Unleashing the Full Potential of Blockchain Technology for Security-Sensitive Business Applications

Abstract

Companies are eager to invest in the emerging blockchain technology, but often fail to integrate this technology into real-world business applications that go beyond cryptocurrencies or pure demonstrators. The reason often lies in specific requirements related to data security and privacy. Current blockchain solutions are not able to meet these requirements, preventing a broad adoption of blockchain technology in business applications. To tackle this problem, we introduce UBI: a Universal Blockchain Integrator. UBI acts as a middleware between a company’s legacy IT infrastructure and off-the-shelf blockchain solutions. UBI enriches the functionality of these solutions so that they meet specific security and privacy requirements. Its successful implementation shows the feasibility of the proposed solution. First evaluation results demonstrate its potential for real-world business applications.