Did you know that client-server applications age quickly?
Take Facebook, for example. It was written in 2009 – less than ten years ago. The technology it’s built upon is now considered archaic for many businesses. Replacing older technologies with newer ones is something companies are doing these days to stay relevant and remain at the forefront of innovation.
There was a time when people could rely on Microsoft Windows as their platform of choice, but now they turn to Apple’s OS X or Google’s Chrome OS instead because both support more advanced features that customers have come to expect from modern software products. The same story exists around business applications too – companies need to update their infrastructure frequently to keep up with user expectations.
The world of technology has been moving at a fast pace. Just ten years ago, social media was completely unheard of and now it’s an essential element within any business strategy. Or take the smartphone market – it took over a decade for mobile phones to displace basic phones from their top position, but now almost everyone carries a smart device in their pockets all day long.
This is why those who keep up with new trends and technologies tend to stay ahead of the curve, while those who fail to do so eventually lose relevance as more innovative solutions enter the market and make their products outdated. Unfortunately, the pace of progress is such that staying on top demands commitment towards constant learning and adapting quickly to new opportunities on offer.
Blockchain Technology: A Major Disruptor
In the technology arena, Blockchain is something that everyone needs to learn about in 2018. It’s a game-changing concept that brings with it immense opportunities while simultaneously challenging some long-standing beliefs about how business should be done. To understand what it really means, you need to first go back in time to 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto published his groundbreaking whitepaper on Bitcoin. This was the beginning of the Blockchain era which has changed the world as the Internet did in the 1990s.
Today almost all industries are exploring ways they can use blockchain technology for their benefit. It has already disrupted finance and banking sectors by offering decentralized transactions without any intermediaries or third parties involved. However, it doesn’t stop there as blockchain has the potential to tackle several other challenges that companies face as well. For example, one of its most important features is immutability – it’s virtually impossible to alter any information stored on a global network and make it incorrect because all transactions are recorded publicly and linked to every single one that came before them.
This eliminates fraud and protects against data tampering which can be used by competitors or malicious third parties for unfair purposes. Database breaches have become common in today’s world, but what if there was an alternative where you didn’t need to store any personal or sensitive data at all? Well, with blockchain this is possible.
You might have already heard about smart contracts, another blockchain-based innovation that allows businesses to cut costs, reduce risks and improve efficiency of their operations. Basically, it’s a piece of code that defines all the rules about an agreement between parties which are then stored on the blockchain for execution without requiring any human involvement.
These are just some examples of how blockchain technology can make an impact on business practices. Another one is decentralized apps – they run on top of peer-to-peer networks instead of centralized servers which make them faster, more secure and less vulnerable to hacking attacks because there’s no single point where cybercriminals could get in. All this sounds very promising but what about real-world applications? How do businesses use Blockchain in their daily activities?
Blockchain Technology Enhancing Businesses
Let’s take a look at some of the most exciting examples.
Iconiq Lab is an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and token sale accelerator program that uses its expert team to identify the projects with the greatest potential, help them move their idea forward and boost funding efforts. It aims at providing companies with resources they need like strategic advice, marketing support and access to a large pool of investors through their ICO’s network.
The second company is Musards which has recently launched its own music streaming platform based on blockchain technology that helps artists connect directly with their fans while allowing users to enjoy ad-free, unlimited streaming of all songs in high-quality audio. The platform intends to compensate creators for every minute their music spends with listeners by using Musards native cryptocurrency.
Conclusion:
Blockchain is disrupting business practices in many ways; it has the potential to transform entire industries by empowering customers and offering them complete control over their data. It also helps companies to improve their operations and increase the transparency of transactions by eliminating intermediaries, reducing costs and increasing security.