Do we really need a Blockchain?

Blockchain is arguably one of the most controversial technologies around at the moment, even putting aside all currency implementations. With this in mind, we asked this question to a wide range of industry players. “Blockchain is little more than a solution in search of a problem. So many applications seem to add nothing to what a well-designed database can do. Also, when blockchains are designed to mirror real-world objects, the connection from the element physical to its representation seems remarkably tenuous. Thoughts, expansions, negations, all happily accepted. “Only five responded.

Most respondents wanted to separate Blockchain from cryptocurrencies (rightfully so), but the overall tone of the responses ranged from extremely positive to vaguely pessimistic.

Unlike the previous “controversial issue” pieces (they are published every two weeks for readers wishing to follow the series) where we analyzed the answers and reorganized them into common themes, this time we decided to present each answer in its entirety.

Vykintas Maknickas, NordVPN’s product strategist opened the discussion. “When it comes to blockchain applications, people usually refer to decentralized databases behind those applications. However, blockchain should be viewed as a new type of verification system rather than a database.

“[A] The definition shift makes the blockchain perfect for problems that rely on third party verification, such as notarization and value exchange (cryptocurrencies). As a result, the blockchain can change traditional business processes behind applications as soon as data integrity issues are resolved. “

Upon receiving this response, iTWire showed Maknickas a visual analysis of the Blockchain according to NIST.

Maknickas replied: “The infographic only confirms what has been said before. People think of the blockchain as a database. This is not surprising, as there are many that already serve any purpose you can think of.

“However, databases in their traditional form are used to create exchanges of value. They are perfect for the task because that is how traditional money works. Naming a database blockchain underestimates the potential of the technology because there is nothing blockchain as a database does better than a traditional database.

“Instead, the blockchain creates a verification entity on top of the database. And this entity, in most cases, cannot be controlled anywhere that uses it as a database. What I’m trying to say is that the blockchain shouldn’t be compared to PostgreSQL / MongoDB / etc. Stays with the IRS or any similar entity.

“The sooner blockchain developers realize this, the sooner we will see applications that actually bring additional value beyond reading and writing data in a new way.”

Next, Kevin Beasley, CIO of VAI offered his thoughts.

“While many organizations have well-designed databases and business processes, blockchain adds an extra layer of visibility, clarity and accountability.

“For example, let’s take a look at the pharmaceutical industry supply chain, especially as experts work to create a vaccine. Blockchain technology increases transparency and improves supplier visibility and communication, so it’s easier for a manufacturer. show supplier and distributor lifecycle step by step – production, distribution and transportation phase details and records. With the use of blockchain, pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers are able to easily monitor production, storage and the distribution of vaccines en route, ensuring that vaccines are safely delivered to their final destination when the time comes. “

SolarWinds Head Geek Thomas LaRock offered this: “” In my opinion, the blockchain is a long ledger of transactions, written forever and never backed up. It’s a ledger with some math. And while distributed ledgers are useful in some scenarios, you don’t need a blockchain for every scenario.

“People and organizations are turning to blockchain for the decentralization of trust between third parties. And although blockchain claims to solve many problems, it does not solve the data entry problem. Many of our problems are data entry problems. Data can be tampered with – it can be entered with an error, intentional and malicious, or a simple human error.

“A distributed ledger will replace the need for blockchain and many major database vendors can provide it. With these, you don’t need to roll your own blockchain. What you need is an API. Update some data, then switch to the. next task of the day. No need to overcomplicate things. “

To some extent, Daniel Comarmond, Security Software Engineer for Thycotic Australia, agreed, with a few caveats: “I can understand that a single transparent trust source sounds like a good idea, but at this stage if I were seriously considering blockchain I would have they need more clarity and confidence on some elements:

• “Regulation: It seems to me that while some countries in Asia have taken the lead in introducing cryptocurrency regulation – and thus giving some legitimacy to the budding cryptocurrency industry – I have not yet seen anything recognizing it in Australia. or in the United States, for example.
• “Security: I think my biggest problem with the way blockchain security is represented is this: the technology is unassailable and can be trusted because it is decentralized. Are you ready to trust a model that has no references? No way. to control Who will take part in your own blockchain? Even if you choose an authorized blockchain instead of an unauthorized blockchain, who would you trust to administer participation? And then what if a threat actor tries to modify a block in the chain? chain won’t be anonymous, we’re told. But, if that were the point … as an extremist taking credit for a bomb attack? Also, supporting the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum as examples of blockchains that can’t be tampered with should also be questioned. Any new blockchain has to start somewhere – and a new, small blockchain will be increasingly susceptible to attack. acchi – potentially sabotage – precisely because less computational energy will be required to complete rapidly changing a new small blockchain.
• “Energy: This is a double whammy. Not only am I not convinced of the sustainability of multiple blockchains due to the energy required for cryptographic operations, but we have already seen this desire to exploit CPU cycles lead to cyber attacks. This is a widespread use case for privilege management and governance in your organization, ensuring that your organization’s resources are not abused by Bitcoin mining software installed by threats, or worse by people you thought you could trust ” .

We then spoke to Robert Merlicek, CTO – APJ of TIBCO. Merlicek initially chose to tackle the time-based component. “The question is not whether blockchain is relevant, but when it is relevant. We need to understand the conditions under which blockchain should be applied because it can solve many, but not all, problems. It is true that blockchain is not always the answer. with any other technology, we have to consider various factors to determine if it is appropriate.

“Databases have their uses and needs, particularly for relational and continuous data. But blockchain and related technologies such as distributed ledgers (DLT) have many specific advantages over other technologies over databases, especially at a time when trust is key, and all governments around the world are enacting laws to set high standards for digital governance and security.

From there, he turned to Blockchain currency. “Blockchain offers a great way to transact and transfer information in a modern architecture because, in the first place, it is decentralized and highly fault tolerant. With blockchain, information is distributed across all nodes, so there is no single point. Second, it provides validated transactions that are immutable, so it is resistant to modification and tampering. Third, it can be a very secure environment as it is not only decentralized but block-level secured. Finally, all transactions are transparent. and therefore strengthen visibility and trust.

“Due to its decentralized, tamper-proof and highly transparent nature, blockchain is particularly suited to solutions in industries that include many parts in a larger ecosystem and / or require maximum transparency and reliability. they could cover everything from supply chain logistics and retail product touchpoints to pharmaceutical lifecycle management and financial services for money transactions and exchanges. Blockchain technology could also be used for voting.

“The benefit of blockchain solutions is that they eliminate the need for third party clearing houses and also increase the security, verifiability, reliability, timeliness and automation of business transactions and data.

“Of course, blockchain is not without its challenges. For example, it is not easy to code or develop in a distributed environment. There are also multiple different blockchain platforms and a lack of standards in the programming language to create smart contracts or business logic, with everything from Java and C ++, to GO and the proprietary languages ​​in use, it can also be difficult to parse the information in the chain.

“To overcome these challenges, TIBCO has developed a blockchain smart contract solution called Project Dovetail, an open source graphical model-based development environment built on Flogo. It offers the ability for companies to write business logic and deploy them on a blockchain and expose as an API. It also allows companies to leverage other technologies such as advanced analytics and allows data to be integrated into and out of the blockchain. The flexibility of the solution means that it can run in the cloud, on premises or as a hybrid.

“Overall, blockchain technology is promising and the number of use cases continues to grow regardless of vertical. Blockchain and related technologies have the potential to change the way many organizations share data and execute business processes across a business network. However, the key is to choose the technology according to your business needs. There will always be room for less complex solutions: for example, a blockchain may not be needed if a business network is small or if interactions only involve the simple passage of data “.

In summary, it seems that the experts are divided. However, none of them have addressed the problem of irrevocably linking an element in the Blockchain with a physical element in the real world. Perhaps a follow-up question is justified.