In brief, for many small- to mid-sized companies, the answer is “No.” You don’t need to create a blockchain. You don’t even need blockchain.
Yet.
Although blockchain will likely become ubiquitous across the spectrum of business and commerce, ultimately various blockchain networks will be provided as pre-made platforms which will be faster, more transparent and less expensive than traditional services that blockchain aims to replace.
For those of us over a certain age, we may recall when credit cards were novel. There was a period of many years when credit card transactions were evolving to become common in all businesses, large and small.
Consider Paypal, a more recent addition to the online transaction world, which was founded in 1998 (initially as Confinity). Paypal was not intended as way to replace credit cards, it merely facilitated their use for small business online and now there are a few hundred million users
However, blockchain will likely be integrated into world commerce and operations at a much faster rate and will eclipse the impact of credit cards and Paypal.
So why all the hype?
Much of the noise surrounding blockchain is a result of irrational enthusiasm regarding digital currencies based upon blockchain, called cryptocurrencies. These digital assets experienced tremendous growth over the past decade, culminating in a speculative bubble that reached its apex at the end of 2017, with fortunes won and loss. 2018 has been a bear market for the same currencies and as such, the interest has waned for speculators and the real work of serious and practical development to solve world business problems continues to move forward.
Companies will hear more about blockchain technologies and they will be presented as opportunities to increase efficiencies.
The businesses that are interested in establishing blockchain networks at this stage of the game are looking to garner a competitive edge in their industry and/or establish a new revenue model.
Just like the internet minted new businesses, mostly after the turn of the century (and after the dot com crash), blockchain technology is currently in the wild west stage of new technology exploration and development and many new businesses have formed, are being formed and will form. Not all will survive. But some will become as big as the Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft type of institutions of today.
More pertinent to this article, most businesses need not overly concern themselves with blockchain at this point.
Unless, of course, if you are interested in establishing greater efficiencies and economies of scale at this early stage. The liability is that the costs for entry are higher now then they will be in the future and the paths to success are not clearly labeled.
Some businesses will make a fortune.
Many more will experience significant losses along the early-adoption path.
In brief, if you can envision that your business might benefit from embracing a greater responsibility in your industry, or a sector of your industry, by establishing a network for many to participate, or if you’re a larger entity and can invest substantial development into this new technology for purely private purposes, then you may wish to visit this Forbes article: