Blockchain, the distributed ledger or database technology, is increasingly being used in applications; yet, it remains far from mainstream adoption. Experts believe, this gap is creating potential opportunities for channel firms, especially in blockchain consulting.
On what blockchain technology does for the partners and the customers, a recent study conducted by Seth Robinson, senior director of technology analysis at CompTIA shows that blockchain has the lowest rate of awareness in comparison with other emerging technologies such as cloud, big data and AI to name a few.
However, forty-three percent of company CXOs familiar with blockchain said they are already seeing the technology having an impact at their company, and 30% believe they will see an impact in one to two years and they term blockchain as a game changer in near future.
Part of the reason behind the lack of awareness around blockchain technology is that it’s primarily a building block for other applications a company might use, Robinson noted. Across all the companies in CompTIA’s survey, 22% said they are developing tools with blockchain as the underlying technology. It may be too soon to offer blockchain as a service in the IT channel, he saidd.
No wonder then, customers need to be familiar with blockchain also understand the pros and cons associated with it. The best step for future offerings, he advised, is to begin exploring the vendors in the blockchain market to understand how your partners’ tools measure up against tools already in your portfolio.
According to IDC, IT and business services including channel partners will account for roughly 60 per cent of all blockchain spending in Asia Pacific this year, driven by a doubling of market investment across the region.
Offering a boost for local partners exploring blockchain capabilities, the shift towards external providers comes as spending skyrockets towards $281.69 million across Asia Pacific, almost twice the amount investment during 2017 ($148.76 million), the research firm said.
According to IDC findings, regional blockchain spending will grow at a “robust pace” until 2021, with the analyst firm forecasting 90.70 per cent growth during the period, up from projected worldwide growth of 81.21 per cent.
“Blockchain technologies are being adopted by a wide range of industries across the Asia Pacific region,” IDC vice president of Asia Pacific, Simon Piff, said.
With this robust growth potential experts believe, blockchain consulting is the need of the hour as despite having a great idea for blockchain, companies don’t know how to handle the enterprise integration. There’s a lot to be done in terms of awareness and education. Hence the channel community can collaborate with the blockchain vendors and offer a lot in this area.