Solution providers and MSPs need to understand how blockchain can be integrated into their solutions to customers. According to the Blockchain Advisory Council members, here are five reasons why.
As more businesses seek to implement blockchain technology and transform the way they store, access and complete transactions, the market opportunity in blockchain technology is significant for managed service providers (MSPs).
This technology is not only being adopted by MSPs. The market for blockchain is expected to grow from $4.9 million in 2021 to $67.4 trillion by 2026, which is a compound annual growth rate of 68.44%. Other market drivers include increased venture capital investment, growing blockchain adoption within finance, new use cases in mitigating cybersecurity risks, high adoption blockchain solutions for payments and rapid deployment of blockchain-driven smart contracts, digital identity management, as well as continued interest in blockchain in government.
CompTIA’s Blockchain Advisory Council members stated that MSPs should start to learn how to integrate blockchain into their future and current solutions for customers. Here are five reasons why council members believe it’s time for MSPs to talk blockchain with customers.
1. Digital Assets Protection is Critical
Digital assets have been a part of IT conversations for years. Take a look at all the discussions IT professionals had over the years about protecting digital assets on their laptops, tablets and PCs. Business leaders are now paying more attention to digital asset risks. The average consumer is now more knowledgeable about blockchain, cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens. This gives them the opportunity to share their knowledge with customers about asset protection.
Barry Mosakowski, program director at IBM CloudPak Bring-Up Lab, said that increased privacy protections such as HIPAA and GDPR make data collection and distribution more important. Violations are not a mistake, they are a crime. The concept of an NFT is currently associated with digital art. An NFT is a unique, non-interchangeable unit that is stored on a blockchain. Blockchain technology allows individuals to have complete control over all their personal NFTs. This includes birth certificates, driver’s licences, mortgages, and so on.
Despite the challenges of adoption for organizations, blockchain technology may be capable of providing the protection digital assets need. He said that this technology could be considered a “life-chain” instead of a blockchain. It provides total immutable security and allows access to all data within the individual’s control.
2. Limitless Applications/Vertical Opportunities
Council members believe that blockchain eliminates the need for companies to develop their own implementations and run their own trains. Multiple companies can work together on the same network, which creates a greater network effect.
A blockchain-based network automates the execution of contracts between multiple parties. The blockchain can write to it the relevant results of the business process, and reveal or obscure the results according the contractual terms. The blockchain ledger’s immutability eliminates the need to obtain multiple approvals, which can slow down the business process. Eight different entities working together in a complex process would require thousands of hours to manually check documents and manage payments. These companies can be linked together by a blockchain network, making it possible to automate complex processes without the need for manual review.
“Pulling specific data into an encryption distributed ledger creates a verifiable record that any transaction can be verified and accurate,” Maxine Aitkenhead (Director of Business Development at Data Gumbo) and Vice Chair of Blockchain Advisory Council. “The end result is a modern and innovative process that creates touchless transactions while reducing waste.”
3. Increased Compliance Regulations/Laws
Many countries and regulatory agencies have yet to catch up to the impact of blockchain technology on their economies and citizens. Tech companies have many opportunities to help customers navigate through regulatory changes.
“The decentralization and use of different types of tokens (utility payment security etc.) will result in the decentralization of business processes.” “This has legal and regulatory implications,” said Neeraj Sathija, CEO/CTO at Concordus Applications and past cochair of the Blockchain Advisory Council. “These regulations are clear in some countries, but vague or uncertain in others.”
For instance, China curtailed cryptocu
