Ways in Which Blockchain Can Revolutionize the Business WorldPosted by David Bishop on July 31st, 2018 The most important thing worth knowing about the blockchain technology is that it stands to revolutionize the way in which the internet and the exchange of digital information work. Due to the reliability of the connection and inability of any malicious third party to alter the data, we might soon arrive in a situation in which we can trust strangers online more than we do to people we know. To some, this is a disturbing thought but to others, this is a unique opportunity to for a present-day business world to evolve into something much different. Needless to say, most present-day businesses can’t avoid digitalization in one way or another. Even the most traditional local small businesses tend to exchange emails with their partners. Therefore, saying that the blockchain technology will completely change the business world as we know it is not that bold of a claim, it comes as more of a statement of a fact that most people acknowledge today. With that in mind, here are several ways in which blockchain can revolutionize the business world.
The first major difference that will occur will be the one regarding your supply chain. First of all, almost every business out there depends on the efficiency of the supply chain. Retailers need to keep their stores and warehouses stocked, service providers need to keep enough supplies in order to perform their job while manufacturers stock up with raw materials and resources. The problem with modern outlook on the supply chain lies in the fact that you only know the starting and the end point of your supplies. This is particularly problematic due to the fact that your supplier needn’t be the most conscientious one and form the route so that it’s more convenient for them, regardless if the supplies you’ve ordered are perishable or have specific needs. The best example of this is the food industry, where you, as a restaurant (for instance) must guarantee the absolute freshness of the goods that you are selling, even if you don’t have the insight in the transportation process. The beauty with blockchain technology is that you’ll be able to track food directly from the farm to the store. Truth be told, this can only be achieved through the crossover between the blockchain technology and the internet of things (IoT).
Another massive change that we could expect from the blockchain is the one to the marketing industry. Namely, the first change that this will introduce is more accurate and reliable audience targeting. With the free flow of information and the freedom that this safety of online interactions brings, people will not be afraid to share even more data over the internet and, therefore, with digital marketers, as well. As a direct result, we’ll have a rise in advertiser trust and a diminishing privacy concern of individual users and smaller brands.
More accountability is yet another massive shift that this technological trend may give birth to. Due to the fact that data is paramount, the quality of information will gain priority over quantity. With the abundance of industry-specific platforms, the job of looking through various digital marketing agencies and picking the right one will become both easier and more reliable. Most importantly, the issue of fraud prevention and security of payment, which is a plight of this industry, will be forever resolved and the only way in which this can result is the enrichment of the industry.
We all know there’s always a downside, here it lies in the fact that, as a side-effect, the number of malicious ads will also grow. Still, this will also lead to the rapid growth of the fraud verification industry which is, as of today, still horribly underrepresented. All in all, with the help of the blockchain, it will be much easier for tech startups to figure out who’s manufacturing, running and sending these ads, which will, in turn, make this industry much more dangerous for hackers and other malicious parties.
Since the dawn of time, contracts are the key tool for fraud prevention in the business world. Here, it’s specified which party has to fulfill which terms in order to get what kind of compensation. The greatest downside of this system, even though some people still wont recognize it, is the need for the third party to vouch for people in question. With the blockchain, such a thing wouldn’t be necessary. The very concept of self-executing contracts exists since the early 1990s, yet, up until today, it wasn’t possible to bring this idea to life due to the shortcomings in technology. Nowadays, this is no longer the case.
Imagine a scenario where you put a property up for a sale, you set the price and the conditions, as well as automate the transfer of ownership once these conditions are finally met. A buyer meets all of these conditions and follows the required electronic procedure, which results in an effortless, middleman-less transfer of ownership. A similar change (improvement) may take place in the landlord-tenant relations and even further increase the efficiency of your operations. Namely, with the help of the IoT, blockchain and a simple gadget such as smart lock, you can create a system where a tenant pays the rent for the month and then receives an access to the place they’ve rented. This is particularly useful for both parties, seeing as how some landlords find it difficult to stand up to their tenants, while tenants may find landlords too meddling or too controlling. This trend alone handles both of these issues to everyone’s satisfaction. This places the blockchain technology on the very top of profit-maximizing tips in real estate, along with some other useful trends and tips worth considering.
More and more business works across borders of their home country, yet, the issue of collaboration with partners through foreign banks is less than ideal. Sure, online payment methods and gateways may sound like a great solution, yet, depending on the quantity of money you will be transferring, this might cause a substantial fee. Moreover, the speed of transaction sometimes makes a bigger obstacle than the fee itself. With the blockchain technology, this might change sooner than you expect. In this research from KnowledgeE you can see just how close we are. This will not only make these B2B interactions simpler and more favorable for all parties but also make the issue of profit repatriation much simpler. This will cross one more problem off the list for those entrepreneurs who still can’t figure out whether they should start a branch or a subsidiary abroad. Overall, simpler international payments may further enhance the trend of hyper-connectivity, thus benefiting the business world as a whole.
The fiasco surrounding the election 2016 polls has shocked the entire world, however, when carefully considered, this isn’t necessarily that shocking or unexpected, to begin with. First of all, if a person knocked on your door and asked you who you aim to vote for, would you give them a candid answer or merely refuse to answer? With the blockchain method of securing the information, these polls can now become both more candid and more accurate. Same goes for voting, where malicious third parties will no longer be able to alter votes or results. Both of these are applicable in the business world, especially in scenarios where there’s a boardroom vote, which, some parties have a direct interest in altering. Overall, by giving people a chance to cast anonymous votes without the fear of some votes not being valid will help avoid leverage pressure on people who are still on the fence. This will give minor shareholders more control over companies they’ve invested in.
The next thing you need to examine is the issue of banking and revolution that this industry will undergo in contact with this newly-emerging technology. First of all, handling some of the above-listed self-executing contracts, settlements and process payments will be a matter of seconds, instead of taking days to execute. Moreover, one of the greatest concerns that people have with present-day banking is the concern around hefty fees, which, caused more and more people to choose online payment gateways and cryptocurrencies over them. Next comes the elimination of the middleman and middleman-related expenses, this banking system will become much cheaper to maintain. In turn, we will notice these fees lowering immensely or getting avoided altogether. Most important change, as well as one that will be immediately noticeable, is the fact that, due to the reliability of this system and a narrow margin of error, people won’t have to deal with things like minimum account balance and credit history. Now, the minimum account balance may not seem like much for an individual user or a small business, yet, once you take into consideration the number of accounts in institutional banks, the huge portion of global assets tied up this way will for sure surprise everyone. Needless to say, by putting all of this money in circulation, you’ll increase the cap of the global market as well as increase the overall purchasing power.
In the introduction, we talked about the shift in the global mindset of people who are suddenly placed in a scenario where, for the first time, they can absolutely trust the person on the other end of the line. Impulse purchases getting snuffed out by a fear that the offer in question isn’t genuine but a hoax everyday. With the blockchain technology, the security of transfer is so reliable that one can finally put these fears completely behind. This might make a huge difference in both B2B and B2C deals, seeing as how people will be able to focus entirely on the quality of the deal, instead of having to worry about these abstract parameters.
One of the reasons why healthcare industry is so individualized and, well, unique in so many different ways, is due to the fact that no other line of work is so governed by laws, regulations and standards. Nevertheless, healthcare is an industry in a traditional sense. Sure, it generates profits, yet, in most countries around the globe, it’s a mandatory service provided by the state for the well-being of their citizens. Still, it has so many manufacturing industries tied to it, like pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment manufacturers. One staggering statistic claims that about 30 percent of the entire expense surrounding healthcare gets stuck in administrative taxes and processes. We’re talking about nearly one-third of the industry, getting wasted on something that doesn’t provide direct service or benefit to anyone. It goes without saying that this is something that the use of the blockchain technology can benefit. With the current size of the global healthcare network, we’re talking about multi-trillion-dollar improvement.
We saved the most obvious for the last, seeing as how this technology gained the spotlight and developed with this purpose in mind. Either way, as cryptocurrencies like Ethereum gain on popularity, the interest in the blockchain technology rises, which also means more investors, developers and users. Regardless of how innovative or ground-breaking a trend, it can’t make the necessary market penetration on its own. Last year’s explosion of cryptocurrencies, ensured that this trend is closely monitored all-year long. This lead to the outburst of platforms focusing on the blockchain and its various aspects. ConclusionAt the very end, it’s more than clear that the biggest improvement that the blockchain technology might be able to help out the business world is with greater cost-efficiency. Determining the cost aspect is easy, the fact that there are no extra fees or unnecessary taxes means lower expenses and greater profits for everyone. The greater efficiency allows you to handle complex bureaucratic tasks in a matter of minutes, instead of having to wait days to have them completed. All of the above-listed is the main reason why some claim that the blockchain technology stands to revolutionize, not just the internet but the way in which we exchange information altogether. Like it? Share it! |