The majority of businesses recently surveyed by Gartner have no immediate plans to deploy blockchain.
This is according to the research firm's report on the study, which surveyed 3 160 CIO respondents in 98 countries.
The survey, which queried chief information officers (CIOs) about their corporate attitudes on the technology, found only 1% of CIOs indicated any kind of blockchain adoption within their organisations, and only 8% were in short-term planning or active experimentation with blockchain, says Gartner.
Blockchain has captured the interest of leaders across the spectrum as a technology that can radically transform business and society, says Gartner. But for most, the technology remains an enigma, and it is hard to find real enterprise projects where this promise has turned into reality, it adds.
Among 293 CIOs of organisations that are in short-term planning or have already invested in blockchain initiatives, 23% said the technology requires more new skills to implement any other technologies, while 18% said blockchain skills are the most difficult to find, says Gartner.
A further 14% indicated blockchain requires the greatest change in the culture of the IT department, and 13% believed the structure of the IT department had to change in order to implement blockchain, it notes.
The survey provides evidence on the massively hyped state of blockchain adoption and deployment, says Gartner vice-president David Furlonger.
Furlonger cautioned companies against rushing into deploying blockchain technology, since that could lead to failed innovation, rash decisions and wasted investment. Blockchain requires understanding of fundamentals of its process, security law, value exchange and decentralised governance, he adds.
"It is critical to understand what blockchain is and what it is capable of today, compared to how it will transform companies, industries and society tomorrow."
Meanwhile, IDC says 2018 will be a crucial stage for enterprises as they make a huge leap from proof-of-concept projects to full blockchain deployments.
The US will see the largest blockchain investment throughout 2018, with heavy spending in financial services, manufacturing and other industries, it notes. Western Europe will be the next largest region for blockchain spending, followed by China and Asia/Pacific.
From an industry perspective, CIOs from telecom, insurance and financial services are more actively involved in blockchain planning and experimentation, says Gartner.
Also, government and utilities sectors are becoming more engaged due to the heavy focus on process efficiency, supply chain and logistics opportunities, it adds. For telecom companies, interest lies in a desire to "own the infrastructure wires" and grasp the consumer payment opportunity, notes Gartner.
According to a 2017 McKinsey report, although institutions are at different stages of experimentation, it could take three to five years for blockchain to have a material impact. The research firm expects 20 to 30 proof-of-concept use cases for blockchain technology to be tested in 2018, with 10 to 20 successful business cases surviving and deployed commercially by late 2020, it adds.
"Blockchain continues its journey on the Gartner Hype Cycle at the peak of inflated expectations. How quickly different industry players navigate the trough of disillusionment will be as much about the psychological acceptance of the innovations that blockchain brings as the technology itself," says Furlonger.
Share