A piece of technology that can cause a major change in many private and government sector’s operational aspects is blockchain. The potential of the technology is recognized worldwide. Various companies highlight the advantages of using it, such as reducing operational and compliance-related costs, enhancing efficiencies, and the Netherlands hosting related benefits.
The underpinnings of blockchain are possibly intimidating to numerous decision and policymakers. Anyhow, functionally, it can bring in transparency in the private sector and government interfaces, thus simplifying not only collaboration for business enterprises but also our citizens’ lives.
Blockchain is in its infancy stage globally even today. For many industries, it is not a fully-understood concept. In spite of that, blockchain is in an early phase of growth and adoption. Therefore, stakeholders like policymakers, citizens, industries, and regulators must understand the practical definition of blockchain in its entirety or DLT (distributed ledger technology) alongside implementation prerequisites including the regulatory and legal matters.
Invented in 2009 for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, blockchain is considered the most significant innovation after the internet. Since the arrival of BTC, blockchain technology has been having many advancements, applications, and use cases. Much has been discussed regarding what is doable through blockchain, but not a lot has been performed with regards to applying the technology as a way of solving real-world issues. Companies and their business executives do not clearly understand whether they require blockchain or what it is.
In blockchain, if the data is included in the digital ledger/block, then it cannot be changed with any network node. The other thing about blockchain is that after the data is added, it and its history become traceable. The piece of technology works with the kinds of algorithms that are impossible to hack.
Blockchain Network Types
Public Blockchain Network
The phrase ‘public blockchain’ refers to a network that any person can connect to and take part in, like Bitcoin network. Some of its possible drawbacks are that it requires considerable computational power, lacks privacy for online transactions, and has weak security. Those are three things to consider for blockchain use cases at an enterprise level, including in VPS hosting scenarios.
Private Blockchain Network
Like the above-mentioned network, it is a P2P network. The main distinction is that a single organization will govern the network. The organization will control who is permitted to take part in it, execute consensus protocols, plus maintain their shared ledger. According to its use case, that can boost confidence and trust between those who participate in this network. It is possible to run a private-type blockchain behind an enterprise firewall, as well as host it on-premises.
Consortium Blockchain
Many organizations are likely to share the maintenance obligations of a blockchain. Those organizations decide who can access data or submit transactions. This form of blockchain suits business when every participant should be allowed and has a shared obligation for their blockchain.
Permissioned Blockchain Network
Businesses that establish a private-type blockchain network usually set up this network. It is also possible to make it a permissioned network. That will restrict who is permitted to partake in it, and that too, in just a few transactions. Participants should get permission or an invitation to join.