Mingis on Tech: The blockchain evolution moves from services…to smartphones?
Credit to Author: Ken Mingis| Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2018 11:30:00 -0700
If 2017 was the year many tech firms suddenly looked around and realized they needed to be part of the blockchain craze, this is the year companies in a variety of industries have begun actively experimenting with the distributed ledger technology.
Helping to make that possible – especially for firms with no experience in building out blockchain systems themselves – are IT vendors like IBM, Microsoft, HPE and Amazon Web Services. They now offer blockchain-as-a-service.
This week, Oracle added its name to that list.
As Computerworld senior reporter Lucas Mearian explains: Blockchain-as-a-service lets businesses develop and launch proof-of-concept systems to test out the technology without the costs of an internal deployment. It provides a foundation upon which they can experiment with the still-nascent blockchain, and it helps them avoid having to hire highly sought-after developers.
Mearian also told Computerworld Executive Editor Ken Mingis about a more unusual use for the technology: two smartphone manufacturers – HTC and Sirin – are incorporating blockchain in devices they plan to release this year.
The goal: create smartphones that cryptocurrency users will want in the same way government workers used to gravitate to BlackBerrys.
All of which reinforces the point: blockchain is showing up in a lot of unlikely places.
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