In a recent survey, consultancy giant Deloitte has found that blockchain technology is emerging as a key business focus for companies in the U.S. across many industries.

Deloitte conducted an anonymous online survey, between Nov. 14 and Dec. 1, 2016, of 308 blockchain-knowledgeable senior executives at organizations with $500 million or more in annual revenue, designed to better understand the corporate sentiment and activities surrounding blockchain technology.

The survey found that while many executives in the consumer products and manufacturing; and technology, media and telecommunications sectors are planning blockchain investments in 2017, the understanding of the technology is still uneven:

• Almost 2 in 5 (39%) of senior executives at large U.S. companies surveyed indicated they had little or no knowledge about blockchain technology.
   
• The majority (61%) of respondents claimed blockchain knowledge ranging from broad to expert, with many of these believing that the technology is crucial for their company and their industry. 55% of this group said their company would be at a competitive disadvantage if it failed to adopt the technology.
   
• 42% of those surveyed who claimed some knowledge of blockchain believe it will disrupt their industry.

Speaking of blockchain investments, the survey results show that blockchain investment and adoption patterns may be more complex than expected – 21% of blockchain-informed senior executives indicated that their firms have already brought blockchain into production, and 25% plan to do so within the next year. Moreover, 28% of these respondents reported that their companies have already invested $5 million or more in blockchain technology, with 10% investing $10 million or more. Moreover, 25% of respondents expect to invest more than $5 million in blockchain technology in 2017.

Notably, the investment and adoption patterns vary by industry, Deloitte said. Executives surveyed in the consumer products and manufacturing industry expressed the most bullish blockchain outlook, with 42% of respondents in this industry planning an investment of $5 million or more in the coming calendar year; technology, media and telecoms execs follow at 27%, and financial services at 23%.

In addition, the pace of blockchain technology deployment also varies by industry, according to the survey. Technology, media and telecoms; and consumer products and manufacturing are in the lead with nearly 30% of respondents in these industries saying their company has already brought blockchain into production. In contrast, just 12% of surveyed financial services company executives said their company has deployed blockchain in production, however, 24% said their companies plan to go live with blockchain in the coming year. Health care and life sciences have the most aggressive deployment plans of any industry: 35% of respondents in that industry said their company plans to deploy blockchain in production within the next calendar year.