Taking blockchain live: The 20 questions that must be answered to move beyond proofs of concept

Designing a winning blockchain commercialization strategy

Blockchain offers very unique transformative features such as immutability, transparency, and autonomy. The potential to rewire the foundations of transaction fabrics we use daily is significant. Similar to when we rewired power, transportation, and information fabrics, it will take courage and time to change the ways we transact today. 

In order to guide conversations, we have identified a series of considerations and found that there are 20 essential questions, as outlined in our Blockchain Readiness Framework, to help define a winning commercialization strategy. Organized into six categories, each question serves as a mechanism to further evaluate the opportunity at hand.

In order for us to consider a blockchain solution to be high-potential, it must involve multiple parties across an industry. Consortia are necessary to align incentives for participation, outline roles and responsibilities, and orchestrate and support the blockchain.

To develop a winning strategy, institutions should carefully evaluate key players in their target ecosystem while, in parallel, identifying who must be included as part of the product development lifecycle. The latter half of that evaluation, which we refer to as the Minimum Viable Ecosystem, is essential when considering the transition from experimentation into commercialization. An experimental blockchain can be simulated without the Minimum Viable Ecosystem, but a commercialized solution cannot be sustained without it.

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What did we learn in order to be successful?

Blockchain is gaining traction today, but critics who question the scalability, security, and sustainability of the technology remain. Deloitte member firms across the globe are collaborating to build blockchain capabilities to develop world class solutions and services for clients. In this paper, Deloitte's global blockchain and cyber security experts from around the globe have joined forces to assess the security of blockchain technology.

More specifically, this global perspective piece reviews and addresses:

• Blockchain's current level of security from a system and data perspective for both public and private ledgers
• The CIA security triad model, composed of three areas; (1) confidentiality, (2) integrity, and (3) availability are referenced to assess the current maturity level of blockchain technology
• Authentication, authorization, and audit and non-repudiation, fundamental security aspects for protecting information and designing/managing new systems and networks will also be addressed

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