Over coffee and sweet cakes at GoHalal Mart & Cafe, DagangNetPOST recently spoke to Mr Zainal 'Abidin Mohd Jais to digest more about Blockchain and how this technology can change the business landscape.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain, in the simplest terms, is an open, distributed digital ledger that records transactions efficiently in a verifiable and permanent way.
Blockchain technology can also be described as a network of computers, each having an identical copy of the distributed database and changing its records by a common agreement based on complex mathematical algorithms.
Blockchain does not need any centralised server, which then enables shared responsibility of multiple parties that participate in the blockchain system. Unlike a regular database, blockchain has a non-destructive, immutable method to track data changes over time.
What does Blockchain strive to solve
The ultimate goal of blockchain is to tackle the issue of trust and secure networks of communications permeating through the increase adoption of digitalisation in every aspect of our lives.
Solutions leveraging on blockchain technology can offer integrity, transparency, audit trail capability and resiliency to its business. This is due to the very nature of blockchain technology, which enables shared responsibility of multiple parties that participate in the blockchain system.
The adoption of blockchain is expected to touch every industry including financial services, retailing, healthcare, real estate, education, regulatory, law enforcement and government.
How is the adoption rate of Blockchain in Malaysia?
Blockchain is still at its early level in Malaysia and the trend is seen to be similar globally. Despite the hype and attention towards blockchain over the couple of years, a survey by Gartner Research 2018 indicated that blockchain adoption rates are still low.
However, Gartner predicts the technology to have a rampant global impact and will contribute to a great economic value beginning of 2027 to 2030. In fact, according to a recent forecast by Gartner, the business value added by Blockchain is expected to grow to slightly more than USD360 billion by 2026 and then surge by more than USD3.1 trillion by 2030 globally.
Why do businesses in Malaysia need to seriously consider adopting Blockchain into their technology?
The blockchain technology has the prospect to be the catalyst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and it is anticipated that blockchain will transform trusted transactions in the same way the internet did for communications.
For any business to be the market leader, it must take advantage of the numerous benefits that come with early adoption of blockchain.
If businesses choose not to adopt blockchain, they are at risks of being replaced by a trusted version of themselves. Hence, for businesses to continue being relevant and sustainable, they need to anticipate technology disruptions such as blockchain and look into ways how this technology can be incorporated into their business and services.
How much will the adoption of Blockchain technology cost a company?
The investment will depend on the complexity of business problem the technology is trying to resolve, the business model it is addressing and also the choice of technological platform.
Businesses need to evaluate and look at the potential benefits that come with adopting blockchain instead of just focusing on projects that can create efficiencies in today's business processes. Blockchain is said to have the promise of being able to transform trusted transactions the same way the internet did for communications.
And Blockchain in DNeX?
DNeX has been actively pursuing on development of blockchain solutions and services when we launched DNeX Digital Platform last year.
In addition, Dagang Net has recently unveiled eScroll, a blockchain-based web application that verifies graduation certificates.
Speaking of which, what is eScroll?
eScroll is an innovative platform for graduates and universities to authenticate graduation certificates via a camera-enabled, blockchain-powered web application.
This application has a unique signature and time-stamped certificate that can eliminate forgery unlike traditional paper-based documents.
eScroll is aimed to improve efficiency in proving certificate provenance.
In addition, trusted verification of graduates' credentials creates assurance for both graduates and future employers. Universities benefit from using state-of-the-art technology to protect their most precious produce; thus they are creating added value to their brand reputation.
Users can access eScroll via https://escroll.dagangnet.com for the Dagang Net eScroll version with a focus on the educational sector.
How will eScroll provide a solution against fake certificates?
Every certificate is tagged with a QR code linked to the blockchain - a secure, immutable and incorruptible database. Issuing institutions keep a register of certificates on the blockchain represented by the QR code. Authentication of certificates is done by simply scanning the QR code. Thus, the verification process is made simple and transparent.
