The latest analysis by research firm Gartner has painted a mixed picture of the benefits that blockchain-based smart contracts can offer enterprises. While the study, published Jan. 30, concluded that smart contracts would be overall net positive for business, Gartner warned that the terms and conditions set for smart contracts could limit the availability of data for enterprises: “This variable could leave participants in a worse position than if they did not participate in the blockchain smart contract process. As such, an organization’s overall data asset availability would decrease by 30 percent by 2023.” Nonetheless, an enterprise can expect to …

The UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) together with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Dubai Healthcare City and other relevant authorities has launched a blockchain-based health data storage platform. According to The Emirates News Agency on Feb. 2, the blockchain-based platform aims to improve the efficiency of MoHAP and other health authorities' smart health services. It will help users streamline the search for health facilities and its licensed medical and technical personnel, as well as inquire about medicine supply chains. According to Dr. Lubna Al Shaali, the Director of the Public Health Policy Department, the new data storage blockchain …

Distributed ledger technology provider Iota, Dell Technologies and the Linux Foundation are collaborating on Project Alvarium. In an Oct. 28 press release, the nonprofit Linux Foundation announced it was forming a new project with support from several major industry giants such as Dell, the Iota Foundation and IBM. Other partners to the project include edge resource marketplace MobiledgeX and global IT firm Unisys. The project, based on code from Dell Technologies, aims to build on the concept of a Data Confidence Fabric, which establishes measurable trust and confidence in data coming from multiple sources. The system would score data based …