Tagged: ibm Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • user 7:35 pm on October 9, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ibm, , real case example,   

    Reflections: one year working blockchain 

    aaeaaqaaaaaaaahdaaaajdvjntcymthklwe0mjktngiync04odm5ltq5mze4mjc2mde1nq

    I’m amazed that it’s over a year since I started this adventure, and figured that it’s good to reflect on what I’ve learnt.

    [1] First projects make real

    First  is what we call our customer’s initial excursions into blockchain usage. More than a disposable “proof of concept” first projects are designed to scale up into production usage. They consist of a two-day design thinking workshop combined with between two and five, two-week agile development sprints. Our goal is to rapidly render an initial solution to prove the benefit of blockchain.

    We’ve seen customers moving quickly from awareness through experimentation towards production. We only recommend blockchain to clients when convinced usage will drive significant business benefit. We seek out initial “baby steps” so our customer can learn fast, prove initial benefit and drive larger benefits over time.

    Most of our work has been in the financial sector, but there are compelling use cases in all industries. We enjoy learning and sharing cross industry – which is exciting and invigorating!


    [2] Business networks drive value

    We use the business network as the first “acid test” – no business network means think again about blockchain usage! Our customers have different approaches to building out the networks to drive full value from blockchain, and we often get to advise and guide them in the pragmatic, practical steps of network formation.

    Our advice is objective, based on the first projects we’ve done with customers, and the key consideration are:

    1. WHAT is the business network – who are the members, their roles and what part will they play in the process of consensus?
    2. HOW will the network be formed? Will all parties be involved from the beginning, or more likely) will the network be incrementally grown over time?
    3. WHEN will new network members be introduced to the blockchain solution? Some of our customers decide to do the first one or two sprints themselves, simulating the role of other network participants whilst others want to involve key network members at the beginning of the journey through participation in the design thinking workshop.

    [3] Choosing a first project is key

    One of the most common questions we get asked in our work with customers is “what’s a good blockchain use case?”  So we’ve developed a way to ensure we are adding enough value by applying blockchain to a particular business problem. The approach is in five common sense steps, as explained in my previous blog post.

    The steps culminate in a “blockchain fit” test – where make sure that the use case hit the attributes of Network | Consensus | Provenance | Immutability | Finality.

    This selection process and associated discussion ensures we end up with a use case that:

    1. is suitable to augment customer awareness on blockchain
    2. can be implemented with blockchain in its current maturity state
    3. ensures blockchain is a good fit and drives significant business value.

    [4] Permissioned networks are ideal for business

    ’s interests are in the application of blockchain to permissioned, business to business networks.  In these networks privacy services – rendered with cryptographic technologies – ensure that participants see only the parts of the ledger that are relevant to them, and that all transactions are secure, authenticated and verifiable.

    Hyperledger blockchain fabric includes fine grained privacy services which can be tuned and configured to meet the needs of a vast variety of different use cases.  Our customers’ needs are also evolving, and our close links with development allow us to influence future requirements based on real customer needs.

    We’ve also noticed that regulators are taking an active interest in most of our first projects in all industries, to understand how they can best interact with this new, fast moving .


    [5] Hyperledger project engenders open innovation

    We are a founder member and key contributor to the Linux Foundation Hyperledger project to build out a blockchain fabric for business. The project now enjoys some 100 members – impressive growth from the 17 founder members in December 2015!

    We’ve already taken early code drops from the project and rendered these as blockchain (beta) services on our BlueMix cloud, and developed a High Security Business Network variant of blockchain that run our z-Series server.

    We are very excited about the promise of Hyperledger and convinced that the open governance, open source and open standards based fabric will engender true open innovation in multiple industries, making the most from the transformation opportunity offered by blockchain for business.

    More blockchain Information?

    1. Blockchain for Government
    2. Proving Provenance with Blockchain
    3. Blockchain and Cyber Security
    4. Blockchain, how SMART is your contract?
    5. Blockchain Privacy Services

    [linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpalfreyman” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”John Palfreyman”] is Director – Blockchain at IBM Cloud Division

     
  • user 9:42 pm on September 21, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ibm,   

    RGAx-AURA Blockchain Hackathon 

    aaeaaqaaaaaaaaixaaaajdy1n2i5ywuzlwnjnzqtndm2my04n2u1ltq0mtkxnmzkntuxna

    Myself and a few of my colleagues recently traveled to St. Louis to support the first RGAx-AURA . From September 8-10 we were hosted by the Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), one of the world’s largest life reinsurance companies, and provided mentorship to teams discovering how blockchain could impact the future of insurance. It was a very rewarding experience and hopefully one of many blockchain hackathons I will be privileged to support in the near future.

    On a personal note, I saw first hand the challenges facing developers of blockchain applications. Weather they were using Hyperledger on Bluemix, Ethereum, or a bespoke solution, teams first had to be comfortable with what makes blockchain so valuable. Not everyone recognized the best uses of the and I even found myself steering a team away from an idea that was best suited for ‘centralized’ solutions. Blockchain is a new technology and there is a long runway before this plane takes off, particularly in financial use cases like insurance. I digress.

    Reinsurance contracts can be very transaction intensive. Administering a single contract can last several years and present multiple challenges due to slow, missing or incomplete documentation exchange among parties. Detailed financial transactions, letters of credit creation, renewal requirements, collateralization needs and collateral drawdown can add increased layers of complexity. Using blockchain allows an insurer and its reinsurers to share a common, permissioned ledger that streamlines the process through consensus. Smart contracts establish reinsurance terms and conditions, and authorized transactions provide triggers and conditions for coverage and payments, as well as collateral creation and drawdown. The result—fewer disputes, easier reinsurance audits and lower volatility.

    To apply the potential of blockchain to insurance, 60 developers, designers, and entrepreneurs from RGA, RGAx, Aura and Global IT, as well as select student groups and partner companies (like Daugherty Business Solutions), the event was a resounding success. The cafeteria and adjoining conference room were quickly transformed into a hacker-space. was there to provide mentorship and support, and I was able to give a talk on what we are doing and seeing in this space.

    On Saturday afternoon the 12 surviving projects submitted and demoed in front of a panel of judges, and a crowd of talented individuals, eager to see what kind of projects emerged from just over 36 hours of hacking!

    The Grand Prize winner ($15,000 and the chance to pitch to RGAx Execs) was the AURAAMERENteam BeXchange, a x2x mobile insurance exchange platform connecting consumers who are in need of coverage with a distributed network of potential investors.

    The runner up team was Daugherty team Facultative Underwriting Solutions (aka fReMarket), who created a moderated marketplace for facultative underwriting. They will receive $2,500 from Daugherty Business Solutions.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Find My Funds Daugherty team: Suzanne Zimmerman, Mark Schilling, Andrew Maxwell and Ted Berger.

    Simply Carrots AURA team: Caroline Specter, Brian Compton, Praveen Kota and Shawn Crain.

    New Kids On The Blockchain RGA team: Jonathan Bolhofner, Christina Gerst, Charles McKiel III, Curtis Keller, Bobby Buddha.

    Best use of IBM BlueMix:

    Healthchain Daugherty – RGA team: Lucia Del Pino, Joseph Ondrus, Venus Patel, Alex Gillete. The solution concept of Healthchain revolves around collecting data from wearable devices and storing on a block. Multiple blocks can then be added to the blockchain. The person can then give access to that information to Doctors, Insurance companies, Gym & Fitness companies, Health Monitoring Emergency companies, etc. as needed. This will enable Usage based Insurance, discounts on Insurance premiums, Gym memberships, and even emergency health monitoring services for seniors. This team won an opportunity to meet and have lunch with the IBM Blockchain team in St. Louis. You can find the code for this solution at: https://github.com/SgtRock91/marbles-chaincode.git

    Overall, it was a fantastic event to be a part of and I look forward to seeing what comes out of IBM’s next Blockchain hackathon in NYC October 7-8. Further, I will be supporting the Moovel Blockchain hackathon in Austin on September 23, 2016. Hope to see a great turnout at both!


     [linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbrakev” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”Sloane Brakeville”] is Blockchain Specialist at IBM
     
c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
e
edit
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
l
go to login
h
show/hide help
shift + esc
cancel
Close Bitnami banner
Bitnami