Singapore-based business consulting firm Agile Dynamics Tech, recently published its first state of blockchain report titled “Disrupt and Innovate: Harness The Power of the Blockchain.”
The report is a 94-page feasibility study examining the potential of growth markets, the need for technology sovereignty, the trends and implementation challenges of blockchain technology as well as its key benefits.
By design, it is divided into nine parts, namely, introduction, background, the context, global megatrends, use cases mapping, the technology, implementation challenges, key benefits, and conclusion.
This article presents a comprehensive overview of the report by appealing to the carefully selected data, the core references, and the far-reaching conclusions therein. It is aimed at introducing the readers to a plain-sailing version of the report as it is a simple guide to it.
Introduction
The report begins with an executive summary stating that: “growth markets would benefit from skipping current solutions and adopting upcoming technologies like IoT and 5G”. By implication, it views blockchain technology as part and parcel of a slew of emerging technologies with the ability to change the world and it is pointed out that its adoption by the growth markets of Africa, Asia, and Latin America can be hugely beneficial”.
However, it takes exception to every growth market having its own layer 1 blockchain protocol. This, it is argued, is due to the different opportunities that are present in each market and the peculiar challenges they face. Ultimately, it is succinctly remarked that “the decision to create a new blockchain protocol would depend on various factors such as market needs, resources, and potential for scalability”.
Background
This section offers a detailed illustration of the evolution of blockchain technology and smart contract by dividing it into the following four stages: the inception stage(1997-2013), the experimentation stage(2014-2017), the take-off stage(2018-2019)and the mainstream adoption stage(2020-2025). Based on the estimated year of the ‘last stage” it is argued that we are currently witnessing the mainstream adoption phase.
TIMELINE AND HISTORY OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
Moreover, various data pointing to the market size of blockchain technology, and a graphical illustration of its different layers are provided to help the readers better understand its vast potential.
The Context
The potential of the growth markets of South America, Asia, and Africa to gravitate toward innovation and economic and technological sovereignty is broached in this section. This is accompanied by selected data from the United Nations Population estimates and projections which form the basis for a growth market analysis of the global economy by 2030.
Two additional references that lend credence to this projection are the ones by TripleA mapping the adoption rate of growth markets and the projection of their GDP by 2030.
INNOVATION, ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL SOVEREIGNTY ARE THREE PILLARS OF STRIVING NATION
However, this conclusion is followed by a caveat: “If Africa, Latin America, and Asia fail to innovate, it is likely that their growth markets will stagnate or even decline over time. Innovation is crucial for economic growth because it drives productivity, creates new industries and jobs, and fosters competition. Without innovation, these regions may struggle to keep up with the rest of the world in terms of technological advancements and could fall behind in global trade and investment”.
Global Mega Trends
Nine blockchain trends of 2023 that owe their rise to the cost-effectiveness of blockchain technology are identified in this section. These trends include security tokens, blockchain-as-a-service, blockchain consortia,fiat-crypto-exchange, asset tokenization, data marketplaces, decentralized ecosystems, interoperability, and blockchain for IoT.
What follows is a set of data credited to Agile Dynamics Tech Research comparing the top ten game-changing technologies and describing blockchain as more cost-effective than any other technology in this category.
TEN GAME-CHANGING TECHNOLOGIES SHAPING THE WORLD IN 2023 AND BEYOND
Accordingly, the cost-effectiveness of blockchain technology is especially true for the growth markets of Africa, Asia and Latin America because there are no entry barriers when compared to cost-prohibitive industries such as AI, robotics, and genetic engineering.
Use Case Mapping
The various use cases of blockchain technology are illustrated in this section.
The Technology
An in-depth explanation of the components of blockchain technology is presented. Starting with its four main drivers which are decentralization, distributed ledger, programmable logic, and digital signatures, it is stated that the value proposition of blockchain depends on the type of network it runs.
This is especially true for public blockchains where central institutions give way to their individual consumer, causing a rapid value shift from centralization to decentralization. Furthermore, the applicability of blockchain in operations, IT/MIS, finance, sales and marketing, and risk management mostly points to efficient data management and other key benefits.
Blockchain’s architecture, mainly consisting of the different consensus mechanisms, the scalability trilemma, the need for a standard regulatory framework, and a comparative analysis of leading protocols(0&1)are thoroughly examined in succeeding pages.
Finally, an overview of the design criteria of a Next Gen Blockchain is aptly illustrated having defined it as “a permissionless, decentralized, and scalable blockchain protocol focused on interoperability challenges”.
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY MATURITY JOURNEY MODEL
Implementation Challenges
This report identifies and examines six implementation challenges affecting the widespread adoption of blockchain technology, namely: the lack of awareness, organizational difficulties, culture change, regulations, security and privacy, and cost-efficiency. This follows the logic in the conclusion that “blockchain Technology implementation is about 80% business process change and 20% technology implementation.”
Key Benefits
In a survey of 800 respondents conducted by Agile Dynamics Tech Research, 73% of the respondents indicated that the reduction of operational costs is one of the key advantages of blockchain technology.
This penultimate section discusses the key benefits of leveraging blockchain technology with practical examples of how its adoption can hugely benefit organizations, governments, healthcare service providers, financial institutions, and supply chain management. The key benefits discussed in this section are speed and efficiency, cost reduction, smart contracts, innovation, trust, and improved financial processes.
Conclusion
The mantra of Agile Dynamics Tech is “build your own”. This concluding part emphasizes the need for growth markets to build a more scalable, interoperable layer 1 network as doing so “could offer significant advantages” in onboarding users and tackling the scalability trilemma.
Creating the next level of Internet infrastructure to meet the needs of developing markets presents a distinctive opportunity for the technology and leadership communities of the growth markets nations to work together for the greater good.
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