Developments in the field of digitalisation have been given a further boost by the coronavirus pandemic. This is especially true for the control of supply chains and products that travel around the globe. The technology behind the Bitcoin currency is becoming increasingly valuable.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared war on the corona virus also at the digital level. On March 28, the organization joined forces with several companies that already use the blockchain technology to develop a platform to collect and share data to fight the virus. Among them are IT groups such as IBM, Oracle, Microsoft and the blockchain company Hacera. In future, regional data on the spread of the pandemic will be summarised and evaluated on the “MiPasa” platform. The information will be exchanged between government agencies, health authorities, but also individuals. The Blockchain provides significant advantages: At the same time, the data can be transmitted and stored securely and always up-to-date and verifiable.
One of the pioneers in this field is the IT group IBM, which was once the largest manufacturer of personal computers, but has specialized in software, big data analysis and now blockchain technologies for many years. With its blockchain platform IBM Food Trust, retailers can trace the origin and whereabouts of individual goods, such as fresh fish or vegetables, back to the manufacturer in virtually real-time. What used to take days or weeks of research can now be retrieved in seconds. If you are intere
Customers of the IBM platform include large retail chains such as the French company Carrefour. By 2022, it wants to enable the traceability of hundreds of fish products in all 12,000 stores. Customers will then be able to scan a QR code on the packaging and receive all information about the origin of a product.
By using the blockchain, however, the companies are by no means only concerned with strengthening consumer confidence and guaranteeing the freshness of fish. The example of the luxury goods group LVMH shows this. With the technology companies Consensys and Microsoft, the French have created an application based on Blockchain that can be used to verify luxury goods. This means that the trade with cheap copies is massively hindered – and that one’s own brand can be strengthened and revenues tend to increase.
The market for blockchain applications will grow even faster, also due to corona expansion. Experts estimate that the volume will grow from $1.5 billion in 2018 to $23.3 billion in 2023. In the view of Gartner’s market researchers, the service and transport industries will benefit most from this. The blockchain already plays an important role in the financial sector. The growth drivers are: Greater efficiency, more transparency in the movement of goods and the controllability or verification of goods. Achievements that are more in demand than ever in the corona crisis.
