I have been fascinated with blockchain technology for several years now. I began researching this technology in 2014 and have slowly become more and more obsessed with how it works, why it matters and who is innovating in this industry. My main mission is to see blockchain projects succeed in ways that empower individuals, organizations and companies by reducing operational friction in the day to day, while improving their bottom line. Blockchain is important to future business operations because it disperses the burden of security through decentralization and creates efficiency with internal operations.

One of the main issues that blockchain technology addresses is security. Blockchain technology is based on the principle of decentralization. Today most data is stored in a centralized manner. When we store our data or value in one place on one server we make that system vulnerable by having only one point of attack. A blockchain security system has multiple nodes in a network that work in concert to secure data through cryptography. When we use a decentralized system with multiple nodes in that system we spread the burden of security from one node to many. If this is implemented for securing data or value when the system is attacked, the majority of the nodes on the network would need to be compromised instead of just one. This increases security by reducing the risk so that the whole “honeypot” can’t be taken by one bad actor. Blockchain technology improves security by dispersing the burden across a cryptographically secured network through the use of a distributed ledger. The distributed ledger allows all the nodes to share the same immutable copy of transactions. Distributed ledger technology means we can also rethink the way internal business operations and business to business operations are orchestrated.

The major reason blockchain technology redesigns the way we think about operations in business is that a blockchain system shares the same copy of a distributed ledger. Typically, today when different companies need to interact with one another to verify or share data they need to go through a multitude of checks and balances to determine whether or not the data is accurate. Blockchain innovates through acting as each party’s trusted partner with a cryptographically secure, time-stamped and unchangeable history of events, which ensures consensus on the truthfulness of data. The blockchain based system’s recorded events and transactions are based on mathematical proofs, which make it’s security impractical to penetrate. On top of this, if you add smart contract functionality you get a plethora of options as how to customize your blockchain based system for your specific operational needs.

My commitment to understanding blockchain technology, educating others and building community around the subject is driven by the potential of this technology. Current organizational systems can be greatly improved through it’s adoption. Blockchain technology addresses a way to redesign centralized structures into more decentralized structures, which advances security. If there is a need for this type of system it has the potential to reshape our ideas around security, value, identity and trust. These systems could even challenge how we understand external operations in the process of greater shared goals or campaigns of multiple companies.