From upskilling to outsourcing: How CTOs can introduce blockchain to the enterprise
Information Age’s guide on how to introduce blockchain to your enterprise in the face of the digital skills crisis. Looking at everything, from upskilling schemes and outsourcing to how CTOs can impact change in relation to how universities shape their degrees
Beyond all the marketing and sales hype, blockchain has managed to establish itself as a realistic disrupter in the tech space, particularly for its potential ability to transform traditional business channels, supply chains and communications.
Industry titans like Mastercard, IBM, British Airways and Samsung are just some of the organisations currently spearheading blockchain initiatives, and at the same time, blockchain-based start-ups are increasing at an agile rate.
Between them, what they each hope to get out of their blockchain projects differs significantly. However, whatever their end-goal may be, they will all face similar roadblocks along the way.
In this guide, I’m going to talk about some of the ways CTOs can overcome some of these hurdles. However, instead of focusing on the limitations of the technology itself, I want to focus on one of the less talked about challenges facing CTOs and their utilisation of blockchain: finding the talent to use it.
The skills shortage relating to blockchain has become a real pain for IT leaders who desperately want to experiment with it.
Of course, the lack of talent is not exclusive to blockchain, CTOs looking to incorporate things like; AI, machine learning or big data, I’m sure, know this only too well.
However, with the proliferation of blockchain initiatives comes a unique need for a diverse range of skills, including engineering, app development, cyber security and decentralised governance, to name just a few. All this makes for a criterion that is hard to meet.
Overall, the estimated global revenue for enterprise blockchain applications is expected to rise to $19.9 billion by 2025 from $2.5 billion last year.
According to a study by Burning Glass Technologies, blockchain-related job postings increased more than 100% between 2016 and 2017.
However, the harsh reality is that organisations can’t find the talent they need, this is why CTOs need to think outside the box to make their blockchain projects succeed.
If something is hard to obtain in-house, one logical option is to look for external help.
In the last few years, a number of blockchain based consultancies and outsourcing services have popped up.
It looks like a booming market, and it’s an option that a lot of organisations are vying for. As such, there is a lot to choose from, with major organisations like Amazon, Oracle and Baidu all offering blockchain services.
For CTOs trying to weigh the pros and cons of each of these providers – and if the wisdom of the crowd means anything – a recent study by the consultancy firm, Juniper Research, may be worth looking at. They surveyed close to 400 company founders, executives, managers and IT leaders, and identified IBM, Microsoft and Accenture as clear leaders in blockchain solutions. In 2017, the consultancy also found that 60% of tech executives and leaders named IBM as the market leader.
Of course, these consultancies are all different and depending on your organisation; some may be better suited to your needs.
Here is a list of some popular blockchain-as-service (BaaS) providers to have a look at:
Another option is to tap into the freelance market. Although, in this market, there is a lot of demand.
Upwork, the freelance jobs site, recently stated that they had more than 1,200 blockchain openings, half of which were technical positions.
