It's been called a technology so unique that it could disrupt our digital lives in ways not seen since the arrival of the internet. Supply chains. Banking. Contracts. Real estate investments. Food supplies. Even personal identities.
All could see sweeping changes in the years ahead – if companies move smartly and don't expect blockchain to do things it can't (or wasn't designed for).
And yet, figuring out just what this distributed ledger technology is, and exactly what it can do for business, feels more like a quest from the Odyssey. Is it primarily aimed at financial services and cryptocurrencies? Or can it really be used across a wide variety of industries. (IBM, SAP, Microsoft and a number of other big-name tech firms hope it's the latter.)
With all the hype floating around, it's hard to separate what's real (and do-able) and what's not. So we've created this special report (in an enhanced PDF format) to help you out.
This collection of five in-depth stories will leave you with a detailed understanding of blockchain, the potential it offers and the pitfalls that could slow widespread adoption, or derail it entirely.
Inside you'll find:
- What is blockchain? The complete guide
- Blockchain vs. database: What's the difference?
- How to decide: Should you deply blockchain?
- Blockchain success: Making believers out of one time skeptics
- Blockchain Phase 2: Will it scale?