9/9 Business Model elements will be disrupted by Blockchain and DLT Technology

Nine Ways Blockchain Will Disrupt Your Business Model

Alexander Osterwalder says that every business model can be broken down in to nine component parts which he sets out in the Business Model Canvas. This walk-through shows how blockchain has the potential to disrupt every element of an organisation’s business model

1. Customer Segments — Organisations will have to get used to the idea of the Anonymous Customer. Thinking about recent events with Cambridge Analytica and trends such as the #deletefacebook movement, we might have reached a tipping point where customers stop giving away their identities and personally identifiable data so freely. With blockchain, customers can transact with organisations and receive value while remaining completely anonymous. Companies will need to learn to deal with this. Blockchain will also enable organisations to reach customers that they could not reach before, for example London-based Cashaa is building a service aimed at helping the world’s 1 billion unbanked gain access to the global economy
2. Value Proposition — Blockchain and distributed ledger technology opens a vast array of new value propositions that were not possible before. These include propositions based on currency, payment infrastructure, smart contracts, digital identities, verifiable data, shared storage and compute power, voting
3. Customer Relationships — Customer relationships and Marketing is going to change. You just need to check out the Brave Browser or Wibson to understand that the world of cookies, customer data scraping, and profiteering from customer data is nearing an end — we are at the beginning of a new decentralised world where customers get paid for their attention and data
4. Channels — New channels for exchanging value with customers have become possible. One example is the ability to exchange branded tokens with Customers, the OST platform aims to make this simple and possible for brands
5. Revenue Streams — Organisations will be able to open up new revenue streams that were not accessible or economically viable before, an example of this is Slock.it which gives connected objects an identity; the ability to receive payments, enter into complex agreements and transact without an intermediary, leading to cost savings
6. Key Activities — Radical business process transformation has started, an example of this is what Corda is enabling in financial services, with its revolutionary DLT platform that provides shared party-to-party ledgers (with private shared facts); automated process flows, private transactions and attachable automated enforceable smart contracts
7. Key Resources — The key resources in many organisations are freelance resource. Blockchain technology opens up new possibilities for organisations to find, engage and pay freelance resources. Smart contracts can also be used to ensure both parties understand their obligations and that payment is made on fulfilment of the agreed terms. Canya.io is aiming to offer organisations and freelancers new choices with blockchain technology
8. Key Partners — Supplier Chain Innovation has probably been the largest source of blockchain use cases behind payments. Key projects in this space have included IBM / Hyperledger and Mearsk tracking global shipment to VeChain tracking high value goods including fashion and health care products
9. Cost Structure — Blockchain and DLT technology will enable organisations to streamline their cost structure in many ways, often by cutting out intermediaries; one interesting example of this is Imogen Heap using UjoMusic to sell music direct to consumers

Thanks to Alexander Osterwalder for providing us with such a great tool, and what this little canter through the Business Model Canvas tells us is that the best lens to remove the hype, and see the true disruptive potential of blockchain technology, is to look through the lens of the business model.

For more insights go to https://blockchaindigital.co.uk/insights