The blockchain technology is relatively new and opened the door to an exciting world of opportunities. Though entrepreneurs, developers, and investors are all trying to use and maximize the benefits of the blockchain, everyone is still a beginner in understanding the blockchain.

blockchain technology

You must be fascinated with the growing talks about BitCoin, cryptocurrency, digital wallets, digital signatures and authentication, and many other things, and would like to try your hands on these new features and technologies in the market.
Whether you are a newbie or not, getting the best of anything requires a lot of learning, time, energy and money. Same is with the blockchain technology.

Here we provide few skills that you must develop to be blockchain proficient.

1. Understanding the Business Drivers and Outcomes

Blockchain business models are primarily focused on technology and less on simplification of the business process, so it is crucial to understand the business outcomes.

Also, you need to know the data flow and how to bring trading partners, suppliers, and customers under the blockchain environment.

2. Learning to Create Blockchain Services

The blockchain is the newest kid in the industry and still in the development phase. Once you get expertise in the technology, you must be able to provide or create services which incorporate blockchain.

Once internet got popular in the 90s, anyone with a practical knowledge of HTML was in huge demand. Same will happen with blockchain. So you must be far-sighted to look for opportunities where you can use your expertise, opening many business opportunities.

3. Acquiring Interoperability

With the conception of different cryptocurrencies and applications, the communication is bound to be complex. So it is important to maintain interoperability between the various platforms that use the blockchain technology.
In order to reduce latency and improve versatility, you must develop an open-source business model which can integrate your current enterprise systems with blockchain applications.

4. Understanding Smart Contracts

If your business requires having contractual agreements, you must understand how smart contract can benefit you.

Smart contracts are not applicable to all blockchain applications, but having the sound knowledge of smart contracts can provide you with a top-notch against other blockchain peers.

5. Develop a T-shaped Personality

A T shaped personality is the one who is efficient to perform both vertically and horizontally.

In other words, it is not sufficient to possess only blockchain skills. A blockchain practitioner is expected to possess cross-disciplinary skills as well.
At times, you may need to integrate IoT or AI with blockchain for creating a solution. In such scenarios, you need knowledge and expertise in different areas.
Blockchain single-handedly doesn’t achieve anything. It gives the required benefits when it is integrated with some other business or technology.

6. Choosing Appropriate Platform

Having a variety of the same thing often creates confusion. Same is with the blockchain platforms.
There are various blockchain platforms like Hyperledger Fabric, Ethereum, Ripple, Corda and Stellar which provide different solutions to different concerns.
Before finalizing any platform, it is important to know about their pros and cons as no one platform suits all the requirements.

7. Understand Blockchain Security

The blockchain is a decentralized distributed library of ledgers which is maintained as an open source repository available to all.

Blockchain security options regarding identity, data, and infrastructure are often contradictory to the usual data security measures.

Hence, it is important to learn about cryptography, hashes, digital signatures and architectures to implement blockchain security and prevent cyber attacks.

8. Using Blockchain for Simplification

The blockchain is not a replacement to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). However, it can be used to simplify the complex business processes like cross-border transactions.

So it is essential to have a sound knowledge about strengths and weaknesses of blockchain and use them to your advantage.

9. Understanding of Architectural Patterns

Having knowledge of different blockchain architectures will let you evaluate which blockchain based solutions are more cost-effective and secure as compared to the available alternatives.

Also, it will make you the right person to ask for suggestions and assistance regarding the technical designs of other blockchain partners.

10. Knowledge of Standards

With the expansion of blockchain industry, comes the requirement for standardization.

Initiatives like ISO/TC 3017 have taken it upon themselves to create a set of standards for blockchain technology.
These standards are going to play a large role in the evolution of the blockchain ecosystem. So you must be updated with the standards to stay competitive in the field.

Conclusion

Most people have this understanding that blockchain is all about cryptocurrencies like BitCoin. But when they dive into the depth of the blockchain, they find a whole new world of possibilities.

Cryptocurrency is the most known use of blockchain technology, but it is highly speculative in nature. Blockchain technology as a whole is solid and revolutionary.

So if you become an expert in the above-mentioned skills, you open yourself to greater prospects whether it is in the field of business, jobs or startups.