From Theory to Practice: Real-Life Examples of Using Blockchain in Various Industries
By Space Coast Daily // May 24, 2024
Blockchain technology, often associated with cryptocurrencies, is actually a powerful tool for transforming numerous industries. It ensures security, transparency, and decentralization of data, making it an ideal solution for tasks requiring reliability and information protection.
In this article, experts from the IT company Avenga will share with us how blockchain is already being used in various industries and the advantages it brings to each of them.
Blockchain in financial sector
The financial sector was one of the first to recognize the importance of custom blockchain development and its potential for radically transforming its operations. The technology offers not only increased security and transparency of financial transactions but also significant reduction in time and costs associated with banking operations and insurance.
Blockchain in banking
Blockchain offers the banking sector opportunities for radical simplification of processes and cost reduction. For example, Santander Bank used blockchain to create a payment system that allows customers to make international transfers in real-time with low fees. This became possible due to the elimination of intermediaries and automation of transaction processing.
Blockchain in insurance
In the insurance sector, blockchain helps simplify and automate claims and payouts processes. For instance, AXA developed an insurance product that automatically compensates for flight delays based on departure time data from reliable sources. This not only increases customer trust but also reduces administrative expenses.
Blockchain in healthcare
Healthcare requires special attention to data security and confidentiality, and blockchain offers unique solutions to these challenges. From managing medical records to controlling medication distribution, this technology can significantly improve the quality and accessibility of medical services.
Medical data management
Blockchain can improve the management of medical data by ensuring its security and accessibility. For example, the MedRec project developed at MIT uses blockchain to create a decentralized database of medical records, allowing patients to control access to their medical information and share it with various doctors without the risk of unauthorized access.
Supply chain control for pharmaceuticals
Blockchain also finds applications in the pharmaceutical industry, where it helps monitor compliance with storage and transportation conditions as well as combat counterfeiting. For example, Pfizer uses blockchain to track every batch of drugs from the manufacturer to the end consumer. This not only ensures compliance of medical products with established standards but also helps identify counterfeit products.
Blockchain in logistics and supply chains
Supply chains and logistics are among the most complex and multifaceted aspects of modern business. Blockchain introduces unprecedented transparency and efficiency into this sphere, refining the ways companies, suppliers, and consumers interact. Transparent tracking of every stage of product delivery and optimization of logistical operations through blockchain open up new horizons for supply chain management on an international level.
Control of origin and movement of goods
Blockchain significantly enhances the transparency of supply chains, allowing tracking of each product from the manufacturer to the end consumer. An example of this is Walmart, which uses the technology to trace the origins of food products. This helps quickly identify sources of product contamination, significantly reducing the time for their removal from the market and minimizing the risk to consumer health.
Improvement of market participant interaction
Blockchain also facilitates interaction between various market participants, streamlining logistical operations and reducing costs. Maersk, the largest container shipping operator, developed a blockchain platform in collaboration with IBM to manage and track tens of millions of containers worldwide, significantly simplifying document flow and enhancing the efficiency of maritime transport.
Blockchain in real estate
The sector traditionally burdened with bureaucratic processes and intermediation finds new paths of development with blockchain. The technology offers simplification and acceleration of transactions, as well as increased security of transactions and property management. Blockchain has the potential to radically change the real estate market, making processes more transparent and accessible to all participants.
Real estate transactions
Blockchain provides opportunities to accelerate and simplify the processes of buying and selling real estate by automating transactions and eliminating the need for intermediaries. For example, in Dubai, blockchain is used for property registration, reducing transaction processing time and increasing transparency.
Property management
Blockchain can also improve property management by automating processes related to document flow and lease payments management. Propy has developed a platform that allows real estate market participants to negotiate, conclude contracts, and even make payments in a fully automated environment, minimizing risks and costs.
According to the experts at Avenga, blockchain offers great opportunities for numerous industries, providing solutions that ensure transparency, security, and efficiency.
These examples from various sectors demonstrate how blockchain is already transforming business processes and operations, with its potential only increasing. As technologies continue to evolve, we can expect even greater penetration of blockchain into new areas and the creation of new opportunities for innovation on a global scale.