Earlier this year, Gartner predicted that 2021 would be the year that enterprise blockchain would gain market traction, “surely and steadily.”
So what exactly is an enterprise blockchain?
As the name suggests, an enterprise blockchain is a category of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies (DLT ) that can be used by businesses and other organisations, such as governments, to streamline internal processes and deliver secure solutions for their users.
Enterprise blockchains provide a shared and trusted source of information for a group of organisations, such as a consortium of stakeholders across a value chain. Enterprise blockchain platforms secure and record the information being shared between these different parties, and can also make this information accessible for selected third parties to inspect, for regulatory or certification purposes.
Though the term enterprise blockchain encompasses a wide range of different approaches and protocols, there are several common characteristics that tend to be present across this category.
Permissioned Access
Enterprise blockchains tend to be permissioned. In permissioned networks, members control who can join the network, and, often, what they can do. If necessary, participants can also be removed from the network. This is a critical feature for businesses and governments that need to keep track of who is participating in a given network, what they are doing, and whether what they’re doing is allowed.
Permissioned blockchains are distinct from public blockchains, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, where basically anybody can join and fully participate.
Critics of permissioned blockchains argue that they are less decentralised, and thus less secure, than other more traditional, permissionless models. However, it’s worth noting that public blockchains aren’t always as distributed as they were initially intentioned because of factors like access to cheap energy – making Bitcoin mining more affordable – or the amount of cryptocurrency an individual holds, which provides an unfair advantage in Proof of Stake networks like Cardano.
Accountability
With permissioned enterprise blockchains, every node operator is identified and known to each other. This means they can be held accountable for their actions, should there be any discrepancies or even bad behaviour that are disrupting any processes.
Accountability is an important feature for any enterprise-grade solution to ensure that existing business processes, governance structures, and any other regulatory requirements are being followed.
Scalability
As mentioned earlier, enterprise blockchain solutions tend to be designed for smaller networks where participants are known to each other. The limited number of network participants, compared to public blockchain networks like Bitcoin, means the network has a high throughput capacity, which enables scalability.
In the league of enterprise blockchain platforms: iov42
We have written before that iov42 is not technically a blockchain but instead is inspired by the blockchain. However, as a platform that leverages the principles of DLT specifically to help businesses and governments build trusted solutions, iov42’s core platform falls into the larger category of enterprise blockchain.
One can see how this makes sense since iov42’s platform is permissioned and aims to deliver accountability and scalability for its users.
What sets iov42 apart from other enterprise blockchain platforms is our unwavering commitment to improve upon the scalability, interoperability, regulatory compliance, and energy efficiency of our core technology.
From our identity-centric approach to the unique way we have built our modular platform to our patent-pending consensus mechanism, the iov42 platform is designed to bring governments and businesses peace of mind.
By submitting your email you consent to receive iov42 newsletters by email. You can unsubscribe at any time. For further information, please see our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
