Blockchain for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Blockchain technology related topics are gaining a lot of attention lately, most of the attention is focused on cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. Some predict it as the new internet revolution which could lead to new technological innovations in economics and social transformations.

Blockchain is running on a peer-to-peer network, with many distributed nodes and supporting independent computer servers globally. Part of it is implemented without any centralized authority and has a built-in fraud protection and consensus mechanism, such as the concept of Proof-of-Work, where peer computers in nodes approve every requirement for the generation of a new set of transactions or block to be added to the database a.k.a. “Block Chain”.

It also has a built-in check and balance to ensure a set of colluding computers can’t game the system. Blockchain also brings in an element of transparency, which reduces fraud as the entire chain is visible and auditable.

But how will Blockchain bring innovation to businesses in performing business continuity and disaster recovery?

Peer-to-Peer Fault-Tolerant. When a disaster happens and destroys some network nodes or a cyber attack penetrates the network, this will not hinder the operation of the rest of the network because every node has a copy of the Blockchain ledger due to its decentralized nature.

Availability. It provides 24/7/365 availability without using any complex technologies, like a disaster recovery center or database redundancy.

Smart Contract. It is capable of storing program code which will trigger once given conditions or deliverables are met. These codes are stored in a block that can call and execute system API or web services such as alert notifications, transaction rollback procedures, network lockdown and backup procedures during disaster recovery or business continuity exercises.

Secure and reliable. Security and fraud protection is also built into Blockchain. It employs an advanced cryptography that is close to impossible to break and tamper-proof therefore every transaction is highly reliable.

Even though Blockchain is still in its infancy, just like the internet in the late 90’s, awareness is high with some technology entrepreneurs and businesses who started developing proof-of-concepts and use-cases that later on can be used as real solutions to real problems.