What are the costs of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Blockchain for Business Apps?

We are now at a technology tipping point where the application of blockchain technology is feasible for businesses and startups. The cost of implementing Blockchain applications has reduced through vendor support in the form of Blockchain as a Service (Baas) and open source libraries.  However, care should be taken before diving into implementing a project using Blockchain, as a number of hidden costs and variables must be carefully examined. What is Blockchain? You can read the comprehensive definition of Blockchain on Wikipedia; however, Dr Mark Staples (Data61) eloquently distills the essence of a Blockchain to simply, "A distributed database and…

Cloud threats Gartner’s top ten strategic technology trends for 2015

Gartner has recently identified the top ten strategic technology trends for 2015. In this year's report, the analysts describe their focus this way: "Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to the business, end users or IT, the need for a major investment, or the risk of being late to adopt. These technologies impact the organization's long-term plans, programs and initiatives." In the document, the company highlights the overarching strategic tech themes as "the merging of the real and virtual worlds, the advent of intelligence everywhere, and the technology impact of the digital business shift." Cloud computing…