What Blockchain Means (Hint: Not Just Bitcoin), and Why You Should Care

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If you haven't been paying much attention to blockchain -- the distributed database technology made famous by Bitcoin -- it's time to start.

Here's an overview of what blockchain is and why it matters now.

Blockchain 101

Blockchain is a method of keeping track of transactions through a distributed database (sometimes also called a distributed ledger).

The basic idea is this: Every time a transaction happens or a new piece of information is acquired, it is recorded in a database that a network of people can store and access.

Once data is added to the distributed database, it can't be erased.

The distributed nature of the database is blockchain's killer feature.

Because the database is distributed across a network, it is highly transparent.

Wondering what blockchain means for the data center? This April, at Data Center World in Los Angeles, Ravi Meduri, VP of engineering services at Innominds Software, will walk you through the implications of this distributed database technology on the underlying structures of the internet, networks, storage, and compute layers. Register here.

No one can modify the database without his change being discovered by everyone else on the network.

This prevents fraudulent activity and mitigates the risk of security attacks.

There is no central database that hackers can exploit, and no centralized authority with unilateral power to decide what information is in the database.

Blockchain became famous with the launch of Bitcoin, an open source online payment system that relies on blockchain to record payment activity.

But Blockchain is about more than just Bitcoin.

Things to Know about Blockchain

On that note, here are the things you should know about blockchain:

The Future of Blockchain

To date, Blockchain's large-scale, real-world applications have been limited mostly to Bitcoin.

Other blockchain platforms are small-scale experiments or are still being developed.

Still, it's worth starting to pay closer attention to blockchain now, if you are not already.

The blockchain world has grown rapidly in the past several years.

It has become very diverse and gained the backing of deep-pocketed organizations.

Right now, it remains unclear exactly how we'll be using blockchain in five or ten or twenty years.

But it's a pretty safe bet that we will be using it.

Wondering what blockchain means for the data center? This April, at Data Center World in Los Angeles, Ravi Meduri, VP of engineering services at Innominds Software, will walk you through the implications of this distributed database technology on the underlying structures of the internet, networks, storage, and compute layers. Register here.

This article originally appeared on MSPmentor.