The Blockchain is rapidly changing currencies and transactions as we know it however for a long time, has been confined only within the crypto sphere. Now, according to a 2018 Deloitte survey, the business sector is shifting its perspective concerning the blockchain technology from learning and initial exploration to adoption and practical applications.
Business Leaders Have Positive Views on the Blockchain
In sum, the survey found that:
- 84% of respondents believe that blockchain technology is broadly scalable and will eventually achieve mainstream adoption
- For 74% of respondents, there is a “compelling business case” in the use of blockchain
- 69% of surveyed executives are planning to replace current systems of record with blockchain
- 59% of respondents believe that blockchain technology will disrupt their industry
- 41% expect their company to deploy a blockchain application within a year from now, while 34% of respondents state that their organisation already has some blockchain system in place
There are also companies that have already made significant steps in adopting blockchain – as over 40% of the interviewed senior executives stated that their company is preparing to invest at least $1 million in blockchain technology within the next 12 months.
Current Use Cases
The survey team asked the participants to indicate some of the use cases (one or more) for blockchain that are currently implemented in their organisations. Supply chain tops the chart with 53% responses, followed by Internet of Things (51%), digital identity (50%), digital records (44%) and digital currency (40%).
Stakeholders Are Joining In
This growing trend among executive managers is also encouraged by the most important stakeholders of their organisations. The participants in the Deloitte survey indicated that the stakeholders who are engaging or asking about blockchain are mostly suppliers (54%), customers (51%), market analysts (48%) and partners (47%).
Blockchain Disruption Will Influence the Leading Business Sectors
According to the respondents, blockchain technology will act like a disruptive force for the most important industries at global level:
- 73% – automotive
- 72% – oil & gas
- 72% – biotech, medical devices, pharma
- 64% – financial services
- 56% – consumer products and manufacturing
- 55% – healthcare
The respondents also agreed that blockchain technology has some competitive advantages over other systems. The most significant advantages perceived by them are:
- 32% – greater speed
- 28% – new business models and revenue sources
- 21% – greater security and/or lower risk
- 16% – lower costs
These opinions indicate that top executives are actively testing blockchain technology and, even if they are not yet prepared to push for its adoption at an accelerated rate, they are taking the first confident steps in this direction.
Barriers to Overcome
The respondents were also aware that there are various barriers to be overcome before blockchain can be adopted across all industries. Among the most significant concerns they listed regulatory issues (39%), implementation by replacing or adapting to legacy systems (37%), potential security threats (35%), as well as lack of in-house skills (28%).
Blockchain Adoption Looks Promising
An increasing number of companies are making the first step towards adopting blockchain. Their decision makers are aware that blockchain is going to create a profound change in business models at all levels.
At any rate, the trend has started and is unlikely to go away – especially since 43% of the participants of the Deloitte survey stated that blockchain is among the top 5 strategic priorities for their organisation.
Source: Deloitte 2018 Global Blockchain Survey.