Blockchain - The Next Big Thing for Middleware

Fascinating new technologies are emerging these days. Everybody talks about cloud, containers, big data and machine learning. Another disrupting technology is blockchain. You might have heard about blockchain as the underlying infrastructure of Bitcoin. But Bitcoin is just the tip of the iceberg. This article explains the use cases and technical concepts behind blockchain, gives an overview about available services, and points out why middleware is a key success factor in this space.

Keywords: blockchain, bitcoin, integration, middleware, event processing, streaming analytics, api, open api, api management, security, hyperledger, ethereum, blockchain as a service, BaaS, cloud, SaaS, Microsoft, Azure, Bletchley, open source, IBM, Bluemix, identity management, key management, cryptography, use cases, scenarios, internet of things, lazooz, OpenBazaar, Skuchain, Internet of Things, Smart Contract, ether, architecture, machine learning, big data, real time, analytics, software AG, tibco software, tibco, interledger

Transcript

1. Kai Wähner Technology Evangelist kwaehner@tibco.com LinkedIn @KaiWaehner www.kai-waehner.de October 2016 Blockchain – The Next Big Thing (for Middleware)?
2. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. 1. Motivation and Use Cases for Blockchain 2. Technical Concepts and Frameworks 3. Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) 4. Blockchain and Middleware Agenda
3. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. 1. Motivation and Use Cases for Blockchain 2. Technical Concepts and Frameworks 3. Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) 4. Blockchain and Middleware Agenda
4. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Bitcoin – Just the Tip of the Iceberg! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSP-taqLWPQ Let’s watch a 5min intro first…
5. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. There were more than 710 cryptocurrencies available for trade in online markets as of 11 July 2016 and more than 740 in total but only 9 of them had market capitalizations over $10 million. Altcoins (= Bitcoin Alternatives) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cryptocurrencies https://bitcoinlife.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/holy-crap-i-get-altcoins-now/ 1 Altcoin is not Blockchain!
6. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. … is a layer under the hood of a cryptocurrency! Blockchain http://www.ibm.com/blockchain/what-is-blockchain.html
7. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. … is all around “the transfer of assets within a business network” http://www.ibm.com/blockchain/what-is-blockchain.html Blockchain
8. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Blockchain goes way beyond financial transactions OpenBazaar Open your own shop without Ebay or Amazon as intermediary Internet of Things and Smart Contracts Probably the next “big thing” for Blockchain after financial industry Lazooz Ride-sharing for collaborative transportation Skuchain Next Generation Supply Chain Management
9. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. • Innovate and provide new services and distributed applications • Enable Smart Contracts to cut out the [expensive and / or slow] middleman in many industry scenarios streamlining processes like settlement. • Today just scratching the surface of possible use cases. Can’t really imagine yet what customers and partners will build (this is similar to Open API initiatives, but more “extreme”) Why Blockchain?
10. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Blockchain as Disruptor for existing Businesses (beyond Banks) http://www.slideshare.net/CoinDesk/state-of-bitcoin-and-blockchain-2016-57577869/96 https://www.flightright.com/ http://www.travelguard.com/travelinsurance/flight.asp
11. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. 1. Motivation and Use Cases for Blockchain 2. Technical Concepts and Frameworks 3. Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) 4. Blockchain and Middleware Agenda
12. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. A blockchain is a protocol and ledger for building an immutable historical record of transactions. Implementation of a Ledger • Ledgers record transactions – the passing of value from owner to owner • Transactions are time based • Once a Transaction is recorded you cannot alter it • You need to be able to detect if your ledger has been altered What is a Blockchain? http://www.slideshare.net/Blockstrap/cbgtbt-part-1-workshop-introduction-primer
13. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. No new technology in blockchains, just lots of it combined in a new way. 1. A data structure called the blockchain which serves as the back-end database. 2. A cryptographic token, e.g. the Bitcoin (BTC) in the Bitcoin protocol or ether (ETH) for Ethereum. 3. A peer-to-peer network for discovery and communications. 4. A consensus formation algorithm. Most enterprise blockchains will not use mining (like Bitcoin) for consensus. 5. A virtual machine that enables programmable money in Bitcoin and decentralized applications in Ethereum . Key Characteristics of Blockchain https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/ethereum-blockchain-as-a-service-now-on-azure
14. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Blockchain Network and Shared Ledger https://new-console.ng.bluemix.net/docs/services/blockchain/ibmblockchain_overview.html “Blockchain consists of a network, over which members track and exchange assets, and a record of all exchanges (ledger), which is replicated to all participating members. Applications deployed to a blockchain consist of a self-executing contract and a client-side application that interfaces with the network through an SDK or API.”
15. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. • Public vs private (internal / partner) • Adopted vs. new vs. dead • Different characteristics (speed, security, consensus algorithms, etc.) Variety of Blockchain Technologies http://www.blockchaintechnologies.com/blockchain-mining
16. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. There is no Blockchain Standard yet, but at least… https://r3cev.com/ http://www.digitalchamber.org/smart-contract-alliance.html
17. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Hyperledger https://www.hyperledger.org/ https://github.com/hyperledger
18. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Ethereum https://www.ethereum.org/ https://consensys.net Ether is to be treated as "crypto-fuel", a token whose purpose is to pay for computation, and is not intended to be used as or considered a currency, asset, share or anything else.
19. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Not 100% comparable, but Hyperledger ”is more like” a IaaS (e.g. AWS in the public cloud or OpenStack on premise). Ethereum “is more like” a PaaS (e.g. CloudFoundry or OpenShift). Hyperledger vs. Ethereum
20. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. • Hyperledger (Hyper Ledger Foundation) is a newly initiated open source project of the Linux Foundation that was spun out of Digital Asset following the acquisition of Hyperledger. Hyperledger is a “Unspent Transaction Output-based protocol (UTXO)”. A key difference to Bitcoin and Ethereum: Open governance. The project will serve as a development library that firms can use to build their own distributed ledgers without needing to rely on public blockchains such as those used in bitcoin and Ethereum • Ethereum (Ethereum.org) is a fully-functioning, publicly accessible, uncensorable smart contract network. Ethereum is a smart contract-based protocol. It is open source but it's governed by the board of the Ethereum Foundation, not an open technical committee. Differences between Hyperledger and Ethereum
21. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. 1. Motivation and Use Cases for Blockchain 2. Technical Concepts and Frameworks 3. Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) 4. Blockchain and Middleware Agenda
22. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. • IBM and Microsoft are taking a leading role • Offering cloud platforms for development and enterprise scale • Based on open technologies and frameworks • Portfolio includes blockchain offerings plus integration into their other cloud services Blockchain Offerings
23. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. IBM – Blockchain on Bluemix Leverages the Hyperledger Project
24. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. IBM – Blockchain on Bluemix Testing with Swagger REST UI Blockchain Monitor
25. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Microsoft – Blockchain on Azure https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/ethereum-blockchain-as-a-service-now-on-azure/ Leverages the Ethereum Project
26. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. 1. Motivation and Use Cases for Blockchain 2. Technical Concepts and Frameworks 3. Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) 4. Blockchain and Middleware Agenda
27. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. “Blockchain will be a workhorse, but behind the scenes.” Translated: Blockchain will not be important for most business users, but a key component for distributed infrastructure (and middleware) applications under the hood! Is Blockchain just a Hype? https://www.rtinsights.com/blockchain-challenges-pki-hype
28. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. • Integration of many different data sources in real time • Blockchain Clients • Backends (ERP, CRM) • Legacy systems • Cloud services • … • Gateway and API Management • Combination of different blockchains • Correlation of events in real time • Data discovery to find insights • Identity and Key Services • Crypto Services Why Middleware in Combination with Blockchain?
29. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Reference Architecture for Blockchain and Middleware Operational Analytics Operations Live User Interface Blockchain Real Time Integration Streaming Analytics Action Aggregate Rules Stream Processing Analytics Correlate HISTORICAL ANALYSIS Data Sheets BI Data Scientists Cleansed Data History Data Discovery Enterprise Service Bus ERP MDM DB Host SOA Data Storage Integration Bus API Complex Event Processing Machine Learning Big Data Blockchain Network A (Hyperledger) Blockchain Network B (Ethereum) Blockchain Real Time Integration Continuous query processing Alerts Manual action, escalation
30. © Copyright 2000-2016 TIBCO Software Inc. Getting Started with TIBCO Middleware and Blockchain 1) Spin up an Blockchain BaaS instance 2) Run Blockchain Hello World example 3) Import Swagger REST interface into TIBCO’s Integration Middleware • BusinessWorks 6 (BW6), BW Container Edition (BWCE) or TIBCO Cloud Integration (TCI) 4) Implement a first integration service 5) Or correlate blockchain events with TIBCO’s Streaming Analytics • TIBCO StreamBase, TIBCO Live Datamart 6) Or discover insights in historical data via TIBCO’s Visual Analytics • TIBCO Spotfire 7) Apply Machine Learning • TIBCO Runtime for R (TERR), Apache Spark ML, H2O.ai • In combination with Visual Analytics and / or Streaming Analytics
31. Questions? Please contact me! Kai Wähner Technology Evangelist kwaehner@tibco.com @KaiWaehner www.kai-waehner.de LinkedIn