Tech giant IBM is expanding its work with blockchain technology, launching a network of development workshops and developing its own cloud-based blockchain-as-a-service model.
IBM announced yesterday that its new cloud-based blockchain service will hosted on its Bluemix cloud platform, enabling the creation of permissioned networks.
The firm also said that it is bridging its blockchain work and the IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) platform – a move that comes more than a year after the company formally debuted its IoT proof-of-concept, ADEPT, that used blockchain tech as an underlying element.
Arvind Krishna, senior vice president for IBM Research, said in a statement:
“These advancements are making it easier for developers to move from understanding the potential of blockchain, to actually using it to change their business processes in powerful new ways."
The company has further revealed that it will open new development spaces called 'IBM Garages' in Asia, Europe and North America, focused on blockchain R&D, as well as expand consulting services for companies interesting in exploring applications of the technology.
Among those firms will be Japan Exchange Group, operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which according to Nikkei intends to release a report on the initial fundings of the study later this year.
"We plan to explore blockchain fabric to evaluate technical limitations and the potential of blockchain for post-trading service for low volume traffic by fully utilizing IBM global resources including IBM Research, Tokyo," Atsushi Santo, head of new business development for Japan Exchange Group, said in a statement.
The developments come as IBM ramps up its involvement in the Hyperledger open-source blockchain project, to which the firm said it has now donated 44,000 lines of code. That effort, led by the Linux Foundation, now counts 30 well-known firms and startups among its ranks.
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