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Hi!

Over the last few lessons, we’ve been talking about blockchain and how to use it in your small to medium business.

In our last lesson, we talked about smart contracts and how they worked.

Today, we’ll discuss storing digital assets.

Storing your digital information has become far easier since the invention of cloud storage software, but is your data really safe in the cloud?

Many business owners are starting to worry about security. They’re turning to blockchain to solve that problem for them.

Blockchain is a tamper-proof technology, so storing your vital business information in trusted digital ledgers will be a handy alternative to traditional cloud storage.

While the vision of blockchain-driven digital asset management is a promising one, it’s not yet a reality.

Here are a few important things to know about digital asset management and blockchain:

Blockchain is decentralized, which means the information isn’t stored in a single central location but copied to every computer (node) in the system.

This makes it difficult to destroy or tamper with the information.

For digital asset management applications, this means blockchain is ideal for information that needs to be referenced by multiple parties, like an asset’s metadata—but they’re not ideal for storing large volumes of data.

Blockchain might function similarly to version control.

In this process, previous iterations aren’t destroyed or overwritten, and the same is true for blockchain.

New information means a new block is added to the chain, not that the previous information and transactions are destroyed.

They remain within the ledger, making rollbacks to previous versions fairly simple.

Blockchain gives you a complete audit trail history.

If you use asset identifiers, blockchain could make it possible to determine who made changes to an asset’s metadata and when.

Blockchain is not synonymous with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

While digital currency was one of the first uses for blockchain tech, it’s also useful for recording a variety of digital transactions (not just financial activity).

As blockchain becomes more and more prominent in the digital asset management space, keep the following tips in mind:

Keep GDPR in mind.

That’s General Data Protection Regulation, and it applies to how the tech is used.

GDPR regulations stipulate that personal information cannot be stored in an immutable form—and blockchain ledgers are immutable by nature.

To maintain compliance, be careful what data you store on the blockchain.

Only use it for information that must be shared between parties or systems.

Smart contracts will enhance the usefulness of blockchain for data asset management.

They’re not essential, but cutting out the middleman is surely an attractive proposition for anyone who creates, distributes, and purchases digital content.

Blockchain can play an important role in rights management, as it allows digital assets to be distributed—but not copied.

This adds a layer of protection against the misuse or unauthorized usage of assets or information.

Blockchain can be public or private.

This will be a key consideration when configuring blockchain for data asset management or for selecting data asset management providers.

Private blockchains will be better suited for applications that need greater security.

Public blockchains are already gaining ground as a way for creators to publish and distribute their work (while getting paid for it).

In our next lesson, we’ll take a look at handling money via blockchain.