Source: Microsoft

Microsoft has partnered up with consulting firm EY to deploy a new blockchain-based network with the possibility of it becoming the biggest enterprise blockchain. The tech giant is namely rolling out a network that will be used for rights and royalties processing by Microsoft’s game publishers, but it may get a much wider purpose eventually.

The network is meant for any industry which includes licensed assets and accruing contract-based royalties. This would then include developers, music publishers, authors, or production houses, which generate millions of transactions each month in paid royalties.

Before this happens, Microsoft is set to use it - and the network is expected to handle millions of transactions each day, making it one of the largest such ecosystems for enterprise use, according to Quartz.

Why choose blockchain, though? Paul Brody, EY’s global innovation leader for blockchain, says that the reason for this are smart contracts and decentralization, both of which fit in perfectly with the network’s purpose.

Decentralization gets a special mention: “This isn’t just about Microsoft and their business partners – it is ultimately intended to be a general tool set for any company to do digital rights and royalty contracts with any other. That means no centralized control and each company being assured of its own operational privacy,” Brody told Quartz.

This is not the first time Microsoft and EY teamed up in a blockchain venture. Less than a month ago, a previous venture of theirs went live: marine insurance for the shipping giant Maersk called Insurwave was the product of their partnership. It has since been praised as a “game changer” for the industry.