Research: 90 Percent of Blockchain Platforms Could Be Obsolete by 2021

According to a press release issued on June 3, 2019, by global research and advisory firm Gartner Inc., 90 percent of current enterprise blockchain platform implementations will be rendered obsolete by 2021.

Blockchain’s Benefits Blown out of Proportions

Perhaps the technology that powers cryptocurrencies is not all that revolutionary as a recent study by research firm Gartner suggests. The notice indicates that 90 percent of the blockchain infrastructure currently deployed by enterprises will need to be replaced within the next 18 months.

This replacement will be necessary to ensure that the technology infrastructure remains competitive, secure, and avoids obsolescence, declared Gartner.

The firm’s senior research director, Adrian Lee, commented:

“Many CIOs overestimate the capabilities and short-term benefits of blockchain as a technology to help them achieve their business goals, thus creating unrealistic expectations when assessing offerings from blockchain platform vendors and service providers.”

Lee’s words are far from encouraging for corporates and government bodies that have embraced implementations of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in their operations.

The study did, however, indicate that there will likely be no single blockchain platform vendor that could potentially establish a monopoly in the industry, at least for the next five years.

“Due to the lack of an industry consensus on product concept, feature set, core application requirements, and target market, we do not expect there to be a single dominant blockchain platform within the next five years. Instead, we expect a multiplatform world to emerge,” Lee added.

Market Fragmentation to Encourage Competition

The upcoming market fragmentation, as highlighted by Lee, could allow for healthy competition in the enterprise blockchain space, which could, in turn, lead to the development of more robust and innovative solutions.

However, one key downside to the availability of abundant blockchain platforms would be that it could confuse heads of companies that have had no prior experience in dealing with such a technology. Further, the oversaturated market could also lead to issues regarding interoperability.

As previously reported by BTCManager on March 20, 2019, the commercial market for blockchain technology is expected to be worth $20 billion by 2024.