Tech Mahindra inks blockchain partnership with Samsung’s IT services arm

Mumbai-based Tech Mahindra has partnered with fellow IT services firm Samsung SDS, a unit of South Korean electronics giant Samsung, to develop and provide blockchain solutions.

According to the terms of the partnership, Tech Mahindra will offer Samsung SDS's blockchain platform called Nexledger to both its global and Indian customers.

Samsung SDS said in a statement that Nexledger is a flexible and scalable blockchain platform that has the ability to deliver a wide spectrum of customisable use-case application services based on enterprise-specific requirements.

It added that the blockchain platform also provides flexibility to developers in terms of choosing from various blockchain core technologies and consensus algorithms such as NCA (Nexledger Consensus Algorithm), Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum. 

Nexledger has been used to develop solutions in the financial, logistics and public sectors. The companies said that while many pilot projects were launched last year, many of these proofs-of-concepts will turn into commercial deployments in 2019.

Tech Mahindra, which has been forming blockchain-related partnerships since last year, also said that it will look to work with Samsung SDS on developing and improving new capabilities for the platform.

Last year, the IT solutions provider had announced a tie-up with blockchain conglomerate Eleven01 Foundation, which counts Airtel, Idea, NSE and other system integrators such as TCS and Infosys among its members. 

The duo had said that they would work together on building an Eleven01 Protocol — a blockchain protocol focused on emerging markets that will serve as a foundation for decentralised applications. 

The company had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to launch India's first ‘blockchain district’ last year. 

The district is expected to house a Center of Excellence for Blockchain -- an incubator for technology and process development with innovative infrastructure and facilities to foster the growth of Indian blockchain startups and companies.