你的公司为区块链做好准备了吗？

区块链的范畴已经扩展到了加密货币以外，这一点值得注意，特别是成功的应用原型已经表明，也被称为分布式账本技术的区块链将带来变革。

实际上，区块链有可能从根本上改变我们的行为方式，包括分享信息、买卖商品、和政府互动、自证身份，甚至是检验任何对象的真假——包括我们吃的食物、用的药品以及对自我身份的表述。它还能为其他先进技术助力，比如，提升人工智能和物联网的能力。当大家开始考虑从人的身份转向公司的身份，转向连接设备和机器人时，就会真正出现无数的可能性。

不过，在争相引进区块链之前，每一位首席执行官都应当问两个基本问题：我的行业和公司可能会怎样使用区块链？我应该率先行动，还是应该观察、准备，然后再参与其中？

我们先谈谈第一个问题。究其核心，区块链技术可以创建透明而安全的交易记录，允许多方以接近实时的方式共享唯一数据源，而且能够控制对信息的访问，这样就几乎不可能更改历史记录。那么大家要怎样加以使用呢？答案是就像对待其他任何商业决策一样对待这项技术——判断它能着手的问题或机遇，想想对你来说它在战略上是否优先，弄清楚首先使用区块链而非其他方案能否形成竞争优势，再计算一下投资回报率。

可不要搞错了，区块链会改变游戏规则，但它并不能应对所有的商业机遇或难题。把它视为目标绝对是个错误观念。区块链是一项技术，而不是结果。成功实施结合了区块链的解决方案和技术能力的关系不是那么大，它更多地关系到一家企业和其他公司合作并创造新商业模式的能力。应该把区块链用于不那么容易着手的机会或问题上。今天，其他数字投资往往能更快地产生回报，并且在短期内更有战略性，更不用说实施难度要小得多。但如果不考虑今后如何利用区块链，那就不要进行大规模数字变革。

对许多公司来说，第二个问题的答案是观察、准备，然后参与。但这并不等同于观望。正相反，竞争对手率先部署的区块链解决方案有可能给你们的公司带来重大战略性问题。大家应该指定一位高管负责了解和追踪区块链的进展，以及它有可能怎样应用在你们的行业中，这样就能在掌握最多信息的情况下进行决策并制定清晰的战略。

使用区块链的时机成熟时，弄明白执行成本同样很关键。这项技术为新的工作方式打开了大门，要想充分加以利用，就需要有足够的影响力，从而把这条链上的所有相关方都拉进来，同时还需要团队负责人秉承通过新途径来开展业务的思路。

区块链很复杂，但充满了机遇。我们一直在和企业及行业团体一起对它进行测试，目的是在严苛的环境中解决困难的问题。举例来说，我们已经看到的应用原型可以安全地在制药企业和各国消费者之间跟踪和追溯药物，可以在一天时间里顺利处理逾1亿次证券交易，还可以检验90多万吨咖啡豆，从而把人们从繁重劳动中解放出来。

在埃森哲，我们和世界经济论坛联手开展了数字身份试点，内容是用生物特征和区块链来解决出行的公共安全和成本挑战，而据预测，到2030年跨境出行人数将增至18亿。

初步试点结果很有希望，它证明了区块链的拓展能力以及提高效率、鉴别力、速度、透明度、准确度和信任度的能力。展望未来，在持续创新的需求推动下，公司会从区块链试点转向区块链和人工智能等其他先进技术的实验，以便扩大它们在速度和规模方面的应用，从而获得竞争优势。

区块链显然就要来了，企业则必须做好准备，而且要知道做好准备对自己意味着什么。（财富中文网）

朱莉·斯威特是埃森哲北美公司首席执行官。

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

Blockchain is moving beyond cryptocurrency, and it’s worth paying attention—especially since successful prototypes show that blockchain, also known as distributed ledger technology, will be transformative.

In fact, blockchain has the potential to fundamentally change how we share information, buy and sell things, interact with government, prove our identity, and even verify the authenticity of everything—from the food we eat to the medicine we take to who we say we are. It will also augment other advanced technologies: For example, supercharging both artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. When you consider moving from the identity of humans to the identity of companies to connected devices to bots, the possibilities become truly endless.

But before racing to adopt blockchain, every CEO should be asking two basic questions: How might my industry and company use blockchain? And, should I be a first mover—or should I monitor, prepare, and then participate?

Let’s start with the first question. At its core, blockchain is a technology that creates a transparent and secure record of transactions, allows multiple parties to have a single source of truth in near-real time, and enables you to control access to the information, making it almost impossible to change the historical record. How can you capitalize on it? The answer is to treat it like any other business decision: determine the problem or opportunity it can address; consider whether it is a strategic priority for you; understand if there is a competitive advantage to using blockchain first, rather than other options; and calculate its return on investment.

Make no mistake, blockchain will be a game changer, but it is not the answer to every business opportunity or problem. Thinking of it as a goal is simply a misconception: Blockchain is a technology, not an outcome, and successfully implementing a solution with blockchain is less about technology capability and more about a company’s ability to work with other companies and create new business models. Blockchain should be used to address opportunities and problems that lack easier answers. Today, more often than not, other digital investments will offer faster returns and be more strategic in the short term—not to mention being much simpler to implement. But no large-scale digital transformation should be undertaken without considering how blockchain could be used in the future.

For many companies, the answer to the second question is to monitor, prepare, and participate. But this isn’t code for wait and watch. On the contrary, blockchain solutions deployed by your competitors first could pose serious strategic challenges to your business. You should identify a senior business leader who will be responsible for understanding and tracking what’s happening with blockchain and how it may be applied in your industry so you can make the most informed decisions and develop a clear strategy.

It is also critical to understand what it will take to execute when the time is right for blockchain. The technology opens the door to new ways of working, and to take full advantage, you’ll need sufficient influence to bring all the involved parties along in the chain, as well as team leaders with the mindset to conduct business in a new way.

Blockchain is complicated yet full of opportunity. We’ve been working with companies and industry consortiums to test the technology aimed at solving difficult problems in demanding environments. For example, we’ve seen prototypes securely track and trace medicines from manufacturers to consumers across countries, successfully process more than 100 million securities trades a day, and validate more than 900,000 kilograms of cocoa beans as free of slave labor.

At Accenture we’re partnering with the World Economic Forum on a digital identity pilot that uses biometrics and blockchain to address the public safety and cost challenges of travel, as international arrivals are predicted to grow to 1.8 billion by 2030.

The early results are promising: They’re proving blockchain’s ability to scale and to enhance efficiency, authentication, speed, transparency, accuracy, and trust. Looking forward, driven by the need to innovate continuously, companies will begin to move from piloting and experimenting with blockchain—and other advanced technologies like artificial intelligence—to ramping up usage at speed and scale for a competitive edge.

It’s clear blockchain is coming and businesses must be ready—know what ready means for you.

Julie Sweet is CEO of Accenture North America.