Chief Information Officers (CIO)s should consider the possible effects of blockchain investments against existing technologies and capabilities and be ready to move when productivity begins to outweigh the earlier hype. As many CIOs begin looking into their digital business transformation strategies, they may wonder how and where blockchain technology fits into their platforms.
CIOs at major banks and financial services companies have already launched full-scale analysis into savings potentials and possible business disruption while integrating new systems.
These are not the only areas for blockchain advancement. CIOs across all industries should understand how blockchain works, and why its limitations are spawning distributed ledger platforms ready to test the first basic integrations for the future programmable economy.

The First Step is Education

Begin by finding blockchain councils, newsletters, and think tanks that share a common goal in finding practical uses for this technology that explain substantial improvements in resource efficiency. Understand how taking advantage of this technology will drive innovation and growth in regions that have not yet modernized to this shift. Pitch your own ideas, incorporate others, and ask questions to solve development issues.
The current focus is on the following industries:

• Supply Chain: fraud prevention, leakage detection
• Cyber Security: messaging, signing, authentication
• Big Data: auditing and analytics
• Internet of Things: registration, tracking usage data, payments
• Human Resources: incentivizing employees, real-time performance, reporting
• Financial: settlements, post-trade data, back-office efficiencies
• Healthcare: patient records management, security, reduced errors

Look for companies like these 10 enterprising start-ups in 2016 striving to achieve the best possible blockchain applications. One promising start-up on the east coast and based in Charlotte, NC is doing that through the creation of LinkedIn groups, network and meet up events both online and locally, up to date newsletter information, and an online Blockchain Council run by Encrypted Labs intended to be a collaborative think tank for technical experts and collective industry knowledge experts to work together.

The Future

It is through the shortcomings of the Bitcoin technical architecture that alternative versions of the blockchain distributed ledger system were discovered. Transactions can be confirmed through an automated network of computers constrained by mathematical rules resulting in transparency across industries. This is not a trend or fad but a new basis for global interaction. Take a step forward to avoid extended disruption to business processes and wasted funds for massive architecture changes later. Corporate Internet Officers should be finding a place to integrate and test blockchain technology on a portion of their operating systems now in order to go full scale later.
Read about The Future of Blockchain
Find Charlotte’s new Blockchain Council
Join the Blockchain Council LinkedIn group
Find information on a list of 10 more of the most recent Blockchain start-ups
Learn basic Blockchain Terms
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