What is Blockchain-as-a-Service?
Blockchain is undoubtedly one of the most revolutionary technologies of the 21st century. The technology has great potential to disrupt lots of industries and has done it for the past decade. According to Gartner blockchain will create $3.1T in business value by 2030. As the most transformative technology in recent history, blockchain will both enable new industrial applications and modernize many existing ones.
However, it is not always feasible to create, maintain and manage your blockchain solution. This is where Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) comes in. Companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, and others already provide this kind of service. In the next few lines, I am going to explain what BaaS is and how it works.
What is Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS)?
BaaS is a cloud-based service that allows customers to build their own blockchain powered products including apps, smart contracts, and use other blockchain features without the need for setup, manage or execute blockchain-based infrastructure. In other words, BaaS can be simply defined as an entity used to set up all necessary blockchain technologies for your application. All you need to do is choose a reliable BaaS provider and leave the confusing backend of your business logic to them. It is based on and works similar to the concept of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model.
How does BaaS works?
BaaS is when an external service provider sets up all the necessary “blockchain technology and infrastructure” for a customer for a fee. A client pays the BaaS provider to set up and maintain blockchain connected nodes on their behalf and the BaaS provider handles the complex back-end for the client and their business.
Think about BaaS’ working similar to a web hosting provider. You are hosting your website on an external web hosting provider like Amazon Web Services, and let them take care of all infrastructure and maintenance issues. This allows you to focus on your core website functionality.
Top BaaS platforms for enterprise solutions
Microsoft Blockchain on Azure
With the introduction of Blockchain-as-a-Service by Microsoft in 2015, a new avenue opened up for companies who want to familiarize themselves with the technology before investing heavily to develop blockchain-based solutions. In 2017 Microsoft launched Enterprise Smart Contracts, which provide users with the schema, logic, counterparties, external sources, ledger, and contract binding for building their own blockchain services. The platform is quite user-friendly and enables single-click deployment, enabling companies to deploy blockchain network topology in minutes.
Amazon AWS Blockchain Templates
Launched almost a year ago, in April 2018, Amazon’s Blockchain Templates offer blockchain-as-a-service for Amazon Web Services that facilitate the development of projects built upon blockchain. The software allows users to build on top of two forms of blockchain ledger technology — either Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric. The difference between the two centers is the fact Ethereum is geared towards public applications, while Hyperledger Fabric is more suited to private cloud applications.
SAP Cloud Platform Blockchain
SAP’s blockchain-as-a-service is called “Leonardo”, which is based on Hyperledger and resides in the SAP Cloud service. It can be accessed from any device and requires no on-premises hardware or software. SAP Leonardo functions as a blockchain cloud service, machine learning service and supports the Internet of Things (IoT) in a single ecosystem.
Blockchain Cloud Service by Oracle
Oracle has launched its Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service as part of its already beefy Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering. Their blockchain service offers enterprise customers a way to get involved with blockchain with a fully managed approach. This blockchain cloud service is built on top of the open source Hyperledger Fabric project as well. Also, Oracle announced the launch of Oracle Blockchain Applications Cloud, a new suite of use case-specific SaaS applications designed to improve traceability and transparency in the supply chain.
IBM Blockchain Platform
IBM’s blockchain platform allows businesses to develop, govern and operate a blockchain ecosystem quickly and cost-effectively on a flexible, cloud-based platform. Some of the businesses have already taken advantage of IBM’s blockchain services including Walmart for example, which uses it to improve traceability and transparency within the food supply chain.
Huawei’s Blockchain Service
Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei, launched a blockchain-as-a-service platform which is a highly available and secure blockchain platform allowing enterprises and developers to conveniently create, deploy, and manage applications with the superb performance and cost-effectiveness of their cloud. Huawei’s new blockchain solution is built on top of the open source Hyperledger Fabric as well. The technology is currently focused on developing solutions related to supply chain, public services such as ID verification, financial auditing and tokenized securities assets.
Conclusion
The year 2019 can bring breakthrough ideas when it comes to blockchain. BaaS undoubtedly helps blockchain be more accessible, enabling enterprises experiment, evolve and create better solutions.
