Blockchain is understandably a technology that is getting a lot of attention. It is common to hear the term “blockchain” and immediately associate it with cryptocurrency and the excitement of Bitcoin.
In addition, the use of blockchain is also being considered in many different industries because it allows digital information to be distributed, but not altered, therefore making the technology attractive for its immutability.
If you would like an in-depth look at a use case scenario for blockchain you might like our latest webinar on the topic. Just click the link below.
So, what is blockchain? From a simplistic standpoint, blockchain is simply a structure that holds data, and this structure is stored in blocks that belong to a longer string of blocks (or a chain). Once the data is deposited into a block, that block cannot be changed. That is why it’s called immutable. If you need to change data belonging to a certain block, you do it by adding another block with the revised data. This gives you a full history of the data and each change.
Let’s dive a little deeper. Blockchains can be private or public. Each blockchain is created and administered by a single organization. Each organization has their own rules, requirements, and protocols that pertain to their blockchain. As such, no two blockchains are alike. This includes, among many other things, who participates in that blockchain, what data is required, what permissions are available, what technology is used to store the data, etc. It is important to note that the more blockchains that are created to solve the same problem, the more variations of essentially the same thing will have to be accommodated.
To illustrate how a typical blockchain works, we will use the following diagrams.
In the first diagram company “A” uses their keys and credentials to access the blockchain and enters their data into a block.
When Company “B” is ready to enter their data, they use their keys and credentials to access the blockchain and enter their data into a new block. This block is appended to the end of the existing block.
When Company “C” is ready to enter their data, they go through the same process. Their data is now appended to the existing block at the end of the chain.
This process continues for all of those companies contributing data to the blockchain.
So what happens when a company needs to make a change to their data?
Let’s say company “A” needs to make a change to their data. As they cannot change any previous blocks of data, they have to add their change as a new block, thereby retaining the original block of data.
This gives a full history of the data that was added to this particular blockchain.
As we continue to make Blockchain simplified, find following an illustrative view with multiple changes.
Although the hype has died and the cracks are beginning to show for an unrealistic and unvetted use for blockchain, there are still a lot of assertions being made about blockchain in the food industry that seem attractive to the uninformed reader. For a deeper dive let’s take a look at a century of food safety>>>READ MORE
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