區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)始于比特幣，但自那之后，它成為了眾多企業(yè)首選的宣傳辭令，用于裝點(diǎn)其通過(guò)加密技術(shù)粉飾的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)。基本上每家公司的創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目都在試驗(yàn)或至少關(guān)注這個(gè)趨勢(shì)——老板，看，我們很有創(chuàng)新力！然而，如果真的要使用這一技術(shù)的話，那么該如何使用？

答案：謹(jǐn)慎，務(wù)實(shí)

咨詢公司埃森哲的北美首席執(zhí)行官朱莉·斯威特在上周三于加拿大多倫多舉行的財(cái)富全球論壇發(fā)表演講時(shí)警告說(shuō)：“如果你是首席執(zhí)行官，而且有人向你提出了一個(gè)區(qū)塊鏈項(xiàng)目，請(qǐng)小心。”斯威特舉起了手指在空中給“區(qū)塊鏈項(xiàng)目”打了個(gè)引號(hào)。

斯威特稱，“區(qū)塊鏈?zhǔn)且豁?xiàng)技術(shù)，不是成果。”盡管這項(xiàng)技術(shù)已經(jīng)具備了“試驗(yàn)和試行成熟度”，但我們?cè)陂_(kāi)始實(shí)施前應(yīng)思考，實(shí)施這項(xiàng)技術(shù)都存在什么樣的挑戰(zhàn)，能夠帶來(lái)什么樣的機(jī)遇？

斯威特說(shuō)，從商業(yè)角度來(lái)講，公司確實(shí)應(yīng)該嘗試區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)。但各大公司必須在與技術(shù)方合作嘗試試驗(yàn)項(xiàng)目之前，確立明確的“投資回報(bào)”概念。

斯威特舉了一個(gè)例子：3月，埃森哲攜手德國(guó)運(yùn)輸業(yè)巨頭DHL開(kāi)展區(qū)塊鏈試驗(yàn)項(xiàng)目，該項(xiàng)目旨在幫助醫(yī)藥行業(yè)跟蹤和追查醫(yī)藥的供應(yīng)。該合作源于實(shí)際中存在的一個(gè)需求——從根本上杜絕假藥。公司意識(shí)到區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)對(duì)于解決這一問(wèn)題提供了一個(gè)“很大的機(jī)會(huì)”，斯威特說(shuō)道。

斯威特的第二點(diǎn)建議涉及開(kāi)展區(qū)塊鏈試行項(xiàng)目的時(shí)機(jī)和深度。她說(shuō)：“今天，鑒于該行業(yè)、技術(shù)的現(xiàn)狀及其復(fù)雜度，大多數(shù)公司仍然應(yīng)該做觀望者，而不是做第一個(gè)吃螃蟹的人。”

換句話說(shuō)，各大公司應(yīng)保持其對(duì)區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)發(fā)展態(tài)勢(shì)的關(guān)注，但不應(yīng)不加思索地為了成為第一家使用區(qū)塊鏈的公司而調(diào)整自身的運(yùn)營(yíng)。區(qū)塊鏈行業(yè)還處于初期階段，還有很多問(wèn)題有待解決。

與斯威特一同參加專題研討的還有摩根大通的區(qū)塊鏈項(xiàng)目負(fù)責(zé)人克里斯汀·莫伊，他對(duì)這位埃森哲首席執(zhí)行官的看法表示贊同。莫伊談到，她的團(tuán)隊(duì)向摩根大通不同業(yè)務(wù)線的負(fù)責(zé)人介紹了區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)概念，為的是讓他們?cè)诓捎脜^(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)之前，了解其自身的整體策略，首要任務(wù)和痛點(diǎn)。

莫伊講述了其團(tuán)隊(duì)很久以前與摩根大通理財(cái)服務(wù)部的一次合作經(jīng)歷。該部門(mén)每天處理的支付達(dá)到了數(shù)萬(wàn)億美元。當(dāng)摩根大通研究利用區(qū)塊鏈網(wǎng)絡(luò)重新改進(jìn)其跨境交易時(shí)，公司意識(shí)到這一系統(tǒng)的實(shí)施成本將超過(guò)其收益。

莫伊說(shuō)：“每個(gè)人感到有點(diǎn)迷惑，因?yàn)閺那逅愫徒Y(jié)算的角度來(lái)說(shuō)，當(dāng)前的跨境支付清算和結(jié)算機(jī)制還是可以的。”換句話來(lái)說(shuō)，摩根大通發(fā)現(xiàn)投資不能帶來(lái)合理的回報(bào)。

莫伊說(shuō)：“與拋棄老系統(tǒng)、進(jìn)行遷移并打造一個(gè)全新的系統(tǒng)來(lái)比，無(wú)論區(qū)塊鏈的優(yōu)化效果有多么好，但它在實(shí)際上并不劃算。”

因此莫伊的團(tuán)隊(duì)重新評(píng)估了其對(duì)區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)的看法。最終，公司發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)確實(shí)適用于區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)方案的實(shí)際問(wèn)題：把與國(guó)際交易制裁相關(guān)的信息合并至由往來(lái)銀行共享的單一數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)。

莫伊指出，有時(shí)候支付請(qǐng)求在通過(guò)中介銀行的“菊花鏈”時(shí)會(huì)“剛好處于進(jìn)退兩難的境地”。出現(xiàn)卡殼的原因通常是因?yàn)橐恍┿y行要求獲得更多交易接收方的信息。

“然后就是向持有信息的上游鏈條打電話、發(fā)郵件，支付方則在苦苦的等待”，莫伊說(shuō)道，并指出卡殼可能在任何地方發(fā)生，而且持續(xù)“數(shù)天甚至數(shù)周”的時(shí)間。

莫伊的團(tuán)隊(duì)認(rèn)為區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)能夠完美地解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題。她說(shuō)，如今團(tuán)隊(duì)的“銀行間信息網(wǎng)絡(luò)”已于三周前開(kāi)始運(yùn)行，擁有90多名參與者，能夠讓銀行在區(qū)塊鏈上交換信息。

一開(kāi)始，大家都認(rèn)為區(qū)塊鏈將“改變世界，而且會(huì)取消所有中間環(huán)節(jié)，包括銀行、清算所等等”，莫伊說(shuō)道。“如今我們的認(rèn)識(shí)又更進(jìn)了一步，也趨于成熟，我們認(rèn)為區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)并不具有顛覆性，只是有助于業(yè)務(wù)的轉(zhuǎn)型。”

另一名小組成員、熱銷科技書(shū)刊《區(qū)塊鏈革命》的合著者亞歷克斯·塔普斯科特則敦促人們不要總是處于觀望狀態(tài)，他指出，對(duì)于很多曾經(jīng)未能意識(shí)到互聯(lián)網(wǎng)潛力的企業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)讓它們感到措手不及，并顛覆了其業(yè)務(wù)。

塔普斯科特說(shuō)：“如果在1994年我是一名首席執(zhí)行官的話，我可能會(huì)認(rèn)為互聯(lián)網(wǎng)只是一個(gè)用于發(fā)布信息的媒介。”這種思維模式導(dǎo)致很多企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者犯了一個(gè)致命的錯(cuò)誤——忽略了這一技術(shù)的潛力，他說(shuō)道，并援引了最近西爾斯百貨（美國(guó)曾經(jīng)最大的零售商）的破產(chǎn)作為案例。

塔普斯科特還表示：“你必須向后退一步，然后去思考這項(xiàng)技術(shù)在未來(lái)的潛力。”塔普斯科特是多倫多區(qū)塊鏈研究所的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人，該研究所是一個(gè)研究區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)、與企業(yè)開(kāi)展項(xiàng)目合作的智囊團(tuán)。

然而斯威特強(qiáng)調(diào)，公司必須擁有明確的目標(biāo)，并秉持商業(yè)至上的理念。“如果這項(xiàng)技術(shù)不能帶來(lái)投資回報(bào)，那么就不值得做。”

因此，在廢棄傳統(tǒng)的系統(tǒng)、魯莽地采用區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)之前，首先請(qǐng)考慮這些高管的感悟之言：區(qū)塊鏈技術(shù)能用來(lái)干什么？我的公司在現(xiàn)在是否有必要采用這一技術(shù)？如果不采用區(qū)塊鏈的話，是不是會(huì)步西爾斯的后塵？（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

Blockchain technology began with Bitcoin, but it has since been coopted by businesses as the preferred brand name for all sorts of cryptographically spruced up databases. Just about every corporate innovation program is experimenting with, or at least eyeing, the trend—look, boss, we’re innovative! But how should companies really approach the technology, if at all?

Answer: with caution and commonsense.

“If you’re a CEO and someone is coming to you with a blockchain project, beware,” warned Julie Sweet, North American CEO for Accenture, the consulting firm, speaking at the Fortune Global Forum in Toronto, Canada, on last Wednesday. Sweet thrust her fingers upward to couch the phrase “blockchain project” in air quotes.

“Blockchain is a technology, not an outcome,” Sweet said. While the tech is “ripe for experimentation and pilots, it has to start with, what’s the business challenge or opportunity?”

The business side of a company should lead any blockchain foray, Sweet said. Businesses must have a “clear ROI,” or return on investment, in mind before partnering with the technology side to move ahead on a pilot.

In March, Accenture teamed up with DHL, the German shipping giant, on a blockchain trial designed to track and trace medicine distribution for the pharmaceutical industry, Sweet said, citing one example. The partnership started by identifying a problem—rooting out counterfeit drugs—and it recognized that blockchain tech presented a “big opportunity” to address the issue, she said.

Sweet’s second piece of advice involved when and how deeply companies should wade into the depths of blockchain experimentation. “Today, given the state of the industry, the technology, and the complexity, for most companies the answer is still going to be monitor and participate as opposed to being a first mover,” she said.

In other words, businesses should maintain their awareness of what’s going on, but shouldn’t upheave their operations in order to be the first out the gate with some ill-considered blockchain stunt. The industry is nascent, and there are plenty of kinks still to work out.

Christine Moy, J.P. Morgan Chase’s blockchain program lead, who spoke on the panel alongside Sweet, agreed with the Accenture CEO’s guidance. Moy described how her team embeds itself with the heads of J.P. Morgan’s various lines of business in order to understand their overall strategies, priorities, and pain points before pursuing a blockchain application.

Moy offered an anecdote about her team’s early experience working with the bank’s treasury services business, which handles trillions of dollars in payments per day. When the group dug into the potential for a blockchain network to revamp cross-border transactions, it realized the cost of implementing such a system would outweigh the benefits.

“Everyone was a little bit bewildered because, from a clearing and settlement standpoint, the actual mechanism of clearing and settling a cross-border payment works just fine,” Moy said. Put another way, the bank did not see a reasonable return on investment.

“Whatever incremental optimization a blockchain could enable when stood up against the business case of having to retire legacy systems and migrate off and build an entirely new system, it just didn’t really make sense,” Moy said.

So Moy’s team reevaluated its approach. Eventually, it identified a real problem that did seem suited to a blockchain-based solution: consolidating international sanctions-related information into a single database shared among correspondent banks.

Sometimes payment instructions “just get stuck in the middle” as they’re passed through a “daisy chain” of intermediary banks, Moy said. The hold-ups are often the result of some bank requesting more information about the recipient of a transaction.

“Then it’s telephone calls, emails back up the chain—who has the information—I’m waiting,” Moy said, mentioning that delays can take anywhere from a “couple days to a couple weeks even.”

Moy’s team viewed this as a perfect fit for blockchain tech. Now the team’s “interbank information network,” which went into production three weeks ago with 90 participants, she said, lets banks swap that information on a blockchain.

In the beginning, everyone thought blockchain was “going to change the world, it’s going to disintermediate everyone—banks and clearing houses and everything,” Moy said. “Now we’ve come to this next level of maturity where we think of it less as disruption and more as transformation.”

Alex Tapscott, another panelist and coauthor of a popular book on the technology called Blockchain Revolution, urged members of the audience not to get too comfortable with the wait-and-see approach, noting that the Internet blindsided—and overturned—many businesses that failed to recognize its potential.

“If I’m in the CEO seat in 1994, I might think the Internet is just a medium for publishing information,” Tapscott said. That mentality led many business leaders to fatally ignore the potential for the technology, he said, citing the recent bankruptcy of Sears, once the nation’s biggest retailer, as proof.

“You have to take a step back and understand what could this could represent down the road,” continued Tapscott, who cofounded the Toronto-based Blockchain Research Institute, a think tank that studies the technology and partners with businesses on projects.

Sweet, however, reiterated that companies must maintain a targeted, business-first focus. “If it doesn’t have an ROI, then it’s not worth doing,” she said.

So, before you go ripping up your legacy systems and diving headfirst into blockchain, first consider these executives’ words of wisdom: What is it good for? How involved should my company be at this moment? And will I end up like Sears if I don’t?