Multi-million Dollar Blockchain Research Institute Welcomes Salesforce, Raiffeisen Bank and Others
The Blockchain Research Institute (BRI) recently announced new members to their million dollar think tank. These include Salesforce, Raiffeisen International Bank, BPC Banking Technologies, Navigator Limited, and VIKTRE.
“We are pleased to welcome these global leaders to the Blockchain Research Institute,” said Don Tapscott, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of BRI, as mentioned in their press release. “The blockchain industry is growing and changing at an accelerated pace, and we look forward to helping these companies navigate the blockchain revolution through our research and thought leadership.”
The think tank is a multi-million dollar research program with over 70 projects that explore the effect of blockchain and its strategic implications in industry.
The BRI’s blockchain pioneer membership also welcomes startups at the forefront of innovation including Aion, Decentral, and Polymath. The BRI currently has nearly 60 diversified members in business, government, and technology.
The Blockchain Research Institute is Rapidly Growing
“Like our corporate and government members, these companies are at very different stages of their blockchain transformations,” said Tapscott. “We can foster more innovation through collaboration by creating a network of builders in the blockchain space alongside leaders in enterprise and government.” Tapscott appears optimistic about BRI’s latest members especially if these new members bring a unique set of expertise from various perspectives.
The BRI is funded by multiple governments and enterprises to lead global research initiatives, explore new opportunities, strategize and implement blockchain technologies. Don and Alex Tapscott, co-authors of the best-seller Blockchain Revolution, founded the BRI on March 16, 2017, in Toronto as they saw great potential with the emerging technology.
Don said:
“The blockchain industry is growing and changing at an accelerated pace, and we look forward to helping these companies navigate the blockchain revolution through our research and thought leadership.”
The organization aims to drive a global team of experts to explore the impact of blockchain in the financial services, manufacturing, retail, energy and resources, technology, media, healthcare, and government. IBM, NASDAQ, and The Hyperledger Project are just some examples of BRI’s founding members as mentioned in their press release. The BRI will announce additional new members in May.
Salesforce Eager to Launch Blockchain Products
Peter Schwartz, Senior VP of strategic planning at Salesforce was excited to join the RBI. Schwartz mentioned that:
“blockchain requires deep study from a variety of perspectives to understand its broader implications. The Blockchain Research Institute is providing key insights that will help shape the future of blockchain applications as this revolutionary technology emerges.”
During a conference in TrailheaDX, Salesforce Developer Conference on March 28, 2018, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and co-founder Parker Harris revealed that they were also developing a blockchain product. The idea of implementing a blockchain-based solution came to Benioff when he attended a blockchain event at the World Economic Forum Switzerland 2017.
Benioff said, “I had been thinking a lot about what is Salesforce’s strategy around blockchain and what [Salesforce’s] strategies around cryptocurrencies and how [we’ll] relate to all of these things.” The CEO is convinced that by coupling Salesforce’s existing technology with blockchain applications, it would drastically improve the customer satisfaction. He also noted that the new offerings would diversify the company’s portfolio of solutions.
