Blockchain priority for enterprise C-suite executives in 2020: Wipro

Nearly 75% of senior executives at large enterprises see blockchain as a priority in 2020, found a global survey by Bengaluru-based information technology services firm Wipro.

According to the survey, around three-fourths of the surveyed executives said they are leveraging blockchain for near term business impact. This includes process excellence and efficiency, data and identity management, better business outcomes and to drive competitive differentiation.  

However, the survey also found that 75% of all blockchain initiatives are less than two years old and only 14% has reached a production stage.

The survey, done in collaboration with technology research firm HFS Research, polled more than 300 executives at large enterprises. Respondents said the blockchain technology can reimagine information technology infrastructure, build additional trust in multi-party collaboration and increase transparency.

More than 95% of enterprise blockchain initiatives focus on six broad areas: identity, crypto, trade, payments, supply chain, and finance, Wipro said. 

The survey report -- Ignore blockchain at your peril, but don’t drive blindly -- found that only 1% dismissed the technology as irrelevant. The report analysed 940 blockchain initiatives across industries around the world.

"In 2019, we witnessed pioneering blockchain initiatives succeed and proceed from proofs of concept to pilots to ‘live, in-production’ while several other efforts failed to move beyond laboratories. In 2020, the enterprise blockchain adoption will come of age to solve real-world business problems," Saurabh Gupta, chief research officer at HFS Research, said.

The study also found that the financial services industry is an early adopter of blockchain technology compared to the other industries, which are now gaining ground. 

“Enterprise blockchain clients are investing in blockchain solutions to get real business impact, but without a crisp use case, it becomes hard to quantify the benefits. We have helped our clients to transform their existing business models,” Krishnakumar N Menon, vice president, service transformation and blockchain theme leader at Wipro, said. 

The report involved a survey of respondents from all major geographies and most large industries, Wipro said.

Blockchain as a technology is gaining prominence across several industries owing to its strength as an immutable record-keeping platform and is deployed in several industries such as finance and supply chain and logistics. 

Meanwhile, in a leg-up to the blockchain technology, on Wednesday, Supreme Court had quashed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ban on virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, which leverages blockchain.

Last month, IT services firm Tech Mahindra has partnered with the government of Telangana to launch T- Block Accelerator, a programme for the Telangana blockchain district, an ambitious project to make the state a hub for blockchain technology.

Wipro, the country's fourth largest software exporter, is in the midst of a leadership change and its CEO and managing director Abidali Z Neemuchwala had decided to step down from the company on account of family commitments and the firm is looking at a replacement.