In response to COVID-19, technology companies have ramped up collaborations on innovative technologies such as blockchain, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Charlotte Dunlap, Principal Analyst at GlobalData, says: “The industry can no longer afford to wait several years for new market segments such as blockchain to take off.”
The dire nature of COVID-19 demands the ability to fast-track solutions at a Netflix-like pace, she says. With the forthcoming enabling technologies, reducing complexity and the need for technical expertise in order to usher in a broader set of stakeholders, ‘citizen solver’ could become the newest catchphrase.
Dunlap says: “Most importantly at this critical juncture of a global pandemic, blockchain technology can provide researchers with a strong and reliable data platform in the form of a shared ledger, establishing an autonomous and decentralized peer-to-peer network.”
Recently, a potentially mega-blockchain initiative was launched by Oracle, IBM and others to integrate COVID-19 data from WHO (World Health Organization) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Start-up HACERA formed a blockchain platform called MiPasa, which aggregates and reconciles data from various sources to integrate data at scale for researchers and scientists. Separately, a number of blockchain-based monitoring systems are springing up, such as the Public Health Blockchain Consortium (PHBC) VirusBlockchain deployed to identify and monitor COVID-19 free zones.
“The effects of unprecedented cooperation among technology rivals coming together to solve a global crisis will continue to linger long after the coronavirus is under control,” says Dunlap.
“Enterprises should become accustomed to new levels of industry collaboration. This expectation will be based on a critical need for industry giants to rally together to focus attention in 2021 and beyond on helping to get the economy back on track and ensuring customers are successful.”
