Rashik Parmar, IBM
IBM has released a new testing functionality on IBM Blockchain; the service delivered via IBM’s Bluemix platform providing tools for Blockchain developers. IBM Blockchain was first launched on April 29th, and is based on the Linux Foundation’s open-source Hyperledger project. Rashik Parmar, lead cloud advisor for Europe at IBM, said that IBM Blockchain allows firms to move smart contracts from the conceptual stage into production, and it gives developers the tools they need to build and test them. “A financial firm could use something like Ethereum and start from scratch, but you need to build distribution into the platform and choose what tooling to use. It is a more skill and time-intensive approach.” The IBM Blockchain will help standardise and accelerate the process of building blockchain contracts, said Parmar, and the new automated testing functionality will complement a DevOps approach to development, explained Parmar, where the key is to test early and test often. The latest release of IBM Blockchain also allows security-conscious banks to run and test their blockchains in their own data-centres on Linux One, without having to expose sensitive data to public cloud environments. IBM said that users will be able to simulate enterprise-grade, complex, multi-party transactions on the blockhain. IBM is focusing its blockchain efforts into three key areas, said Parmar. “First, we want to look at how to make blockchain more industry-centric. Retail banking will have one use for it, while insurance might have another,” he explained. “Secondly, we are focusing on building up our own design and development skills and, finally, we are looking at how to industrialise the Hyperledger project which means showing interested firms that it is a robust platform they can trust.” IBM Blockchain is still in its trial phase and it will be released generally before the end of the third quarter this year.
