Interview with IBM: Blockchain + Minimal Computers Will Make Great Innovations
(Photo note: Fan Bin, Partner, IBM Global Corporate Consulting Services and General Manager of China's Banking and Financial Markets Industry)
Text / Hot Spring
On April 11, IBM held the 2018 IBM THINK Forum in Beijing. IBM released five major technology predictions including artificial intelligence robotic microscopy, elimination of AI prejudice, quantum computing, blockchain and encryption technologies, and believes that these five technologies will Change human life in the next five years.
On the day of the forum, IBM accepted an exclusive interview with the media, including NetEase, on the progress of the blockchain. Fan Bin, a partner of IBM Global Business Consulting Services and general manager of China's banking and financial market industry, believes that a new generation of disruptive business models will It happens in traditional companies, which is different from the situation in the past few years when disruptive business models occurred in the Internet. Because business transformation in the future will be data driven, data mining and applications are very important to the promotion of new profit models, and today 20% of the data is searchable, and 80% of the data is in traditional businesses. In this context, blockchain technology is very helpful in forming new business models.
As we all know, IBM is positioned to provide high-value solutions for artificial intelligence and cloud computing to industry users. In addition, IBM has invested heavily in the development and application of blockchain technology. In the future, IBM China Research Institute vice president, IBM Outstanding Engineer Dong Jin said that the trend of 'black technology + blockchain' has become clearer, namely the trend of 'artificial intelligence + blockchain', 'Internet of things + blockchain', etc., and enterprise-level blockchain will generate Great social and economic value. At the same time, he also stated that 'blockchain + minimum computer' innovations in logistics, food safety, and credible products will generate huge commercial and ecological model innovations.
Invest heavily
Chen Liming, chairman of IBM Greater China, stated on the forum that as technology innovations and business innovations such as AI technology, big data, and other technologies continue to accelerate, IBM will enter the era of 'Watson's Law', following the arrival of semiconductors and PCs, and the Internet. The third exponential growth.
IBM believes that smart companies that are good at using digital intelligence technology and have exponential learning capabilities will take the lead in this era and even counterattack into the next industry giant. IBM is committed to the use of quantum computing, blockchain, cloud computing, artificial Intelligence, etc. help companies in various industries to quickly build 'intelligent commerce' to achieve exponential growth.
The application of blockchain technology is undoubtedly a part of the promotion of 'exponential growth.'
IBM began preparations for the blockchain project Open Blockchain in 2014 and began exploring the commercialization of the blockchain in 2015.
Dong Jin, a dean of the IBM China Research Institute and a distinguished IBM engineer, told NetEase. In 2017, IBM established a blockchain global department. This department has more than 1,500 people. However, this is not the total number of IBM employees who are doing blockchain work. , Other departments also have employees working together. For example, IBM Z (44 banks in the world's top 50 banks and 90% of the largest airlines choose to run their business on IBM Z mainframes) have many application scenarios for blockchains. The Internet of Things (Wason IoT Platform) is also working with the blockchain department.
However, IBM has not disclosed any funds investment in the blockchain. Fan Bin, a partner of IBM Global Enterprise Consulting Services and general manager of China's banking and financial markets industry, said that IBM has invested in open source platforms in blockchain. , Technical Support, Cloud Facilities, Industry Experts, R&D Team, etc. But specific figures are difficult to calculate precisely.
Commercial application landing
IBM currently has at least 400 customers associated with the blockchain in the world. At the same time, IBM's 'blockchain as a service' public cloud service currently has more than 250 different enterprise-level applications. This is what makes Dong Jin feel very The figure of pride is that because the blockchain is still in the early stages of development, so many applications have landed, it is indeed a breakthrough.
At present, IBM's blockchain application has been involved in traceability, cloud services, foreign trade, finance, advertising publishing, health care and other fields. It can be said that it is a comprehensive attack. Fan Bin told Netease Technology, IBM's core competitiveness, is also a partner The most important thing is IBM's understanding of the industry. IBM has a dedicated team in many industries.
He explained to Netease Technology the role IBM plays in blockchain applications - IBM's blockchain technology is like a carrier of the sea and rivers, where companies can build ships and navigate on the platform of IBM. Everything has it, companies just need to do some personalized application or transformation on this basis.
For the value of the application of blockchain technology, IBM has even had a personal experience. Fan Bin revealed that IBM has a department responsible for financing, because IBM itself also produces servers and other equipment. In the past, due to the delivery of invoices and the lack of timely information, many With 100 million U.S. dollars of liquidity, after applying blockchain technology, it saved 100 million U.S. dollars in liquidity.
The trend of 'blockchain + black technology' becomes clearer and clearer
IBM believes that blockchain technology must be the trend in the future. Dongjin's judgment is that blockchains are just as credible transactions as the Internet is as important as communications.
However, he believes that the development of the blockchain is not a single direction of its own, but is combined with a series of technologies. If blockchain technology incorporates more hardware innovations, it will have a very big effect on enterprise-level blockchain applications. "This direction is getting clearer." Dong Jin said.
For example, IBM announced five technology trend forecasts for the next five years this year. One of them is the smallest computer technology. 'We think it can be combined with blockchain technology and it will have a great impact on the recent development of blockchain technology.' Dong Jin said that the smallest computer in the world is only 1mm*1mm, and the estimated post-production cost is only about 10 cents. The computing power is very high. If the smallest computer is embedded in the commodity, it can support a more reliable blockchain. The data source acquisition service combines the process of data generation, storage, and exchange well.
"Blockchain technology itself does not solve all problems. If there is no safe and credible data collection and collation method, it will not be fully effective without a reliable IoT device. The smallest computer is the next generation of Internet of Things. An embodiment of the device. It can be combined with blockchain technology to track the entire process of product production, processing and sales. It can solve the problems that blockchain cannot solve in enterprise-level applications. ' Dong Jin explains.