Big four accounting firm Deloitte unveils its “blockchain in a box”

Multinational “professional services network” Deloitte today announced the release of its “Blockchain in a Box,” a mobile platform for hosting experiments and demos of business applications of distributed ledger technology.

Communicating the unique benefits of blockchain technologies to stakeholders remains a key challenge for both startups and established businesses. Deloitte, one of the “big four” accounting organizations in the world, aims for its Blockchain in a Box to make it easier for developers to quickly prototype, demonstrate, and share projects.

What’s in a blockchain in a box?

Demoed at Consensus 2019, the platform consists of four compute nodes, three video displays, and networking components for integration with external services like cloud communication and storage.

Secure Digital (SD) cards can be used with each of the compute nodes to allow companies to quickly demonstrate and share projects. The approach provides developers with a tool for creating and sharing dapps with a minimal amount of hardware.

Rapid iteration remains an obstacle to development

The company’s Global Blockchain Survey, conducted earlier this year, demonstrated that businesses still struggle with where to get started when it comes to developing proofs-of-concept that capitalize on the unique features of distributed ledger technology. 

According to the survey, only 23 percent of the firms polled deployed a blockchain component to their businesses in 2019, compared to 34 percent the previous year. Nevertheless, 53 percent of those polled agreed that blockchain will be critically important to their organization—a 10 percent rise over the previous year.

“We believe executives should no longer ask a single question about blockchain but, rather, a broad set of questions reflecting the role blockchain can play within their organizations,” Linda Pawczuk, Deloitte Consulting LLP principal, explained in a statement.

“What’s often misunderstood about blockchain is that it is an entirety of a technology solution—when in reality, it’s a technology component that enables larger business applications and approaches. Our mobile demonstration is practical, tactical and most importantly, tangible to clients.”

If all goes according to plan, developers using Deloitte’s Blockchain in a Box will now have an easier time thinking outside the box.