Blockchain Technology: What is it, and how to benefit from it?

The world is undergoing digital transformation to not only meet the needs of the customer better but also to stay competitive, and Blockchain technology has a big role to play. Both businesses and individuals can benefit from the implementation of this technology. This article offers two perspectives: a quick summary for companies to gain a competitive edge using blockchain, a brief overview of a future career & courses in Blockchain technology for individuals.

Amit Dugh & Ravi Dugh, May 3, 2020

Introduction

In an ever-changing world, Charles Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest” is still apt. We as humans continue to thrive, and it is in our DNA to stay ahead of the curve, stay competitive. During this moment of COVID-19 pandemic, when the world is being reset by the new normal of social distancing.  We would like to bring the focus of individuals and businesses about the need to transform using the latest and cutting edge Blockchain technology.

With the invention of Bitcoin in 2008, came along the “Blockchain Technology,” which was the backbone of this new cryptocurrency system. It was the record-keeping technology based on distributed, decentralized, and public ledger. The technology can be described as a chain of blocks of information. Each block carries three key digital pieces of information.

• Information about the transaction like date, time, the value of the transaction
• Information about the parties involved in the transaction
• Unique “hash” or cryptographic code to distinguish one transaction from another

Alright, we understand that Blockchain is an information chain containing transactions, but who creates it, who stores it, and how can we check it. So let’s take a quick deep dive into its working with five simple steps:

• A transaction is requested
• Information of this transaction is pushed via Peer to Peer network to each node
• Each node validates the transaction using an algorithm
• Approved transactions are represented as blocks of data and added to “public” ledger
• Block is added to the existing chain of transactions and its permanent

Blockchain Benefits for Businesses

Every shareholder wants to own shares of a business that is competitive, sustainable, and profitable. With the latest lockdown measures due to COVID19 being implemented all across the world, as a business owner, we are interested in understanding what strategy is best to align, transform, and grow to maintain the competitive edge and stay ahead of the curve. There are two ways of approaching this, one by reducing cost and other by increasing revenue. Blockchain technology can be deployed to ensure profitability, but where do we invest my money to achieve this. Let’s take a look at the picture below showing the advantages of Blockchain technology.

With a quick look at the picture, we can already see how the cost of operations can be easily reduced by implementing Blockchain technology.

• Reduced transaction cost by removal of trusted 3^rd party intermediaries
• Fraud prevention and more secure due to consensus, encryption and linked to the previous information block
• Reduced cost due to automation of the operations

To see how the revenue can be improved using the Blockchain Technology, let’s review the latest study performed by Boston Consulting Group & Cisco on “Stamping out counterfeit goods with Blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT).” This study evaluated the impact of combining Blockchain technology with IoT to prevent counterfeiting, where 60-80% of the counterfeit sales were reduced. This reduction in counterfeit sales results in approx. 3.85% increase in revenue, with the total net benefit ranging from 2% to 5% of revenue.

Based on the above study and analysis, a business can implement Blockchain technology not just to reduce costs but also to increase revenue. To understand the application of this technology, we can review the value at stake figures across the top sectors.

As a business, the following strategic approaches for blockchain could meet the needs of customers and industry.

Blockchain Careers for Individuals

Blockchain technology is very recent and is still in the early growth phase. Gartner forecasts that the business value from blockchain will reach $360 billion by 2026, surging to $3.1 trillion by 2030. Individuals and businesses who want to stay ahead of the growth curve must act to get their skill set, and blockchain application opportunity identified. Such opportunities must be strategized for implementation, depending on the business cycle and individual situation.

Some of the key advantages of opting for a career in Blockchain technology are below:

• Superior pay
• Work flexibility, i.e., remote work option
• Latest technology – easy to differentiate from other IT jobs
• Job security – Jobs in demand and high industry growth expected

There are tremendous job opportunities available for individuals with skills in Blockchain. Some of the key jobs roles are defined as per below:

• Blockchain Developer: Most of the Blockchain development requires the following skillset
  • Databases as (flat and relational)
  • Data structures (Tree, LinkedList, HashMaps, Stack, etc…)
  • Object Orientation Programming (OOP)
  • Programming languages – (C, C++, Node.JS, Java, Python, etc…)
  • Networking
  • Blockchain Architecture – (cryptographic hash functions, consensus, distributed ledger technology)
  • Smart contracts and Web App using Blockchain technology

• Blockchain Solutions Architect: Blockchain solutions architect is responsible for understanding the needs of the business, prioritize the issues, and develop architected Blockchain solutions to enable the high-value offerings to the company.  Typically, the position is customer facing and also needs to communicate with the development team and get involved on the coding side with onshore/offshore development resources. They always stay up to date with the latest technology and solutions being offered.
• Blockchain Architect: Blockchain architect is responsible for tailoring the architecture of the system, which satisfies the nature of the business, its needs, the stakeholder requirements, and achieves the desired objectives taking into account the constraints at play.
• Blockchain Quality Engineer: Blockchain quality engineer is responsible for conducting the testing and automation of the Blockchain framework. They test for bugs & loopholes in applications to achieve the desired quality.

Many other roles are mentioned below:

• Blockchain Project Manager
• Blockchain legal consultant
• Blockchain web designer
• Blockchain software engineer
• Solidity developer
• Architect- Blockchain security
• Blockchain technical developer
• Cloud Engineer with Blockchain protocol

Online Courses in Blockchain

• EDX (www.edx.org) – EDx is currently offering numerous blockchain courses. These can be classified as Professional, MicroMasters Program, and other courses.

Professional Certificate	MicroMaster’s Program
BerkeleyX – Blockchain Fundamentals	IUx – Information Systems
LinuxFoundationsX – Blockchain for Business	UQx – Corporate Innovation
LinuxFoundationsX – Developing Blockchain-Based Identity Applications
HKUx – FinTech

• COURSERA (www.coursera.org)– Coursera is currently offering numerous blockchain courses. These can be classified as MasterTrack™ Certificate, degrees, and other specialized courses.

Specializations	MasterTrack™ Certificate
Duke University – Entrepreneurial Finance: Strategy and Innovation	Arizona State University – Software Engineering
INSEAD – Blockchain Revolution	Duke University – Blockchain Applications
INSEAD – Blockchain Revolution in Financial Services
NewYork Institute of Finance – Supply Chain Finanace and Blockchain Technology
University of Buffalo – Blockchain

• Numerous courses offer at UDEMY www.udemy.com to gain a specific skill set.
• Blockchain Council www.blockchain-council.org offers numerous classroom and online courses ranging from online degrees to certifications.

Specializations	Certifications & Degrees
Blockchain	Blockchain ExpertBlockchain DeveloperBlockchain Architect
Blockchain Specialization	Blockchain & Digital Marketing ProfessionalBlockchain & Healthcare Professional Blockchain & HR Professional Blockchain & Law Professional Blockchain & KYC Professional Blockchain & Finance Professional Blockchain & Supply Chain Professional
Hyperledger	Hyperledger Expert Hyperledger Developer
Corda	Corda Expert Corda Developer Corda Architect
Quorum	Quorum Expert Quorum Developer
Bitcoin	Bitcoin Expert
Ethereum	Ethereum Expert Solidity Developer Smart Contract Developer
Cryptocurrency	Cryptocurrency Expert Cryptocurrency Trader

• BerkeleyExecEd (https://emeritus-executive.berkeley.edu/blockchain/index.php) – Certificate – Blockchain Technologies and Applications for Business – Online course
• MIT Management Executive Education (https://executive-education-online.mit.edu/presentations/lp/mit-blockchain-technologies-online-short-course/) – Certificate – Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application
• IBM Certified Solutions Advisor(https://www.ibm.com/certify/certs.html) – Blockchain Platform V1/V2

• EDUREKA (www.edureka.co) – Certificate – Blockchain and Ethereum Certification Training – Online
• SIMPLILEARN (www.simplilearn.com) –Certificate – Blockchain – Online

There are many more courses available all over the world, which helps a prospective individual develop knowledge and skills to gain in the field of Blockchain technology.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is essential to note the impact of digital transformation on companies and individuals with the implementation of Blockchain Technology. Plenty of opportunities exist for businesses and individuals to maintain a competitive edge and stay ahead of the curve.  

Work Citation

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