How does blockchain work?
Arckadl is known for the Blockchain Session Controller™ offering, which is built based on the initial concepts of blockchain technology. The technology itself can seem complicated, which is why our team has focused a solution on simplifying deployment so any business can deploy a blockchain (if you are interested in our company mission you can read Arckadl’s interview on Authority Magazine). But before we outline how blockchain can be useful to your business, let’s consider the basics.
Blockchain technology actually originated from a concept to timestamp digital documents back in 1991. Unfortunately, this idea remained an idea until 2009 when Satoshi Nakamoto used this as the backend for the digital cryptocurrency bitcoin. As one of the first major use cases, the adoption of blockchain technology was born.
Blockchain Explained
A blockchain is believed to be a type of database. As a recap, a database is a collection of information that is stored in a table format on a computer system. The unique thing about a blockchain is that the data is structured in a collection of data groups known as blocks, each holding a different set of information. Once the storage on each block is filled, the block is added to the previous one, creating a chain over time. Since the data is all linked, an irreversible timeline of data is created.
Not only is the data secured due to its block-like format, but it is also stored in a way that is different from your average database. Consider how a company may own a server with thousands of computers all holding information pertinent to their organization. A warehouse manages all of these computers and has full control of each device. On the blockchain, there are also thousands of devices (called nodes), each operating from a different geographical location. Each node contains all the data, made up of blockchain transactions throughout history.
To ensure security, nodes reference the thousands of other nodes in the blockchain to ensure all information is accurate. Therefore, if one user were to try and adjust one of the transactions, the other nodes would take notice of the incorrect information. These events establish a chronological order of events that is completely transparent to the rest of the network. The only way that changes can be made is if the majority of this decentralized network agrees to the changes (which likely would only happen if a change was in the best interest of the majority).
Ensuring Security with a Hash
Blocks aren’t only secured by the verification against other nodes, they also have a hash stamped onto each of the blocks. A hash is a unique, fixed-length, string of numbers and letters that represents digital information. This mathematical function is generated for every block and is changed with every edit to the data on the block.
The Future of Blockchain Adoption
Blockchain may never fully replace corporate databases, and it isn’t intended to. What enterprises will find is that transactions outside their organization and across the globe will have the opportunity to be permanently revolutionized.
While blockchain is positioned to save users money on transaction fees, the technology to create the software is expensive. Under ordinary circumstances, this would not be problematic, however, business users have a hard time presenting this technology as beneficial without a clear benefits statement and a solid cost analysis. There simply is not enough evidence of fully operationalized running blockchains to create a proper data picture. This doesn’t mean there will never be blockchain adoption. It just means those businesses who are able to find a cost-effective way to deploy the technology will lead the charge to more cost-effective operations.
To learn how Arckadl is creating a cost-effective blockchain solution, the Blockchain Session Controller™, we encourage you to continue reading through our journey on Medium and share your feedback on our Twitter or Linkedin page. As always give us a clap if you have found this topic useful.
