There’s a lot of hype around blockchain technology. However, this hype is justifiable as it has brought about a major change in the way business is conducted through addressing a variety of issues that hamper efficient daily operations.
It is due to the fact that blockchain technology is not what was previously thought could be utilized by businesses in a variety of industries, apart from cryptocurrency. This is why it’s your responsibility as an owner of a business to make sure that you implement blockchain technology to address a lot of the problems you face daily.
If you’re looking to think of ways to use blockchain technology to improve your business and reaping its advantages, then look no further. Here’s a helpful guide from Oxford Gold Group taking you through the steps you need to follow to ensure a successful implementation of blockchain technology.
Table of Contents
How to Successfully Implement Blockchain for Business
1. Understand What Blockchain Technology
It’s essential to understand the basics of blockchain technology before exploring its application strategies. Blockchain is an open, decentralized network which companies and individuals can safely transfer and store information, as well as keep track of current events instantly. The name of this technology is blockchain because of the way data will be placed in “blocks” and linked together with a permanent “chain.”
Blockchain technology’s design is difficult to alter information, which is the reason why many industries use it, like cybersecurity, healthcare and payment. The guarantee of security is made by adding an additional block makes it difficult to modify the previous blocks. This means that every block’s security increases as time goes by.
Once you’ve figured out the workings of blockchain technology, your next task is to figure out ways to integrate it into your company. In the end, blockchain technology will not go away anytime soon and it’s a good idea to embrace it to propel your company to new goals. Here are some suggestions to use to make the most of blockchain technology.
2. Know the Use Case
The most important thing you need to do to ensure the success of blockchain technology’s implementation is to determine the use cases. This involves finding, defining, and arranging your reasons for needing to utilize blockchain technology.
While doing this, you’ll need determine the specific issue you’re looking to solve and whether using blockchain technology can help you achieve your objective. However, before selecting it, be sure that you’re familiar with the procedure in detail and determine the bottlenecks that could be causing problems.
In determining the need for It is recommended to start with a small. When you’re doing this, consider a few questions. They include;
- Do you require a Blockchain?
- What are your objectives or aims?
- What is the reason your business requires the implementation of blockchain?
If you can answer every one of those questions, it will be easy to determine whether blockchain implementation is needed by experimenting, using, and then analyzing the outcomes. In this way, you’ll be able to be certain that the adoption of blockchain won’t have a negative impact on the bottom line of your business.
3. Understand Your Readiness
Blockchain technology is certainly fascinating; in fact it’s still a new concept and people are amazed by the possibilities. However, it’s ideal not to jump into implementing the technology before ensuring that everyone who works within your company is receptive to the concept of making use of blockchain technology.
Otherwise, you’re likely to not be successful from the beginning. Since this is the last thing you’d like as a business owner. you must assess your business’s ability to handle an initial proof of concepts for blockchain technology.
To make sure your company is well-prepared for the blockchain’s successful implementation The following are the items you should have
- Product owners
- Subject matter experts from different Legacy Systems
- Subject Matter Experts in System Integration
- An orderly Project Team
- Blockchain Subject Specialists in the field
With all of these major elements in place, your company has everything it requires to work across the board.
4. Pick A Blockchain Carefully
There are a variety of blockchain-related solutions to choose from, therefore you must be cautious and thoughtful when choosing the best one for your particular business. This can be done by doing extensive research as well as looking at your budget. Here are some blockchain-related platforms to think about:
- Stellar
- Quorum
- Ethereum
- Multichain
- Openchain
- Hyperledger Fabric
- Corda
Do your homework carefully before choosing the most suitable blockchain platform in order to avoid being swindled by salespeople. Additionally, you should that you are evaluating the technical expertise of the team since an experienced person is better placed to provide you with more relevant guidance.
5. Build An Eco-System
To maximize the effectiveness of your blockchain it is essential to create an ecosystem that can make use of blockchain technology. It is highly recommended to have numerous stakeholders in the business or organization that are aware of the technology and its capabilities can help increase confidence among the companies involved. Furthermore, the rules regarding the blockchain model could be understood by everyone involved.
There are several suggestions that stakeholders need to make to ensure the proper application of blockchain technology. that includes:
- Strategies to ensure that the benefits and costs are equally shared among each shareholder
- Participation rules
- The established governance mechanisms, include regular verification and auditing to ensure that the blockchain is operating as intended.
- The governance framework
- The person who validates the latest data is the one who writes it to the blockchain
- A control framework as well as the risks to be addressed in sharing architecture.
6. Choose The Right Consensus Protocol
A consensus protocol is the mathematical aspect of a problem that requires an immense amount of calculation. There are a variety of consensus protocols that you can choose from, and you shouldn’t be rushing to pick one without conducting your own research. Consensus protocols require the use of a mining device to check a solution after coming up with the solution.
If someone comes up with the solution, they’re granted the option of writing the next block, with the difficulty level changing according to the network’s complete capability.
Blocks are written at regular intervals and this safeguards against hacking attempts and spam. With consensus protocols, there is an indisputable connection between both the network distributed as well as devices that helps to prevent the system from being exploited.
The different protocols for consensus available to select from include:
- Byzantine Fault Tolerance
- Delegated Proof-of-Stake
- Proof-of-Stake
- Proof-of-Weight
- Proof-of-Work
- Delegated Proof-of-Stake
7. Be Prepared For The Unknown
It’s not realistic to expect the process of the implementation of Blockchain technology effortless. It’s because you’re going to encounter major difficulties in the future. In the end, blockchain technology is relatively new and it’s not guaranteed to provide that you’ll have the answer to every issue.
The main issue you have to face is security. It is a possibility even though hacking into the blockchain network is virtually impossible. The security flaw occurs as data flows through to the IoT cloud onto the messaging bus. So, it is unlikely to have any problems while implementing this technology, and knowing this will let you know whether this is an optimal option for you.
Additionally, there’s plenty of confusion surrounding regulations and guidelines for blockchain that differ across different countries. Due to this, you need to be sure to stay up with the latest regulations. And even better, become an active participant in the policymaking process.
8. Identify The Crucial Performance Indicators
You’re interested in knowing if blockchain technology is bringing positive outcomes for your company. To determine this, you have to determine what you call KPIs. Indicators (KPIs) and this will enable you to evaluate a specific set of deliverables. This is accomplished by making sure that you align the Key Performance Indicators with the particular business problem you’re dealing with.
When you design KPIs be sure to inform stakeholders via the appropriate channels. This must be designed in a manner that is able to tell a story. It is also recommended to make the KPIs that are applicable to all stakeholders.
9. Design Deliberately
The blockchain should be planned carefully in order to work with current processes and to solve various organizational challenges. If not, a re-design of the procedures could be necessary to set the foundation for blockchain.
The deliberate design of blockchain demands that you involve other teams within the company apart from the tech experts. Other departments include operational and management departments, and their involvement can help you identify the potential problems.
This means it’ll be possible to create suitable solutions. Other things to keep in mind when you implement blockchain technology are cybersecurity, compliance as well as privacy considerations.
10. Work As A Team
If you’re keen to go deep with the implementation of blockchain technology, you should think about working with others on the development of. If you work with other people can you quickly detect bugs and then fix them appropriately.
This is typically the case since it’s less likely that you’ll overlook bugs when working in with a group since you’ll work together to solve the problem. One way to incorporate is pairing testing, usually through the inclusion of IT or Business.
When you’re testing with a team and you’ll realize that a known bug isn’t actually a bug but an underlying business feature.
Takeaway
Blockchain technology makes sense for business owners since it offers security, decentralization, as well as the ability to change. This is why your trust in this technology has increased tremendously and you are keen to integrate it into the daily operations of the business.
However, blockchain technology is difficult for many as well as how it will be implemented. It shouldn’t be a problem following this guide and understanding the guidelines to follow for the success of blockchain technology.
