Ernst & Young, Microsoft announce blockchain partnership

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Ernst & Young (EY) has joined forces with Microsoft (MS) in a new blockchain project. The project will use the technology in a system to manage royalties and content rights, EY announced on its website.

At first, the system will be used by Microsoft and Microsoft-affiliated game publishers, but eventually could expand into other industries that are concerned with intellectual property or assets. EY and MS chose the gaming industry to test the system due to its global popularity and relatively fast turnover.

The platform will offer participants real-time access to transactions in an effort to provide insight into the gaming market. It will also allow them to better comprehend the underlying dynamics of the industry, which will lead to enhanced innovation.

The blockchain system will also help to overcome operating hurdles such as inefficiencies and manual, tedious reconciliation. In the end, the entire process will be sped up and made virtually error-free. MS affiliates will have almost instantaneous access to information, whereas today it takes over 45 days for data to be filtered down to them.

Deep Ghumman, Blockchain Finance Lead of Advisory Services for both EY Global and EY Americas, said, “Enterprises are looking to use blockchain technology to solve their business challenges. They are especially looking for scalable blockchain products that can easily plug into their existing processes and systems(…)”

The platform will be built on the Quorum blockchain and will utilize Azure, Microsoft’s cloud service. Quorum is a distributed ledger and smart contract platform offered by financial powerhouse J.P. Morgan.

At least one software gaming manufacturer is looking forward to the new service. Ubisoft’s Senior VP of Finance & Strategic Planning, Loic Amans, said, “We are always looking at how to leverage emerging technologies in all facets of our business. The opportunity to collaborate with EY and Microsoft on blockchain use cases in the domain of digital contracts and royalties is truly exciting.”

EY is a London-based multinational company. It offers a variety of services, such as financial auditing, consulting and business advisement. It has already begun working on blockchain technology on several fronts, including for the automotive industry, audit technologies and commercial marine insurance services.