Meet Zetochain: a scalable, open platform focused on accelerating blockchain adoption
In our newly-launched white paper we reveal our plan to revolutionize the supply chain by fast-tracking the adoption of blockchain across the supply chain. With Zetochain we are providing developers with all the tools they need to start building blockchain-enabled products.
The beauty of Zetochain is that it brings all the advantages of blockchain to developers and organizations, but using the programming models they’re already familiar with. That means developers won’t need to learn new languages to interact with cryptocurrency wallets or upskill in unfamiliar programming techniques.
We’re focused on making blockchain adoption as frictionless as possible for application developers, large organizations and smaller organizations.
For developers, we’re delivering low-cost, easy-to-use APIs, code-light and code-free solutions so they can confidently build connectors to popular supply chain software packages; new tools and apps that solve real-world supply chain problems; and new business models based on supply chain data and smart contracts, including: service marketplaces, automated shipping, contracting and payment solutions, B2B and end-customer provenance solutions such as sustainably produced, certified organic and anti-counterfeiting applications.
Our offering to large organizations provides for easy integration with ERP and supply chain packages already in use; a “ready to go” solution for integrating IoT capabilities into supply chain solutions; a data exchange hub for enabling supply chain visibility beyond immediate suppliers and customers; and transparent, secure and immutable shipment and handling records to ensure compliance with applicable standards and regulations.
And for smaller organizations we’re delivering a blockchain-based traceability platform for tracking incoming and outgoing products; an easy on-ramp for automating shipping and receiving traceability through IoT; transparent, secure and immutable shipment and handling records to ensure compliance with applicable standards and regulations; as well as opportunities to adopt new business models through smart contracts.
How are we supporting new application development?
Zetochain is an end-to-end platform enabling developers to build and deliver supply chain applications using our dedicated data publishing, IoT and blockchain-enabled capabilities.
But we know that capability is only part of the story: the next generation of killer supply chain apps will only happen if developers can easily build on them, which is why we’re 100% focused on embracing developers from concept to delivery.
So as well as providing well-documented programming interfaces leveraging industry data standards and flexible integration models, we’re also committed to providing expert developer support, easy-to-understand pricing models and a dedicated app store where developers can market and distribute their applications to customers.
Here’s a little bit more detail about how we are encouraging developers to embrace blockchain and build apps that will dramatically transform the supply chain as we know it.
Low-Code Tooling Options
It’s no secret that learning new languages and new programming paradigms is a slow, awkward process that can have an negative impact on productivity. Blockchain and Smart Contract development in particular represent an unfamiliar environment for enterprise developers — with a steep learning curve. With our low-code tools developers can easily configure Zetochain’s blockchain and Smart Contract capabilities, and they can seamlessly customise our library of pre-defined Smart Contracts.
Zetochain App Store
It’s true that even ground-breaking app need help to reach end users, and end users need an easy way to discover, acquire and deploy those applications. With the Zetochain app store we are providing a familiar mechanism for customers to discover and purchase applications developed by third parties that utilize the capabilities of Zetochain. And for developers, the app store is a straightforward channel to connect with potential customers, handle payments and facilitate delivery to customers.
New Market Capabilities
Instead of using premium-priced supplements to standard ERP software suites, in-house developers will be able to capitalize on the low-cost supply chain solutions tailored for smaller companies. Supply chain visualization speaks to a reduction in the amount of high-level contingency planning necessary for maintenance of an organization’s operational capacity. With real-time updates and other just-in-time capabilities, process refinement and diagnostics becomes simplified. Rating and vetting systems ensure that payload management is overseen by compliant, reputable personnel, while Smart Contracts open the door to direct engagement with supply chain channel partners while at the same time minimizing counterparty risk and legal costs.
Developer-focused Starter Kits and Accelerators
We want to speed up blockchain adoption, and so we’re determined to reduce the time developers typically need to spend on development architecture and help them move quickly into the coding phase. Zetochain starter kits will be delivered on the tools that developers are already familiar with and we will be releasing code samples and accelerators that demonstrate how to interact with the platform to perform common supply chain tasks.
Legacy Systems Integration
One of the main issues with the supply chain is its fragmented, siloed nature where each participant along the chain maintains their own records in their own systems, with different data formats and limited visibility beyond direct suppliers and customers. What we’re doing is improving data visibility by providing easy-to-use tools to connect existing supply chain systems withZetochain’s data publication and data management capabilities.
Zetochain’s Supply Chain Data Exchange APIs streamline the process of connecting existing software packages to Zetochain. Using the Zetochain API, applications can easily publish data for distribution to supply chain partners, manage data visibility and take advantage of Zetochain’s blockchain-based data provenance and verification features. Applications can interact with Zetochain in real-time, or through batch publication. We will also support industry standard data schemas such as EDI and GS-1, together with Zetochain’s native data format standard.
For those organizations who have invested heavily in ERP or supply chain management applications, we will be providing connectors to leading packages such as SAP. These connectors offer a low-code, easy-to-configure gateway for publishing supply chain data from existing enterprise systems to Zetochain. All of this means that organizations can maximize their supply chain investment by extending data visibility throughout the supply chain, without the need for new investment in compatible systems.
Ensuring the secure integration of IoT hardware with Zetochain
We’ve all been talking about IoT for years. Within the supply chain its potential is extensive. It can enhance visibility into the supply chain through more precise asset tracking and an give deep, granular data including product temperature at any point in the supply chain, specific cargo details, handling of items in transit, and even retail data. This information provides invaluable insights for all members of the supply chain and can be used to identify and tighten up processes, gaps and areas for improvement.
We’ve designed Zetochain to make it easy to connect sensor hardware telemetry with supply chain data in a way that’s secure, transparent and verifiable while making it easy to integrate with existing IoT infrastructures. Zetochain provides APIs for managing sensor hardware and connecting devices to the items and activities they monitor.
Using blockchain technology, IoT data can be cryptographically authenticated in a distributed network and stored in a way that prevents data tampering. Combined with Zetochain’s permissioned access control system, IoT data can be made visible throughout the supply chain, securely.
Security and trust are the cornerstones of blockchain technology and so we want to extend those characteristics to Zetochain. When it comes to integrating IoT solutions, we will enable customers to tap into industry-recommended security techniques when securing their sensor hardware. We will also automatically apply blockchain-based data validation to IoT sensor data with no additional development overhead. And that’s not all: we’re also working closely with sensor experts to define a standard for trusted IoT devices that we will make an open industry standard.
Supply chain IoT architectures vary widely in their capabilities. Sensor hardware may be installed in fixed configurations with reliable network connectivity, such as temperature monitoring sensors in a freezer or sensors designed to pick up low-energy Bluetooth of RFID tags used to identify products coming into a loading dock. In other cases, devices will be disconnected for varying amounts of time, for example during transport by air or ship. In still other cases, customers will have an existing IoT architecture that can publish sensor data in batches to Zetochain.
Taking all of these possibilities on board we will be providing support for a number of common communication mechanisms and connection schemes that developers can use to connect their existing sensor and IoT infrastructure to Zetochain. Breaking it down simply, devices will be able to report data in real time, sync data when re-connected, or batch data for a period of time for ingestion.
Sensor devices and IoT systems use a variety of communication and data formats, which can make it difficult to ingest, normalize and process data. Zetochain will introduce a native data schema standard for describing sensor data within the Zetochain platform. We will provide tools that enable applications that support EDI or GS-1 data standards to work with Zetochain with minimum code and configuration.
We hope we’ve given you a taster of what you can expect from Zetochain. We will be providing more technical details and updates over the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about Zetochain, including details about our token sale and the market opportunities, why not read our white paper, which is available at www.zetochain.com.
Originally published at www.zeto.ie on July 12, 2018.
