It can be said without a doubt that the technologies of blockchain and IoT are revolutionary in isolation from one another. But what is extremely breathtaking is when one imagines the kind of effects these revolutionary technologies can have if they converge. There has been a lot of talk happening between investors, business professionals, and technical experts regarding how these technologies can be merged together. However, it doesn’t seem likely that we would get to see that convergence anytime soon. This is simply because of the fact that there are currently six main challenges which need to be solved before the convergence of blockchain and IoT can happen successfully. In this article, we will be looking at what exactly those challenges are.
The Issue of Scaling
The biggest challenge which the blockchain and IoT convergence need to overcome is that of its ability to scale and successfully meet the requirements across a range of networks of devices. This is not just a precaution but is foundational for running critical, high data, and high-risk environments. The silver lining in this entire scenario is that the architectural design and development of blockchain is being heavily influenced to deal with this issue. When it comes to this challenge, it is vital to remember that blockchain is not the solution to the scalability issues of IoT but instead it is this property of scalability which will determine when and how blockchain and IoT converge.
Security
While DLT architectures offer promising security benefits, security remains a significant challenge in the design and deployment of shared architectures. Businesses must not only protect data, contracts, files, devices and networks, but also maintain privacy, authenticate identity, prevent theft/spoofing, and develop governance for autonomous device coordination and settlement. Adding IoT into the equation merely extends these decisions across the topology of the network, whether a large-scale factory environment, a remote field with low bandwidth for connectivity, or within a smart home or retail context. DLT is not a silver bullet solution for IoT security, it merely introduces new design considerations across the stack
The Interoperability
The common challenge between blockchain and IoT is in terms of its ability to securely interconnect multiple networks. On top of this issue, if one tries to fulfill the requirements for customization then that can hinder the ability of the technology to work harmoniously with other architectures and counterparties. Standardization is also lacking at various layers of the stack.
Collaboration between Multiple Parties
The traditional business instinct is seen to be competitive and full of friction between various parties. These notions are currently being challenged by both blockchain and IoT to a certain extent. For the successful functioning of both these technologies, a higher level of collaboration will be required. The parties would have to come together and form a multidisciplinary integration. There would be cultural hurdles that needs to be overcome and would be hard to accomplish. This will also be one of those changes that cans only be tackled gradually.
Regulating
It can easily be anticipated that designing compliance and regulation into transaction execution would be no small task to achieve. Blockchain deployments would have to face a number of legal and policy questions. And even if one does end up solving this part of the challenge something bigger is still left. And that bigger part is the lack of policy and monetary regulations associated with cryptocurrencies. While, there are some countries who are attempting to solve these issues related to blockchain but the IoT space is still quite foggy with uncertainties related to privacy, access, data ownership, and things beyond that.
Nascence and Reputation
One cannot deny the fact that no matter how revolutionary these technologies are, they are still in their nascent stage. These technologies are just emerging and there is a lot left to see. These technologies suffer from a shady reputation, are prone to the media hype, and also have a fragmented marketplace. This is why it is right for businesses to take a rather clear-headed approach to the idea of this convergence.
The Conclusion:
\These are the major challenges which blockchain and IoT convergence must overcome to become a phenomenal success. It can also be said that the procedure for solving these challenges would certainly be quite gradual and there is nothing wrong with that.
