FAQ: How blockchain and cloud compare
By Niamh O’Connell, Senior Business Development Manager at CasperLabs.
Businesses have relied on commercial storage providers to house their data since the 1960s – and when cloud services were introduced in the 2000s, early adopters quickly benefited from greater scalability, flexibility, fewer maintenance responsibilities and improved security.
Today, blockchain technology is similarly poised to transform how companies store, access, track and protect data. But for many companies, questions about how blockchain works – and how it can meet the operational needs of businesses – remain.
Below we dive into some of the top ones.
How does enterprise blockchain compare to the cloud?
Both blockchain and cloud are disruptive tools that distribute computing and storage over a network. In the cloud, data is spread over servers, while blockchain stores data on several nodes. Each tool is used to reduce risk as businesses manage critical components of their infrastructure.
Can organizations use both blockchain and cloud technologies?
The network of nodes that form a blockchain can, and often do, on a cloud server infrastructure. By utilizing cloud infrastructures, companies can operate nodes and other services within specific location zones for increased data security, privacy and compliance with regulations.
By decentralizing cloud networks, blockchain can enable greater data sharing and power a variety of cloud applications, including cloud storage and computing.
For example, if your company uses AWS cloud services, users can deploy node infrastructure directly through the AWS marketplace by choosing a blockchain protocol integrated with that provider.
Blockchain has been notorious for being inaccessible to mainstream developers. Is it changing?
Yes, we see a movement towards increased accessibility. Ideally, developers should be able to implement blockchain by plugging into given use cases without having to understand the underlying technology. For example, low-code decentralized platforms that allow developers to build dApps. Such platforms reduce the complexity of wallet management and connections.
True or False: Once data is added to the blockchain, it cannot be changed.
No. One of the key features of blockchain is its immutability, meaning that once a transaction is recorded, it is permanent.
However, smart contracts that are highly programmable, stored on a blockchain, can be programmed to be immutable or upgradable, meaning that metadata can be changed if specified.
Let’s say you program an NFT contract for house records to be upgraded. This means that metadata that the owner can be added to and consequently changed. You can read more about this here.
Private vs. Public Blockchain – Which is the Better Option for Businesses Today? Are there other network types developers should consider?
The best option is a network that will meet companies’ specific requirements and enable them to achieve the desired results. There are benefits and trade-offs to both private and public blockchains, including control, trust and flexibility. And there is now a growing need for hybrid blockchains that enable businesses to transfer data from highly configurable private networks to hybrid and public environments, where greater transparency about data integrity is critical to business operations.
With IBM, we have built one atomic cross-chain asset/token swap solution that demonstrates how to exchange a token on a public blockchain like Casper with a token on a private chain like hyperledger fabric. This enables distribution on companies’ private infrastructure without leaking data about the underlying asset, while at the same time having collective trust from the public chain.
What’s next for blockchain? Where will it be in 10 years?
We will see trends that we have experienced in cloud computing play out in the blockchain realm. For example, when the novelty of server virtualization became the standard, new features such as serverless features came to market. Blockchains have a similar capability with programmable smart contracts, which allow users to call functions from the blockchain. This will only grow in application scope and scale – just as cloud computing services have.
Blockchain will be a fundamental infrastructure tool that is integrated into the technologies we use daily. Mass adoption is inevitable.
