What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a modern and smart way of storing any data (health records, currency, bank records, etc). The essence of blockchain is in the fact that it adopts a decentralized approach towards storing data. This means that every person using Blockchain has a copy of the whole data and if a single person wants to manipulate this data for the wrong purpose have to manipulate every single copy, which is extremely hard. Every member works to keep everyone else honest.

How does Blockchain affect the corporate world?

Blockchain might give the impression about being only related to Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but it has many practical applications in the corporate world that can help companies increase their efficiency and security of their tasks. 

Some of the most noteworthy applications are:

• Blockchain in Real estate: the use of blockchain and the underlying distributed ledger technology to increase transparency in real estate transactions. Upgrading the traditional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database to a blockchain-based one would create a more transparent ledger system where brokers and agents could see the entire transaction history of a property.
• Blockchain in Voting: BitShares, a globally distributed database, states “Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) is the fastest, most efficient, most decentralized, and most flexible consensus model available.”
• Blockchain for Book-keeping: Depository Trust & Clearing Corp or “DTCC” which is responsible for keeping the books on 90 million transactions a day, representing most of the world’s $48 trillion in securities —from stocks and bonds to mutual funds and derivatives, is using Blockchain to keep their records safe and secure from any forms of hacks and exploits. 

Companies to watch in Blockchain space

• Reasi: Developer of a crowdfunding blockchain platform designed to revolutionize home lending. The company’s crowdfunding platform leverages smart contracts and offers a worldwide distributed system that ensures every transaction is fraud-free and transparent, enabling home buyers to simplify the financing process and investors to gain security and reduce risk.
• ForgeRock: Developer of a digital identity management platform designed to transform organizational identity and access management. The company’s platform features identity management, access management, identity gateway, directory services, profile, and privacy management, and more which helps to securely connect people devices and things, enabling organizations to deliver trusted digital relationships that improve the personalized customer experience and drive greater value.
• Trusteq (Finnish): Provider of cybersecurity consulting services. The company specializes in identity and access management (IAM) and also offers consultation and application infrastructure services for digital identity.