How are Big Corporations Building Blockchain Plans?

Maturing blockchain industry compelling for big players

One common critique of blockchain technology and its accompanying business solutions is that the immaturity of these systems has created volatility that may still be gaining momentum.

However, Clare Adelgren, sales and operations leader for EY Blockchain, told INN that recent changes have added to a united vision of the future that is encouraging corporate giants to engage meaningfully.

Adelgren, who has over 25 years of technology experience at the large global enterprise level, said the team at EY believes the power of the blockchain movement lies in decentralization.

“As soon as you have an owner … or you have a centralized management of it, you're already losing that intrinsic value. It was very clear for us that public blockchain is where we needed to focus,” she said.

The expert credited the Ethereum network for introducing smart contracts, which represent a “step forward” for the adoption of the technology. She also noted that the recent Ethereum merge has boosted companies' trust in blockchain solutions.

“I think what we're going to see is that maturing changes the dialogue for enterprises,” the EY expert said.

Large companies "learning the language of blockchain"

“We are doing work with a number of large enterprises,” Abhishek Sinha, an EY Canada partner and national banking technology leader with the firm, told INN. “They look at it in terms of the value and benefit.”

He said this commitment is real and long-lasting. “They're not pursuing it because it's cool,” Sinha said. “They're pursuing it because there's business value to be derived from it.”

A significant amount of research has already been conducted by the biggest companies out there.

“Many of them have gone through the experimentation — part of that experimentation is learning internally, it's learning the language of blockchain,” Adelgren said.

Privacy key to adoption by major corporations

According to both EY experts, the adoption of blockchain technology will require the market to keep maturing.

“The hard part of it is really around standardization,” Sinha said.

Adelgren explained that in the past large entities have been indecisive about using the blockchain in a more day-to-day way. While there are many reasons for that lack of action, privacy and corporate responsibility are at the top of the list.

“If you're an enterprise, you are always going to need an element of privacy when we transact,” Adelgren told INN.

Investor takeaway

Major corporations continue to investigate how they can benefit from blockchain technology, but in general they want to see continued maturity in the sector, as well as clarity around policies, before making commitments.

Adelgren is pleased by the degree of understanding she sees taking hold in the market — notably, she sees much less confusion when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, an encouraging sign for future use.