Enabling Business Blockchain Adoption with a New Lenovo Solution

Blockchain is quickly becoming the most asked about emerging technology in 2019. While still in its early stages of adoption, its usability has been explored by the most advanced technology companies for many years. From that perspective, it is maturing in the technology adoption cycle as the underlying concept of a secure distributed ledger for people and businesses to share and verify information.

As stated in the Gartner article, The CIO’s Guide to Blockchain, there are areas that need to be addressed in order for blockchain’s potential to be fully achieved, specifically around interoperability, security, and data management. That said, Gartner expects blockchain business value-add to approach $3.1 trillion by 2030.

One of the key software frameworks fueling the exploration and adoption of enterprise blockchain services is Hyperledger Fabric. Hyperledger is the open source consortium advancing business blockchain technologies hosted by The Linux Foundation and Fabric is one of several frameworks hosted by Hyperledger. It was originally developed by IBM and Digital Asset and is underpinning several proof-of-concept projects supported by experienced providers. Because of its focus on B2B processes, Hyperledger Fabric is one of the most prominent enterprise blockchain offerings in existence today.

Many industries are also exploring a variety of use-cases for blockchain. In the near-term, Blockchain will likely impact the finance, pharmaceutical, media, and supply-chain management industries.

Lenovo is also actively using and evaluating this technology and has been working with partners to develop solutions that can help drive blockchain adoption by solving business problems. In particular, Lenovo is working with Intel to create solutions based on recently released Intel Select Solutions for Blockchain: Hyperledger Fabric. The standards set in the new Intel Select Solution have been pre-tuned and benchmarked, making it easier for enterprises to deploy, which will allow Lenovo to create specific products for customer demands.

Lenovo and Intel are working together to help customers in various industry sectors lower their time-to-market with blockchain services and capitalize on an array of business opportunities. As enterprises continue to pursue tangible blockchain applications across multiple industries, and as blockchain continues to mature, Lenovo will keep working with its partners to offer practical solutions to address customer needs.

For more information about Blockchain and Hyperledger Fabric, see these web pages:

• Hyperledger Fabric
  https://www.hyperledger.org/use/fabric
• Blockchain offerings by IBM
  https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/hyperledger
• Hyperledger Fabric on SAP Cloud Platform
  https://blogs.sap.com/2019/01/10/hyperledger-fabric-on-sap-cloud-platform/

Ajay Dholakia is a Principal Engineer, Master Inventor and Chief Technologist for Software & Solutions Development with Lenovo. His current focus is on solution architectures in the areas of Big Data, analytics, AI / machine learning, IoT and Blockchain. In his more than 23 years with Lenovo, and IBM before that, Ajay has led diverse projects ranging from research and technology to product development, as well as business and technical strategy.

John O’Shea is a worldwide Advanced Product Manager at Lenovo where his current focus is driving Blockchain solutions combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). He joined Lenovo in 2016 bringing over 20 years of worldwide technical and business leadership experience. Prior to Lenovo, John directed several data center and managed service projects as WW Senior Director including AI, Big Data, and Blockchain. His career in science and technology includes product development within the disciplines of AI, 3D Technologies and Cognitive Psychology. John holds a Masters in Computer Science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He received his Doctorate Degree in Psychology from Marylebone University, United Kingdom in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Psychology, and Human Interaction.