By CCN.com: Most enterprise blockchains have been mistargeted. They will need replacing in a couple of years. Gartner did a study that found up to 90% of the blockchains in use today will need to be replaced in just a couple short years.

“By 2021, 90% of current enterprise blockchain platform implementations will require replacement within 18 months to remain competitive, secure and avoid obsolescence, according to Gartner, Inc.”

Impact to Business: $200 Billion

The report isn’t all doom and gloom, though.

It also points out that the value blockchains add to regular enterprises will be nearly $200 billion by 2025. Aside from the speculative market for cryptocurrencies generally, this is real money that will be flowing over blockchains. Consider that its impact is only a fraction of that today. We can see that prices by then might be very different than they are today.

Gartner’s Adrian Lee believes that multiple blockchains will persist. Industries have not answered the nascent rumblings of the technology with a unified demand around the products that should come about. As a result, numerous products remain available, often with overlapping features. Increased demand for enterprise blockchain solutions leads to an even greater variety of products. Lee believes that a clear winner is unlikely to emerge.

Traditional enterprise and finance are increasingly interested in blockchain. The technology offers numerous advantages when employed correctly. While some believe it can only be useful for securing and transferring money, others have long seen possibilities beyond a simple ledger. Indeed, there’s not much in society’s functions that it wouldn’t help with, but it’s often not the best choice.

When Is It Not Ideal?

Blockchains require numerous resources, no matter how they’re secured, and their centralized counterparts are often faster. In some cases, the decentralized blockchain model can deliver faster. But for the most part, speed and efficiency aren’t the reason to look at it.

Presumably, most of the systems studied by Gartner will still be in place after 2021. If they need to be upgraded, that’s part of the package.

Many companies want to be fluent in blockchain before the technology is everywhere. That’s where Gartner comes in, hoping to advise its massive client base on how to navigate the next blockchain wave best.