I am forever looking at new tech, especially within IoT and Finance and there’s a big storm brewing. This technology storm is going to be immensely disruptive in the tech/finance industries and let me explain why.
[easy-tweet tweet=”CTC’s @NeilCattermull discusses the #technology storm which is going to disrupt #fintech”]
So what is this disruptive and potentially revolutionary technology? Let’s start at the beginning with some explanations of the existing terms in the industry, together with a short video from IBM that explains how the process works.
Bitcoin – A digital currency created back in 2009 that now is traded publicly and started the blockchain infrastructure we see today
Coloured Coins – The easiest analogy is to compare these with types of asset classes
Smart Contracts (digital) – Protocols (computer) that facilitate, verify, enforce or negotiate a contract
Blockchain – There are two types of records utilised in the chain of blocks
- Transactions – Content stored in the chain of blocks (blockchain)
- Blocks – The record and recorded timestamp of transaction with logs for the blockchain
Sidechain – Tech focused on improving the blockchain (basically blockchains that integrate others) – this is a major area of improvement/opportunity for the whole fintech industry and I feel massive growth will come from the interoperability of blockchains, so get developing!
Blocks – The blocks get created by “miners” who use very specific tech/software that is designed and written specifically for your individual needs
Now lets cue the video and watch IBM explain it here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=4RRD4Jy6aWw
sneak preview and announcement of IBM’s involvement within the blockchain environment
Does blockchain make more sense now? I hope so. Now onto the main body of this article – my sneak preview and also announcement of IBM’s involvement within the blockchain environment. From development to execution it seems that IBM has a solution that fits all the demands of most industries, and now with the resilient tech of z Systems for blockchain they have proved yet again that they are ahead of the game with emerging technologies. Oh, did I mention that IBM are members of the Linux Foundation too?
“For security in a blockchain environment not all platforms are created equal. For regulated and other entities IBM can provide full encapsulation of the transaction, code and the blockchain. The z Systems brand provides the highest security platform in the world today and this is essential when applying technology to regulated environments,” says Ross Mauri, General Manager IBM z Systems & LinuxONE.
[easy-tweet tweet=”IBM is making moves in the right areas with the z Series tech at the heart of it” user=”neilcattermull”]
Anyway you look at it IBM is making moves in the right areas with the z Series tech at the heart of it. With the necessity of management for the IoT and the need for the appropriate security that it demands, the powerhouse processing power and sheer throughput that this range of tech achieves is amazing. Let’s face it, mainframe technology has always been known for its security, resiliency and transactional processing power, just ask the settlements or client services division of any bank.
Now with the evolution of the Internet of Things (a vast amount of connected devices that all need to talk to each other securely, resiliently and fast – see the trend) it makes sense to look at this tech for your digital transformation. It isn’t just for regulated markets either, there are other industries that will eventually adopt the digital transformation technology – blockchain – including Government, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, music, and gaming to name a few.
New IBM Partnerships: Apple & SWIFT
With all of these industries having a need to change, and also be managed by new technologies such as Blockchain, it is no wonder that IBM have partnered with some of the best tech companies of our time, including the most recent IBM announcement with Swift, amongst many others Partnering with the brightest and best around simply guarantees a form of future proofing, and catering for the increasing public demand to support new vendor releases while staying compatible with the latest technical trends. A good example of this would be IBM’s recent partnership with Apple, now controlling over two thirds of mobile payments in the world with Apple pay. Imagine this service using the z Systems product range as its main infrastructure hub, it simply makes sense. Maybe this will happen, but at the moment the partnership has just made it a lot easier for the pair to develop and execute applications together.
Of course as I stated previously, IoT is the next ‘cloud buzz’ and security is paramount to the adoption stability of services. The devices utilised have a need to be secured and managed appropriately, and in my view we are not quite there yet. But looking towards the future, I feel IBM is definitely in the lead in this space, with the most secure and resilient tech around.
Neil Cattermull, Director of Cloud Practice, Compare the Cloud
Neil's focus is on developing cloud technology and big data. You can often find him advising CXOs on cloud strategy.