A methodology for selection of a Blockchain platform to develop an enterprise system

Abstract

Blockchain technology was introduced more than a decade ago, and it has already begun to disrupt traditional business processes. After the recognition gained by Blockchain 1.0 for cryptocurrency transactions and Blockchain 2.0 for financial applications, there is a high demand for Blockchain 3.0, which focuses on using blockchain for various applications in industries other than finance. There are a plethora of permissioned and permissionless blockchain platforms that are available in the industry, and some could be used to develop an enterprise system. As a result, selection of a suitable blockchain platform to develop an enterprise system has become extremely difficult. This paper introduces a methodology for selection of a suitable blockchain platform for resolving industry or enterprise issues where blockchain provides a plausible solution.The methodology comprised of four stages; identification, selection, evaluation and validation. Initially, the available blockchain platforms are identified, followed by selecting a suitable blockchain platform using a multi-criteria decision-making method such as Simple Multi Attribute Rating Technique (SMART). Subsequently, the selected system is evaluated in detail considering the system architecture, libraries, tools, domain-specific applications and capability analysis of the selected blockchain platform. The proposed methodology has been validated through developing a blockchain-based enterprise solution. The process protocol introduced in this study could be used by any stakeholder to select a suitable blockchain platform to develop a blockchain application despite its scale.