revolutionary trustable sharable computing outcome, the blockchain is essentially a distributed database of records or public ledger of all transactions originated from digital events and shared among participating parties within a computing framework. Each transaction of the chain in the public ledger is verified by consensus of a majority of the participants in the system and its constituents. Once recorded, information can never be erased and neither altered. The blockchain contains a certain and verifiable record of every single transaction ever made during the business operations. In general sense, the blockchain could be described simply as being a way of storing the information of a transaction, between multiple parties in a trustable way. Recording, sharing, storing and redistributing contents in a secure and decentralized way. Being owned, run and monitored by everybody and without anyone controlling it. Besides, avoiding any kind of modifications or abuses from a central authority. Blockchain technology is non-controversial and has worked flawlessly over the last few years and is being successfully applied to both financial and non-financial world applications and listed as as the most important invention since the Internet itself. Besides, digital transformation is taking off as rapid agent for change as part of the global business convergence. In this article, detail of blockchain technologies is presented from the pe
Blockchain - Use Cases for The Nigerian Economy and Potential Legal RisksRilwan Shittu
It is not uncommon for people to misconceive the use, relevance or applicability of new and emerging technologies - this has been the case with the Blockchain technology as a lot of people only have a vague or inaccurate understanding of what it really means and what it can do. Some have even gone as far as saying “Blockchain is the future” and “Blockchain will save Nigeria”, etc.
This article presents a practical overview of how the technology works; the potential use cases in the Nigerian economy; the legal risks and the role of regulatory agencies in aiding the adoption and growth of the technology.
Read more below:
Project Bletchley is a vision for Microsoft to deliver Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) that is open and flexible for all platforms, partners and customers. In this session, we will start by giving you an intro into Blockchain technology, what it is, how and where it can be used and talk about various examples and real world scenarios that can be built with it.
Blockchain for Executives, Entrepreneurs and InvestorsFenbushi Capital
A brief summary of key issues that executives, entrepreneurs and investors across all industries should be aware of when considering blockchain.
First presented 8 June 2018 at the Longhash Incubator in Singapore.
Blockchain Computing: Prospects and Challenges for Digital Transformation Pr...eraser Juan José Calderón
Blockchain Computing: Prospects and Challenges for Digital Transformation . Professor Syed Akhter Hossain.
Abstract:
A revolutionary trustable sharable computing outcome, the blockchain is essentially a distributed database of records or public ledger of all transactions originated from digital events and shared among participating parties within a computing framework. Each transaction of the chain in the public ledger is verified by consensus of a majority of the participants in the system and its constituents. Once recorded, information can never be erased and neither altered. The blockchain contains a certain and verifiable record of every single transaction ever made during the business operations. In general sense, the blockchain could be described simply as being a way of storing the information of a transaction, between multiple parties in a trustable way. Recording, sharing, storing and redistributing contents in a secure and decentralized way. Being owned, run and monitored by everybody and without anyone controlling it. Besides, avoiding any kind of modifications or abuses from a central authority. Blockchain technology is non-controversial and has worked flawlessly over the last few years and is being successfully applied to both financial and non-financial world applications and listed as as the most important invention since the Internet itself. Besides, digital transformation is taking off as rapid agent for change as part of the global business convergence. In this article, detail of blockchain technologies is presented from the pe
Blockchain - Use Cases for The Nigerian Economy and Potential Legal RisksRilwan Shittu
It is not uncommon for people to misconceive the use, relevance or applicability of new and emerging technologies - this has been the case with the Blockchain technology as a lot of people only have a vague or inaccurate understanding of what it really means and what it can do. Some have even gone as far as saying “Blockchain is the future” and “Blockchain will save Nigeria”, etc.
This article presents a practical overview of how the technology works; the potential use cases in the Nigerian economy; the legal risks and the role of regulatory agencies in aiding the adoption and growth of the technology.
Read more below:
Project Bletchley is a vision for Microsoft to deliver Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) that is open and flexible for all platforms, partners and customers. In this session, we will start by giving you an intro into Blockchain technology, what it is, how and where it can be used and talk about various examples and real world scenarios that can be built with it.
Blockchain for Executives, Entrepreneurs and InvestorsFenbushi Capital
A brief summary of key issues that executives, entrepreneurs and investors across all industries should be aware of when considering blockchain.
First presented 8 June 2018 at the Longhash Incubator in Singapore.
Blockchain technology is one of the latest technologies on the horizon and has evolved over the last 7-10 years. There is tremendous potential for usage of Blockchain technology in today’s Real Estate industry. This paper aims to analyze the disruptive power of Blockchain digital technologies in the real estate industry. This paper will start with an introduction of the blockchain technology and high-level technical overview. It will then go on to discuss the various benefits the Real Estate industry can reap from this technology. It will also put forth various use cases or opportunities in the Real Estate sector for this technology. In the end, the paper will also discuss the present-day limitations and the questions marks over this technology in relation to its usage for the Real Estate industry.
Confidential Computing - Analysing Data Without Seeing DataMaximilian Ott
How can people collaborate over data analysis without disclosing their data to each other? This seminar will cover an end-to-end solution to this problem, including privacy preserving entity resolution and the application of partial homomorphic encryption and Rademacher observations to private linear classification tasks.
In particular we will show that it is possible to learn from data, while keeping the data confidential, both with and without the entity resolution step. We will give a brief overview of potential applications and give some practical examples of how these approaches can be used.
Get in-depth insights on the emergence, growth and future prospects of Blockchain in India. The historical timeline of the Blockchain technology in India. A detailed breakdown of the Blockchain technology and decoding the types of Blockchain currently in use.
A complete overview about the blockchain technology Octal IT Solution
Blockchain is a peer-to-peer trading model that does not require any third party during the transaction. Because of security, it can be widely used in applications, which requires authentication and digital voting purposes. There is still much to be achieved, but until now, the way it completely changed the entire digital payment landscape is undeniably impressive.
How to Create Blockchain Products by Slice.Market CTOProduct School
Main takeaways:
-Intro to blockchain concepts, public/private keys, signing transactions, wallets,
-Product challenges unique to blockchain
-Metamask and other tools that people currently use to interact with the Ethereum blockchain
-Common design and product considerations when making a blockchain product
How Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain TechnologySolunus, Inc.
Blockchain is one such technology that has given us a brand new reason to be happy and feel secure in this data-driven era. Learn more about how Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain Technology.
The basic idea of decentralization is to distribute control and authority to the peripheries of an organization instead of one central body being in full control of the organization.
Si bien blockchain es una promesa a largo plazo para transformar los negocios y la sociedad, hay poca evidencia en la realidad a corto plazo. Este informe especial destaca el alcance de esta transformación, cómo afecta a varias industrias y el estado actual y la evolución de estas tecnologías.
Why is it critical for your enterprise to understand Blockchain technology an...ISHIR
Blockchain has become the talk of the town of late. But it wasn’t until bitcoin made its way into the markets in 2009 that everyone began to notice it. Bitcoin became immensely popular as a cryptocurrency, and lately people have been looking at its underlying technology, blockchain, as a disruptor in the digital business space. Learn how it will impact your business.
A blockchain is essentially a distributed database of records or public ledger of all transactions or digital events that have been executed and shared among participating parties. Each transaction in the public ledger is verified by consensus of a majority of the participants in the system. And, once entered, information can never be erased. The blockchain contains a certain and verifiable record of every single transaction ever made. To use a basic analogy, it is easy to steal a cookie from a cookie jar, kept in a secluded place than stealing the cookie from a cookie jar kept in a marketplace, being observed by thousands of people. In the report, it distinguishes between multiple types of blockchains and explains the two biggest platforms, namely Bitcoin and Ethereum. While introducing those two platforms we explain the most important technology and algorithms used such as proof of work concept. Some of the security issues and solutions are also covered. We conclude with some concrete Ethereum based applications that demonstrate the usage of blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrency and illustrate current developments in this field.
Yao Yao, Jack Rasmus-Vorrath, Ivelin Angelov
https://github.com/yaowser/basic_blockchain
https://www.slideshare.net/YaoYao44/blockchain-security-and-demonstration/
Distributed ledger technology over a network of computers, which provides an alternative to the centralized system
Distributed Database
Peer-to-Peer Transmission
Transparency with Pseudonymity
Records are immutable
Computational Logic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ArZxRdhyPc
Blockchain technology is one of the latest technologies on the horizon and has evolved over the last 7-10 years. There is tremendous potential for usage of Blockchain technology in today’s Real Estate industry. This paper aims to analyze the disruptive power of Blockchain digital technologies in the real estate industry. This paper will start with an introduction of the blockchain technology and high-level technical overview. It will then go on to discuss the various benefits the Real Estate industry can reap from this technology. It will also put forth various use cases or opportunities in the Real Estate sector for this technology. In the end, the paper will also discuss the present-day limitations and the questions marks over this technology in relation to its usage for the Real Estate industry.
Confidential Computing - Analysing Data Without Seeing DataMaximilian Ott
How can people collaborate over data analysis without disclosing their data to each other? This seminar will cover an end-to-end solution to this problem, including privacy preserving entity resolution and the application of partial homomorphic encryption and Rademacher observations to private linear classification tasks.
In particular we will show that it is possible to learn from data, while keeping the data confidential, both with and without the entity resolution step. We will give a brief overview of potential applications and give some practical examples of how these approaches can be used.
Get in-depth insights on the emergence, growth and future prospects of Blockchain in India. The historical timeline of the Blockchain technology in India. A detailed breakdown of the Blockchain technology and decoding the types of Blockchain currently in use.
A complete overview about the blockchain technology Octal IT Solution
Blockchain is a peer-to-peer trading model that does not require any third party during the transaction. Because of security, it can be widely used in applications, which requires authentication and digital voting purposes. There is still much to be achieved, but until now, the way it completely changed the entire digital payment landscape is undeniably impressive.
How to Create Blockchain Products by Slice.Market CTOProduct School
Main takeaways:
-Intro to blockchain concepts, public/private keys, signing transactions, wallets,
-Product challenges unique to blockchain
-Metamask and other tools that people currently use to interact with the Ethereum blockchain
-Common design and product considerations when making a blockchain product
How Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain TechnologySolunus, Inc.
Blockchain is one such technology that has given us a brand new reason to be happy and feel secure in this data-driven era. Learn more about how Salesforce is marking its stance with Blockchain Technology.
The basic idea of decentralization is to distribute control and authority to the peripheries of an organization instead of one central body being in full control of the organization.
Si bien blockchain es una promesa a largo plazo para transformar los negocios y la sociedad, hay poca evidencia en la realidad a corto plazo. Este informe especial destaca el alcance de esta transformación, cómo afecta a varias industrias y el estado actual y la evolución de estas tecnologías.
Why is it critical for your enterprise to understand Blockchain technology an...ISHIR
Blockchain has become the talk of the town of late. But it wasn’t until bitcoin made its way into the markets in 2009 that everyone began to notice it. Bitcoin became immensely popular as a cryptocurrency, and lately people have been looking at its underlying technology, blockchain, as a disruptor in the digital business space. Learn how it will impact your business.
A blockchain is essentially a distributed database of records or public ledger of all transactions or digital events that have been executed and shared among participating parties. Each transaction in the public ledger is verified by consensus of a majority of the participants in the system. And, once entered, information can never be erased. The blockchain contains a certain and verifiable record of every single transaction ever made. To use a basic analogy, it is easy to steal a cookie from a cookie jar, kept in a secluded place than stealing the cookie from a cookie jar kept in a marketplace, being observed by thousands of people. In the report, it distinguishes between multiple types of blockchains and explains the two biggest platforms, namely Bitcoin and Ethereum. While introducing those two platforms we explain the most important technology and algorithms used such as proof of work concept. Some of the security issues and solutions are also covered. We conclude with some concrete Ethereum based applications that demonstrate the usage of blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrency and illustrate current developments in this field.
Yao Yao, Jack Rasmus-Vorrath, Ivelin Angelov
https://github.com/yaowser/basic_blockchain
https://www.slideshare.net/YaoYao44/blockchain-security-and-demonstration/
Distributed ledger technology over a network of computers, which provides an alternative to the centralized system
Distributed Database
Peer-to-Peer Transmission
Transparency with Pseudonymity
Records are immutable
Computational Logic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ArZxRdhyPc
How Blockchain Development Can Revolutionize Your Digital Strategy.pdfPixel Softwares
Reinvent Digital Dynamics: Embrace the power of blockchain technology to reimagine your digital strategy. With decentralized solutions and smart contracts, Pixel Softwares can revolutionize your business landscape.
Blockchain has many capacity advantages in the logistics industry. It allows agencies to increase efficiency, transparency, and traceability, as well as to additionally make delivery chains greater steady because the starting place and authenticity of merchandise are known, proven & shared.
Today, statistics from transactions among events are commonly saved personally without an evaluation of all the activities. Blockchain, through comparison, gives an automatic community in which information is shared.
A decentralized consensus application using blockchain ecosystem IJECEIAES
The consensus is a critical operation of any decision-making process. It involves a set of eligible members; whose decision need to be honored by taking their acknowledgment before making any decision. The traditional consensus process follows centralized architecture, the members need to rely on and trust this architecture. The proposed system aims to develop a secure decentralized consensus application in the untrusted environment by making use of blockchain technology along with smart contract and interplanetary file system (IPFS).
Blockchain- Use Cases for the Nigerian Economy and Potential Legal RisksDamilola A. Oyebayo
It is not uncommon for people to misconceive the use, relevance or applicability of new and emerging technologies - this has been the case with the Blockchain technology as a lot of people only have a vague or inaccurate understanding of what it really means and what it can do. Some have even gone as far as saying “Blockchain is the future” and “Blockchain will save Nigeria”, etc.
This article presents a practical overview of how the technology works; the potential use cases in the Nigerian economy; the legal risks and the role of regulatory agencies in aiding the adoption and growth of the technology.
Read more below:
Blockchain as the Backbone of Digital Supply Chains | Challenges for Supply C...Fluence.sh
The digital supply chain is one of the most popular methods of organization for resources, assets, people, and inventory transfers. But what challenges does supply chain face and how they can be solved with the blockchain technology?
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How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
1. How Integrated Process
Management Completes
the Blockchain Jigsaw
Distributed ledger technology promises to make digital trans-
actions safer for all parties, but only if organizations take a
holistic view by applying traditional business orchestration
and integrated process management to tightly connect
legacy systems of record with emerging blockchain net-
works, promoting trust and true collaboration across their
value chains.
April 2018
DIGITAL SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY
2. 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
We are living in an age when digital business shifts are reshaping the way technology,
regulatory policies, governance and market adaptations combine to disrupt our socio-
economic and cultural well-being. Blockchain technology represents one such disruption.
As a powerful method of securing digital transactions through a distributed cryptography
framework, blockchain has emerged as the new “trust protocol.”
During the last decade, blockchain technology developed as a core component for Bitcoin,
the leading cryptocurrency. Since then, several blockchains have emerged as public
ledgers for specific types of transactions. For example, companies like IBM and Samsung1
are using blockchain technology for a decentralized network of Internet of Things (IoT)
devices, operating like a public ledger to enable them to communicate with each other
directly to update software, manage bugs and monitor energy usage. The technology is
now seen as having the potential to solve the double-spending problem that has plagued
many industries, and to do so without the need for a trusted authority or central server.
Blockchain’s tamper-proof design is the key to its security.
Every node in the decentralized blockchain network contains a copy of a transactional
record: Data changed in one node needs to be authenticated by peers’ approvals once
it is replicated across the network. The blocks, formed through a continuous growing
list of records as the basic foundation, are linked and secured using strong public key
infrastructure cryptography. These blocks are connected to each other with a hash pointer
(cryptographic hash function) that ensures transactions are tamper-free.
In our view, blockchain will become imperative for any organization seeking to survive and
thrive in the unfolding digital economy. This white paper details blockchain’s inner workings
and offers insight into how modern enterprises might leverage integration and process
management as strategic enablers for gaining competitive advantage via blockchain-
powered networks.
2
Digital Systems & Technology
| How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
3. As a powerful method of securing
digital transactions through
a distributed cryptography
framework, blockchain has emerged
as the new “trust protocol.”
3How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw | 3
Digital Systems & Technology
4. 4 | How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
Digital Systems & Technology
BLOCKCHAIN: WHAT, HOW & WHY
Conceptually, blockchain is tantalizingly simple. It can be easily explained as a type of database for
recording and confirming transactions. Each transaction is verified, recorded and combined with other
transactions to produce a new block in the ledger that is then copied to peer nodes in the participating
network, thus creating a distributed ledger of sorts. These transactions can range from moving data
to transferring money, and even relating confidential personal information, etc.
The scope of blockchain transactions is not limited to Bitcoin, distributed ledger files, transaction
databases or tamper-proof blocks; it has applications and benefits across a host of functionalities,
which we will explore. (For more on blockchain’s wide applicability, see our primary research series.)
As a distributed database technology for recording and confirming transactions, blockchain groups
related transactions to form a block, which is then shared to all other peers in the network to verify
and update their respective copy of the ledger. Holistic solution implementation requirements include:
a UI, cryptographic key management, sometimes an IoT component, legacy systems integration (to
connect with enterprise systems of record), distributed file storage and distributed database.
Typically, blockchain networks are built on a modular architecture that separates transaction process-
ing into the following three phases:
• Distributed logic for processing and agreement (e.g., smart contracts).
• Transaction ordering.
• Transaction validation and commitment.
These phases empower a blockchain network’s ability to create and secure blocks. To function, a
blockchain needs to perform the following tasks: collect and order data into blocks; link the blocks
together securely through cryptography; share these blocks with peers among the network; validate
and authenticate the blocks; and maintain consensus among the parties in the network (see Figure 1,
page 5).
Upon completion of a blockchain transaction, the information is recorded and shared with all peer
systems on the participating network. This record is then combined with other transactions in the
form of a block, with each transaction (or block) time-stamped, similar to the way traditional database
software works. The time-stamping effectively arranges the information in a sequential order, thereby
avoiding duplication or mismatch errors. These immutable data blocks, along with time stamps, are
appended to the ledger of each participant. All members of the blockchain network can view the same
transaction history in the same order.
The above description may be confused with an application program interface (API) that gets
triggered by an external transaction, thereby further executing a set of business rules. This business
rule set execution could correlate events/data and/or business logic to eventually create records in a
database. So, how are these different from the blockchain world? While there are a number of differ-
ences, here are the most important ones:
4
5. 5How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw |
Digital Systems & Technology
• No more single authority for authorization: Participating parties can avoid centralized interme-
diaries by using a peer-to-peer business network.
• Enhanced security: Participants can reduce fraud while strengthening regulatory compliance.
Countries in the APAC region including China, South Korea and India have adopted stringent reg-
ulations to curb the use of cryptocurrencies powered by blockchain technology, while at the same
time they have advocated for the use of blockchain technology in other areas of economic activity
such as public distribution systems. Blockchain ensures that data will be secured via cryptographi-
cally linked blocks that prevent anyone from altering or deleting records without detection.
• High availability: Blockchain’s lack of a central repository or single point of failure — i.e., the fact
that its data is distributed across multiple ledgers — makes it fail-safe. Every node in a decentral-
ized system has a copy of the ledger. Data quality is maintained by massive database replication
and computational trust.
THE HASH FUNCTION
Once the block is complete and time-stamped, it is sent across the participating network, appending
and linking transactions to the chain of other blocks. The blockchain is secured by a “hash” function.
The hash function is a cryptographic algorithm, which makes it impossible to break the link between
the blocks in the blockchain. The hash function uses the information in each block to create a string
of characters unique to each block.
The hash from each block is then added to the data in the next block. This means that for every block
transmitted, part of its own information is embedded into the unique set of characters generated in
the resultant new hash. This process is replicated, including time-stamps, for all blocks throughout
BLOCK 1 BLOCK 2
NODES
EXTERNAL
SYSTEMS
SMART CONTRACTS
TRANSACTIONS
BLOCK 3 BLOCK 4
CREATED BLOCKCODE
Anatomy of a Blockchain Network
Figure 1
6. 6
the chain. Thus, any tampering with a block will cause the next block to mismatch, since the embed-
ded hash won’t align across the chain. This mismatch will then continue across all the subsequent
blocks, which will indicate tampering. With all peers in the participating network possessing a copy of
the blockchain, any tampering can easily be detected. If the hashes match up across the chain, the
participants can trust their records.
SMART CONTRACTS
A key component of the blockchain ecosystem is the smart contract, which is a set of detailed and
often complex rules that describe an operation in a step-by-step manner. Smart contracts manage the
business rules and processes that execute a transaction. The smart contract can be executed to act
on information passed or extracted from peripheral systems in adherence to the rules embedded in
the contract. Thus, a smart contract can automate business processes in a trusted way, by allowing
stakeholders to process and validate contractual rules as a group.
Given the shared, decentralized nature of blockchain technology, risks and benefits are distributed.
Compare this to traditional business orchestration and process management software development,
where a single stakeholder bears the investment and risk for a multi-stakeholder (customer/partner/
enterprise) value chain. Blockchain technology represents a more egalitarian approach, thereby
promoting collaboration (see Figure 2).
Digital Systems & Technology
| How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
With all peers in the participating network
possessing a copy of the blockchain, any
tampering can easily be detected. If the
hashes match up across the chain, the
participants can trust their records.
Participant/peer in
the network requests
a transaction.
The nodes validate
and execute the request
as per pre-agreed
smart contract/rules.
New, permanent
block is encrypted and
added to the network’s
blockchain.
Verified, recorded,
combined with other
transactions to produce
a new block of data.
The request is
broadcasted to other
computers (nodes)
in the network.
Transaction
successful.
Blockchain’s Collaborative Quotient
Figure 2
7. 7How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw |
Blockchain technology’s reach and transparency are vast, and offer participating network peers enor-
mous benefits. Perhaps most critical, blockchain helps bridge the trust deficit many parties experience
when transacting digitally. The shared, open and incorruptible ledger of record spanning multiple
markets and business functions will help to prevent fraudulent activities. Blockchain technology
has huge potential to strengthen compliance functions such as know your customer (KYC) and anti-
money laundering (AML) activities for banks, sustainable sourcing practices for supply chains, and
quality reporting for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for healthcare organizations.
BLOCKCHAIN’S EVOLUTION
Since its conception, blockchain has evolved from a powering mechanism of the Bitcoin crypto-
currency, to a technology that is poised to streamline the entire enterprise landscape. Its ongoing
development can be broken down into four stages:
• Blockchain V 1.0: Applications in cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, through implementation
of distributed ledger technology.
• Blockchain V 2.0: Smart contracts, to facilitate, verify and execute transactions. The emergence
of the Etherium ecosystem is one such example, as well as the evolution of decentralized applica-
tions, which use decentralized storage and decentralized communications protocols.
• Blockchain V 3.0: Development and maturation of permissioned blockchains with throughput and
confidentiality innovations suitable for the enterprise.
• Blockchain V 4.0: The next step in blockchain’s evolution is the industry-wide deployment of
value chains including the integration of enterprise systems and encompassing boundary-less
process automation; these developments should eventually increase transparency and trust
among enterprises, employees and customers.
Blockchain technology incorporates two distinct capabilities that can be leveraged to help orchestrate
business processes across organizations:
• Trust: Typically, each line of business within an enterprise builds its processes, but a transac-
tion across such processes requires some level of trust. While most monitoring and recording of
sequences is managed though logs and security in legacy systems, blockchain technology would
do this through smart contracts among participating nodes.
• Distribution: With processes distributed across enterprises, a centralized governance or an
administration system may not be possible. Blockchain technology solves this issue by providing
decentralized storage and decentralized communication, thus enabling trusted orchestration
governed in a distributed manner.
Integration and business process management streamline business processes within an organiza-
tion where participants normally trust each other. In contrast, blockchain technology enables the
execution of business processes across multiple organizations and untrusted participants, delivering
blockchain adherents to the fourth evolutionary stage, V 4.0.
Digital Systems & Technology
8. 8
Digital Systems & Technology
| How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
BLOCKCHAIN 4.0: ENTERPRISE-WIDE SYSTEMS
Integrating blockchain with enterprise systems can help organizations to better manage the lifecy-
cle of digital transactions among various business entities, customers, systems and technologies.
Therefore, adopting blockchain offerings (features/capabilities) is the prudent way forward. The
middleware/digital integration space will also evolve, and develop smart contracts containing the
requisite business logic. For example, stock and payment blockchains can potentially interact during
partner/B2B transactions.
Blockchain is an evolving technology that proposes to increase trust across transactional partners.
Use cases span business to business (B2B), electronic data interface (EDI), applications, etc. Block-
chain technology has the ability to provide a standard framework and database that will offer a single
view of transactions. It can replace B2B integration by potentially replacing B2B/EDI technologies for
classic trading/e-commerce.
As noted above, blockchain technology is not a stand-alone system; it requires feeder systems of
record (such as ERP, CRM or other legacy systems) to integrate with, in order to expand the automa-
tion possibilities offered via smart contracts.
The following use cases are also relevant:
• Business process management with smart contracts: Using BPM as peripheral services to auto-
mate the management of transactions or provide approvals as necessary.
• Event correlation: Using complex event processing (CEP) to manage event outcomes when trans-
actions are confirmed as blocks.
Figure 3 depicts why integration and process management services are essential to blockchain
deployments.
• Data layer: This comprises all the systems necessary to gather information, typically accessed
when smart contracts are triggered by external transactions.
DATA
LAYER
LEGACY DATABASES SYSTEMS REPOSITORIES
API LAYER
INTEGRATION LAYER
CEP
CUSTOMER
VALUE
DATA
MODEL
PROCESS
MODEL
BUSINESS
COLLABORATION
APPS
IOT
BUSINESS
NETWORK
VALUE
CONSUMER
LAYER
INTEGRATION
LAYER
BLOCKCHAIN
BLOCKCHAIN
LEDGER FILES
SMART CONTRACTS ALGORITHM
CHANNEL
Service Integration: A Reference Architecture
Figure 3
9. 9How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw |
Digital Systems & Technology
• Blockchain: This is the crux of the implementation, comprising distributed ledgers, smart con-
tracts channels, consensus logic, etc.
• Consumer layer: Applications such as BPM, B2Bs, IoT, etc. at the top of an implementation would
either consume services exposed via APIs or trigger services to enable a transaction such as a
business contract between two parties governed by consensus logic.
• Integration layer: This can facilitate integration across back-end systems, and orchestration in
this layer of back-end and blockchain systems can help expose APIs that might later be monetized.
Blockchain can solve numerous problems — some existent, some emergent. The following examples
explain how integration can help enterprises realize the true power of blockchain. The first example
discusses integration itself, the second example concentrates on B2B/EDI, the third one on BPM and
the final one on complex event processing (CEP).
THE PURSUIT OF INTEGRATION
Recent studies in the airline industry show that thousands of passengers do not apply for claims owed
them for delayed or cancelled flights. The situation could change drastically if these claims processes
were automated through blockchain. Passenger flight information would be maintained as part of a
blockchain, along with a smart flight-cancellation insurance contract with policy conditions that would
be applied in the event.
For instance, a delayed flight could be managed as a public record, and any such event could trigger
a smart contract, and a payout could be made automatically. In this scenario, integration, CEP, BPM
and API would combine to enable a successful resolution for passenger and airline carrier. This use
case would entail:
• Integration of blockchain with back-end systems to retrieve passenger information: insurance, etc.
• Integration with external APIs (connectivity with banks’ electronic payment systems) for making
refunds to passengers.
• Integration with communication channels to notify passengers about refunds.
• Exposing channels to external applications (i.e., airlines) to create records in case of flight delays
or cancellations.
• Triggering CEP rules (if necessary) via an event created to generate system alerts for possible
delays across the board. Delays or cancellations may occur for multiple reasons.
• Having a BPM process in place as an overlay in case of payout authorization, if necessary.
This improves existing processes in the following ways:
• It eliminatres manual processes other than the initial claim submission, thus reducing friction,
speeding resolution and cutting costs. Transaction errors and missing information are also reduced.
• It creates an immutable audit trail that allows anyone with the correct privileges to view the
claim’s lifecycle.
• The process also secures data elements, because every transaction is encrypted with the block-
chain member’s key. Thus, a cybercriminal would need access to each blockchain member’s key to
access all the transaction data.
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| How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
PARTNER MANAGEMENT
Today, most organizations have embraced B2B platforms, but in most cases end-to-end visibility for
all the parties may not be available, unless implementation is paid for. And even then, a complete real-
time view may not be delivered. Blockchain will remediate this and (if required) can eliminate the need
for a B2B platform to reveal the exchange of records validated by smart contracts. It can also deliver
a complete view of the order status to all parties involved to avoid disputes among them.
Blockchain differs from traditional B2B systems in two key ways:
• Distributed ledger delivers a secure, auditable record of events for shared visibility of supply chain
information flows across all peers/parties in real time.
• Events/B2B documents can be recorded on a blockchain as blocks representing the status of an
order, out of the box.
BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT
BPM is concerned with the design, execution, monitoring and improvement of business processes.
Systems that support the enactment and execution of processes are used by companies to stream-
line and automate processes, which are typically confined to enterprises. However, common business
processes that span multiple enterprises have not been adopted widely due to lack of trust and to
challenges in joint design.
Blockchain technology has the potential to change the environment in which interorganizational
processes are able to operate. Blockchains offer a way to execute such processes in a trustworthy
manner.
Financial institutions spend huge amounts to keep up with KYC and customer due-diligence regula-
tions. These solutions are typically implemented on BPM platforms. The existing KYC process consists
of submitting a set of identification documents each time an individual or corporate customer starts
a new relationship with a bank.
Blockchain technology has the
potential to change the environment
in which interorganizational processes
are able to operate. Blockchains offer
a way to execute such processes in a
trustworthy manner.
11. 11How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw |
Digital Systems & Technology
KYC is typically conducted by individual banks, requiring customers to provide the same informa-
tion to different institutions. A consortium of financial institutions can use a KYC business process
application platform to implement generic processes that provide high-level business functionality.
Such functionality would integrate blockchain technology to collect, validate and share more accurate
customer information. This vastly reduces the duplication of information and manual checks for both
banks and customers, while enhancing the quality of the customer information that is stored.
Blockchain adoption will impact existing business processes. BPM systems provide convenient abstrac-
tions for rapid development of process-oriented applications, by taking a business process model as a
starting-point representation; for example, in business process model and notation (BPMN).
For example, Caterpillar2
is an open-source business process management system (BPMS) that runs
on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The specificity of Caterpillar is that the state of each process
instance is maintained on the Ethereum blockchain, and the workflow routing is performed by smart
contracts generated by a BPMN-to-Solidity compiler.
Smart contracts that can be trusted to enforce a process execution can be generated from BPMN
process models. In addition, blockchain could also be leveraged in the BRM space when implement-
ing a BPM solution. The rules could be implemented as smart contracts, which would add validation,
flexibility and agility.
BPM-based low-code development capabilities allow blockchain application developers to abstract the
complexity of blockchain and model it visually, so that it’s easier to quickly integrate applications with
any public or private blockchain technology. By using BPM instead of working directly with blockchain,
organizations can reduce the effort, time, cost and risk associated with building production-ready
blockchain-based applications.
BPM-based low-code development capabilities allow
blockchain application developers to abstract the
complexity of blockchain and model it visually, so
that it’s easier to quickly integrate applications with
any public or private blockchain technology. By using
BPM instead of working directly with blockchain,
organizations can reduce the effort, time, cost and
risk associated with building production-ready
blockchain-based applications.
12. 12 | How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
Digital Systems & Technology
12
COMPLEX EVENT PROCESSING
With CEP, event handlers need to be configured to listen for changes in the blockchain, or the con-
nected endpoints, and then correlate and invoke appropriate CEP rules to either derive an action or
alert. For example, in the airline claims example, event handlers may receive a message based on
changes in the ledger files managing flight status to initiate payouts to consumers who have opted
for travel delay insurance.
Event handlers can then work along with configured contracts to draw inferences on payout rules.
Based on outcomes of the processing, they can either trigger other events or integrate with periph-
eral systems, databases etc., and even microservices within the enterprise architecture to drive
necessary actions.
CHALLENGES AND CONSIDERATIONS
Despite its great promise, the adoption of blockchain technology is still in its early stages. By consid-
ering the following factors, organizations can speed their embrace and reap greater business value
from blockchain technology:
• Awareness:
»» Individuals and most businesses are generally unaware of blockchain’s vast potential. Organiza-
tions must generate awareness inside key functional areas of their organizations and industry
value chain to bring attention to its potential benefits.
»» According to our primary research report ”Building Blockchain One Block at a Time,”3
53% of
the respondents s believe making blockchain understandable to key decision-makers is among
the key internal organizational challenges for its adoption.
• Maturity:
»» Systems integration standards remain a work in progress for blockchain. These need to be
established and enforced. In fact, 58% of respondents in our study said the lack of standards
is one of the key external obstacles to blockchain adoption.
»» With the increased adoption of blockchain-based systems, specialized skills around the
technologies are required (e.g., chain-code developers, experienced hands-on Go language
coders, etc.).
»» According to our research, 41% of respondents see “reengineering business processes” as one
of the key internal organizational challenges to blockchain adoption.
• Adoption:
»» Cultural: Moving from a centrally administered system to decentralized systems will create
change management challenges. This may occur for a variety of reasons, including the fact
that the knowledge is typically limited to developers and the user community. According to our
study, 6% of the respondents see culture and change management as one of the key internal
organizational challenges to blockchain adoption. Our study also noted that working with part-
ners/ecosystem members was seen as an external challenge to blockchain adoption by 56%
of respondents.
13. 13How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw |
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13
»» Talent: Blockchain adoption is also dependent on available talent. Our study found that 40%
of the respondents see procuring talent and expertise as one of the key internal organizational
challenges to blockchain adoption.
»» Regulatory: Regulations around blockchain technology are limited. However, recognition of
crypto keys as valid as e-signatures, and recognition of digital assets as legally valid could help
unleash more effective regulations. This will be a key for the adoption and implementation
of blockchain technology. Our study found that 38% of the respondents see ensuring data
security as one of the key internal organizational challenges to blockchain adoption. Legal and
regulatory issues were also cited by 56% respondents as a significant obstacle to blockchain
adoption.
LOOKING AHEAD
Enterprise blockchain holds exciting promise for many industry applications. Blockchain technology
is set to redefine the future of digital enterprises, bringing new levels of efficiency, security and trust
to widespread applications, from stock trading and personal banking, to e-commerce and supply chain
management. With increased adoption of blockchain strategies and subsequent technological matu-
rity, organizations will become increasingly aware of how business transactions occur in real time.
Harnessing the power of blockchain technology will require businesses to understand its impact on
core business processes, as well as the systems integration challenges present both within the orga-
nization’s own walls and with external parties.
In an age where trust deficits among governments, businesses and consumers are widening, block-
chain technology offers a remedy by delivering benefits such as curbing fraud by securing data,
providing insights to transaction records and substantially reducing the cost of transactions by elim-
inating intermediaries. Once organizations experience the benefits of blockchain technology, there
will be no turning back.
Harnessing the power of blockchain
technology will require businesses to
understand its impact on core business
processes, as well as the systems
integration challenges present both
within the organization’s own walls and
with external parties.
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| How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw
FOOTNOTES
1 www.coindesk.com/ibm-reveals-proof-concept-blockchain-powered-internet-things/.
2 http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1920/BPM_2017_paper_199.pdf.
3 www.cognizant.com/whitepapers/financial-services-building-blockchain-one-block-at-a-time-codex2742.pdf.
RESOURCES
• https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.
• www.hyperledger.org.
• https://medium.com/.
• Don Tapscott & Alex Tapscott, Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and
the World, Penguin Random House, June 2016, http://blockchain-revolution.com/the-book/.
15. 15How Integrated Process Management Completes the Blockchain Jigsaw |
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Mohan
Ananthanarayanan
Chief Architect, Integrated
Process Management
Practice, Cognizant
Mohan Ananthanarayanan is a Chief Architect within Cognizant’s
Enterprise Applications Services’ Integrated Process Management
(IPM) Practice. He serves as the leader for IBM (integration and
BPM) as well as its digital integration segments. Mohan has 20-plus
years of experience in middleware integration, business process
management, and other digital systems and technology-related
services and offerings, covering strategizing and incubating
new business segments, product offerings development and
delivering large programs. Mohan holds a B.Tech. degree from
the University of Calicut, India, and can be reached at
Mohan.Ananthanarayanan@cognizant.com | www.linkedin.com/
in/mohanananthanarayanan/.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ram Mishra
Senior Manager, Business
Development, Integrated
Process Management
Practice, Cognizant
Vijay Chakka
Senior Architect, Integrated
Process Management
Practice, Cognizant
Ram Mishra is a Senior Manager, Business Development, Integrated
Process Management within Cognizant’s Enterprise Applications
Services’ Integrated Process Management (IPM) Practice. He is
responsible for consulting, business development and marketing of
digital systems and technology-related services and offerings. Ram
has 11-plus years of experience covering business development, pre-
sales, bid management, marketing, branding, analyst relations and
consulting. He is a computer engineering graduate with an MBA
in marketing from Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chen-
nai (India), and is a published author of fiction books. Ram can be
reached at Ram.Mishra@cognizant.com | www.linkedin.com/in/
rmishra1003093012.
Vijay Chakka is a Senior Architect, Integrated Process Management,
within Cognizant’s Enterprise Applications Services’ Integrated Pro-
cess Management (IPM) Practice. He leads the practice capability
offerings and delivery encompassing the TIBCO product suite. Vijay
has 14-plus years of experience in middleware integration, business
process management, and other digital systems and technolo-
gy-related services and offerings, covering consulting, pre-sales,
delivery, practice growth and competency development. He holds
a B.Tech. degree from Pune University, India, and can be reached at
Vijay.Chakka@cognizant.com | www.linkedin.com/in/vijay-chakka-
98274b5.