Indian IT consulting firms are seeking to implement a blockchain application that could greatly benefit their clients in the financial sectors.
The “disruptive technology” is “a game-changer,” said a senior executive at Infosys, who has worked with a team of 20 Infosys employees in Palo Alto and Bengaluru offices to evaluate possible blockchain applications that could help clients.
Vishal Sikka, Infosys CEO and head of Infosys’ core banking product Finacle, has hired executives to further explore blockchain technology. A Finacle executive said:
“The thing with this (Blockchain) is that we still do not know the full technology impact it can have. More than just knowing the payments, we can get insights in legal documents, or use for even credit-worthiness of parties. All this obviously makes your (core banking) product stand out.”
Following the trend, several Indian software services providers and IT consulting giants — Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Tara Consultancy Services Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. — have shifted their focus of investments to Bitcoin’s blockchain technology. They have begun to explore its use cases, and the potential implementation of the blockchain technology in their day-to-day operations.
While bank transfers and settlement of payments normally take three days, to even weeks, blockchain-based payment verification systems secured by multisignature technology take less than 10 minutes, while guaranteeing top-tier security standards.
The IT consulting firms are searching for startups and applications of the blockchain that could optimize transactions that will cut costs of settling international payment transfers.
Currently, many use cases of the bitcoin blockchain are being explored and adapted by well-established financial institutions and multinational tech corporations. Indian IT consulting firms such as Cognizant are most likely to implement multisignature biometric data-based system technologies, which could be integrated to optimize the company’s employee payout system, and to support its clients in the financial sector.
“The blockchain is now being discussed beyond its role in virtual currency,” said Lawrence Wintermeyer, CEO of Innovate Finance. He continued:
“IBM for example, is testing blockchain for the Internet of Things and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) is exploring blockchain use to potentially reduce costs for international payments, and offer different ways of handling international payments. Organizations such as the Gates Foundation are exploring how blockchain can become a financial solution that can reach the unbanked.”