Preface
Because blockchain has the potential to drive the re-imagination of processes and business models in a distributed and decentralized manner, it can be a transformational technology for many businesses. Many business and technology leaders, however, might overlook its potential usage and value for their business and industry, or associate it primarily with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency applications.
Although blockchain is the foundational technology underpinning Bitcoin, it has broad applicability to multiple industry use cases and enables compelling value propositions beyond the financial world. The capabilities of blockchain for enterprise use cases beyond cryptocurrency are not well understood, and the potential for transforming business models in new ways by using blockchain is not obvious for many reasons. A business-driven technology usage perspective requires a balance between pragmatism and a vision for business outcomes.
Who Is This Book For?
There are many good books available today that address the high-level potential of blockchain technology or go deep into technical implementation and programming topics. The primary intent of this book, however, is to address the distinct gap between high-level and deep technical concepts.
This book is a practical guide for leaders who need to understand and evaluate how blockchain technology can transform their organizations’ business processes and models. It provides a simple and pragmatic overview of blockchain technology and its capabilities and value from a business perspective. It describes various real-world examples, implementation approaches, and industry-specific and cross-industry use cases. In addition, it provides leaders with the insights that are needed to define potential business models and governance structures, establish teams in decentralized or hybrid enterprises or ecosystems, and understand the costs and return of investment. Also, this book brings clarity to the current state of the technology and its evolution and describes how leaders can better prepare to take advantage of upcoming capabilities.
Many leaders who are still unsure about how to drive transformation with blockchain technology start by identifying a right business use case; defining a business model and governance structure; establishing a team; and determining costs, return on investments, and a financial structure. This book addresses these concerns for business and technology leaders by providing an integrated view of business and blockchain technology.
What Is Covered in This Book?
Our goal is to cover all of the key topics with which you need to be comfortable in order to positively impact your organization as it evaluates and implements blockchain technology. Even if you are already familiar with some of the basics, the early chapters will reinforce your understanding of important concepts and explore general use cases. As you dive deeper, you will be systematically introduced to the specific steps and details that will enable your organization to successfully implement a blockchain solution. Feel free, however, to jump directly to the chapter that most directly impacts your current role and answers your most immediate questions. You will also find references for further study throughout the chapters to fill in any gaps or provide more detail, depending on your level of experience or organizational role.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Blockchain
The introductory content in Chapter 1 shares critical perspectives of blockchain technology so that leaders can realize its beliefs and gain a true understanding of enterprise blockchain concepts and capabilities. You will learn why blockchain matters for your business. You will learn about trailblazers and key aspects, including how to carefully select a scope for your blockchain project and motivate participants in a blockchain business network while ensuring governance. This chapter also shares some transformational examples of blockchain for social good, and shares “top of the mind” questions and answers that are related to blockchain technology.
Chapter 2: Opportunities and Challenges
You might be wondering what opportunities and challenges you might face when you implement a blockchain network. Chapter 2 describes these topics, including how blockchain can apply to your industry and business objectives. It describes how blockchain technology’s disruptive elements drive transformation across traditional organizational structures, business models, and ecosystems. These elements also fundamentally open endless opportunities in many industries to innovate and challenge the status quo. The primary challenges for a blockchain project’s success are specific to the scope, motivation, and governance, rather than the technology.
Chapter 3: Understanding the Technology Landscape
Chapter 3 defines the overall blockchain technology landscape and addresses the trust divide between an enterprise (permissioned) blockchain and a public, permissionless blockchain. Enterprise blockchain design and enterprise integration impact the cost of the solution deployment and the longevity of the application, so economic incentives are a vital component of any blockchain network. This distinction is vital for the valuation of crypto assets and to ensure the continued and sustained growth of a blockchain-powered business network.
Chapter 4: Business of Business Models
When you are ready to adopt blockchain into your enterprise, it is important that you pick the correct business and technology model for your business and industry. You want a model that provides economic incentives for joining a blockchain network, such as the creation of value that exceeds what you can achieve alone. The correct model will also help you combat the disruptive forces that blockchain creates, which is imperative if you want to compete under this new economic paradigm. Chapter 4 describes the possible business models that you can choose, which include joint venture, consortium, NewCo, business ecosystem, Build–Own–Operate (BOO) or founder-led networks, and Build–Own–Operate–Transfer (BOOT) or founding consortium–led networks.
Chapter 5: Developing a Governance Structure for Blockchain Networks
So, you have a model for your blockchain network and are ready to implement it. The first thing you need to do is set up a governance structure, which ensures that you and your ecosystem partners have a common vision and goals for the blockchain network. With a governance structure in place, the ecosystem partners know how their blockchain network is managed. Chapter 5 describes how to set up the governance structure, which addresses industry-specific requirements and ensures a tight linkage between the business model and the technology blueprint. By adopting a common governance structure, all participants adhere to a common set of objectives, fair and equitable use of network resources, and rules of engagement.
Chapter 6: Building a Team to Drive Blockchain Projects
You must gather many different people to build the team that will drive the creation of your blockchain network. Creating a blockchain project requires enterprise-level roles, such as founders, members, operators, and users, and other roles, such as steering committee members, project managers, blockchain consultants, engineers, and many more. Using “the best of the best” from each enterprise to develop a blockchain network is known as intraprise synergy. By using this concept, you empower each participant in the blockchain network with the decentralized authority and autonomy to use their skills as part of the broader network. Chapter 6 describes this concept and its many parts in detail.
Chapter 7: Understanding Financial Models, Investment Rubrics, and Model Risk Frameworks
As you might have surmised by now, there are many challenges surrounding the technical complexity of blockchain. One such challenge is the plethora of financial models, investment rubrics, and frameworks (structures that aim to scale blockchain networks with the greatest efficiency) that are available today. Which do you choose? Chapter 7 helps you make that choice. By following the guidance in this chapter, you can help ensure a methodical, quantifiable, and measurable deployment of resources while effectively managing risk, all at scale. With the correct mixture of a strategic approach, business design, financial rubric, GRC framework, and access to technology acumen and the correct talent, a blockchain-powered business network can transform industries and businesses while being disruptive and immensely profitable.
Chapter 8: Looking Ahead: What Does the Future Hold?
This chapter prepares you for the future as the evolution of blockchain technology as the network of networks in a decentralized economy becomes more pervasive. You learn about the nexus of the blockchain technology, which includes artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and quantum computing, and see how these intersections can add value to your business. Also, this chapter provides readiness advice for critical areas from a futures perspective.