Exploring The Scope And Possibilities Of Convergence Of Blockchain And IoT

CIOReviewIndia Team | Friday, 17 January 2020, 13:34 IST

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Exploring The Scope And Possibilities Of Convergence Of Blockchain And IoTInternet of Things has gained prominence in the industry due to its immense capabilities to monitor, track and control objects and processes. Though, there exists no ambiguity about the capabilities and applications of IoT, securely managing a large number of IoT connected devices from a unified platform is a challenge that hasn’t been addressed properly till date. Blockchain technology that forms the backbone of crypto currency is being proposed as a solution to address the security issues related to IoT ecosystem. Blockchain can be applied in the IoT device ecosystem to enhance data security and privacy, eliminating the need to have a centralized authoritative system to securely manage the devices. In this context, let us explore the scope of convergence of IoT and Blockchain and various applications of Blockchain in the IoT ecosystem.           

Enhancing Security While Reducing Costs

The security characteristics of Blockchain have made it an essential combination to the IoT. One of the key features of Blockchain is its immutability, which makes it impossible to alter the data once entered into the blocks. This not only helps to increase the data security but also improves the trust factor. It enhances the security at device level and at the enterprise level as well, paving ways for more cooperative and trusted business operations. Blockchain in convergence with IoT also eliminates middleware system in the network by enabling peer-to-peer exchange of data, reducing the costs associated with additional protocols and middleware systems. “One of the biggest challenges in contracting is to track compliance and obligations. A blockchain platform and its smart contract framework coupled with IoT and AI, can help facilitate greater efficiency in compliance and obligation management. Blockchains are immutable and therefore it may be possible to eliminate the need for electronic signature in near future,” says Girish Mutag, Managing Consultant – IBM Global Business Services.   

Convergence Still In Budding Stage

However, convergence of IoT devices with many design constraints in terms of speed, scalability, energy consumption, etc. and Blockchain which is currently computer and software specific technology is not an easy task. So attempts to apply Blockcain in the IoT are still at budding stage. Some of the companies working on the convergence of IoT and Blockchain are IBM, Everledger, Healthbank, Filament, etc. 

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