to every full blockchain node. Every full node can see the entire blockchain, providing unparalleled transparency. Although data stored in blocks is commonly encrypted, the data itself is available to any user of any node. If the data is unencrypted, anyone with access to a node can see it. If it is encrypted, a user with the proper decryption key(s) can access blockchain data from any node and then be able to decrypt it.
Blockchain transparency makes it possible to trust the integrity of the data. Any node can (and does) routinely verify the integrity of each block and, therefore, the entire blockchain. Any modifications to the “immutable” blockchain data become immediately evident and easy to fix.
Examining primary common business requirements
Now that you know some of blockchain's core features, it's important to also have a clear picture of your primary business requirements. The only appropriate blockchain use is when a blockchain feature aligns with a business requirement. Although many business requirements differ from one enterprise to another, some common requirements exist:
Controlling and recording transactions: This requirement is the process of using applications and data systems to promote, control, and record the activities required to carry out a business operation. The act of recording activities documents some actions that change the state of the enterprise’s stored data.
Reducing or eliminating excessive cost: Ongoing pursuits of enterprises that want to stay in business are to monitor the costs of operation and to identify and reduce (or eliminate) waste.
Pursuing efficiency: Process efficiency can deliver the dual result of reducing cost and increasing quality. Both results are desirable to a profitable business operation.
Preserving artifacts for analysis: Compliance, incident investigations, and analytics require the existence of historical transaction data. Collecting, managing, and archiving this type of data requires planning and ongoing resources.
Protecting availability through redundancy: An enterprise’s information system assets have value only if they're accessible on demand by authorized individuals. The organization must enact plans to store and maintain redundant copies of critical data for when the primary data become inaccessible.
Exposing data without compromising privacy: This business requirement is often the most problematic. Most enterprises place a high value on their data, whether it's regulated sensitive data or intellectual property. Sharing an enterprise’s data has value but is also risky. Sharing data in a manner that benefits the organization and its users is often a delicate balancing act.
Matching blockchain features to business requirements
As you read through the list in the preceding section, you may have noticed how nicely each of the business requirements maps to the earlier blockchain features list. That correlation was intentional. You also likely thought of several business requirements that weren’t in the list. That’s okay. The point of the previous two lists was to show that some business requirements align well with blockchain features.
Table 2-2 combines the previous lists and shows how blockchain technology can solve some common issues that enterprises encounter.
TABLE 2-2 Business Requirements and Blockchain Features
| Business Requirement | Blockchain Feature |
| Controlling and recording transactions | Blockchain excels in transferring value in untrusted environments. |
| Reducing or eliminating excessive cost | By eliminating middlemen, blockchain can reduce overall, and incremental, transaction-processing costs. |
| Pursuing efficiency | Blockchain increases direct interaction among transaction participants and automates many steps in transactions, decreasing settlement time and reducing inefficient waiting time. |
| Preserving artifacts for analysis | Because existing blockchain data can't be changed, a historical transaction record is guaranteed. |
| Protecting availability through redundancy | Each node of the blockchain network maintains a copy of the blockchain, so the failure of any node has no effect on the overall network’s capability to access blockchain data. |
| Exposing data without compromising privacy | Blockchain technology promotes data transparency. Because all nodes maintain copies of the ledger, the data is available to any authorized user. |
Examining Blockchain Use Cases
Many good examples of use cases for blockchain technology exist. In this section, you look at just a few. See if you can think of a good blockchain use case in your own organization.
Managing physical items in cyberspace
One of the earliest large-scale blockchain use cases was the management of supply chains. The process of managing products from the original producer all the way to the consumer is expensive and time consuming. With today’s product-tracking applications, it can be difficult for consumers to know much about the products they consume. Some products, such as electronics and appliances, may have descriptive tags that identify places and times of manufacture, but most products we consume don’t provide that type of information.
Implementing supply chain management provides multiple benefits. The first is transparency. Producers, consumers, and anyone in-between can see how each product traveled from the place it was manufactured or acquired to where it was finally purchased and the time it took to get there. Inspectors and regulatory auditors can ensure that each participant in the supply chain met required standards.
This increased transparency occurs while eliminating unnecessary middlemen. Each transfer in the process occurs between active participants, not brokers.
Handling sensitive information
Healthcare has become one of the most popular topics of conversations ranging from politics to research to spending. It seems that everyone is interested in increasing the quality of healthcare while reducing its cost. The availability of large amounts of digital data have made advances in healthcare possible.
Researchers can analyze large amounts of data to explore new treatment plans, increase the overall effectiveness of existing drugs
