IBM Blockchain

2021: Dissolution of IBM Blockchain Unit Team Due to Failed Tasks

In early February 2021, it became known that IBM almost completely dissolved the blockchain technology team, as most of the tasks were failed. CoinDesk sources familiar with the situation at IBM claim that the company will no longer have a blockchain team.

According to one of the interlocutors, who previously interviewed blockchain specialists at IBM, the technology giant made such a decision for the reason that the company failed to achieve 90% of the planned revenue from the technology in 2020. Another source quoted by the publication said that IBM's blockchain division did not fulfill its tasks for two years in a row. Expectations for corporate blockchain were too high, he said.

IBM dismissed almost the entire team of the blockchain division due to failed tasks

An IBM spokesman denied this information.

Our blockchain business is progressing well, thank you, "IBM communications director Holly Haswell said. - We changed some executives and the structure of the business unit to continue to stimulate growth, we do it every year.

Still, a former IBM employee who worked on corporate blockchain said people were cut based on business performance metrics rather than their personal performance.

I would bet that less than 10% of blockchain product developers and engineers are still working on IBM Blockchain, "he said. "There have been many reorganizations. Almost everyone left. Now IBM is 100% focused on the hybrid cloud, so everything that is not focused on this goal is devoid of priorities.

The CoinDesk whistleblower also highlighted IBM's head of blockchain since 2016, Jerry Cuomo, is now involved in artificial intelligence. Holly Haswell confirmed this information, but stated that Cuomo is still involved in the development of blockchain.^[1]

2018: IBM urges governments to use blockchain

In February 2018, IBM announced that it sees huge potential in the blockchain - and not only in relation to cryptocurrencies. The company now wants to convince governments that using blockchain will reduce risk, as well as time and cost in many areas of manufacturing and services.

IBM is one of the vendors offering blockchain as a service that allows businesses to use the technology without significant development and hardware costs.

The interest of the US leadership in the blockchain is beneficial primarily to IBM itself. The company is on an expanding list of those offering blockchain as a service

IBM spokesman Jerry Cuomo said blockchain is a technology that can transform the future. The company is involved in the development of more than 400 blockchain projects across various industries, including financial services and healthcare. The United States is one of the leading countries in blockchain development, and Cuomo urges the government to use this advantage to promote and implement the technology.

For example, the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, launched in 2016, is working to collect information about blockchain projects. This data is needed so that in the future people can safely confirm their identity online, make online payments (for example, tax payments) and track supply chains.

Analyst Csilla Zsigri explained that the use of blockchain has its advantages for the government - this technology facilitates the process of digitizing documentation and access to public services. Siegri noted that Estonia already uses blockchain in the e-Estonia program, which allows you to vote, maintain medical records and pay taxes online. Blockchain technology allows Estonia to save up to 2% of GDP per year. The Dubai government, together with IBM and ConsenSys, is working on a pilot project that will cover the entire country. According to the companies' plans, this project will simplify the verification of identification data and allow the digitization and tracking of medical records, wills and various contracts.

Cuomo also warned that the government should not concentrate on using blockchain only in regulating an unsustainable cryptocurrency market. An IBM spokesman believes that cryptocurrencies do not unleash the full potential of this technology. Those who wish to master the cryptocurrency market should evaluate and, if possible, avoid "unforeseen consequences that may prevent the further development of the blockchain," he said.

China Recently, the United States and other countries have been considering a more practical approach to cryptocurrencies. Authorities believe the digital "gold rush" requires control. There is growing concern in economic circles cryptocurrency that it could pose a threat to the global financial system through speculation and unsecured loans. Cuomo explained that IBM is already working U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the Center for Disease Prevention on the possible use of blockchain in this area.

Blockchain is a game changer. Thanks to this network, companies cannot operate in isolation. At the center of any blockchain is a shared ledger, and each of the network members owns an exact copy of it, says Cuomo. - Thus, all participants have an updated ledger, in which it is impossible to make corrections without the knowledge of other network participants.

According to Cuomo. for blockchain to reach its full potential, it must be open and run on generic technology with full functional compatibility. Blockchain helps save negotiating time, reduces financial costs by eliminating the chain of intermediaries between manufacturer and consumer, and reduces risk to both through full open control. This opens up incalculable possibilities for using blockchain.

Blockchain is ready to appear before the government, "Cuomo continues. - It remains only to prepare the government for the introduction of blockchain.[2]

2017

Proposal for Province of Canada to use blockchain to control marijuana trafficking

In early November 2017, IBM invited the authorities of the Canadian province of British Columbia to use blockchain technology to organize the legal trade in marijuana. Read more here.

Exploring the capabilities of blockchain to control food supplies

On August 22, 2017, IBM announced a project that aims to explore the possibilities of using blockchain technology to control food supplies and improve food safety. Leading retailers and food companies have joined the initiative.

As explained by Brigid McDermott, vice president for blockchain business development at IBM, this is not a technology, but an entire ecosystem.

It is assumed that blockchain, capable of tracking the work of hundreds of participants in mass production and the food supply chain, will allow faster identification of the source of spoiled food, preventing it from ending up on store shelves.

IBM creates blockchain system to organize food supplies

Every year 400 thousand people die due to infected food. Problems affecting food safety, such as pollution, disease spread and waste, are exacerbated by lack of access to and ability to track information. It could take weeks to determine the exact location of the pollution. For example, it took more than two months to understand from which farms the papaya infected with salmonella was supplied, IBM notes.

In addition to the American IT corporation, the new blockchain consortium included Nestle, Unilever, Tyson Foods, Kroger, Dole Food Company, McCormick & Company, Golden State Foods, Driscoll's, Berkshire Hathaway and McLane Company.

It is worth noting that IBM has experience in using blockchain to track food supplies. Since October 2016, the company has been working on a similar project with the Wal-Mart Stores chain of stores. The introduction of a distributed registry-based system allowed the retailer to reduce the time required to control mango transportation from seven days to 2.2 seconds.^[3]

Blockchain announcement as a service

In March 2017, IBM announced the Blockchain as a Service project aimed at corporate customers.

The new solution will allow companies to build cloud applications using the code of the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain platform developed by the Linux Foundation industry organization.

IBM announces blockchain as a service for business

Hyperledger Fabric is capable of processing more than 1,000 transactions per second and offers the features large companies need to build their own blockchain-based software, IBM said in a statement.

IBM intends to use the new service in conjunction with SecureKey Technologies and a group of Canadian banks (среди них — Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto-Dominion Bank) for the development of a digital identity identification network, which will speed up and improve the process of recognizing customers when accessing services such as opening a bank account, obtaining a driver's license and paying for utilities. This network is scheduled to be launched in 2017.

IBM is working with Singapore-based Invictus on a new blockchain platform that will allow small and medium-sized businesses to reduce costs and expand access to financial resources. In addition, IBM intends to use IBM Blockchain in the system to make transactions related to carbon assets.

IBM vice president of blockchain technology Jerry Cuomo says the company offers a suite of cloud services to help customers build, deploy and manage blockchain networks.

Some time ago, we and a number of other market participants came to a consensus that for a serious business we need a group that would manage and direct the technologies created around the blockchain, "Cuomo said.[4]

2016

IBM creates blockchain ecosystem

In December 2016, IBM Corporation announced the creation of a blockchain ecosystem. The IT giant is ready to provide everyone with tools and training materials for developing enterprise software using blockchain.

IBM's ecosystem will provide support for startups dedicated to building blockchain applications. They will be able to place their products in a special IBM Marketplace store.

IBM provides everyone with tools and training to create enterprise-level blockchain applications

ON Developers and system integrators can join the IBM ecosystem, gaining access to tools (including library code, smart contract templates, etc.), educational courses and the community. The company intends to conduct training events and support developers through the official Slack channel of the project. Hyperledger Fabric

IBM will provide training and tools to reduce the time required to move from idea to implementation, the corporation said in a statement.

According to Bridget Van Kralingen, Senior Vice President for Industrial Platforms at IBM, the future development of blockchain will depend on a strong ecosystem. Corporate networks will be able to reach critical mass only when developers of innovative technologies, industrial experts and infrastructure suppliers come together to rethink business operations, she said.

As part of the development of the blockchain community, IBM provides a service to allow customers to test their blockchain projects in a secure cloud and track high-value goods following through a complex supply chain. This service is already being used by Everledger, which applies blockchain technology to ensure transparency in the supply of diamonds and solve market problems related to the use of slave labor and financing of violence in Africa.^[5]

IBM, Mahindra build blockchain solution for financial logistics

On December 8, 2016, the Indian corporation Mahindra Group and the American IBM announced the creation of a blockchain solution for financial logistics. The developers of the technology hope that it will improve the safety, transparency and quality of operational processes in the supply chain. Read more here.

IBM Cloud-based blockchain services

In May 2016, IBM announced a new scheme for the secure management of blockchain networks, and also launched related services on IBM Cloud, developed taking into account existing regulatory requirements.

Blockchain networks are based on the concept of decentralized control, but some cloud environments retain a vulnerability that allows hacking of information systems and unauthorized access. IBM's team of information security experts, cryptographers, hardware experts and researchers has created fundamentally new cloud services for crack-resistant trusted networks on blockchain technology.

IBM has experience working with many customers, startups and developers to create blockchain applications, thanks to which the company helps in solving their problems in the field of information security in several ways. They include cloud services that meet the highest standards in this area (FIPS 140-2 and EAL), which provides blockchain support in the healthcare, public and financial sectors. The company also makes it easier to use IBM's Hyperledger project code from the Linux Foundation consortium in any environment and offers services based on Bluemix, IBM's cloud platform that helps developers build applications.

Choosing a security scheme for blockchain in the cloud

IBM Cloud allows enterprises to build secure, network-resistant, and with thousands of users. The cloud platform will help build and implement blockchain in minutes using Docker registered, certified and validated images along with dashboard, analytics and support.

Cloud services have been optimized for cloud-based blockchain networks, thanks to a verifiable operating environment with comprehensive registration data that meets technical expertise and regulatory requirements. The crack-resistant cipher key storage and full security of the cryptographic module allow you to detect and respond to unauthorized attempts at physical access. In addition, IBM Cloud services allow blockchain partners to function in a secure environment that prevents information leaks from shared storage devices and hardware.

IBM Blockchain services for Bluemix platform offer developers more flexibility

For application developers who seek to achieve instant launch and operation of the blockchain environment and start building applications, IBM Blockchain beta services on the Bluemix platform will provide access to the most recent version of Linux Hyperledger code, taking into account current updates. Regardless of the platform chosen - DockerHub or IBM Cloud - IBM Blockchain supports many use cases for a wide variety of tasks and industries.

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