IBM outranks Microsoft as top Blockchain technology leader

IBM has taken the top slot -- beating Microsoft and Accenture -- when it comes to deploying Blockchain technology across industries, a new study has said.

The "Blockchain Enterprise Survey" by market research firm Juniper Research that included 400 company founders, executives, managers and IT leaders, ranked Microsoft and Accenture after IBM.

"Even if companies conduct initial testing using a public blockchain, in most cases the shortcomings of these chains should disqualify them from many use cases, including financial settlement, public sector deployments, logistics and land registry," said research author Windsor Holden late on Monday.

Among enterprises either actively considering, or in the process of deploying blockchain technology, more than four in 10 (43 per cent) ranked IBM first -- more than twice the proportion selecting second-placed Microsoft (20 per cent).

According to the study, this reflected IBM's high-profile R&D engagement with initiatives such as Hyperledger and its extensive list of blockchain clients across an array of key verticals and use cases, including banking, asset tracking and the music industry.

Among respondents, more than two-thirds (67 per cent) stated they had already invested more than USD 100,000 in Blockchain technology by the end of 2016 while 91 per cent of these companies confirmed that they would be spending at least this amount in 2017.

However, the report urged companies to focus on private blockchains for commercial deployments, rather than utilise public chains such as Bitcoin.

IBM Blockchain provides fundamental support to transform a number of industry business practices, from banking and government to healthcare and logistics.

Touted as a key technological innovation of the digital cyptocurrency Bitcoin, Blockchain technology is disrupting traditional processes across industries -- from financial transactions to marine insurance and more.

For a layman, a blockchain can serve as "an open, distributed ledger that can efficiently record transactions between two parties".

For use as a "distributed ledger", a blockchain is typically operated by a peer-to-peer network which allows users to manage the ledger in a secure way and without the help of a third party.