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Tag Archives: blockchain

The Missing Link: Blockchain for Digital Supply Chains

January 18, 2021   TIBCO Spotfire
TIBCO Blockchain scaled e1610402118703 696x365 The Missing Link: Blockchain for Digital Supply Chains

Reading Time: 4 minutes

A new operational backbone: the digital supply chain

As our business frameworks and structures have evolved to become predominantly data-driven digital entities, a new electronic backbone of partners, suppliers, and industry associates has crystallized and become the new substrate for all operational functions. That new foundational fabric has a name; we call it the digital supply chain.

Composed of logically aligned collections of people, processes, products, and places, the digital supply chain also includes new artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) functions for predictive intelligence and a number of virtual “employees” in the form of digital twins. Where we used to define digital twins solely in the context of machines in the Internet of Things (IoT), we can now establish digital versions of human workflow procedures, entire teams, complete departments, and whole companies.     

The foundational fabric: blockchain

But as digital twins are employed, deployed, and (mostly) enjoyed as valuable members of the new digital supply chain, we must think about a system of control to ensure that we know what functions they are performing and the results of their simulation calculations. That foundational fabric also has a name and you’ve already heard of it; we call it blockchain.

Using blockchain allows us to track and support a live, parallel digital twin deployment. Blockchain may be utilized to store key milestones or states in the lifecycle of a digital twin, and be augmented with a high-speed cache or state store to facilitate access to live, rapidly-changing operational data that doesn’t fit into blockchain storage structures. 

With data potentially cryptographically linked to the blockchain distributed ledger, this additional event-driven state store typically captures the current or real-time status of the digital twin (e.g. as a passenger is checked into their flight or as a shipment is loaded on a truck) and any uncorrelated events or transactions. It may also be queried by external tools to obtain the latest image or snapshot of the digital twin. As digital twins expire or become stale, data is typically flushed from this state store and moved to other analytical stores or data lakes, forming the basis for a complete, end-to-end contextual view of the twin.

A decentralized tamper-resistant store

Blockchains store data in a tamper-resistant, distributed, and “append-only” storage layer that is cryptographically derived and shared. Adding transactions to this ledger typically involves reaching agreement on the validity of the transaction between multiple blockchain network participants. In concept, if not practice, members of a digital supply chain should be able to agree on the validity of transactions in a relatively fluid manner. The cryptographic “chaining” of the data makes it difficult to change the transaction once it has been added to the ledger. 

Without providing a re-analysis of how blockchain has evolved and how both public permissionless and private permissioned blockchains are implemented (there is plenty to read on this across the web), let’s look at the use of permissioned enterprise blockchains with regard to digital twins in the supply chain.

For digital twins that span multiple organizations, data or transactions must be shared in a trusted, secure fashion between multiple known parties, have a degree of needed business logic transparency, and have a shared, decentralized, tamper-resistant store. To meet these needs, blockchain can act as an additional layer to a parallel or multiple digital twin deployment. A tamper-resistant store is key, especially in environments where mission-critical or life-critical operations depend upon it—like many digital twin supply chain functions.

This type of functionality can be useful when deploying digital twins that need to securely store and share key states or checkpoints between multiple parties (e.g. product delivery milestones across a supply chain), meet regulatory compliance requirements, reduce the chances of fraud, or record key decisions being made by various actors, including AI/ML models, in a complex system.  

Smart transactions, smart contracts

There’s a lot of talk surrounding digital business and arguably too much generic showboating surrounding the development of so-called digital transformation initiatives. Putting some meat on the bones of these new platform advancements requires us to define exactly where we will be deploying new software code. In the context of this discussion, that deployment surface is smart contracts, i.e. the business logic or code that runs within a blockchain network to define the parameters and logic of the transactions that can take place.

There are many definitions and descriptions of smart contracts and each blockchain framework that supports this capability tends to implement it differently. As applications in their own right, smart contracts are used to automate the execution of business logic against transactions, validate that a transaction should be written to the ledger, and write to the ledger in a way that supports transparency and trust. Again, for digital twins that are operating in parallel to distributed or complex systems, the ability to distribute business logic in a transparent and secure manner can prove beneficial.

Benefits of blockchain for supply chain management

We’ve moved beyond what we used to call Business-to-Business (B2B) operations at this point and entered a space where digital twins are transacting with each other autonomously and automatically inside the digital supply chain. Of course, the trade off of moving to this new tier is additional complexity. So, this consideration must be weighed against the obtained benefits in any firm’s own personal cost-benefit analysis.

The ability of blockchain to track digital twins with a high degree of transparency and traceability can also help with future legal requirements, especially when it comes to the import of raw materials. As an example from several years ago, the U.S. obliged its publicly listed companies to fully document their supply chain for tantalum, tungsten and tin, related ores, and gold. Soon afterward, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued guidelines on the due diligence of companies with regard to supply chains of minerals from conflict and high-risk areas.

Prepare for the future of blockchain with digital twins

Future considerations for the use of blockchain with digital twins include the creation of common marketplaces and representing shared assets as tokens for fractional ownership and sharing purposes. As digital twins become more complex and as network complexities increase, it is possible that blockchain will (in some form) become a more prevalent component of a digital twin runtime architecture.

Blockchain-backed digital twins can be complex to develop and execute, but the right tools make it far easier. Read this paper to learn more about use cases and applications for digital twins, key technology foundations, blockchain as an enabler, and more.

There’s arguably too much generic showboating surrounding the development of so-called digital transformation initiatives. Putting some meat on the bones of these advancements requires us to define exactly where we will be deploying new code. Click To Tweet

And join me for the TIBCO LABS Quarterly Update on February 4th 10:00 AM PST to discuss how organizations can apply capabilities related to IoT, edge analytics, blockchain, process mining, augmented reality, and more to meet business needs.

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Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

May 18, 2020   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Most people immediately associate blockchain with Bitcoin. It is true that blockchain was initially mainly used in the context of digital currencies exchange.

Today, Blockchain technology has much broader applications. It has specific characteristics that make it ideal for improving the reliability of business workflows that involve sensitive information like invoices, quotes, or contracts.

The exchange of these sensitive digital assets needs to happen in a way that ensures all stakeholders that those assets have not been tampered with. This is where blockchain can come in. You can an invoice digital signature or, better said, an invoice that is digitally sealed with blockchain.

336x188xblockchain video thumbnail 625x352.png.pagespeed.ic.mGIybQu e6 Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

In this article, we go through an application that is already available, and that allows you to use blockchain to make invoices easier to authenticate and exchange with other stakeholders.

Let’s first have a look at an example and then consider some practical aspects.

Breaking new ground – an example on invoices & blockchain digital seals

xAlicia Thomber.png.pagespeed.ic.HNvorqrpLY Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

In our example we will follow Alicia Thomber, Chief Financial Officer of AdventureWorks.

She has just opened CB Digital Seal for SharePoint for the first time.

As a financial officer, she has dealt with invoices, receipts and other financial documents all her professional life. She is also very familiar with using Microsoft SharePoint for document management.

She wants to explore what she can do with CB Digital Seal for SharePoint, with the help of Greg Winston from the IT department.

Greg explains you can set up CB Digital Seal for SharePoint so that all the files are sealed automatically, but for now, it is set up for in demand. So, Greg shows how she can go about sealing a file. You pick up a SharePoint document library or a folder within a library, choose the file type you want to seal, and click a button to make it underway.

xCB Digital Seal for SharePoint 1 625x213.png.pagespeed.ic.dJaj42QP2d Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

xCB Digital Seal for SharePoint 2 625x286.png.pagespeed.ic.bKs7LB FvE Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

Alicia can later verify any document she sealed:

  1. Inside CB Digital Seal for SharePoint
  2. Online using CB Digital Seal Verifier

The second option gives her great flexibility, as it means she can do it from anywhere and also that any other stakeholder can verify the document from anywhere.

For now, she will explore more of what she can do in terms of the first option, that is Inside CB Digital Seal for SharePoint. Greg points out that she can verify a whole folder, no matter the number of documents she has inside it, or a single file.

xCB Digital Seal for SharePoint 3 625x310.png.pagespeed.ic.oTXq2rjNHi Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

If all goes well, i.e. no one tampered with the file, a quick feedback will show so. If the application is checking a folder, you see an indication of the number of files verified.

xCB Digital Seal for SharePoint 4 625x313.png.pagespeed.ic.pa9TQVvJx0 Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

What if I have a broken digital seal on my document?

Greg then makes use of his IT skills to demonstrate to Alicia why this tool is useful. He picks up a contract document (Contract.pdf), seals it and verifies it. At first, he gets the expected “green signal” that indicates the contract is good, no one manipulated it.

xCB Digital Seal for SharePoint 5 625x470.png.pagespeed.ic.d3fWYc3oAN Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

He then goes behind the scene, acting as if he is a hacker (don’t tell anyone!).

He changes the date of the contract, a sensitive piece of information he should not be able to change. But he does change it just to demonstrate what a hacker could easily do. After the contract is change, everything looks normal in SharePoint. The version history does not show any changes, and the last updated date is still as it was.

Fortunately, you cannot fool CB Digital Seal for SharePoint! When Greg clicks verify, he can clearly see the file has been altered.

xCB Digital Seal for SharePoint 6 625x346.png.pagespeed.ic.t pzWCXDv8 Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotes

Alicia is very impressed with this demonstration!

If it was not for CB Digital Seal for SharePoint, she could have been fooled into trusting a forged contract.

What a great fraud detection warning!

This is the core functionality of CB Digital Seal for SharePoint, but Alicia finds she can do a lot more with it:

  • View detailed logs
  • View statistics of sealing and verification

Greg also explains that CB Digital Seal for SharePoint can connect to more than one SharePoint if needed.

Configuration is:

  • User friendly
  • Flexible
  • Straightforward

My Sensitive Information Going to the Blockchain?

Alicia still has one concern. She knows that CB Digital Seal for SharePoint uses Blockchain. She likes using state-of-the-art technology, but she does not like the idea of having financial sensitive information going around in the web.

Alicia learns from Greg that is not the case: only a digital fingerprint of each sealed file leaves the network, never the file itself. The file always remains within the safety of their original environment.

Pricing, costs and ROI

Using an out-of-the box solution such as CB Digital Seal for SharePoint makes this state-of-the-art technology available at a fraction of the cost Alicia had anticipated when she heard about it. She is also happy that using this technology has a low transaction cost, as that is a running cost. With transaction costs of less than 1 cent, it is not much of a problem.

Takeaway

For Alicia, her favorite thing about CB Digital Seal for SharePoint is that she can now prove invoices and other financial information are authentic and identical to how they were on the sealing date.

She can anticipate how valuable that will be for her upcoming audits.

For the auditors, having a digital on an invoice will as if it was an invoice digital signature but one that cannot be forged. And the same goes for receipts, quotes, contracts and all other sensitive financial information.

Would you like to see for yourself what CB Digital Seals can do for you?

Why don’t you talk to our experts? They will be glad to provide you with a free demo or answer any questions you might have.

You can also call us at +1 (720)-577-3030!


xana framed.png.pagespeed.ic.cVqanoYude Blockchain to revolutionize invoices and quotesBy Ana Neto, Connecting Software.

Connecting Software is a 15-year-old company the produces software for integration and synchronization. Currently with 40 employees, Connecting Software spreads through 4 different countries and truly is a global company.

We are also a proud “Top Member 2019″ at CRMSoftwareBlog.

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Talking Blockchain in Healthcare with TIBCO CTO Nelson Petracek

May 6, 2020   TIBCO Spotfire
TIBCOBlockchainHealthcare scaled e1588298989536 696x365 Talking Blockchain in Healthcare with TIBCO CTO Nelson Petracek

Reading Time: 3 minutes

This article first ran in The Australian on March 30, 2020, and has been republished to the TIBCO blog with permission from the original source.
Author: David Swan, Technology Editor, The Australian

Blockchain has the ability to help the healthcare industry automate and cut down its processes, which can help it in turn save costs that can be funnelled back into important patient care, according to one of the top executives from US cloud computing specialists TIBCO.

TIBCO chief technology officer Nelson Petracek told The Australian that despite a decline in search traffic for blockchain across the board, now was the time for the technology to prove itself in important ways, like in the healthcare sector.

As reported in The Australian today, blockchain is the top ‘hard skill’ when it comes to current technology job opportunities. Blockchain is a distributed, decentralised, public ledger; a system in which a record of transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network.

Mr Petracek said that despite an overall downturn the ACT had spiked in searches for blockchain, which was likely driven by government interest in the technology following the publication of Australia’s National Blockchain Roadmap.

“The fact that this was done by the government likely also triggered some interest among blockchain-related technology companies to see what business opportunities the roadmap might present to industry,” he said, adding that the finance industry was also showing heavy interest given it’s under increased pressure to reduce fraudulent activity and restrict money laundering activities.

“Blockchain is often touted as a potential solution to these business problems, and given that many organisations in the Asia Pacific region have at least conducted initial POCs with the technology, the combination of government attention, public facing banking issues, and some experience with the technology has led to renewed interest beyond the initial hype,” he said.

According to Mr Petracek, the healthcare industry is also experiencing increased attention when it comes to the cost of healthcare, even before the COVID-19 crisis.

“There is pressure on the cost of healthcare as well as the management and governance of personal information,” he said.

“We have, of course, the health pandemic of today, which is severely stressing global healthcare systems, but even before this situation became a crisis, the need to provide better healthcare at a lower cost was receiving more attention.

“Again, given the applicability of blockchain in this area (as a potential partial solution to certain types of problems), and the intersection with government involvement and technology experiences, blockchain has received renewed interest.”

“These areas are driving more interest in blockchain technology, design and application of blockchain as governments – and not just early adopters – need to clearly understand the technology and its impacts on legislation and regulation.”

Mr Petracek said Australia has taken a leadership position with its blockchain roadmap, which lays out ideas about industry and educational institutions might collaborate with government when it comes to healthcare.

The roadmap was released last month and focuses on three main areas: “regulation and standards;” “skills, capability and innovation;” and “international investment and collaboration.”

“I think it will be looked at as an example of what other countries could do,” Mr Petracek said. “Especially with Australia being in the middle of Asia Pacific, I think you have a fair amount of activity and investment in places like China for example.

“That means Australia is going to have to be a bit more on the cutting edge in terms of understanding the technology and where it could be applied, but there is an opportunity to be a leader in this space and help define how it can work.

“There is a real opportunity for Australia to lead.”

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Connecting Software won “Top 10 Blockchain Solution Provider 2020”

April 17, 2020   CRM News and Info

Connecting Software is proud to have been selected as “Top 10 Blockchain Solution Provider” by Enterprise Security Magazine.

The award follows the launch in the last quarter of the company’s Blockchain-based digital seal solutions.

The award-winning digital seal solutions

Both CB Digital Seal for SharePoint and CB Digital Seal allow you to seal your documents digitally. These solutions use Blockchain technology to seal the documents. The distributed ledger technology guarantees all sealed files are tamperproof. 

The key idea is that you and other stakeholders can trust the data you have. After all, you know there is no way someone could have made any changes after the timestamped digital seal. 

Having trustworthy documents and files helps companies be ready for their internal or external audits and accelerates business data compliance in a fast and cost-effective way. 

CB Digital Seal for SharePoint is specific to Microsoft SharePoint, while the more generic CB Digital Seal with Blockchain Technology that can integrate with Microsoft Dynamics, other CRM solutions, or even other types of software.xthomas berndorfer frame 150x150.png.pagespeed.ic.Y4IzeAP4xm Connecting Software won “Top 10 Blockchain Solution Provider 2020”

About the award, Thomas Berndorfer, Connecting Software’s CEO, says “Receiving such an award is very encouraging. I am very proud of our team for making this come true!“.

xEnterprise Security Magazine Blockchain Award 2020 300x132.png.pagespeed.ic.nuBaN5wuFZ Connecting Software won “Top 10 Blockchain Solution Provider 2020”

Top Blockchain Solution Provider

Enterprise Security Magazine, both in the printed and online versions, features a full article on this award, as well as on CB Digital Seal and CB Digital Seal for SharePoint. We can read it all here to make sure you also have the inside scoop. You can also check out an article that is right here, on the CRMSoftwareBlog, about this digital seal solution in an industrial setting.

If you would like to see for yourself what CB Digital Seal with Blockchain technology can do for you, the best starting point is talking to our experts. They will be glad to provide you with a free demo or answer any questions you might have. Call us at +1 (720)-577-3030!


xana framed.png.pagespeed.ic.cVqanoYude Connecting Software won “Top 10 Blockchain Solution Provider 2020”

By Ana Neto, Connecting Software

Connecting Software is a 15-year-old company. It produces software for synchronization, migration and integration. Currently with 40 employees, Connecting Software is a truly global company. It spreads through 4 different countries: United States, Austria, Slovakia and Portugal.

We are also a proud “Top Member 2019″ at CRMSoftwareBlog.

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Taking it one Step Further with Digital Seals with Blockchain Technology

March 30, 2020   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Let’s pick up the story of Noah, a CRM consultant, that implemented an XRM solution with an IIOT integration for Oliver Smith, production manager at a manufacturing facility.

As Oliver’s company works with a variety of sensors and production machines, those were used as a place to collect data. Noah recommended Connect Bridge as the integration platform to get the data into the XRM system that he set up. Initially done as a Proof of Concept, this project was then further developed, and it quickly became a full-blown system.

So currently we have:

  • Data coming from multiple sensors and production machines
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 with a dashboard showing that data
  • Connect Bridge to make the integration of the above possible

nomaintenance noworries isometric.png.pagespeed.ce.B4ZbAdklMV Taking it one Step Further with Digital Seals with Blockchain Technology

Houston, we have a problem!

Oliver can now access machine reports from his new dashboard. It is good to have them on hand to provide to internal and external auditors. He has the production process documented in his dashboard, and he is confident about machine performance. Besides, if a customer has a complaint, he can check the machine reports referring to a specific date.

But if the machine reports are all that important… how about security?

Can he trust the data on his own machine reports? 

Can he be sure they have not been tampered with?

Oliver again turns to Noah, with these data integrity issues on his mind.

Becoming the Right Man for the Job

Fortunately, Noah has a good knowledge of the latest technology. He knows that it is now possible to use Blockchain technology for ensuring data integrity.

Nonetheless, he is not a Blockchain specialist. His “trick” is to use CB Digital Seal with Blockchain Technology from Connecting Software.

CB Digital Seal is integrated into the software that is already in use, like SharePoint. Noah has even watched a demo of CB Digital Seal for SharePoint.

He can see the application of this in Oliver’s project. He sees he can smoothly integrate it with the XRM system that was developed.

My Sensitive Information Going to the Blockchain?

Before the project starts, however, Oliver still has one concern. He is worried when he hears that the project uses Blockchain. He likes the idea of using state-of-the-art technology, but he does not like the idea of having his machine reports copied or sent outside his network. It is sensitive information, after all.

Noah reassures him that is not the case: only a digital fingerprint of each sealed file leaves the network, never the file itself. The file always remains within the safety of their original environment.

Going Live with CB Digital Seal with Blockchain Technology

With that concern covered, the project launches. It goes live in a matter of weeks. Plus, it is actually finished at a fraction of the cost Oliver had anticipated when he heard about a technology that was so “fancy”.

He is also happy that using this technology does not mean the transaction cost is higher than with others. Each transaction cost is, in fact, less than 1 cent.

He chose to have all the machine reports sealed as they enter the system. New reports are sealed right after they are created. Old reports were gradually sealed after deployment so that all relevant documents and files are now sealed.

This gives him peace of mind, and it also means that he and all other end-users who work with the software just keep on working as usual. No interaction with the system is necessary unless you want to verify the seal of a specific report.

Oliver can now prove no one tampered with a machine report from the moment it was sealed. He has also found that the digital seals are timestamped. He knows that will be essential, for example, when an audit comes.

Takeaway

For Oliver, our production manager, his favorite thing about this project is that he can now prove every step of the manufacturing process with sealed machine reports. He can also obtain 100% tamper-proof evidence about machine performance. All this in a project that was up and running quickly.

Noah, our consultant, was pleased to be able to provide a Blockchain solution without having to become a Blockchain specialist. What’s more, he was not only able to provide a solution, but he was able to do it much faster than if he had hired a company specializing in the area to build everything from scratch.


Would you like to see for yourself what CB Digital Seal with Blockchain technology can do for you?

Why don’t you talk to our experts? They will be glad to provide you with a free demo or answer any questions you might have. Call us at +1 (720)-577-3030!


xana framed.png.pagespeed.ic.cVqanoYude Taking it one Step Further with Digital Seals with Blockchain Technology

By Ana Neto, Connecting Software

Connecting Software is a 15-year-old company. It produces software for synchronization, migration and integration. Currently with 40 employees, Connecting Software is a truly global company. It spreads through 4 different countries: United States, Austria, Slovakia and Portugal.

We are also a proud “Top Member 2019″ at CRMSoftwareBlog.

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From Bootleggers To Blockchain: Technology In The Ethical Supply Chain

February 28, 2020   SAP
 From Bootleggers To Blockchain: Technology In The Ethical Supply Chain

On a recent walk along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, I was reminded of a local legend about a rum runner’s tunnel that connected to the beach from the cellar of a distillery owner’s mansion. The Roaring ’20s saw a great deal of this kind of liquid contraband, transported from local distilleries to boats along the Canadian north shore of Lake Ontario, intended for the thirsty residents of Prohibition-era Rochester, N.Y., and beyond.

While there is a certain Gatsbyesque glamour that sometimes glorifies Prohibition, the bootleggers and rum runners used unsophisticated methods. There was nothing the least bit glamorous (or safe) about running booze across Lake Ontario in the dead of winter, as many lost boats and bodies washed up on the lake’s shores.

The more things change

Fast-forward to our own version of the “roaring ’20s” where smuggling is just as lucrative: drugs, weaponry, high-end automobiles, endangered animals and their parts, and sadly, even people. Today though, smugglers have sophisticated supply chains, enabled by the same technologies legitimate organizations use.

But all that tech creates data, and data leaves a trail. From the early days of barcoding, then RFID tagging, and more recently track-and-trace with blockchain, technology allows us to see the provenance of goods and resources. Customers are now looking for such reassurances. We want to know if the products we consume are counterfeit, made with slave labor, or tampered with in the distribution process.

But we could do more. Tragic cases like the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated truck near London last year highlight the desperate need for greater vigilance. Could the standardization of motion detectors in refrigerated (or any) transport containers help prevent similar deaths? Could it also discourage the practice of transporting human beings like so many head of cattle?

The more things don’t have to stay the same

Smuggling will exist so long as people want what they cannot have by legitimate means or at a price they’re willing to pay. Whether it’s as heartbreaking as the dream of a better life in another country or as laughable as thinking a bit of powdered rhino horn will restore your virility, we humans will find a way.

Fortunately, the same ingenuity builds the tools we need to prevent harm. We design and manufacture smarter products with sensors to track temperature, humidity, tampering, and more. We make smarter vehicles and assets that track movement, unacceptable conditions, or unsanctioned stops or trips. We also use machine learning to detect patterns and anomalies in supply chain data to ferret out fraud and ensure security.

There will always be a give and play between smugglers attempting to break the law and the entities (police, legitimate companies, industry associations, etc.) trying to enforce it. But as the integration of global supply chains continues apace, new developments and technologies could make it much harder for bad actors to succeed. This might just help to change the risk-benefit analysis enough to make a positive change. Hopefully.

To learn more about ensuring an ethical supply chain, download the recent IDC whitepaper “Delivery as a Critical Element of the Digital Supply Chain.”

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Seal Documents in Dynamics 365 with Blockchain for Data Integrity

November 20, 2019   CRM News and Info
crmnav Seal Documents in Dynamics 365 with Blockchain for Data Integrity

Press-Release

Denver, Nov. 20, 2019

Connecting Software, a provider of synchronization and integration software, and Cryptowerk, a data integrity company, have released a new solution that seals documents in standard business software.

Smart Stamp Document Sealing with Blockchain Technology is a simple product add-on embedded in any business application.

With the add-on, documents can be sealed with one click in any business system: CRM (Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce, SugarCRM, etc.), enterprise resource planning systems (SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 NAV (BC), AX (FO)), document management platforms (Microsoft SharePoint, etc.). Users keep working in their familiar programs and seal or verify documents with simple actions via the new add-on.

Such tamper-proof stamps based on blockchain technology ensure data compliance and trust to businesses and are faster and more cost-effective than current certificates of authenticity and any other sealing technology.

“There have been many talks about the opportunities of blockchain but very little real-world application. With our solution, this amazing technology can be used by companies, the public sector, industrial producers for their daily needs – proving data compliance and authenticity. We are happy that we have found Cryptowerk, a blockchain expert, who enabled us to leverage this technology for solving current business challenges”, – says Thomas Berndorfer, CEO Connecting Software.

One of the solution’s advantages is that the user’s working environment does not change. The data integrity solution based on blockchain runs in the background of all existing system operations and processes. Users do not need to learn anything about the underlying technology and can continue working in their familiar software: CRM, ERP, document management systems, and apply sealing or verification with one click via the add-on.

With Cryptowerk a secure data integrity layer can simply be added to any business system. The integration in the Microsoft environment and other systems through Connecting Software is simple to use and all types of data can be secured in one-click.

“As a data integrity specialist, we are excited to partner up with Connecting Software who specializes in integration solutions and can bring our trust layer based on blockchain technology into almost every business software”, Dirk Kanngiesser, CEO Cryptowerk.

For more information on the joint solution, join the upcoming webinar where Cryptowerk and Connecting Software together will present on the Data integrity solution based on blockchain technology for Your Microsoft environment.

Register here to join the webinar on December 11th.

***

Connecting Software, founded in 2007 in Vienna, Austria, is a producer of synchronization and integration software. Cryptowerk, based in Silicon Valley, is a data integrity company, using blockchain to authenticate digital assets.

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Securing Your Digital Transactions With Blockchain

August 20, 2019   BI News and Info

In late 2008, an anonymous paper was published, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” The paper described a method for peer-to-peer transfers of electronic cash without the need to go via an intermediary or through a financial institution such as a bank. “Bitcoin” was the name given in this particular commodity, but the term “cryptocurrency” is used to describe the networks and mediums of exchange that use cryptography to secure these types of digital transactions.

The popularity of Bitcoin has increased since then, and in December 2017 the value of 1 Bitcoin reached almost USD20k. There are now over 1600 different cryptocurrencies touting various use cases. Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, is now widely known and trusted and has an increasing range of practical applications.

The technology

A blockchain is a distributed database of records, or a public ledger of transactions or digital events that have been executed within the system. The premise of the underlying technology is that one centralised authority is not controlling or overseeing the transactions that take place and the record-keeping of those transactions — rather, a network of participants verifies the transaction by consensus, and once entered into the ledger, the transaction is irreversible.

While the initial premise of Bitcoin was for digital cash transactions, the technology can be applied to any form of digital asset transaction exchanged online. It gained popularity in its infancy for black-market trading because of its value and the anonymity and un-traceability of the parties entering into the transactions.

As the name suggests, the system orders transactions by placing them in groups called ‘blocks’ and then uses a process to place these blocks into a unique ‘chain’ as they are independently verified by the network’s members. The blocks are linked to each other in a proper linear, chronological order, with each block containing a unique code (hash) which links it to the previous one. Users can choose to remain anonymous or provide proof of their identity to others, and each user on a blockchain has a unique 30+ character alphanumeric address that identifies their input. The final chain of blocks represents the final, verified transaction record, which can be associated with anything of value.

Here is the basic principle of blockchain:

 Securing Your Digital Transactions With Blockchain

Real-world applications

Since its inception, there have been varying levels of controversy, criticism, skepticism, and optimism surrounding Bitcoin and blockchain; however, we are now seeing increasing adoption and investment in the blockchain technology and its enterprise application. The World Economic Forum forecasts that by the year 2027, 10% of global GDP will be stored in blockchain ledgers.

Some of the industries in the process of validating use cases and business models for blockchain include manufacturing and logistics, healthcare, finance, and government. End-to-end track and trace is just one example of blockchain in logistics and supply chain. The ability to have a cost-efficient, traceable, transparent and secure system to transact data records has the potential to provide huge benefits, with less risk.

In June this year, Facebook announced its intention to release its own digital currency. While there are regulatory pressures facing the tech behemoth, the news has sparked interest in cryptocurrency amongst the masses once again.

I believe that while there will be ongoing regulatory influence and resistance from those institutions that are set to lose if blockchain technology becomes mainstream, it is time for businesses to rethink transaction processing in the digital era.

For more on this topic, see What’s Essential To Scale Blockchain.

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IBM-Unilever blockchain pilot cuts wasteful ad spend

August 18, 2019   Big Data

A year-long pilot that uses blockchain to improve online advertising efficiency has yielded promising initial results, according to IBM CMO Michelle Peluso.

The project has already reduced pennies on the dollar of waste in the area of ad reconciliation and brought greater transparency to the complex gauntlet of intermediaries brand advertisers have to deal with, Peluso told VentureBeat in an interview this week. And there’s more to come, she said.

Peluso’s remarks are the first time the company has commented publicly about results of the pilot.

Reconciliation refers to the process advertisers use to ensure contracted agreements are actually delivered. Peluso estimated the average savings at 2 to 3 percentage points, though the company is still collecting results from its multiple brand partners.

The problem

On the one hand, online ads are highly effective because they’re more personalized than other forms of advertising. The sector has exploded, and this year online ads will for the first time account for more than half of the total advertising market.

But that growth has been accompanied by significant problems.

Just 20 years ago, Peluso explains, about 85 cents of every dollar spent by an advertiser made it to the publisher. The reason it wasn’t 100% is because an advertiser would pay modest fees to a creative agency, and perhaps a media placement firm. Today, at most only 40 cents of every dollar is getting through to the publisher, Peluso says. (The Association of National Advertisers cites similar numbers.)

 IBM Unilever blockchain pilot cuts wasteful ad spend

Above: Michelle Peluso, CMO at IBM

Image Credit: IBM

This is largely because of the increasing number of intermediaries taking a cut along the way. A typical campaign now involves fees paid to an agency trading desk, an ad exchange, a demand side platform, a supply side platform, and various other networks. And that doesn’t include losses from things like click fraud or account for brand damage caused by an ad inadvertently appearing alongside objectionable content, not to mention obstacles like adblockers. “It’s gotten really cumbersome and less understandable,” Peluso said.

These challenges have spurred advertisers like Unilever, the world’s fourth-largest spender on ads, to take action. Keith Weed, who was marketing chief at Unilever until May, called the advertising ecosystem “a swamp.”

In an effort to turn the tide, Unilever has become the anchor brand in the IBM blockchain pilot consortium, which includes Kellogg, Pfizer, Kimberly-Clark, AT&T, and IBM’s own Watson. A full report on the pilot’s goals can be found here.

The results are enough to convince the group to move into full production in October, according to Babs Rangaiah, executive partner in global marketing at IBM’s digital agency iX, and a leader of the blockchain project. Rangaiah, incidentally, is also a former Unilever employee.

The consortium will expand to include several more partners, he said, with the goal of making the product an “industry-wide solution” and “better on a number of fronts.”

How it works

Blockchain creates “this trusted verified chain from my dollar to the end user, which promises to root out several inefficiencies in the market,” Peluso said.

First, blockchain can improve the speed of reconciliation and billing. Second, it can cut out the scores of intermediaries that have popped up to offer measurement, verification, and source attribution services — while taking a cut, of course. With one immutable source of truth, the need for these players will go away. Third, blockchain can help with issues like safety and fraud, documenting where the ads actually appeared, Peluso said.

IBM announced the launch of its blockchain pilot a year ago.

In the past, ad reconciliation was simple because you had a single trusted measurement source, like Nielsen. Now you might have 10 measurement sources. “There are some companies out there that literally have 10 people doing nothing but solving discrepancies all day because of all the difficulties,” said Rangaiah.

Advertisers are excited

IBM and its partners, including the major brands and agencies participating in the project, “are feeling excited” by the initial results, said Peluso. And the group has only just laid the foundation, with much more to come.

Peluso’s goal is to reclaim 15 to 20 pennies on the dollar within the next five years. “That would free up an extraordinary amount of capital,” she said. The global online advertising market is worth $ 333 billion this year, according to eMarketer. So savings of the kind Peluso is talking about would equal about $ 65 billion this year.

Over that same time frame, she wants the project to achieve clarity on the scope of fraud and brand safety issues advertisers face: “Because right now, honestly, for all of us, it’s a little bit shooting in the dark,” she said.

The project has so far successfully automated campaign transparency and reconciliation, both new capabilities, Rangaiah said. But included in the next improvements, he said, will be applications that various partners want built on top of the blockchain foundation. These include seamless payment systems, better identity-level targeting, and impression-level data capabilities.

One particularly interesting application IBM is planning will help players along the blockchain target users more efficiently by leveraging encrypted first-party data across the chain. “With the blind trust within blockchain,” Rangaiah said, “you’d be able to use first-party data for both publisher and marketer in a way that currently you aren’t able to because it’s encrypted and you can only see your own data that you are technically ‘allowed’ to see.”

IBM charges an upfront fee to cover the small cost involved in providing the blockchain technology layer, but it plans to make money from applications built on top.

By the end of 2020, IBM hopes to have a solution that is “really industry-wide,” Rangaih said, and that incorporates many of the applications mentioned above. Partners are giving IBM feedback on those applications now, he said.

Another key player in the IBM consortium is software company Mediaocean, an important intermediary that does everything from planning to insertion orders, invoicing, media buying, and purchase orders — touching more than $ 140 billion in annual ad spending. The company already has the data from 5,000 publishers integrated into its system, saving IBM from having to build out the advertiser ecosystem itself. Mediaocean simply puts its software on top of IBM’s blockchain product, called Hyperledger.

IBM acknowledges Mediaocean’s role with the project’s name: “The IBM Mediaocean Blockchain for Media,” though Rangaih concedes “I think we need a nice catchy name.”

Despite the project’s early successes, winning wider acceptance for blockchain technology is a formidable challenge, both Peluso and Rangaih acknowledge. “To really make blockchain work, you have to convince everybody to be on the blockchain, and there’s plenty of people who have a vested interest in not doing that,” Peluso said.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Big Data – VentureBeat

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Trailblazing a Path for Blockchain

May 30, 2019   CRM News and Info

The early news out of this week’s Salesforce TrailheaDX conference at San Francisco’s Moscone Center has focused on blockchain.

Many of us think of blockchain as the technology that prevents counterfeiting digital currencies like bitcoin. However, the so-called cryptocurrencies have hit the rocks recently, losing value or at least fluctuating wildly, making them look more like the stocks of startups than stores of value.

Still, as an independent technology that can ensure the veracity of long transactional handoffs between business partners, the value of blockchain is only growing.

Making Blockchain Easy

Multiple vendors in the CRM market have been investing in blockchain. Salesforce revealed its work at TrailheaDX and put a marker down, working with customers like Arizona State University and announcing plans to deliver blockchain support in 2020.

Salesforce used technology from Hyperledger Sawtooth and customized it to serve its customers and platform. Working with a small group of customers like ASU to define the offering, Salesforce has taken some important steps toward demystifying blockchain.

For instance, the company introduced a Builder tool that focuses on building blockchain apps with clicks and low code rather than long-form programming.

Making blockchain easy has been one of the motivating factors of Salesforce’s development project, and it makes sense. The first phase of any technology deployment is just getting a minimally viable product (MVP) out the door.

After that the effort turns to features, functions and, especially, ease of use. For most software companies the first era of blockchain largely was contained by cryptocurrency, so to reach the broadest audience now, Salesforce and other vendors have been focusing on ease of use.

This likely means that unlike other product introductions, the first experience many people will have with blockchain will not be challenging.

Additionally, Salesforce has taken steps to ensure that its blockchain product is well integrated with the rest of the platform, so that users can envision blockchain apps for myriad business processes and workflows.

When the solution set is fully articulated, look for it to enable users in multiple industries to develop apps for new needs that are only hazily in view today.

The proof-of-concept apps Salesforce pointed to — such as managing collation of college transcripts from a variety of sources, or managing approvals in financing for new accounts — seem rather superficial. That’s mostly because more intricate use cases have not evolved yet. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation, and use cases probably will lag until there’s good product available.

Open Lightning

Salesforce also announced that it has open sourced Lightning Web Components, its JavaScript framework for developers using the Lightning Platform. This will enable developers to work on the Salesforce Platform or any other stack as well.

By open-sourcing its Web Components, Salesforce is continuing the commoditization of enterprise software — one way to look at cloud computing is as the commoditization of information technology.

With it we’ve seen tremendous success for spreading the benefits of technology to the point that today it is ubiquitous and serves an array of needs that could not be envisioned back in the mainframe era.

My Two Bits

Four years ago, Salesforce began diversifying its show schedule with TrailheaDX, enabling it to reach tens of thousands of customers it would not have reached otherwise. Moreover, Trailhead customers are developers — one of the most important constituencies because they build apps and therefore create demand for seats.

The Trailhead effort has been strategic for Salesforce, helping enterprises and small and mid-sized businesses to better manage their implementations and to develop new apps from scratch that look and behave like Salesforce, thus delivering consistent user experiences.

During that time, Salesforce also has dedicated significant effort to supporting women in technology. A big part of Trailhead’s agenda is to empower administrators, a job that includes many women.

From their ranks a significant number of developers and architects have emerged, further breaking down career barriers for people who want to be developers.

There’s talk about creating nearly a million new Salesforce jobs in the next few years and of Salesforce’s influence on GDP worldwide. All of this comes back to producing people who have the knowledge to build and run Salesforce solutions. When you look at it that way, TrailheaDX might be one of the company’s most important annual events.
end enn Trailblazing a Path for Blockchain


Denis%20Pombriant Trailblazing a Path for Blockchain
Denis Pombriant is a well-known CRM industry analyst, strategist, writer and speaker. His new book, You Can’t Buy Customer Loyalty, But You Can Earn It, is now available on Amazon. His 2015 book, Solve for the Customer, is also available there.
Email Denis.

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