Since the launch of our first Blockchain project in May 2018 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuUEBv12iBo), there are many people asked me the same set of questions again and again. So, I reckon maybe it’s good to sum it up all here.
First of all, “Why Blockchain ?”
My usual answer is, you know, “Why not Blockchain ?”. It’s not about whether Blockchain is the best technology on earth (as it’s not) or Blockchain can solve all sorts of business problems or not (as it can’t), but more about why not try a new technology to address an existing business pain point ?
What’s stopping you ? Is it because you have fear of failure ?
Solving a problem is hard enough, it gets much harder if you’ve decided beforehand that it can’t be done. Quite simply, there are many use cases, can be done by Blockchain technology.
“Why not the existing technology ?”
Reasons being …. Smart Contract, real time settlement / reconciliation and gamification.
These are either hard to develop in existing technology or take a long time to retool the current systems.
“What are the technical challenges ?”
It’s a very good question, as it is exactly one of the reasons you need to pick a project to try. Granted, many startups claimed they use Blockchain (or AI, Big Data, Chatbot, IOT etc.) to build their solutions, as it is the biggest buzzword for the moment. However, to an established corporation, there are other considerations before selecting a technical solution:
- How can we operationalise the new technical solution ?
- Do we know what kind of talent we need to develop the new technical solution ?
- What kind of infrastructure we need to deliver good performance ?
- What are the best practices to design, develop, test and implement the new solution ?
- How much is the development and operating cost ?
We cannot really solve a problem by keep talking. Just do it. Learn and improve the solution along the way.
“Why this use case ?”
Developing a good product is hard, but developing a good MVP is even harder. There are many different processes, use cases in every business. We picked one that is relatively easy to implement and yet provide good value to our stakeholders.
“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.” – Jonathan Kozol
We are not alone though, check this out from American Express … https://www.coindesk.com/american-express-upgrades-rewards-program-hyperledger-blockchain/
“How Big is the Team ?”
Check this out, it’s more or less the same. YMMV.
https://blockchaintrainingalliance.com/blogs/news/10-faces-of-blockchain
“Any lessons learnt ?”
Do not innovate for the sake of innovation. First you need to know what you want to solve.
Ignore the naysayers and develop your own solution. You can learn from your own success, you can learn more from your own failures, but you can learn nothing from your own procrastination.
M.Y. Lessons Learnt 