Table of Contents
According to Gartner, research and advisory company, there will be 20.4 billion IoT devices installed by 2020, IDC, a global provider of market intelligence and advisory services, believes that by 2020, there will be approximately 30 billion connected devices and the overly optimistic IHS Markit, the figure is estimated up to 125 billion devices of IoT by the end of 2030. IoT or Internet of Things- What does it mean? Does it need to overcome some challenges to reach the estimated installed devices? Blockchain technology which is slowly turning to be the problem solver for every other industry and revamping the other technologies by integrating with them. Can it prove as a boon to IoT also? What will be the future when IoT and Blockchain will integrate? Let us find out in this article about Blockchain as a service for IoT.
What Is the Internet of Things (IoT)? | What is Blockchain Technology?
When the sophisticated semiconductor chips, sensors, and actuators are embedded into physical devices and help in connecting people, places, and products offering the opportunity to create and capture values to convert the data into sights, this whole connected system is known as the Internet of Things (IoT). The connected network of IoT has the potential to impact business processes by better tracking the supply chain, logistics management, transparency maintenance, fewer chances of duplicacy, and many more. But it has the major issues of security and scalability which stagnates the adaptability of IoT.
Blockchain technology is another breakthrough innovation that is based on a decentralized model where direct communication is established between two users on a network. It aims to establish a highly transparent system with the help of a consensus mechanism of Proof-of-work. Blockchain network assures the secured and anonymous transaction throughout the network due to the deployment of cryptographic techniques utilized during the transaction. Not just the financial system but according to most of the researchers, it has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, education, automotive, fashion, and many other industries. Do you think Blockchain as a service for IoT or if Blockchain integrates with IoT can create the all-new experience for users?
Can We Consider Blockchain As A Service For IoT?
Distributed ledger technology or Blockchain has the capability to manage the “Distributed Network” of the Internet of Things in an efficient way. IoT establishes the interconnection among the various physical devices thereby many companies but the issue related to security and scalability always remains. The network has failed to control the leaking of confidential information, duplicacy of the data, utilizing the data for illicit activities, and also the tampering of the documents shared. Also, the network of IoT faces problems related to delayed transactions of knowledge with high transaction costs involved even among the devices/systems connected to the same network.
Blockchain IoT Security
Blockchain IoT security means Blockchain technology can help in resolving the issues related to the security of the Internet of Things.
- Being distributed ledger technology, blockchain is considered tamper-proof. It eliminates the need for intermediaries and also distributes the control of information among the various parties connected to the network of IoT.
- One more security layer can be added to store the data collected from physical devices connected to the system of IoT through Blockchain technology. Cryptographic techniques deployed by the Blockchain makes it difficult for hackers to get access to the network. Also, data overwriting seems to be almost impossible when IoT integrates with Blockchain.
- Easy traceability with Blockchain can encounter the problem of security faced by the IoT network as authorized persons can easily access the path of the transaction of information. The suspicion related to leakage of information can be easily traced by checking the specific sources.
Thus, a decentralized model of Blockchain can address the issue of centralized client-server model of IoT systems and ensures security by reducing single point failure.
Blockchain IoT Scalability
Blockchain IoT scalability means that Blockchain technology can help in resolving the issues related to the scalability of the Internet of Things.
- Blockchain technology has one of the strikethrough features of quick transactions along with coordinating with numerous connected devices. IoT networks face the problem of scalability when the number of interconnected devices increases, distributed technology can prove to be a solution to enable various solutions.
- Blockchain allows IoT gateways to reduce the cost by decreasing the intermediary charges of middlemen related to traditional protocols, hardware, or other overhead costs. This also increases the scalability by speeding the transactions.
- Smart contracts which can be utilized by Blockchain technology which helps in automated transactions when integrated by IoT. Smart contracts are coded contractual arrangements based on certain conditions and allow automatic transfer of data once the conditions are fulfilled.
Real-Time Applications
Integration of Blockchain and IoT can aid in various applications of real-time like
- Supply Chain Logistics: Various companies are engaged in designing the vehicles which are IoT enabled connecting various stakeholders like raw material providers, brokers, and many more. Blockchain is also integrated for better traceability and transparency of network. For instance, Golden State Foods integrating with IBM to optimize the supply chain by integrating both the technologies.
- Healthcare Industry: IoT Blockchain system aims to improve the traceability and tracking of the complete journey of drugs starting from developing to manufacturing and distribution to avoid the counterfeiting of drugs. For instance, Mediledger is one of the companies which tracks the legal change of ownership of prescription medicines improving the transparency and traceability in the healthcare industry.
- Agriculture: IoT coupled with Blockchain has the capability to transform the agriculture industry from farming to grocery to home. For instance, Pavo enables farmers by offering them better farming techniques by giving the insights of captured data, and also to distributors and retailers in making the decisions about the various crops.
- Automotive Industry: Blockchain-IoT combines the technology in the automotive industry to provide crucial information among the networks in an easy and quick manner. For instance, NetObjex portrays smart parking solutions by deploying Blockchain and IoT as it helps in locating vacant space in parking lots.
- Smart Homes: IoT Blockchain allows you to manage the security of your home from smartphones. Deployment of blockchain resolves the issues related to the centralized approach to exchange information on IoT networks. For instance, Testa, a media and telecommunication company of Australia, stores the data related to biometrics, voice recognition and many more on Blockchain to improve security.
Thus, Blockchain as IoT is getting explored by many companies like Chain of Things, IOTA, Riddle & code, Modium.io, Waltonchain, and many more. Blockchain as a service for IoT has numerous solutions to the modern technical problems that exist in this growing world of challenges.
