The distributed ledger technology that started with the bitcoin digital currency is rapidly evolving into a crowdsourced system for streamlining verification. If blockchain technology lives up to its potential, it could become a game-changing force in any venue where trading occurs, where trust is at a premium, and where people need protection from identity theft. Though no one yet knows how effective or disruptive it will be, now is the time to prepare for its impact.
Your blockchain and distributed ledger efforts will be most effective if you see them as ways to reinforce or strengthen your company’s most distinctive capabilities — the ones that differentiate you in the market. For example, if you’re known for rapid fulfillment and responsive customer service, the fast turnaround rates enabled by blockchain could allow you to stay ahead of competitors. At the same time, the technology is too new and unproven to base your company on. Therefore, your best investments are those that allow you to explore new approaches with strategic potential and understand the costs involved before committing to them.
We recommend creating a core technology working group to better understand the possibilities. But keep a close watch. Working groups like these can easily get caught up in the promise of new technologies, at the expense of your overarching strategy. To counter this tendency, they need to have a clear idea of your company’s strategic goals, and how blockchain could enhance its value proposition — and then they need to constrain their efforts accordingly.
Step 1: Find specific opportunities. Charge the core technology working group with designing an effective path to the future. Start by compiling a list of potential pilot projects for which a distributed ledger could make a difference. One good place to start is with pain points: back-office workarounds, delays, […]
