The Pragmatic Guide to Driving Value and Disrupting Markets with Blockchain "Blockchain’s potential to transform businesses has generated a tremendous amount of excitement across industries. However, it can be difficult for decision makers to develop a practical approach to blockchain for their specific business requirements. By identifying and clearly describing the value of blockchain for enterprises, as well as the processes required to harness blockchain to achieve business objectives, Blockchain for Business presents a startlingly concise yet comprehensive roadmap for business leaders. This book is an excellent resource for anyone looking to leverage blockchain to transform their business." —Dr. Won-Pyo Hong, President & CEO of Samsung SDS “Much has been written about blockchain in the past few years: what it is and what it is not (at various levels of detail), as well as the technology’s long-term strategic value for companies, industries, and economies. However, what we’ve been missing is a practical, operational, ‘how to’ set of steps for creating, implementing, and operating a blockchain-based solution. This book aims to fill that gap. It’s an invaluable tool for anyone ready to take the plunge and start taking advantage of this remarkable technology.” —Irving Wladawsky-Berger, research affiliate, MIT; columnist, WSJ CIO Journal; VP Emeritus, IBM "I will never be able to adequately express how useful this book will be to my class. In addition the great chapters on cybersecurity, I loved the Integration Models, especially 'Coexistence with Systems of Record.' Legacy integration with Blockchain is a critical barrier, and you nailed it!" —Thomas Doty, JD, LLM - Adjunct Professor, University of New Hampshire Law Blockchain enables enterprises to reinvent processes and business models and to pursue radically disruptive applications. Blockchain for Business is a concise, accessible, and pragmatic guide to both the technology and the opportunities it creates. Authored by three experts from IBM’s Enterprise Blockchain practice, it introduces industry-specific and cross-industry use cases, and reviews best-practice approaches to planning and delivering blockchain projects. With a relentless focus on real-world business outcomes, the authors reveal what blockchain can do, what it can’t do yet, and where it’s headed. Understand five elements that make blockchain so disruptive: transparency, immutability, security, consensus, and smart contracts Explore key use cases: cross-border payments, food and drug safety, provenance, trade finance, clinical trials, land registries, and more See how trusted blockchain networks are facilitating entirely new business models Compare blockchain types: permissioned, permissionless, private, public, federated, and hybrid Anticipate key technical, business, regulatory, and governance challenges Build blockchain financial models, investment rubrics, and risk frameworks Organize and manage teams to transform blockchain plans into reality Whether you’re a senior decision maker, technical professional, customer, or investor, Blockchain for Business will help you cut through the hype and objectively assess blockchain’s potential in your business. Register your product for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available.

The definitive pioneering blueprint covering the what, why and how of the blockchain. Blockchains are new technology layers that rewire the Internet and threaten to side-step older legacy constructs and centrally served businesses. At its core, a blockchain injects trust into the network, cutting off some intermediaries from serving that function and creatively disrupting how they operate. Metaphorically, blockchains are the ultimate non-stop computers. Once launched, they never go down, and offer an incredible amount of resiliency, making them dependable and attractive for running a new generation of decentralized services and software applications. The Business Blockchain charts new territory in advancing our understanding of the blockchain by unpacking its elements like no other before. William Mougayar anticipates a future that consists of thousands, if not millions of blockchains that will enable not only frictionless value exchange, but also a new flow of value, redefining roles, relationships, power and governance. In this book, Mougayar makes two other strategic assertions. First, the blockchain has polymorphic characteristics; its application will result in a multiplicity of effects. Second, we shouldn’t ask ourselves what problems the blockchain solves, because that gives us a narrow view on its potential. Rather, we should imagine new opportunities, and tackle even more ambitious problems that cross organizational, regulatory and mental boundaries. Drawing on 34 years of technology industry experience as an executive, analyst, consultant, entrepreneur, startup mentor, author, blogger, educator, thought leader and investor, William Mougayar describes a future that is influenced by fundamental shifts brought by blockchain technology as the catalyst for change. William Mougayar has been described as the most sophisticated blockchain business thinker. He is a blockchain industry insider whose work has already shaped and influenced the understanding of blockchain for people around the world, via his generous blogging and rigorous research insights. He is a direct participant in the crypto-technology market, working alongside startups, entrepreneurs, pioneers, leaders, innovators, creators, enterprise executives and practitioners; in addition to being an investor, advisor, and board member in some of the leading organizations in this space, such as the Ethereum Foundation, OpenBazaar and Coin Center. Just as the Internet created new possibilities that we didn’t foresee in its early years, the blockchain will give rise to new business models and ideas that may still be invisible. Following an engaging Foreword by Vitalik Buterin, this book is organized along these 7 chapters: 1. What is the Blockchain? 2. How Blockchain Trust Infiltrates 3. Obstacles, Challenges & Mental Blocks 4. Blockchain in Financial Services 5. Lighthouse Industries & New Intermediaries 6. Implementing Blockchain Technology 7. Decentralization as the Way Forward The Business Blockchain is an invitation for technologists to better understand the business potential of the blockchain, and for business minded people to grasp the many facets of blockchain technology. This book teaches you how to think about the blockchain.

Blockchain is transforming business. What's your strategy? Leaders of forward-thinking organizations are exploring how blockchain can transform the way they create and seek value. Whether it's used to streamline multiparty processes, create and trade new assets, or leverage artificial intelligence and the internet of things, blockchain enables entirely new business opportunities. This is just the start. As blockchain becomes more widely adopted, it has the potential to radically change the way companies and societies operate, as transformative a paradigm shift as the launch of the internet. The Real Business of Blockchain is one of the first books on this transformative technology written for business leaders. Authors David Furlonger and Christophe Uzureau--both of Gartner, the world-renowned research and advisory company--will help you: Assess how blockchain will impact your business Explore the value proposition that blockchain offers Make smart near- and midterm investments Position your organization in a new competitive landscape Timely, visionary, and accessible, The Real Business of Blockchain cuts through the hype and helps you unlock the vast capabilities of this powerful and potentially world-changing technology.

This book sets out to explain blockchain for the non-technical expert, to decipher the dense technicalities that dominate the field and to present the opportunities for busy professionals using practical applications and case studies. Presented in a clear and structured way and with documented real-world cases, the book is a practical reference guide that can be used across different industries. It offers both a constructive and critical review of the pain points blockchain is facing today, illustrates the pitfalls as well as the opportunities for business and describes the steps towards overcoming them. It also aims to provide a unique view of both the intersection and synergy of blockchain with other emerging technologies and the wider digital ecosystem, as we see increasingly that blockchain alone won’t be able to deliver business solutions. Most important, the book identifies trends and a path for the future of blockchain and its impact on society as a whole. The book is written for business audiences across all sectors. It is not a technical guide to blockchain, but it enables businesspeople to be better informed and prepared to plan ahead and develop strategies using blockchain.

Bitcoin is starting to come into its own as a digital currency, but the blockchain technology behind it could prove to be much more significant. This book takes you beyond the currency ("Blockchain 1.0") and smart contracts ("Blockchain 2.0") to demonstrate how the blockchain is in position to become the fifth disruptive computing paradigm after mainframes, PCs, the Internet, and mobile/social networking. Author Melanie Swan, Founder of the Institute for Blockchain Studies, explains that the blockchain is essentially a public ledger with potential as a worldwide, decentralized record for the registration, inventory, and transfer of all assets—not just finances, but property and intangible assets such as votes, software, health data, and ideas. Topics include: Concepts, features, and functionality of Bitcoin and the blockchain Using the blockchain for automated tracking of all digital endeavors Enabling censorship?resistant organizational models Creating a decentralized digital repository to verify identity Possibility of cheaper, more efficient services traditionally provided by nations Blockchain for science: making better use of the data-mining network Personal health record storage, including access to one’s own genomic data Open access academic publishing on the blockchain This book is part of an ongoing O’Reilly series. Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Crypto-Currencies introduces Bitcoin and describes the technology behind Bitcoin and the blockchain. Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy considers theoretical, philosophical, and societal impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.

The book discusses the various ways that blockchain technology is changing the future of money, transactions, government, and business. The first two chapters walk through the foundation of blockchain. Chapters 3–12 look at applications of blockchain in different industries and highlight its exciting new business applications. It show why so many companies are implementing blockchain, and present examples of companies who have successfully employed the technology to improve efficiencies and reduce costs. Chapter 13 highlights blockchain’s powerful potential to foster emerging markets and economies including smart cities, value-based healthcare, decentralized sharing economy, machine to machine transactions, data-sharing marketplace, etc. Chapter 14 offers a conceptual model, provides information and insights, and covers a step-by-step approach to plan and develop blockchain-based technology.

Business professionals looking to understand the impact, future, and limitations of blockchain need look no further. This revolutionary technology has impacted business and the economy in unprecedented ways within the past decade, and it is only continuing to grow. As a leader in your organization, it is vital that you decode blockchain and optimize all the ways in which it can improve your business. Author of Decoding Blockchain for Business, Stijn Van Hijfte, expertly emphasizes the imperative of professionals in any sector of industry to understand the core concepts and implications of blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies, cryptotrading, and constantly-changing tax structures for financial systems using blockchain technologies are covered in detail. The lasting effects of blockchain across specific industries such as media, real estate, finance, and regulatory bodies are addressed with an insightful eye from Van Hijfte. If not properly implemented with care and a foundation of knowledge, blockchain brings risks and uncertainties to a company. Know your technology to be ready for the present and the future, and stay ahead of the curve. Blockchain is here to stay, and Decoding Blockchain for Business is your professional roadmap. What You Will Learn Discover the risks associated with blockchain if not properly implemented Gain insights on how blockchain technology affects other booming topics such as AI, IoT, and RPA Look at the regulations surrounding Blockchain in different countries Who This Book Is For Business professionals looking to understand the impact, future, and limitations of Blockchain and how individuals and companies should prepare for this technology.