IBM has listed three key elements of enterprise blockchain adoption that every CEO should consider while evaluating the technology for business use.

The company recommends that enterprise adopters across supply chains and other key industries including financial services, retail, energy and others should develop a close understanding of the below listed key elements of the technology in order to derive value from it:

Potential to transform trade, transactions and business processes: IBM explains that the two concepts underpinning blockchain – business network and ledger – when taken together, make blockchain a smart, tamper-resistant way to conduct trade, transactions and business processes. The ledger, through which network members exchange assets, is synced across the network with all members needing to confirm a transaction of tangible or intangible assets before it is approved and stored on the blockchain. This shared view helps in establishing legitimacy and transparency, even when parties are not familiar with one another.

Value in the ecosystem with growth of blockchain network: A blockchain can include several different types of participants. On the basis of the number of participants in a blockchain network, the value of assets being exchanged, and the need to authorize members with varying credentials, IBM urges adopters to observe the difference between "permissioned" and "permissionless" blockchain networks. The company believes that the real value for blockchain is achieved when these business networks grow, adding that with a strong ecosystem, business networks can more easily reach critical mass allowing the users to build new business models and reinvent the transaction process.

Improve visibility and trust across business: Blockchains can reduce transaction settlement times from days or weeks to seconds by providing visibility to all the participants, IBM noted. By eliminating third-party intermediaries, the technology can also be used to cut excess costs. As blockchain is built on the concept of trust, it can help reduce risks of illicit practices carried out over payment networks, helping to mitigate fraud and cybercrimes.

According to the tech giant, speed, cost efficiency and transparency are among blockchain's most significant benefits in the enterprise and within ecosystems of companies conducting trade. 

"The visionaries adopting blockchain today are using the technology to reinvent many fundamental business practices. Working with clients to develop open source and permissioned blockchain solutions for the enterprise, we are seeing firsthand how the technology is revolutionizing the way organizations recognize value and do business with one another," said Marie Wieck, general manager, IBM Blockchain. "Critical success factors in these engagements are top-down executive support for innovative use cases and bringing key network participants into the dialogue from the start."