Blockchain technology, best known as the foundation of Bitcoin, offers access to a global distributed computing infrastructure that can be applied to corporate applications. The Linux Foundation announced a collaborative effort to advance blockchain technology.
The project will develop an enterprise grade, open source distributed ledger framework and free developers to focus on building industry-specific applications, platforms and hardware systems to support business transactions. Many of the founding members are already investing considerable research and development efforts exploring blockchain applications for industry.
Blockchain is a digital technology for recording and verifying transactions. The distributed ledger is a permanent, secure tool that makes it easier to create cost-efficient business networks without requiring a centralized point of control.
With distributed ledgers, virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded. The application of this emerging technology is showing great promise in the enterprise. For example, it allows securities to be settled in minutes instead of days. It can be used to help companies manage the flow of goods and related payments or enable manufacturers to share production logs with OEMs and regulators to reduce product recalls.
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