Amazon’s on-demand cloud computing service provider AWS released blockchain templates for Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric. They are competing with similar software from IBM, Microsoft and Oracle that helps customers skip the hard work of building a blockchain from the ground up.
The benefits of Blockchain technology for business keep building up, but the knowledge base and available coders to make these systems is not keeping pace. Blockchain templates allow businesses to get right to the benefits, without having to pay computer programmers to start from square one.
One of the most obvious use cases in business are in utilizing smart contracts. The templates created by Amazon Web Services are available for HyperLedger Fabric and Ethereum – offering private and public network access to engage smart contracts.
Blockchains will have major impact for companies with many subsidiaries, as they help streamline the data storage on a distributed network while still safeguarding access permissions to the particulars of the company.
For those using any kind of application or programming internally, they can rely on a distributed app (dapp) that can scale and grow without the need to keep up with changing hardware along the way.
Hyperledger Fabric
This is one of many Blockchain projects in the works through the Linux Foundation, but was first developed by IBM. The Linux Foundation was established in 2000 with the goal of creating sustainable ecosystems around open source projects to accelerate technology development and commercial adoption.
The Hyperledger project began in 2015, and has five different blockchains and five different blockchain tools that can be applied to software as a whole. Fabric is designed specifically for private businesses as a “permissioned Blockchain” – meaning that access can be tailored to fit specific needs, and nodes are specifically chosen.
Ethereum
Ethereum is the most widely used smart contract ecosystem, and has a massive developer community. Integration will be important for private businesses to build off of their network effects – the interplay of increasing user base and increasing value created from the system.
There are downfalls to a fully distributed peer-to-peer network. A recent MyEtherWallet hack will likely push many business owners away from a public network. But it’s important to make the distinction that this is a service provider for the Ethereum network, not the network itself.
