“There is a growing agreement among technology companies that the blockchain is essential to unlocking the potential of the Internet of Things” – Don Tapscott

Possibly, and some may say questionably so; blockchain is amongst the most significant developments in information technology in the recent years. It has the potential to change dramatically the way the world, views and approaches big data, as enhanced security and quality of data are two of the most apparent and significant benefits now available to companies. Thanks to Satoshi Nakamoto and his pioneering technology!

While Blockchain is virtually inseparable from cryptocurrencies, it is adaptable and flexible enough to handle any and information that can possibly be digitized. The biggest edge that blockchain has is the fact that is decentralized – meaning that no one person or company manages the ‘integrity’ and the entry of data. In addition, the inviolability of blockchain is verified consistently through every computer linked on to the network. Each system point holds identical information, and hence any data that is corrupted at a particular point, will not match the other data points. Blockchain, therefore, in a way is absolute and unchallengeable since the information therein remains as long as the network remains in existence.

Blockchain and Big Data

Blockchain has a huge impact on areas that deal with large amounts of data – the financial market globally is one such example. The use of this technology is transforming the financial management of several businesses across industries positively and significantly. It is helping to keep financial records clear and ‘clean’ since no entries and information can be altered by any individual.

Security of Data

With billions of transactions and innumerable dollars moving around each day, the financial management systems are now proving inefficient to manage the big data. Most of the processes still rely on manual paperwork, leaving them vulnerable to fraud, theft, and inefficiencies that could potentially ruin a company. Research conducted by PWC shows that about 45% of financial arbitrators, the likes of money transfer companies and the stock exchange suffer on account of economic crimes each year. However, with blockchain the transactions are now protected from such crimes, while additionally offering transparency, accountability, reliability, efficiency, and speedier transactions with a significantly enhanced quality of data – even big data.

An interesting prediction by the world economic forum states that by the year 2025, blockchain or related technology will store about 10% of gross domestic products. Blockchain is poised to transform dramatically the business sectors, not just by managing big data, but making space for even more data.

Companies and users of big data will have enhanced confidence and would be at peace with regard to the safeguarding of data integrity, thereby elevating data to the status of invaluable assets. Data entry, time stamps, auditing, and data origination are just some of the areas where blockchain would affect significant improvement as this technology becomes more widely accepted and utilized.

Creating a World of Possibilities for Big Data

 

1. The integrity of big data is a huge aspect of blockchain technology. The shared data layer that this technology brings creates exciting and new opportunities with regard to artificial intelligence. The high quality of big data would lead to newer models of AI, and the in-built absoluteness of the technology would ensure enhanced confidence even when testing the newer models.

 

2. The other aspect of big data that would be affected by blockchain is the cost of and the quality of storing this data. The ‘trust tax’ that big data storage providers charge, would become obsolete, giving way to placing pressure on them to lower their pricing.

 

3. Moving ahead, the concept of big data will expand as it moves to shared data layers from exclusive data silos. Obviously up to now, the power that comes from big data was concentrated in the hands of those who owned it. With blockchain, power would shift to those who would be able to access the largest amount of data and gain insights from it in the speediest and most efficient manner.

 

4. Customer data will no longer be the ‘possession’ of organizations – but rather belong to each individual in the form of coins or tokens. Customers could grant access to their data, as required. When ‘proprietorship’ of big data is broken, data will cease to be a competitive advantage for companies, as it is now. However, how companies interpret and use the data will become the advantage.

Final words

As blockchain technologies foray into the world of big data, companies that use blockchain for data mining will move to market capitalization to the tune of trillions of dollars, albeit in several years from now.

In the age of automation and consistent advancement in technology, blockchain is set to transform industries by reducing their costs and more importantly, the complexity and vulnerability of financial transactions. This, in turn, would mean enhanced efficiency, transparency, and ease in managing big business data.