IBM executive believes that distributed ledger technology will be key after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Companies would be more interested in raising security levels and ensuring privacy.
Latin American companies will make investments to adopt distributed ledger technology (DLT), which will reach USD 200 million by 2023. Ana Paula Assis, general manager of IBM in the region, stressed that this type of platform will be one of the key industries in local development.
The executive noted that the industry behind supply chains will be essential in the growth of Latin America. She highlighted that consumers base their relationships with companies on trust. In this respect, blockchain technology would play an important role in maintaining that closeness.
The manager stated that this technology is a turning point that entails important changes for society, concerning the way of doing business and relating to others. She emphasized that security is not a matter of compliance, but fundamental trust so that people continue to maintain relationships with companies.
The representative of IBM considers that DLT allows the traceability of products, from their manufacture to their distribution. Likewise, it establishes a health security guarantee, a factor that influences consumers when making decisions to purchase a product.
Blockchain Technology after COVID-19 Pandemic
Besides, Assis predicted that the post-COVID-19 era will bring changes in the operation of companies and their interaction with users, an element that would be closer to the security arena. She notes that there has been a 4,300% increase in the amount of spam related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus due to the pandemic.
The figures have set alarm bells ringing among companies seeking ways to ensure privacy and safeguard their users’ information, which could encourage the use of DLT.
IBM is one of the information technology companies that see the most potential in distributed accounting technology. The company heads the Hyperledger consortium, a project to develop blockchain solutions between companies and corporations. Fabric, one of the main proposals of Hyperledger, was developed from the codes proposed by IBM.
Last May, IBM reportedly launched a free platform in Spanish that would allow users to learn about blockchains, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. The multinational said that it intends to encourage the training of students from 14 to 20 years old, as well as teachers from all over the world, on this type of shared systems.
DLT is an original Bitcoin technology as a digital system in which two or more people can conduct data or value transactions, without the participation of trusted third parties or intermediaries. The information is stored in an immutable distributed registry and is visible to participants.
Initiatives to finance blockchain projects are common in Latin America. For example, there was an announcement last December in which Colombia said that it would allocate USD 5.5 million to finance developments of this type. These would include product traceability, document certification, and digital identity, among others.
By Alexander Salazar
