Blockchain technology has proven to be a practical solution in modern day industries despite the current knowledge gap about this innovation. Hailed for its decentralized nature, blockchain is now being adopted by enterprises looking to leverage this technology amongst others. Some of the early implementations of distributed ledger technology were fundamentally designed to be permissionless and open to the general public have led to the rising demand of more permissioned networks; private and hybrid blockchains like Aergo, HyperLedger, Qurum, Corda and a handful of other startups that have inevitably gained market share in recent years.

Based on their unique properties, it is important to be able to distinguish the key differences between public, private and hybrid networks so as to determine what would best suit your business. Public blockchains are basically open networks that are not governed by a central authority who are empowered to enforce limitations on who can contribute or engage in an ecosystem. So far, Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most sought after public DLT’s to attract blockchain developers to contribute to both networks. While the former serves primarily as a means of transaction, Ethereum’s network provides an avenue for developers to create and launch decentralized applications based on a native token in compliance with the ERC-20 standard.

Private blockchains on the other hand are more controlled when it comes to network participation and governance. These platforms are run from a central authority who is obligated to determine the eligibility of a new entrant. Ideally the blockchains designed within this space should be ‘confidential’ in nature, such that only those with permission can access or share data on the nodes. This concept makes one wonder whether private chains really uphold the purpose of decentralized technology; apart from being peer-to-peer networks. Despite the nature of the blockchain, startups like Ripple’s private remittances network that made up from a number of private financial institutions such as bank, governments and enterprises indicate the growing the demand for B2B networks that utilize DLT

Consortium and Hybrid Blockchain - A Revolution for Enterprises

As the industry develops, Hybrid and Consortium networks as opposed to complete private chains are being considered by corporate groups such as banking institutions. Consortium blockchain networks are ‘partially decentralized’ since participants enjoy P2P interactions while being safeguarded by a selected group of entities within the ecosystem. The idea to eliminate allocation of too much control to one entity in the blockchain platform. Unlike private chains, Consortiums operations are governed in a way to counter the ‘single highly-trusted entity’ model by the former.

Hybrid blockchains have also emerged as a significant development, especially for enterprises and businesses who seek to derive value from new tech. It is designed to accommodate both public and private blockchain features. One good use case as mentioned earlier is the Aergo Enterprise developed by their service provider, Blocko. A platform which services include an ecosystem for DApp creation and blockchain solutions for enterprise. This network is set to be a leader in Hybrid blockchain solutions; its network structure includes a public and private layer which anchors to the public chain. The public network allows Aergo users to leverage trust and immutability properties while its private layer offers more control and throughput through Proof of Authority (PoA). Today Blocko's current and prospective clients include Hyundai Kia motors, G7 governments, one of Europe's largest telco companies, one of the world's largest insurers and several dozen others, with blockchain projects in various stages of completion.

Enterprises Preference for Hybrid Blockchain Solutions

All that said, blockchain can only be of value to current businesses if integrated to improve efficiency and internal processes. Recent trends in the industry show that enterprise use of blockchain tech is on the rise with many opting for Hybrid blockchain solutions. This market seeks to maximize on the high performance, resilience, and privacy of DLT’s, particularly a combination of public and private features like Aergo. In doing so, businesses are optimistic that fortunes will change as their internal systems are boosted with enterprise oriented blockchains.

Aergo for instance presents a number of opportunities in value addition to existing enterprises. This hybrid blockchain is powered by smart contracts which facilitate the transaction of decentralized business on its chain. In addition, the platform offers a range of tools and features that can enable enterprises to scale their business through blockchain tech. They include Aergo’s marketplace, horde, hub and a unique file system (FS). With these avenues, enterprises operating within Aergo’s ecosystem are able to monitor the network, build blockchain applications on a cloud and scale their current IT networks through AergoFS.

Given its infrastructure, the Aergo chain is set to capture a significant participation from enterprises. Its public chain which is also the main network is governed by 23 block producers who are trusted by the firm, and community. Ideally, businesses can integrate with this Byzantine Fault-Tolerant Delegated Proof of Stake (BFT-DPOS) consensus protocol by building their own side chains. The beauty about this is that enterprises can customize their private or public permissioned networks based on Aergo’s blockchain. Another notable feature within this enterprise blockchain is ‘Merkle Bridge’; this tool is responsible for interchain communication and users can further create bridges between Aergo and Ethereum.

The Future of Enterprise Blockchains

Blockchain tech is constantly evolving as developers learn the market needs since Bitcoin’s inception about a decade ago. This market is quite promising for blockchain service providers as more entities consider investmenting into distributed ledger technology for their systems. Currently, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance and R3 consortium are among the most prominent alternate platforms that offer enterprise solutions alongside Aergo.

The adoption of enterprise blockchain is projected to grow within the coming years in a bid to globalize networks in a decentralized manner. Garner Inc has however highlighted that it will not be an easy journey for initiatives under this scope;

‘’By 2021, 90% of current enterprise blockchain platform implementations will require replacement within 18 months to remain competitive, secure and avoid obsolescence,”

This may be partly due to inefficiencies in scaling their networks to handle the bulky data that is shared in today’s world; moreover, if they are private solutions. Despite Garner Inc’s sentiments, the uncertain nature of this industry can only leave one guessing what a future with enterprise blockchains will look like, and how fast it will evolve.

Platforms like Aergo are however on track to paint a successful narrative of enterprise blockchains. The network’s staking and voting mechanism based on its DAO’s ecosystem is set to create a sustainable and democratic environment for enterprises. Looking at this South Korean project’s fundamentals, it might as well define the path for enterprise and businesses blockchain networks.







