Blockchain technology is a true game-changer, taking data integration to new heights in a distributed network that allows peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries.
Since the inception of Bitcoin, blockchain technology has undergone several phases. We’ve seen a remarkable amount of improvements in this short period of time and we’ll continue to see more unfold as the technology continues to experience rapid-fire growth.
The introduction of the web in the 1980s brought about data integration through the common database for information sharing. However, the downsides of this batch model, such as updating a database which required a great deal of coordination and gaining consensus for the changes to be made, soon lead to the necessity for standards to be developed.
The 1990s brought about functionality integration where software platforms matured, was not limited to the batch FTP-type model, and had a true client-server model in place. While the cost for these technologies were exorbitant, it moved the amount of functionality forward and provided a baseline for high-performing user interfaces and the principles that followed.
The age of web services was born with the onset of service integration in the 2000s. This decade brought about a new level of functionality and standardization to the web (via web services). The Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) architecture created a bridge between businesses and consumers, allowing for the sharing of all data and functionality to be executed and consumed in one place across the organization. However, the tech stack was too taxing for most organizations and came at a high cost.
The following decade (2010s) took SOA and introduced Representational State Transfer (REST), which brought lighter-weight services to the forefront of web computing. This was the microservices evolution, which improved upon the ESB architecture via encapsulation and the ability to implement faster updates. Coupled with Agile methodologies, it provided a new way to design computation. We also see real-time, web scale, and more resiliency due to many models being built on fabrics that can respond on failure of a component. The concept of XaaS also became widely used. However, business processes and remote state are still not shared.
Up until 2010, there hadn’t been a convenient way to share business processes, logic, and data. However, with blockchain technology, we have two things that give us an extra advantage: the data which can be verified and smart contracts.
Today, we generate data at a faster rate than ever, globally and in every industry. Data has become a key focal point that our lives revolve around — from everyday tasks such as interacting with others on social media, shopping, accessing our financial and medical records, to using smart devices that automate our homes; data has become the world’s most valuable resource. Having all our data interconnected will allow us to make better decisions about our resources and help optimize our lives. With this advent comes the need for reliable data integrity, and this is what blockchain technology brings us today.
The internet will continue to develop and with the enhancements that blockchain’s decentralized data sharing, ongoing advancements in cryptography, distributed ledger technologies, and smart contracts bring, businesses are empowered to move towards decentralized infrastructures and business models that can rely heavily on data. Blockchain technology brings about trust in a permissionless environment, a decentralized structure affording greater individual autonomy, improved security and privacy, accessibility due to its borderless characteristics, reduced cost, speed, transparency, immutability, interoperability, and innovation.
Phases of Development of the Web
Over the years, our World Wide Web has continued to develop and improve. If you're not familiar with Web3, here's a quick rundown of how it all unfolded and the enhancements that have been made.
Web 1.0.: A way to present static data to anybody anywhere with an internet connection. Great examples are: newsletter websites, blogs, business web pages, etc.
Web 2.0.: Let users interact with dynamic data through the use of web technologies like web applications, mobile applications or cloud solutions. Examples are: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google, etc. These companies manage and process the users data in a central machine.
Web 3.0.: Give back the data management to users by using decentralized independent machines that execute logics to create dynamic and interactive data. A replacement of central entities by decentralized autonomous programs with predefined functions and abilities.
Some historical context:
It was in this atmosphere of mistrust toward financial institutions that Bitcoin was proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Created in January 2009, Bitcoin was initially conceived of as a way to undertake transactions without the need for a trusted third party. As a result, this first cryptocurrency is not controlled by banks or governments. Nevertheless, this ambitious project required a new type of technological support.
The infrastructure that Nakamoto proposed for this purpose was the new invention of blockchain: a very specific type of digital platform that records transactions in a decentralized manner.
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