The blockchain is one of the biggest buzzwords on the market right now, right next to AI and machine learning. Ever since the cryptocurrency boom captured the attention of many, people have been talking about blockchain more.
The blockchain is so much more than cryptocurrency. It is a way to decentralize and maintain a massive ledger of transactions in a transparent and accurate way. There is no way to delete entries in the blockchain, so the system offers high accountability.
The technology behind blockchain is applicable in many fields. In fact, many solutions based on blockchain are entering the market as we speak and helping businesses change the way they do business. Here are the three ways blockchain will affect your business in the near future.
Decentralized Accounting
Accounting is the obvious aspect of a business that blockchain will change. After all, the technology plays to the needs of business accounting perfectly. There is no need to maintain multiple backups of business records or to manually check entries during audits because blockchain-based accounting offers a much higher level of transparency and accountability.
As mentioned before, blockchain is based on an append-only principle; entries can be added to the decentralized system, but they cannot be deleted or modified directly. Every entry is valid and changes to them can be tracked to the last detail. This certainly makes business accounting and audits much easier to handle.
Faster Payments
Payment is another way blockchain will affect businesses. We’re not just talking about businesses turning to cryptocurrencies for faster and more reliable transactions either. Banks and major financial institutions are now implementing blockchain to better support conventional banking. Soon, transferring money to a vendor or receiving payment from a client will be processed using blockchain.
Payment is one sector where blockchain really shines. It is a technology that disrupts the finance industry in a big way. It is spreading too. We now have Open Platform turning payment processing in blockchain into a plug-and-play solution. Businesses don’t need to deal with the complexity of blockchain and decentralization to be able to accept, process, and verify payments.
One of the biggest obstacles standing between cryptocurrencies and the everyday consumer is the difficulty that businesses have integrating cryptocurrency payments into their software. OPEN platform represents a giant leap in the right direction. By finally allowing developers to implement cryptocurrency technologies directly into the backend of their software, OPEN is levelling the playing field between fiat currency and cryptocurrency. OPEN allows developers to add cryptocurrency payments without a need for the usual technical expertise, meaning that it is now a viable option for businesses who previously wouldn’t have stood a chance at implementing the necessary payment infrastructure successfully.
Advertising
Advertising isn’t an obvious field in the blockchain revolution, but advertisers and agencies have found incredible ways to use blockchain to improve advertising for businesses. One interesting concept that will soon be available is using blockchain to support programmatic ads.
Instead of relying on metrics and unreliable data, businesses can gain better control over their programmatic ad campaigns with the help of blockchain. All advertising spending is recorded in detail and can be tracked, so ad networks and programmatic agencies can no longer use shady practices like click fraud and faking return on investment ratios.
Cybersecurity
Blockchain-based solutions are entering the market all the time. Cloud storage, business management solutions, and even HR and payroll systems now use blockchain as their underlying technology. The biggest advantage of this revolution lies in the added security offered by the technology.
The decentralized nature of blockchain means there is no single point of entry for cyberattacks. Data is stored on multiple machines and altering data in one machine (or several of them) will not affect the integrity of the ledger. Soon, blockchain will protect your business too.