When and Why Blockchain Technology Should be Integrated into Your Plans

Blockchain technology makes transactions secure through its requirement that a community of trusted clients approve each block before it is added to the chain. In effect, it provides water-tight security. However, working with this emerging technology requires a thorough knowledge of security, cryptography, and databases.

At Pentalog, we help businesses work with blockchain technology. We give you access to some of the foremost experts in this transformative field of distributed databases.

If you can do your project using traditional database technologies like Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, and Postgre, you don’t need to jump on the blockchain bandwagon.

In fact, according to Pentalog’s blockchain consultant, Aymen Chakhari, you should ask yourself the following questions before considering the use of blockchain technology:

• Do you need a distributed database or could a traditional relational database work just fine? If you find a traditional solution to be insufficient, then you might consider blockchain technology.
• Can you count on a community to validate the transactions? Blockchain technology requires validation of each block by a community of users.
• Is trust missing? The nature of blockchain technology doesn’t require trust between parties. This means one user can’t independently modify a block because the community needs to validate each block added to the chain. In effect, once a block is validated it can’t be changed.
• Do you need an entity to validate each transaction? Blockchain works through decentralization: there’s no central gatekeeper. This means each transaction is authorized and validated, then secured within a block.
• Is your transaction complex? Blockchain distributed databases are adapted to the needs of complex transactions when, for example, one transaction depends on another.
• Can you define rules dictating how transactions will be conducted? Blockchains must include strict rules because they work in a context where trust is absent between each node in the network.

The first five questions are truth conditions required to justify using blockchain. Therefore, you shouldn’t use it if:

• A traditional relational database is sufficient.
• You don’t have a community to validate each transaction.
• Trust is present between parties.
• You need a central gatekeeper.
• You don’t need to manage complex transactions.

If you think your project would benefit from blockchain technology, you must then define the rules.

At Pentalog, we’ll help you figure it out. And we’ll provide you with the expertise needed to succeed, one block at a time!