What Blockchain Platforms Do Companies Use?

By Sherise Tan

Beyond the hype of cryptocurrency in the mainstream media, companies are now focusing on the development of practical applications of the underlying blockchain technology. From Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft to retailers like Walmart, blockchain is now gaining traction for widespread adoption by enterprises.

Enterprise blockchain platforms require different characteristics to successfully meet long-term business goals, vis-a-vis those for consumer applications. Here are some of those characteristics:

Confidentiality

Enterprise data often contains sensitive data that needs to be protected. Universal access to data via a public blockchain can be a cause for security concerns. Having strong privacy features such as a separate ledger or confidential transactions can help allay fears of shared data within enterprise networks.

Transparency

A suitable blockchain platform should help organisations maintain trusted, transparent networks, while not disclosing confidential information. However, transparency is also needed for streamlining work processes within the blockchain. Possessing that balance of transparency and privacy will allow businesses to safely transact and record their data.

Lower Operational and Transaction Costs

With smart contracts, blockchain platforms eliminate the need for middlemen and manual processes as transactions are auto-executed. Integrative solutions also allow for record-keeping, reducing the costs of auditing and making it easier to track all transactions. In addition, blockchain abolishes third-party intervention and verification, thus lowering transaction costs as well.

With the creation of smart contracts and the ability to support DApps, Ethereum is a robust and flexible platform utilised across multiple industries. Ethereum is also a public blockchain that allows all users to view and read data, which makes it more difficult for enterprises to co-opt due to confidentiality issues. Instead, it is an open-source platform geared towards B2C (business-to-consumer) projects.

Furthermore, it is a modular architecture with plug-and-play features like membership and consensus and has incorporated smart contracts into the platform, making it customisable and practical for its use.

Launched in 2016, Corda is also a ‘permissioned’ blockchain that initially focused on financial applications. Corda targeted several features that Bitcoin and Ethereum lacked, such as privacy, transactional finality, identifiable parties, scalability, developer productivity, and enterprise integration. The platform is now used by enterprises in various sectors including the government, healthcare, and supply chain.

Developed by JP Morgan, Quorum is the enterprise-based version of the Ethereum platform. Quorum is a ‘permissioned’ network that is ideal for applications requiring high speed and high-throughput processing of private transactions. The platform uses vote-based and other algorithms to process transactions quickly — over hundreds of transactions per second and is designed to evolve alongside Ethereum. The open source development allows developers free use and experimentation in wide applications of enterprise solutions.

The process of Revain crowdfunding and token generation are also delivered by smart contracts based on Ethereum. Revain’s R tokens are similarly based on Ethereum and are used to incentivise users to leave quality reviews.

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