- With the help of "security experts, cryptographers, hardware experts and researchers," IBM (NYSE:IBM -0.8%) says it has created a slew of cloud services meant to enable secure blockchain networks, along with cloud apps leveraging them. Financial services, healthcare, and government clients are among the firms being targeted.
- BNY Mellon is an initial user of the service - the bank plans to create "a unique application for securities lending, using a blockchain network to trade and transfer assets." IBM promises its cloud platform will "allow production blockchain networks to be deployed in minutes," while supporting Docker containers (alternatives to server virtual machines that run on Linux and feature little overhead), data dashboards, and analytics tools.
- While the hype surrounding Bitcoin (COIN, BTCS) has cooled some, corporate interest in the blockchain - the distributed/encrypted ledger technology that powers Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies - for enabling cheap and secure transactions remains high. JPMorgan, Goldman, and other i-banks unveiled plans last year to create standards for using blockchain in the financial industry. In March 2015, Reuters reported IBM has held informal talks with central banks about creating a system for enabling blockchain-based transactions that don't require a bank or payment processor.
- IBM exec Jerry Cuomo: "We love blockchain technology because it holds the promise of supporting a very wide variety of industries ... But if you are building a blockhchain that deals with health records or shipping logistics, financial data, or any reference data about products, there are rules regulatory rules and security you have to address." He asserts IBM's solution was designed with those security/compliance issues in mind.
- Online retailer Overstock (OSTK -2.1%) has also been making big blockchain investments; it's eight months removed from buying financial order-routing firm SpeedRoute to provide an infrastructure for its t0 blockchain software.
- Now read IBM's Next Big Thing