10 companies you didn’t know use blockchain technology

Across industries, major companies have been opting for blockchain technology to solve challenges and improve services.

Apillon

Sep 1, 2023 • 4 min read

· Healthcare
· Supply chain
· Energy
· Travel
· Government

Many people instantly think of the volatile crypto space when they hear the mention of blockchain technology, Web3, and decentralized services.

That is certainly not the case anymore. If cryptocurrency was in fact the first use case of blockchain, it’s now just one of many.

Everywhere from banking, finance, healthcare, insurance, supply chain, energy, real estate, trade, IoT, to travel, the use cases of blockchain technology are countless.

In this article, we cover some of the different industries where major large companies and corporations are already benefiting from using Web3 hosting, decentralized storage and other blockchain-based services.

Healthcare

One of the most essential industries on the planet could be drastically improved by the use of decentralized storage, which could directly impact the state of world health.

Pfizer

As early as in 2019, Pfizer was at the head of the Clinical Supply Blockchain Working Group (CSBWG) together with Biogen. The project looked into blockchain technology to improve the clinical trial supply chain.

This included completing a proof of concept for a digital inventory and for event tracking in the clinical trial supply chain.

The goal was to eliminate reliance on paperwork to track packaged medicine in clinical trials. It was LedgerDomain that developed a faster, more efficient, as well as more secure app KitChain.

Pfizer is also involved in several other blockchain initiatives and projects that are looking into decentralized hosting and storage to improve the way big amounts of data are shared.

FDA

According to the FDA, a lack of traceability is one of the main weaknesses of the U.S. food system.

For example, in an outbreak of a foodborne illness, it could take days to identify the source due to a paper-based system. To tackle this issue, FDA introduced a blueprint that involves blockchain technology, including decentralized data storage and file sharing, to improve visibility in the chain.

This is just one example of how decentralized cloud storage and even Web3 hosting could literally save lives.

Supply chain

Similarly to tracking the supply chain of medicine and disease outbreaks, other major companies are using decentralized and Web3 services to track their products.

Walmart

Few are aware that Walmart has been among the blockchain enthusiasts way before everybody was talking about Web3 and NFTs.

Walmart is on the long list of companies that use IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric platform for Web3 backup of their supply chain process. Tracking food right from the farmers to the shelves in their stores, Walmart can enable the customers to check the true origin of the item they’re buying.

Ford

Ford is also working with IBM to help them track raw materials, like cobalt, from suppliers.

With cobalt, it’s important to ensure the product is authentic if you want to maintain the quality of the end result. With decentralized storage, the cobalt is written on the distributed ledger after it’s mined and Ford is able to track it from then on forward.

Banking and finance

You’d think banks and financial services would be worried due to the onset of cryptocurrency. However, the ingenuity of blockchain and decentralized technology is undeniable, and its security can certainly be advantageous to the finance sector.

Visa

One of the first traditional companies to recognize the potential of decentralized services, Visa launched a blockchain-based platform for B2B payment services in 2016.

Embracing Web3 and blockchain technology, Visa even introduced a crypto-linked debit card on which transactions already hit 2.5 billion.

This is a great example of a traditional company welcoming innovative technology and getting on with the times.

Energy

Decentralized storage, decentralized hosting, and other blockchain technologies have the potential to completely transform the complex energy system and enable automatic energy transfers with no centralized intermediaries.

Shell

Incorporating decentralized storage and blockchain technology into crude oil trading, Shell will benefit from better tracking, improved transparency, and reduced possibility of fraud.

Siemens

Issuing the first digital bond on blockchain in Germany in early 2023, Siemens is involved in several projects that are based on decentralized technology.

To optimize electricity trading, Siemens launched a blockchain-based energy trading platform. Making the switch to decentralized storage for data is nothing new in the German energy sector where DENA (Deutsche Energie-Agentur) is leading the way.

Travel

The stability and security of data are very important in the travel industry. With blockchain data storage and safe file sharing, the single points of failure would be eliminated, reducing the risk of losing data due to outages or cyberattacks.

Singapore Airlines

One of the use cases of blockchain technology is loyalty programs and this is precisely what Singapore Airlines are doing. The company offers a digital wallet KrisFlyer to let customers collect loyalty points.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa Industry Solutions has launched the initiative Blockchain for Aviation (BC4A) to improve transparency in-flight maintenance. In 2021, Lufthansa even started a global challenge, the Blockchain Aviation Challenge, to offer prizes for finding decentralized and blockchain-based solutions in three categories namely, the Airline Challenge, the Traveler Challenge and the Supplier Challenge.

Government

Protecting data, streamlining work processes, and reducing the possibility of fraud and data breaches could significantly improve the work of government around the world. Countries such as Estonia, Dubai, the UAE, Georgia, Singapore, Sweden and Australia are already leading the way.

Government of Dubai

In their plans to build a smart city, the Government of Dubai developed the Dubai Blockchain Strategy that looks into different ways decentralized technologies could be used.

They plan to use 5.5 billion dirhams every year for document processing with decentralized technology alone.

As you can see, there are as many applications of decentralized storage, Web3 hosting, and other blockchain technologies as there are challenges.

If you do a little research, you’ll soon realize blockchain is already disrupting every industry, and most of the time, you won’t realize it’s doing its magic in the background.

No matter if you’re a developer or a business owner, decentralized storage and hosting can help you significantly improve your project. Remember, you don’t have to go fully decentralized to reap the benefits.

The important thing is to assess where you can use the power of Web3 and start building.

⧓ About Apillon

The Apillon platform serves as a unified gateway to the Web3 services provided by linked Polkadot parachains. Following the multi-chain vision, Apillon powers the transition of developers to Web3, simplifying its adoption in the real economy, and expanding its versatility as the ecosystem grows. With Apillon, Web3 services are within reach for every developer, regardless of their background and experience with blockchain technology.