Improved operations
Businesses have long been stymied by the banking establishment as this required intermediary which has not only proven itself to be untrustworthy from time to time but the costs required to do business are clearly not doing business owners any favors. On the contrary, regardless of the blockchain you choose to handle your business on, you are likely to find more reasonable fees, access to money operations in real time, and the security that most banks can only dream about. Furthermore, using this technology makes it easier for companies to expand their focus to global lengths as transactions made in this way are not restricted in any of the ways that the traditional banking establishment limits things.
Learn more: Blockchain 2.0
Distributed ledger
When it comes to small businesses, the biggest benefit of blockchain technology is its distributed ledger aspect. The dataset that are part of it is not owned by a middleman or any third party and is instead freely available across the network where every interested party can easily verify their own version of the ledger based on their own copy, what's more, each user will remain fully in control of all of their information and transaction details which means there will be no central point of failure where cyber-attacks are more likely to occur.
This technology provides such a security boon to businesses that a representative from Nasdaq even weighed in on the issue saying that even if a hacker were able to penetrate the blockchain's security measures, there would still be multiple redundant copies of the same file, one for every node, so restoring funds to their proper place is a simple matter of redistributing data where it needs to be. Forbes also chimed in on the topic praising blockchain technology for its built-in trust mechanisms that small businesses should be in a rush to adopt.
When transactions are processed via a blockchain, the fee that is charged goes in part to the owner of the blockchain to offset costs, and the rest goes to the miners who ultimately verify the transaction. Despite having to pay out two parties, blockchain fees are significantly less than business frequently pay for similar services through traditional financial institutions, when the number of transactions that the average business completes in a month is taken into account, the savings that blockchain offers can be truly significant.
Learn more: Blockchain 3.0
Ease of use
Another important benefit that small business owners are sure to appreciate when it comes to blockchain technology is the amount it will help to streamline common business practices. The process of settling or clearing bank transactions can easily take days via traditional methods. Not so with blockchain on the task, however, as the verification process of even the slowest blockchain is going to beat traditional banking speeds with ease, especially for transactions that are conducted over the weekend.
When smart contract technology is added into the equation, the potential for streamlining and automation of all types becomes much more manageable, while some of the more advanced methods of taking advantage of blockchain technology are likely going to be too pricey for some small businesses to take advantage of, the cost of such endeavors will continue to decrease as the tasks that are required to complete them become more mundane. All told, the technology is sure to make any organization run more efficiently while also cutting the costs.
Improved contracts
Improved contracts
Business is inherently about transferring value between various parties. Blockchain provides the most secure environment currently conceivable and even provides the means in the form of smart contracts. Any contract that includes numerous if-then statements can easily be carried out via smart contract which will not only ensure the transactions in question that are carried out; it will also improve trust between business associates because everyone will be able to watch the transaction of terms take place in real time. By combining contracts with code, smart contracts provide a service that is both free of risk and utterly revolutionary to the way that relationships between businesses and their subcontractors and vendors handle business.
Smart contracts are also useful in that they cut down on the need for corporate bloat, as they eliminate the need for lawyers in most cases. Even better, they also eliminate the need for pricey legal proceedings that may result in one party not sticking to the agreement. If smart contracts have been activated, there is no chance that the agreed-upon transaction will not go through as long as all the agreed upon variables have been met. With the contract on the blockchain, the possibility of either party successfully changing the agreement once it has been struck to zero.
Logistical piece of mind
Logistical piece of mind
Companies that deal with a large degree of logistical and shipping data should be extremely interested in blockchain technology for the easy and transparency it can potentially bring into their lives. Most systems make it difficult to determine the exact location of specific goods and shipments when real-time updates are needed. This then leads to delays which can negatively affect the business in a wide variety of ways and, at the best result in additional costs and a strain on customers and vendors.
Proof of provenance is another pressing issue as in a majority of instances the product that eventually reaches the consumer was not created by just one manufacturer. As an example, consider a furniture company that sources wood from China and fittings from Italy who in turn source their base materials from somewhere in Eastern Europe. Tracking all of the various components from doorstep to doorstep is practically impossible using current methods; however, using a blockchain tracking system, it then becomes easy to determine if the wood was generated due to illegal logging practices or if the fittings are made from metal with hazardous properties, what’s more, blockchain makes all these specific details easy to find and track with practically no effort on the part of the company.
As the infrastructure for the internet of things improves, it will eventually become possible to track absolutely every step in the process of every product. Eventually, even consumers will be able to track the path their products took from the factory floor to their very doorstep, with just a few clicks of a button.
