Blockchain skills will be one of the most sought-after talents in the coming years, says Jitan Chandanani, Blockchain Offerings and Engagement Leader, IBM India/South Asia.

Engineers are being trained internally and externally within all organisations focused on its future offerings, he says in an interview with BusinessLine.

“However, a key point to be noted is that the requirement of engineers is just one of the talents that will be needed for understanding and building blockchain,” he says.

“You will also need personnel who can perform the role of blockchain business leaders, sales and marketing, solution architects, blockchain data scientists, blockchain administrators and blockchain security professionals to truly build a blockchain practice within an organisation.” Excerpts:

Could you elaborate on IBM initiatives in blockchain/ distributed ledger technology?

Key initiatives for IBM in blockchain include:

Supply chain finance and dealer finance: IBM is building a platform that will enable banks and NBFCs to adopt a supply chain and dealer financing platform, ensuring transparency and visibility across multiple tiers of the supply chain ecosystem.

It is expected to be available for on-boarding by banks and their clients as early as January 2019. In addition, IBM is also involved with several other use cases, involving equipment leasing and financing.

Telecom Platform: A telecom-based blockchain network that enables telcos to run multiple use cases, including DND (do not disturb) management, mobile number portability, inter-provider settlements, as well as partnering with non-telco partners for additional services to end-consumers.

TradeLens: This is an open and neutral supply chain platform poised to transform the industry and is already being used by over 100+ clients.

It ensures efficiencies in the international trade process by reducing barriers within the supply chain and trade. Benefits from the platform could increase by nearly 15 per cent, boosting economies and creating jobs.

IBM Food Trust: IBM also manages the global food trust platform for leading food manufacturers including Nestle, Walmart, Unilever to track products across the value chain from farm to fork and meet the required regulatory and food certification guidelines.

Beyond crypto-currencies, which are the next best applicable cases where you think blockchain implementation can be a success?

The list of uses cases that come to my mind at the moment - not an exhaustive list - include:

Banking: Any aspect of leasing and financing may qualify as a solid blockchain use case, trade finance, bank guarantees and loan syndication

Financial Services (capital markets): Security settlements and contract documentation

Insurance: Medical record sharing, claims data sharing for fraud detection and claims management

Healthcare: Electronic health record, counterfeit drugs prevention, and drug testing provenance

Government: Land registry, public welfare distribution schemes, subsidies tracking, motor vehicle registry, and product certification (customs, food regulator, other inspection agencies)

Telecom: DND management, mobile number portability, and inter-provider settlements

Manufacturing: Procurement sub-process including contract management, invoice management, dispute resolution, GST tracking, accounts payable, asset provenance from first sale to disposal, compliance tracking, and inter-company settlements

Media: Ad sales tracking, news source management, and digital IP rights management

Logistics: Delivery tracking and documentation provenance

Have banking/trade finance reached a stage where it could be a potentially pervasive adopter of the technology?

IBM has built and currently manages an active trade finance network out of Europe called We.Trade. The network has enabled banks across the European Union to transact across borders using a blockchain-based transaction mechanism that provides transparency, trust and visibility across markets to buyers and sellers.

More than process efficiency, the platform is already resulting in new revenue for clients by enabling buyers and sellers to trade freely on the basis of the trust mechanism brought about by the blockchain platform.

Many proof-of-concept blockchain pilots have remained just as they are. What is holding them back?

There are several reasons for the lack of movement in certain blockchain-based proof-of-concepts. The key reasons include:

Clarity of concept: Blockchain suffers from some of the notoriety brought about by certain crypto-currency events. Industry leaders such as IBM, Nasscom, Assocham, CII and leading educational institutions such as IITs, IIMs and others have now set up dedicated training programmes to help provide clarity on the true applicability of blockchain, which would drive adoption in the upcoming years.

Regulatory buy-in: While regulators have not been restrictive on the use of blockchain in non-cryptocurrency industries, certain highly regulated industries have adopted a wait and watch approach to adopting blockchain.

Several industry bodies have approached their respective regulatory boards in order to present use cases that will result in customer benefit and increases business productivity.

Standardisation: Organisations such as Hyperledger.org, Ethereum and other fabric developers, global IT services firms like IBM and some of the largest systems integrators including Accenture and Infosys, among others, are constantly working together to develop solutions that can provide interoperability across fabrics and networks. Interoperability is a work-in-progress and on resolution will jump-start the adoption across certain key industries.

Many enterprises still hold the view that blockchain has inherent flaws, hindering its mainstream adoption? Is this a fair assessment?

Too broad a statement - and contradicts all examples and facts stated above.

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