There is one technology trend that could prove to be even more tectonic and enduring than cloud computing: the blockchain. While the cloud challenges how we build software and modifies how we operate businesses, blockchain technology potentially alters how we think about and process transactions themselves. Beyond serving as a foundation for cryptocurrency, blockchain could influence in a fundamental way how we propose and record agreements.
The revolutionary nature of blockchain and the cryptocurrencies it enables are much touted and certainly subject to exaggeration. And yet, when contemplating how current technology developments might play into the future, it’s tough to identify another development more likely to influence the shape of things to come. Blockchain may prove to be the most significant innovation since the internet.
So what is the blockchain, and why is it potentially history changing?
Consensus truth
Building distributed software systems is hard. The core of this difficulty is the data: protecting it, making it available, storing it. Although much of the difficulty stems from human beings trying to cheat the system, there is also inherent objective difficulty in overcoming failures and maintaining data consistency (for example, see the CAP theorem). Any time data is sent or retrieved (be it a post about your lunch or the balance of your bank account) it is subject to these hazards.
Continue reading: https://www.infoworld.com/article/3653379/a-quick-guide-to-blockchain.html
The revolutionary nature of blockchain and the cryptocurrencies it enables are much touted and certainly subject to exaggeration. And yet, when contemplating how current technology developments might play into the future, it’s tough to identify another development more likely to influence the shape of things to come. Blockchain may prove to be the most significant innovation since the internet.
So what is the blockchain, and why is it potentially history changing?
Consensus truth
Building distributed software systems is hard. The core of this difficulty is the data: protecting it, making it available, storing it. Although much of the difficulty stems from human beings trying to cheat the system, there is also inherent objective difficulty in overcoming failures and maintaining data consistency (for example, see the CAP theorem). Any time data is sent or retrieved (be it a post about your lunch or the balance of your bank account) it is subject to these hazards.
Continue reading: https://www.infoworld.com/article/3653379/a-quick-guide-to-blockchain.html
