Gartner, a leading information technology research and advisory company, has published a new document in which it profiles five blockchain pioneers for CIOs looking for bold ideas for their digital business.

Called “Cool Vendors in Blockchain Application”, the document has been authored by Gartner analysts Rajesh Kandaswamy, Fabio Chesini, and Ray Valdes.

“Blockchain can be more than a technology that solves specific problems. While it may appear to fit neatly to solve some problems (and prove totally unnecessary for many others), blockchain’ s promised capabilities can help it mature into a foundational technology that serves as the basis for many new products and services. This awareness appears to be increasing in enterprises”, Kandaswamy wrote in a blog post.

He said that according to Gartner’s forecast on business value of blockchain, the business value generated by blockchain over time will be nearly even between cost saves and additional revenue.

In the document, the analysts have profiled five companies that rely on the unique capabilities of blockchain technologies as a foundation for their business itself. These include Factom, Gnosis, OpenBazaar, SmartContract, and Synerio:

• “Factom offers a distributed recordkeeping platform using blockchain technologies.
• Gnosis offers a general-purpose, decentralized platform to create and manage any prediction market.
• OpenBazaar has developed a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) retail marketplace facilitating commerce.
• SmartContract provides what is known as an oracle for smart contracts.
• Synereo is a platform for content creators to manage and monetize their content.”

“These are interesting companies for sure, but there are many more that have emerged and a far larger group will be born over time”, Kandaswamy added.