Page 18 - FCW, Jan/Feb 2018

Emerging Tech
automated part of a much more complex system.”
There are signs that 2018 could be more fruitful, however. Mark White, a principal at Deloitte, said he has seen a shift in federal agencies’ interest in the past six months. And he pointed out that adoption remains low for nearly every sector, but globally, governments are among the leaders in blockchain
adoption, behind the nancial services industry.
“If we move the lens to the U.S. government, while the major- ity of the work being done is still...prototypes or early-stage pilots, the stance is very aggressive,” White said. “Throughout the government, I actually can’t think of a major department
that is not at least exploring or experimenting with it.”
A look at GSA’s online U.S. Emerging Citizen Technology Atlas, which tracks the application of new technology through- out the federal government, shows that although interest is high, many agencies are still in the research and evaluation phase and exploring where the technology might be best deployed. A select few appear ready to move to implementa-
tion, however:
• The Defense Department is working on a new digital
supply chain powered by 3D manufacturing. DOD of cials envision a system in which individual parts and products are digitally shared and believe that blockchain ledgers will help protect it from cyberattacks.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent much of 2017 working on proofs of concept to use blockchain to better manage and automate the interplay between CDC’s fragmented and labor-intensive data systems. Of cials said they believe the development of usable applications in 2018 is a real possibility.
• The Of ce of Personnel Management issued a request for information in September 2017 for a new digital record system that would house all federal employee data; it includes a preference for solutions that use blockchain technology.
First to nish
Respondents’ expectations of when they will have blockchains in production and at scale
Mass adopters
48%
14%
Followers
38%
• The Treasury Department has partnered with a contractor to develop a prototype blockchain to manage physical assets, such as computers and cell phones. Of cials noted that the technology has “great potential for streamlining burdensome reconciliation operations that are involved in many nancial transactions.”
Wendy Henry, a specialist leader and federal blockchain expert at Deloitte, said the government will likely move quickly to adopt the technology in areas such as supply chain man- agement and identity management. In addition, White said Deloitte is anticipating greater contract activity around the tool in the coming year.
However, Henry said regulatory and policy implications — such as how agencies determine payment and budget responsibilities and handle the lack of ownership inherent in blockchain — will need to be eshed out before agencies can move on to wider applications.
“I think in government we’re still between that explore and experiment stage,” Henry said. Of cials are coming around to the idea that “while technology is driving the transforma- tion around what blockchain is and can be, there are a ton of other things that need to work together for a solution to drive the value it can drive.”
In other words, despite enthusiasts’ promotion of block- chain’s vast potential over the long term, the government’s use of the technology in the next year will likely be con ned to smaller, more isolated instances as agencies continue to experiment and build viable use cases to support broader adoption in the future.
“I think that the key with blockchain [right now] is not to reimagine how you can redesign your entire technology infrastructure,” Arrieta said. “The key is to ask yourself dis- passionately, ‘Can this help me solve a problem?’ And if it can, let’s try to do it in a very small fashion.” n
Trail blazers
2017 2018
2020
16 January/February 2018 FCW.COM
Source: IBM Institute for Business Value survey