26m | Melanie Mingas
Adoption of blockchain-based solutions is increasing across the business world, with TMT, financial services and non-food manufacturing industries identified as leading the trend.
Further, increased investment in blockchain and digital assets is now a top five strategic priority for organisations, with 66% of executives forecasting investments of US$1 million or more in the next 12 months.
The insights were published in Deloitte’s 2020 Global Blockchain Survey, which questioned 1,488 senior leaders in 14 countries and concluded that blockchain is “solidly entrenched in the strategic thinking of organisations”.
“While blockchain was once classified as a technology experiment, it now represents a true agent of change that is affecting the entire organisation,” said Linda Pawczuk, principal, global and US consulting leader for blockchain and digital assets, Deloitte Consulting LLP.
“Like many disruptive technologies, it has evolved from a merely promising and potentially ground-breaking approach to a now integral solution to organisational innovation. This year’s survey suggests that blockchain is solidly entrenched in the strategic thinking of organisations across industries, sectors and applications.”
When it came to preparations for a blockchain-based future, 82% of respondents said they are hiring staff with blockchain expertise or plan to do so within the next 12 months, compared to 73% in the 2019 report. In fact, 83% of respondents said their companies would lose competitive advantage if they did not adopt blockchain.
Nearly 40% of respondents said blockchain solutions and products are in production, affirming its maturity as a business priority. In 2019, the figure stood at 23% of respondents.
In terms of applications, increased advances of large-scale blockchain initiatives are occurring, such as blockchain-based financial infrastructure to simplify global money movement and commerce, as well as DLT for trade finance and blockchain-enabled track-and-trace platforms, among others.
“Our survey confirms what we see in the marketplace — a proliferation of digital assets used as a means of exchange, a store of value, digital representations of specific assets, or equity in a company,” said Rob Massey, partner, global and US tax leader for blockchain and digital assets, Deloitte Tax LLP.
“Digital assets are now enabling enhanced commercialisation models across industries and geographies.”