Oracle to launch blockchain products

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On May 7, Bloomberg reported on the announcement by Oracle Corp. that it is preparing to launch two new blockchain-based products in May and June. The company will release a “platform-as-a-service” product before the end of this month, and follow it up in June with decentralized ledger-based applications.

Oracle, based in California, already has a global presence in the blockchain space. The world’s second largest software company is involved in an effort with the Banco de Chile that uses the Hyperledger for storing data from inter-bank transactions, and has also signed a deal with Nigeria’s government to use a blockchain for customs and import duty record keeping. Oracle is targeting the pharmaceutical industry, as well, hoping to provide its blockchain products for medicine supply chains management.

Without a doubt, blockchain technology is where companies need to be. The rapid innovation and versatility of the technology has already shown how valuable it is, and continued growth could eventually see blockchains become as commonplace as watching the nightly news, only better.

Just a month ago, Spain’s global banking giant BBVA bank participated in a world’s-first loan issuance on a blockchain. The entire process, from initial request through the signing, was handled on the blockchain and reduced the completion time from days to just a few hours. Around the same time, electronics giant Samsung also announced that it would get in on the action, using a blockchain to manage its global supply chain. In doing so, Samsung joined the ranks of other large corporations, such as Walmart and IBM, which are utilizing the blockchain for their supply chain needs.

Many software companies have been working to improve blockchains to help them simplify processes, a characteristic inherently beneficial to the technology. Salesforce is working on a blockchain product that should be ready by this fall, but hasn’t specified what the product is. Amazon is also embracing blockchains, using the technology for its supply chains and cloud-based storage service, among other things.

Oracle has a presence in more than 175 countries and provides services to over 430,000 customers. The company has been around since 1977 and focuses on database technology and software, enterprise products and cloud computing. Its revenue last year was reported to be $37.7 billion, with the company controlling assets of almost $140 billion.