In this Blockchain tutorial, we are going to learn about Enterprise Blockchain. And we will also understand how this enterprise blockchain is different from other types of blockchain. And we will illustrate the following topics in detail.
- Why Enterprise Blockchain is required
- What is Enterprise Blockchain?
- Enterprise blockchain architecture
- Types of Enterprises Blockchain
- Challenges with Enterprise Blockchain
- Enterprise blockchain versus public blockchain
- Use Cases of Enterprise Blockchain
- Blockchain Platforms for Enterprises
What is Enterprise Blockchain?
The term “enterprise blockchain” refers to a blockchain network that is integrated and used to fulfill business-related objectives. These blockchain solutions are designed to meet the needs of enterprise-level organizations.
Enterprise blockchains are a type of permissioned consortium chain that is primarily used to address business requirements. Here permissioned does not only imply the use of private blockchain. A permissioned blockchain can be private or public with known participants being able to access them.
Enterprise blockchains are typically private and permissioned, and they’re managed by consortium members.
The enterprise blockchain platform will challenge the traditional business models. And also try to take over a significant piece of the global enterprise market.
Many businesses are implementing enterprise blockchain solutions to increase their consumer impact.
Some well-known companies in the United States of America like Amazon, IBM are adopting numerous blockchain projects. And also working collaboratively with an existing enterprise blockchain platform.
Types of Enterprise Blockchain
Now, let’s understand the different types of enterprise blockchain in this section.
Enterprise blockchains are typically permissioned blockchains that can be classified into the following categories:
Private Blockchain: A private blockchain is a restricted and permissioned blockchain that runs on a closed network. In this, a central authority is available who can establish the network rules. And also control the access of participants who can join the network and even change them.
This type of blockchain is typically utilized within an organization where only specific people are members of the blockchain network. Also, it’s suitable for companies and organizations who simply wish to use Blockchain for internal purposes.
Consortium Blockchain: In this blockchain network, the network rules are collectively defined by a group of two or more entities. Also, each entity can contribute to the network at the same time.
By using this blockchain, more than one organization can collectively work in a blockchain network. The most significant advantage is of this blockchain is scalable and highly secure.
Why Enterprise Blockchain is required
In the competitive enterprise world, to keep things moving and developing, businesses require a massive quantity of data management as well as rapid global transactions. And this presents a new set of commercial concerns in terms of security, transparency, and complexity.
- Security: A centralized enterprise architecture is always prone to various malicious attacks. Because there is one central entity that is managing the whole system. Now, if central entity fails or is harmed then, the whole system might fail to work.
- Transparency: There is no one point of access where enterprises can track the services provided to their consumers. This raises the risk of counterfeiting and this can also harm the business.
- Complexity: Every enterprise requires to keep up with a variety of middlemen while maintaining a pleasant working atmosphere. Managing it leads to a slew of issues, as well as higher costs.
One probable solution to all these concerns is to use blockchain technology. Now, an enterprise blockchain solution can help to combine many aspects of a business and help it reach its objectives. And this could help enterprises to add actual value to their business.
Read Introduction to Blockchain Oracles
Enterprise Blockchain vs Public Blockchain
Now, when we consider the use of blockchain technology in businesses, why we are not considering the use of public blockchain.
The main factor for this is that public blockchains are inappropriate for commercial use cases due to several issues.
Issues with public blockchain for Enterprise
So, in this section, we will study some of the key reasons why we can not use public blockchain for enterprise. And we will also understand a detailed comparison between public and enterprise blockchain.
- Performance: Public blockchains are slow, with just a few transactions per second being processed. For example, Ethereum handles roughly 14 transactions per second, while Bitcoin processes 3-4 transactions per second. This slow transaction rate is inconvenient for businesses that rely on quick transactions. Card payment companies, for example, must often handle thousands of transactions every second.
- Privacy: Public blockchains are fundamentally transparent, with everyone able to see everything on the ledger. This means that anyone with access to the internet may quickly view transaction details. Whereas enterprises work more privately.
- Lack of Access: In a public blockchain, anyone can join and participate in the blockchain network. Moreover, in a public blockchain, we have a trustless environment where participants don’t need to know each other.
Whereas in a business, all participants must be acknowledged so that everyone knows with whom they are dealing. Because public blockchains lack an identifying and access control system, they are inappropriate for enterprises. - Consensus: Public blockchains often use a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. But, using this mechanism in an enterprise could be probabilistic.
Also read, Introduction to Blockchain Mining
Comparision between public and enterprise blockchain
Now, let’s take a look at the detailed comparison between enterprise and public blockchain.
| Public | Enterprise |
|---|---|
| The public blockchains are fully decentralized in nature | The enterprise blockchains are semi-centralized in nature |
| In a public blockchain, there is no central authority to manage the network. The network is managed based upon a consensus of participants | An enterprise blockchain is managed via the consortium and voting mechanisms |
| The transaction speed in the public blockchain is slow. | The transaction speed in the enterprise blockchain is fast. |
| The public blockchains are permissionless in nature | The enterprise blockchains are permissioned in nature |
| In a public blockchain, the participants are anonymous | The enterprise blockchain most consists of known users or participants |
| The public blockchains are better in terms of scalability | The enterprise blockchains are not much scalable |
| The use of smart contracts are not necessary for public blockchains | Using smart contracts are necessary for business functioning |
| In a public blockchain, Confidentiality and Anonymity are missing | Confidentiality and Anonymity are key features of enterprise blockchain |
Read Smart Contracts in Blockchain
Enterprise Blockchain Architecture
Till now, we have gone through the basics of an enterprise blockchain. Now, let’s take a look at the standard architecture for enterprise blockchain. This architecture clarifies the fundamental requirements of an enterprise blockchain. Furthermore, it consists of the following components.
Network Layer: The network layer helps in the implementation of various network protocols such as peer-to-peer protocol; The main task of these network protocols is to distribute data or information.
Protocol layer: This is a core layer that is responsible for implementing various tasks including consensus, transaction management, and storage capabilities.
Privacy layer: One of the fundamental advantages of enterprise blockchain is privacy, which is provided by this layer. Furthermore, this layer utilizes various methods to achieve privacy. This includes the use of hardware-assisted privacy, off-chain privacy managers, and zero knowledge.
Governance layer: The main task of this layer is to provide the access control mechanism for consortium network membership.
Integration layer: The main task of this layer is to ensure the integration of traditional, and existing off-chain systems. As such, this layer is not part of the core protocol, but it is critical for delivering business results.
Application layer: The application layer consists of DApps, smart contracts, tools, and other essential applications to serve the enterprise.
Some features like security, monitoring, performance will be required constantly in each layer.
Read Blockchain Uses Other than Currencies
Use cases of Enterprise Blockchains
Blockchain has completely changed the way businesses operate. Companies are prepared to adapt to change since it offers great advantages.
In addition, there are numerous blockchain applications in business contexts. Its ability to be modified is one of the features that makes it so appealing to enterprises. And it opens up a world of business model possibilities.
So, in this section, we will take a look at some examples of enterprise blockchain. And, also understand their application areas.
Healthcare
So, when we talk about the current healthcare system, it is working in a centralized manner. And with this centralized system, healthcare providers do not have a complete view of their patient’s medical history. Also, there are issues with the supply chain process of medicines.
Now, by using blockchain these issues can be resolved where patient data once added into a blockchain will be shared automatically. Also, this will help with the security of patient records and integrity with healthcare providers.
Some healthcare blockchain examples are as follows.
- Nebula Genomics
- Medicalchain
- Guardtime
- Gem
- Iryo
Government
A centralized government is always prone to issues like digitization, cost, privacy, and most important corruption. By using blockchain technology, the government can stay on top of any process in the system.
Blockchain can help governments to conduct their elections most transparently.
Moreover, it allows everyone with voting rights to participate in the election, regardless of where they live or their current position.
They can also address the issue of digital identification by implementing blockchain-based identity management solutions across the board.
Adapting to a blockchain can help in the formation of smart cities, better transportation, easy education, and improved healthcare. The Smart Dubai Initiative is one of the rare examples.
Financial Sector
When it comes to enterprise blockchain, the financial sector has shown the highest acceptance. Blockchain technology helps banks and financial institutes in reducing intermediary costs. And this will help in saving a lot of money.
Several big financial organizations are participating in the revolution. Financial institutions such as American Express, Visa, Citibank, JPMorgan, and many others are working on a better blockchain solution
Supply Chain
The supply chain is the root of any business, big or small, global or local. And it allows companies to reach new consumers faster and more reliably. But, things can go wrong if the management of the supply chain is not done properly.
And The use of blockchain in supply chain management has the potential to transform the industry. It not only improves all aspects of the supply chain, but also benefits end-users by providing transparency, traceability, and efficiency.
Read Pros and Cons of Blockchain
Blockchain Platforms for Enterprises
Blockchain platforms are essential for bringing blockchain technology to enterprises. Moreover, these blockchain platforms help to save a lot of time, money, and other resources.
So, in this section, we will lot at some of the promising blockchain platforms available in the market for enterprise use.
1. Quorum
Quorum is an open-source project initiated by JP Morgan and is primarily created for financial institutions. It promises to serve enterprise business demands by allowing a company to use blockchain technology.
Moreover, It solves important business needs such as privacy, performance, and enterprise permissioning.
Quorum is based on Ethereum, this implies it has smart contracts and the capacity to build decentralized applications (dApps). Projects like VAKT, KIMLIC, IIN, FOGCHAIN ETHHOTELS are utilizing Quorum.
2. Corda
Corda is also considered one of the most advanced enterprise blockchain solutions available. It’s a business-oriented open-source distributed ledger platform. Moreover, it is scalable and interoperable, and it also enables privacy and secured identity.
The standard blockchain requires a large number of nodes to verify a single transaction. But, Corda aims to lower the number of validations and increase efficiency while maintaining all of the blockchain’s features.
3. Hyperledger Fabric
Hyperledger Fabric is one of the initiatives that the Linux Foundation is working on. It is a distributed ledger with a modular architecture that enables the development of blockchain solutions for enterprises.
The Hyperledger Fabric offers a permissioned architecture, modularization, pluggable consensus, and smart contract functionality.
4. Enterprise Ethereum
Enterprises want a blockchain platform that allows for permissioned blockchain development while simultaneously delivering benefits like transparency, security, and immutability. And in this situation, Enterprise Ethereum comes into play.
Enterprise Ethereum is also recognized as one of the most efficient enterprise blockchain platforms available. And it offers blockchains that are scalable, flexible, and secure at the same time.
Moreover, there are three options for implementation: private, hybrid, and consortium.
Read Cryptography in Blockchain
Challenges with Enterprise Blockchain
Till now, we got a clear idea about how enterprise blockchain helps to solve some of the core enterprise requirements. Still, some limitations need to be addressed.
However, much work needs to be done to fully solve these issues. The following are a few of these limitations:
Implementation Cost
The most significant problem for enterprise blockchain is related to the whole implementation cost. And this is because most of the present blockchain platforms are inefficient in terms of transaction speed and energy consumption.
For example, Bitcoin consumes 32 terawatt-hours of energy each year and can only process 3-4 transactions per second. Ethereum, on the other hand, can only handle up to 15 transactions per second.
Moreover, recruiting the right expertise people is quite expensive because the number of knowledgeable people in this new technology is limited.
Low Scalability
One of the most notable barriers to enterprise blockchain adoption is the inability to service many users.
For businesses with a high number of consumers, it is obvious that scalability is an important factor to consider. And such businesses need to assure that the processing remains high regardless of the number of users.
However, the majority of existing enterprise blockchain networks have not been thoroughly tested. As a result, this is currently one of the most significant blockchain implementation issues.
Data Privacy
The capacity to remove middlemen from operations (Decentralization), is the central idea underlying enterprise blockchain.
Furthermore, a well-designed corporate blockchain solution should be able to improve data integrity and transparency.
But, many businesses, on the other hand, are concerned that their data would be accessible to everyone. And this could compromise their business operations.
So, now, enterprise blockchain platforms must find a solution to handle the issue of data privacy to promote mainstream adoption.
Lack of Regulations
Because blockchain technology is still in its early stages, it has several flaws. As a result, defining the legal environment for this new technology is proving difficult for authorities.
For example, a blockchain network is made up of many nodes located all over the world. Therefore, it is difficult for authorities to properly define the jurisdiction.
And also the precise legal obligations of the parties to the transaction after the transaction takes place on the platform.
Security Issues
One of the most compelling features of blockchain is its resistance to cyberattacks. But, due to immature processes and defenses, this technology still has multiple weaknesses.
Users are constantly opting for private blockchain networks to avoid the risk of security issues. Users of private blockchain networks, on the other hand, do not have the same level of autonomy as users of public blockchain networks.
Interoperability
Different development teams work on blockchain solutions, each with its own set of goals in mind. Due to this, there are currently a variety of blockchains available, ranging from public blockchains to application-specific blockchains.
Since there are so many blockchain networks, there is no standard that allows them to communicate with one another.
While various blockchain networks continue to expand, interoperability and integration across them remain a major challenge.
For example, it will be difficult for an enterprise to join the Hyperledger fabric and use Microsoft Azure services without any concerns.
Less Talent
Blockchain technology and everything related to it is still new to this world. As a result, most businesses lack professionals who are familiar with the concept or, more importantly, the impact of enterprise blockchain.
So, organizations do not have the right talent who can help to select the required enterprise blockchain platform.
As a result, this is another blockchain implementation issue impeding the sector’s growth.
Transitioning Is Difficult
One issue with blockchain implementation is the phase of shifting from traditional networks.
Most of the things that blockchain aims to change were already running smoothly before it came.
Similarly, the employees are familiar with the traditional architecture, and adopting a new enterprise solution will demand re-training and re-skilling.
And while trying out a new solution, this can cause uncertainty among workers as well as some conflict.
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So, in this tutorial, we have learned about Enterprise Blockchain. And we have also illustrated the following topics in detail.
- Why Enterprise Blockchain is required
- What is Enterprise Blockchain?
- Enterprise blockchain architecture
- Types of Enterprises Blockchain
- Challenges with Enterprise Blockchain
- Enterprise Blockchain versus Public Blockchain
- Use Cases of Enterprise Blockchain
- Blockchain Platforms for Enterprises
I am Bijay, a Microsoft MVP and founder of TSInfo Technologies, a SharePoint development company. Currently focusing on getting expertise on Ethereum, Solidity, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, etc. Sharing my expertise and tutorials on Bitcoin and Ethereum related technologies. Read More…