In my role as the chair of the Hyperledger Technical Steering Committee, I've come to realize the great divide between the enormous hype surrounding blockchain and the depth of understanding of how blockchain technology works, where the technology is on the maturity curve, and how it might be leveraged in the context of the enterprise.
Most of the hype relates to the cryptocurrency aspects of public, permission-less blockchain—ICOs as a substitute for more traditional IPOs, and the potential for disrupting traditional systems of banking, insurance, securities, and so on. It is the potential for disruption and the asymmetric profits that disruption might yield that have driven many to explore how blockchain might be used to one company's advantage over the rest of a given domain. However, what many are discovering is that blockchain is a team sport, and for blockchain to be successful in an enterprise, it demands a degree of industry collaboration not seen before.
The authors of this book take you beyond the hype. They lay a solid foundation for understanding the state of the technology landscape—including active and incubating projects under development at Hyperledger. They provide you with a framework for choosing the right technology platform, designing your solution, and integration with existing systems. And they explain the various governance models for establishing and operating a blockchain business network.
If you are an enterprise architect or developer tasked with developing a blockchain solution for your enterprise or industry, this book is a must-read.
Cheers,
Christopher Ferris IBM Distinguished Engineer, CTO Open Technology IBM Digital Business Group, Open Technologies
