Blockchain and Enterprise Systems

Enterprise systemsEnterprise systems (ES) are large-scale application software packages that support business processes, information flows, reporting, and data analytics in complex organizations. While ES are generally packaged enterprise application software (PEAS) systems, they can also be bespoke, custom developed systems created to support a specific organization’s needs. An integrated enterprise will need more than one specialized use case and will need to drive synergy to exploit the promises of enterprise blockchain fully. For example, an integrated enterprise system will generally handle more than one operation for a company to facilitate its business and management reporting needs. The success of blockchain consumption should initially focus on technology play, and enterprises should consider integration with existing enterprise systems. This will create ease in the collective understanding of this technology, while establishing a path of least disruption and accelerating enterprise adoption. The blockchains’ main advantage is the concept of ‘trustless’ systems. A system that does not need a trusted party. However, in the ‘Enterprise’ world, the trusted party is already there, it’s the ‘Enterprise’ itself. Blockchain technology can be inserted into and can be subsumed by larger systems, and it’s best to think of blockchains in terms of what will eventually surround them. They will not stand alone, but will function within the core of multiple, increasingly distributed ecosystems. This Chapter will explain in detail how the blockchain technology can fit into the world of Enterprise Systems (ES) by comparing the value system of existing enterprise systems to that of the blockchain technology. The Chapter will also address the issue of where the blockchain can fit in and whether it is time to replace existing enterprise systems with the blockchain or rather make them work with the blockchain.