SAP Project System
Blockchain technology and SAP Blockchain strategy
Blockchain is an architectural concept that offers an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.
Blockchain provides the foundation for applications such as Bitcoin, which is the most successful Blockchain application to date.
Some quick facts :
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60% of polled participants say Blockchain is the biggest tech development since the Internet.
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45% say it is the end of traditional Banking as we know it.
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83% of life and science leaders believe Blockchain will be adopted within 5 years.
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>50% of companies in consumer products, life science, healthcare, tech and media already deploy Blockchain solutions.
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>$1.4 Billion invested in Blockchain projects between 2014 and 2017.
Blockchain is a combination of existing technology :
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Peer-to-peer networks
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Cryptography and hashing algorithms
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Consensus algorithms
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Databases
Value drivers for Blockchain adoption in Enterprise
Blockchain is not a technology to be used in any business case. Below are value drivers that can help you decide if Blockchain is suitable for your particular Business scenario :
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Multi-Party Collaboration : The need for multi-parties to collaborate (more than 2 parties) ?
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Process optimization : The need for improving existing business processes ?
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Enhancing the security : Enhancing security for existing transactions ?
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Transparency and auditability : The need to provide transaction transparency to all parties ?
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Information imbalance : Removing the possibility of information imbalance between all parties ?
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Immutable digital assets : The need for an immutable ledger removing the ability to change the data by any of the parties involved ?
If you can answer these questions positively for your use case , then that's when you should really start to consider using Blockchain technology.
Enterprise use cases
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Healthcare :
SAP proof of concept for the healthcare industry addresses the following challenges :
- Counterfeit drugs entering the supply chain and the risk this provokes to global health
- The complexity of the industry and the high regulation
- The inefficient sellable returns verification process
Solution
- Authorized parties write hashes of products onto Blockchain
- Units can then be scanned for authenticity
- Scalable to customers
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Communication :
SAP proof of concept for global IMEI storage and services addresses the following challenges :
- 1 in 10 smart phones stolen in the U.S alone
- All units are supplied with an IMEI code (International Mobile Equipment Identity)
- Localized blacklists and processes
Solution :
- "Wireless Device Security" Network
- Units can be blacklisted and whitelisted by authorized parties
- Can be rolled out to other IoT-enabled devices
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Public Services :
SAP proof of concept for autonomous province of South Tyrol addresses the following challenges :
- High level of repetitive, manual documentation
- 1000 existing systems or processes
- 21 distributed offices
Solution :
- Mobile application
- Single source of truth
- Cost and time savings
SAP's Blockchain Strategy
SAP's vision :
Blockchain is the foundation for building transactional applications that establish trust and transparency while streamlining business processes across company boundaries.
SAP doesn't believe Blockchain is relevant for all projects use cases or even an adequate replacement for every business process.
SAP started with 2 technologies as part of SAP Leonardo on the SAP Cloud platform :
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Hyperledger Fabric
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Multichain
For more information on this, go to : www.sap.com/blockchain
For the full videos of this Introduction to Blockchain, please visit open.sap.com.