Blockchain technology is starting to demystify for many industries that see usefulness beyond the questionable cryptocurrency market. Today major companies in freight, healthcare, logistics, and marketing are putting it to use and testing the benefits.
If you’ve yet to move forward with this technology, here are some recommendations for getting the most out of it. Ask yourself these questions.
What Are My Primary Threats?
Think about the type of business you’re in. Are there any 10,000-foot-view challenges that your industry may face that could put some aspect of your company in jeopardy? You don’t have to have an answer for the threat at this point. You just need to know it’s out there, and how it could affect your business in the short and long terms.
Where Are My Inefficiencies?
Every business can do a better job at whatever it does. Where are some of those challenges in your company? Are there any expenses you wish weren’t there? Are there ways to eliminate those expenses? What you’re doing at this point is trying to find applications for a technology that can thrive on finding efficiencies and incorporating a little more transparency between you and your business partners. And that brings up the third two-part question…
Who Are My Partners, and How Could We Improve the Way We Do Business?
A blockchain isn’t very useful without partnerships. But partnerships are only half the equation. You must have some type of need mutually beneficial to everyone on the chain. Think of supply chain participants. If there is a problem with a shipment, blockchain technology can help each company pinpoint where the breakdown occurred and how to fix it.
Transparency is key. It helps companies root out bad business practices, improve upon existing ones, and instill confidence in current and future partnerships.
What Are the Laws Surrounding Blockchain Technology?
This final question is still in a state of flux. Federal and state regulators are still unsure of how to deal with the technology in all of its various uses. Many of those efforts are currently hung up on the world of virtual currencies, but practical business applications of the technology will not be immune. In the months and years ahead, you need counsel with SEC experience.
Dallas-based attorney John Teakell has practiced for more than 30 years in many areas of the law including a tenure as special trial counsel with the SEC. He also believes in continuing education through emerging technologies like blockchain. If you have any questions about it — and its legal ramifications — give him a call today or drop by the website.
