According to a recent IBM Blockchain research report titled Building trust in government – Exploring the potential of Blockchains, government organizations across the globe are exploring use cases for Blockchains that can impact their jurisdictions.
With the support of the Economist Intelligence Unit, the IBM Institute for Business Value surveyed 200 government leaders in 16 countries on their experiences and expectations with Blockchains.
IBM’s research revealed that government organizations are looking at how Blockchain technology can positively impact operations in a number of areas.
For example, nine in ten government organizations plan to invest in Blockchain for use in financial transaction management, asset management, contract management and regulatory compliance by 2018.
And seven in ten government executives predict Blockchain will significantly disrupt the area of contract management, which is often the intersection of the public and private sectors. While virtually all government organizations surveyed intend to invest in Blockchain by 2018, IBM discovered a small group of pioneers that are setting a fast pace and new direction with Blockchains today.
These Trailblazers, 14 per cent of the survey, expect to have Blockchains in production and at scale in 2017. They are prioritizing Blockchain to help reduce innovation roadblocks and inaccurate or incomplete information across their organizations.
Trailblazers are focusing on Blockchains to help reduce time, cost and risk in four areas:
- Regulatory compliance
- Contract management
- Identity management
- Citizen services.
Additionally, they expect Blockchain technology will enable new business models, particularly in contract management, financial transaction management and identity management.
The findings reveal that Blockchain adoption is accelerating faster than originally anticipated, with government executives identifying key areas and benefits to explore. In this report, IBM shares key insights on market adoption of Blockchain solutions and also explore what differentiates early adopters – the Trailblazers – and how other government organizations can benefit from their Blockchain explorations.