Blockchain, the real benefit behind the technology
Rebecca Hofmann, Manager of Innovation, Equinor Chairman, OOC Blockchain Consortium
Rebecca Hofmann, Manager of Innovation, Equinor Chairman, OOC Blockchain Consortium
Why blockchain?
Blockchain is a digital tool that is showing the potential and possibilities for companies to tackle an area of inefficiency that they have not been able to address appropriately before now. Companies have control over their internal processes, but the reality is that no company does business alone, and there are many external interactions in business that are extremely cumbersome, manual and inefficient. Thus, wasting time and money.
Blockchain has unique characteristics and combined with other technologies can break down internal and external silos in a business.
Blockchain technology has the potential to have multiple parties interacting seamlessly, with a central source of truth where business activities may be securely and transparently self-executed, recorded in real time with no central point of failure
One of the largest potential benefits of blockchain is a central source of truth where all interconnected parties on the blockchain can have visibility and transparency into activity as business occurs. This could result in less disputes, reconciliation and being able to catch inconsistencies in a timelier manner. Blockchain can create self-executing tasks which could then govern parts of joint operating agreements or perform supply chain performance contracts through smart contracts. There are many potential use cases for this technology.
Current roadblocks to blockchain
1) Education - understanding what this technology is, what it is not and how it can be used
2) Organizational change management - a new mindset embracing emerging technology is needed within all levels of an organization
3) Regulations – need to partner with government agencies as blockchain brings transparency along with making the process of auditing easy and seamless.
4) Digital Standards - building the digital language to work on a new digital highway
Collaboration is the key
The way we will accomplish a seamlessly integrated way of working for the future will be through effective collaboration. As companies continue to look for creative ways to establish additional value, it’s time the way of thinking changes to reflect this in how we work.
Industries have started to embrace this concept and several consortiums have formed around the world. Equinor is involved in three consortiums: VAKT, a post-trade platform for oil; Energy Web Foundation, transactive electric grids; and the OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium, focused on upstream/midstream use cases to explore the technology’s potential and leverage learnings to drive industry adoption.
