Only 34% of CIOs Not Interested in Blockchain – Survey

Blockchain adoption, while slow, is definitely inching forward, according to a survey by Gartner, an American research and advisory company.

Out of more than 3,000 Chief Information Officers (CIOs), 34% said their business had absolutely no interest in the technology, while the others are at varying stages of adoption – even if they are only thinking about it.

David Furlonger, vice president and Gartner Fellow, says for their official press release, “This year’s Gartner CIO Survey provides factual evidence about the massively hyped state of blockchain adoption and deployment. It is critical to understand what blockchain is and what it is capable of today, compared to how it will transform companies, industries and society tomorrow.”

Although the majority is aware of the technology and would consider implementing it, they still have no action planned. Others are moving forward with more concrete plans. Furlonger is of the opinion that there are several key obstacles to the adoption, saying: “The challenge for CIOs is not just finding and retaining qualified engineers, but finding enough to accommodate growth in resources as blockchain developments grow. Qualified engineers may be cautious due to the historically libertarian and maverick nature of the blockchain developer community.”

CIOs from telecom, insurance and financial services indicated being more actively involved in blockchain planning and experimentation than CIOs from other industries. However, transportation, government and utilities sectors are now entering the blockchain space as well, due to the focus on process efficiency, supply chain and logistics opportunities.

Furlonger adds, “[Blockchain] implies that traditional lines of business and organization silos can no longer operate under their historical structures.”

USD 945 million was spent on blockchain solutions in 2017 and the spending is expected to grow on a robust rate, reaching USD 9.2 billion in total by 2021, according to the Worldwide Semiannual Blockchain Spending Guide, as reported by Cryptonews.com.