How Blockchain is Disrupting Existing Businesses

Since as early as 5,000 B.C. metal objects served as currency to facilitate trade, as did livestock such as sheep, camels, and cattle. Throughout human history, items of extreme tangible value have outweighed in their purchasing power against the intangibles. The emergence of blockchain says otherwise.

A blockchain is a software that decentralizes the storing of data, which means that no system has more power over the data than another. It powers systems that have emerged to store records, allow anyone to check claims or verify facts, and guarantee the security of the data thanks to cryptography.

Here are the six industries that will benefit from Blockchain

1. Connected Transport

Do you know how much the US Venture Capital Market was worth last year? US$ 60 billion. Impressive right? Last year Wanxiang, China's automotive titan, committed half of that amount in a bid to explore smart cities via the Internet of Things, supported by the Blockchain. It's a major play in the quest to achieve smart cars by 2025.

2. Protecting Artists

Those naturally attuned to make good art are no strangers to seeing their hard work stolen. The blockchain's ledger will act as a digital registry that will tag the exact day, time, and source of submitted works of creativity & art, while serving as an authenticity certificate. Last year, blockchain-based digital content record platform Ascribe launched a service called WhereOnTheNet that enables artists to trace the pathway of their content on the web. A much-advanced version that Google's reverse image search, WhereOnTheNet allows artists to find the sites that are using their content without permission, appropriating legal action. Artists will also be able to bypass middlemen at scale with services such as Mycelia, which allows artists to sell directly with smart contracts that charge users on a variable basis. This will change new music, publishing, and art community at scale.

3. Preventative Healthcare

As consumer IoT reaps widespread adoption, precision medicine will be dependent on a universal record of patient history. Healthcare providers will be able to access (with user permission) an archive of diverse databases by which diagnosis and treatment, as well as illness origins, can be quantified. The ecosystem of today's healthcare system is simply not equipped to handle this without the backing of the blockchain.

4. Media & Advertising

Yup, our industry is also in play. In a world of ad blocking, it is clear that some people don't want to see ads. This could be attributed to an aversion of distractions during their browsing time, a disdain for the advertisers or a lack of interest in the product. Whatever the reason may be, disabling site access to those with ad blockers is clearly not the solution. To remove the risk of the advertiser bidding for an impression that would rather be left alone, a service has emerged that will allow the digital generation to mute, skip or fast forward audio and video ads. A decentralized blockchain, Pay To Skip leverages pre-paid digital tokens and digital frame filter tags. This will effectively eliminate the waste of advertising dollars (eventually) when digital marketers spray ads on any and everyone online. This puts frequency capping back in the hands of the customer and could create a revenue stream for publishers.

5. Travel & Tourism

As the backbone for passenger authentification, blockchain could serve the airline, travel, and tourism industry by easing the traveler experience. In less time than it takes us to blink, the chain will capture the passenger data, send it to the systems, verify them, and grant them access. So no more lines, and no more risking your personal data falling into the wrong hands. Introverts, rejoice!

6. Personal Finance

Saving the best for last, blockchains are taken seriously thanks in part to their success with Bitcoins. The system would simplify all aspects of the back office prevalent in financial institutions that serve citizens and businesses. With the goal of democratizing financial inclusion, Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp is using a blockchain to help residents establish a financial identity through their dealings with aid agencies. Solutions like this would go a long way for countries that are demonetizing large notes.-

There are two ways to become a case study for the MBA's at Harvard - do something innovative or miserably fail. To be the former and prevent the latter, it's time to invest in a digital strategy that ensures the longevity of your business.