Business drivers and evolution

In the recent past, organizations would run internal business systems and IT infrastructure out to the internet to harness the collaborative potential of interconnected and accessible systems. Blockchain technology is taking this to the next level, offering true digital interaction facilitated by trusted business networks. In the internet era, successful enterprises adopted and adapted to technological challenges, whereas in the blockchain era, business, rather than technology, is the driver for proliferation.

While blockchain technology is interesting on its own, there are a lot of other mechanics of a business network that ought to be evaluated as well, including:

• Consensus models: Which trust system is most fitting for your business network?
• Control and governance: What entities are permitted to do what? Who will own the investigative process if there's a system anomaly?
• Digital asset generation: Who creates an asset in the system? Who governs it?
• Authority for issuance: In a system that's truly decentralized, the notion of authority does not hold together. So in a blockchain network, who would be responsible for governance, culpability, and eventually regulations?
• Security considerations: How will the network address enterprise security, including new security challenges imposed by a shared business network?

We imagine a purpose-built blockchain network that's focused on a plurality of business domains, for example, mortgages, payments, exchanges, clearing, and settlement of specific asset types. In an enterprise context, we visualize a centralized network in which like-minded business entities share a consensus consortium. There are several practical reasons to back this idea of a centralized network, including the following:

• The use of domain-specific business language, which leads to the construction, management, and governance of smart contracts as proxy business representations
• A defined asset type, which leads to governance, management, and valuation (for exchange, fungibility, and so on) of the digital representation of assets

• Appropriate regulation, given that every industry and business network is regulated separately, and therefore the burden of adhering to regulations and other related costs can be shared in the business network
• Other related business functions such as analysis, analytics, market data, and so on

We've now covered the business drivers for enterprise blockchain, so next let's consider what can ensure the sustainability and longevity of a blockchain network.