Can small businesses leverage blockchain too?

Businesses are leveraging various technologies in their work processes. Blockchain is one of those technologies that have brought transformation across several industries; but can blockchain in small businesses reap the same benefits?

With newer technological innovations surrounding us, their applications are what matters to us the most. While large businesses have already using blockchain and its unique features, the myth that blockchain can only be used at an enterprise level is also gradually bursting, making way for blockchain in small businesses.

Putting small businesses on a global pedestal

Blockchain’s feature of eliminating centralized trust authorities is making transactions become much easier for people and organizations. The traditional method of trusting a centralized regulatory authority for enabling a transaction and paying them for the same gets eliminated with the introduction of blockchain technology in financial transactions.

By introducing cryptocurrency in financial transactions, blockchain has increased the security levels tremendously. As cryptocurrencie have never been stolen till date, the security is something that small businesses needn’t worry about anymore. Blockchain helps small organizations reach a global level as transactions on it can be executed from any corner of the world. Besides, the speed at which these transactions take place also make blockchain a great asset to small businesses that need to replenish their stocks frequently and need their cash flow to be fast for that.

Blockchain in small businesses using Smart Contracts

Smart Contracts is an application of blockchain technology and stands out because it removes the need for middlemen and directly assists in creating a contract between organizations and individuals.

These electronically created contracts remove the need for physical contracts and can be stored on public ledgers to increase the transparency of a deal. This feature of bringing the details of the contract on open ledgers allows people to track contract status and ensure that no hidden costs are added once the deal has been made. If there is an unauthorized change in the deal mid-way, the same can be notified to everyone on the ledger and the deal can also be called off.

Digital identities with Blockchain in small businesses

According to an article published by the UK Finance, people across the globe have already lost around ￡73.8 million in the first half of 2017 because of remote banking frauds. These frauds aim to steal our money by tapping into the innate vulnerabilities of traditional banking systems. Small businesses can avoid such a situation by creating digital identities of their customers and partners with the help of blockchain.

When a person wants to create her digital identity on a blockchain ledger, she has to enter her credentials on the block that has been created. The details entered by her are to be verified by other users on the blockchain so as to increase her authenticity levels. People who authenticate her credential maybe authorities from several departments who already have her credentials stored in their database. This helps the business owners to ensure that their customers are authenticated.

By creating a digital identity on blockchain, the process of making a financial transaction becomes easy, as details of the private key provided by her needs to be checked and rest of the credentials are already validated.

As blockchain technology has experienced exponential growth in the last decade, smaller businesses are finding ways to apply this technology and stay competitive.