Episode 23 of Blockspeak featured Anthony Day, blockchain partner at IBM where Day talked about how Blockchain is being used for COVID response, the state of enterprise Blockchain in 2020 and what are the drivers and barriers to adoption.
Monty Munford, the show host, went deep into the blockchain enterprise world with Anthony and discovered how IBM is scaling platforms like Tradelens, etc.
TradeLens being the conversation starter for the episode, Anthony revealed that the interconnected ecosystem has astoundingly recorded over 1.3 billion events. TradeLens is an open and neutral supply chain platform underpinned by blockchain technology. IBM and GTD Solution Inc jointly developed it.
“Tradelens is one of those poster child business networks – we call them business networks – which is basically a private scalable open network of business entities. It can be a combination of government; it can include port agencies; it can include shipping companies – there is a whole mix of parties. We just passed 1.3 billion events.”
Supply chain transparency is an essential idea behind the quick uptake of blockchain technology in the supply chain. TradeLens, being the world’s first blockchain-enabled shipping solution, has now more than 90 organisations from all links in the supply chain already signed up to participate in the global project.
Use of Blockchain in COVID times
Efforts leveraging blockchain technology have been undertaken across the globe, in the context of supply chain at ports, in retail and logistics. Blockchain has been mostly used in these pilot experiments to enable real-time tracking of shipments and shared access of data between consortium members, building trust.
Since the start of the current pandemic, the experts are exploring the blockchain angle as to how they can leverage blockchain in these tough times. Given its benefits in terms of reliability of the supply chain, transparency across multiple use cases, and the tracking of goods, the blockchain option is looking viable right now.
As per the conversation with Anthony, IBM may be working on the solution that enables people to validate their safety. The solution is focused on “a combination of being able to present or validate that somebody is at low risk”.
‘‘That’s what we are trying to enable here’’.
Verified Digital COVID Test Result
Today, the world needs a solution that certifies an identity that he or she is positive/negative based on their recent COVID test result. And, depending on that certification, the identity will be able to perform his job, travel or dine at a restaurant.
Embedded on top of their digital identity, it will act as a pass allowing organisations to open and service freely.
