Businesses turn to blockchain for answers

As the use of distributed ledgers increases dramatically, many organisations are looking at how to apply the technology.

The case studies here show the many uses of ledgers, from integrating healthcare records to facilitating how people will move around in cities.
Case studies compiled by RSG Consulting.

WINNER: Medicalchain

Patients can upload comprehensive medical records on to Medicalchain’s Hyperledger Fabric blockchain, which allows them to access their health history to use with new doctors or while travelling. The next pilot at the end of 2019 will be implemented in 30 UK practices with more than 250,000 patients. It will be used to ensure that doctors have complete information about a patient to prevent misdiagnosis or patient abuse of prescriptions. Medicalchain has also joined with Mayo Clinic, the US medical research group, to use patients’ anonymised health records for medical research and to update historical studies.

DXC Technology

In June, DXC Technology acquired Luxoft, a digital transformation consultancy, to help it create blockchain solutions for common business challenges in industries such as healthcare, mobility and banking.

One idea developed for a South African bank offers digital banking services to underbanked customers — people who otherwise rely heavily on cash. It had to be compliant with a “know your customer” regulatory requirement, which insists on extensive verification to reduce fraud. Using blockchain technology allows customers to complete verification checks at bank kiosks. This approach has been rolled out in other locations, including Vietnam, Bangalore, Chennai, Manila and Sydney.

Elevate

Law company Elevate has introduced an esignature capability — powered by Integra Ledger, the legal enterprise blockchain company — into its contract management process. The system, called Cael Contracts, provides a central, secure repository in which contracts can be sent for an esignature and returned, acting as a single source of truth for all parties. Using blockchain for this process creates an indelible record of the time, signatory and recipient at a fraction of the cost of other esignature service providers, it says.

EY Tesseract

EY’s blockchain platform for the mobility sector, called Tesseract, was launched as a proof-of-concept project in 2017 to allow parties to manage and share ownership of autonomous vehicles. The system is scheduled to go live on November 1. The platform is designed for use by city and infrastructure providers, mobility companies and equipment manufacturers. Each party has equal access to use autonomous car-sharing services or commercial vehicles via the Ethereum-enabled platform, which allows users to share maintenance information and costs, based on individual usage.

Banco Santander

Banco Santander is a founding member of Alastria, a Spanish blockchain consortium with more than 500 members in business, education and the public sector. Those taking part are shown how the technology can solve business and operational issues and are encouraged to help create standards for its use. The bank is also a founding member of Fnality, a blockchain consortium used for interbank payments on a global scale that will reduce disputes and the need for intermediaries. This blockchain platform lets banks settle transactions instantaneously, allowing them to reduce the $100bn liquidity buffer each must hold to support counterparty and credit risk until a transaction is complete.