You don’t have it clear either, you say? You’re in the right place, because I’m going to explain it to you in this article. It is a very good opportunity to find out what exactly a blockchain consultant does. Throughout this entry, you will also do the exercise of becoming one, putting yourself in the shoes of one of them, as I will explain practical cases that we have had to apply in our daily lives. Is there a better way to understand a job than by living it? In addition, you can use it to interview candidates or select the most suitable supplier. Without further ado, let’s get started!
There are two types of blokchain consutlors, blockchain business consultants and consutlors who have a more technical profile and are also application developers and understand the programming language of the different blockchain networks. Let’s start with the first ones:
Blockchain business consultants
Before starting any blockchain project it is important to know if it is necessary to apply the technology in your processes or if decentralization will not bring you the added value for which your end customer will be willing to pay. This will be determined by a blockchain business consultant. Below I explain the profile that this professional should have.
A business blockchain consultant is a professional who has been exposed to the digitalization of companies and their processes, has a professional background advising companies in their digital transformation, either through CRMs, ERPs implementations, or developing customer communication tools, such as applications or websites. You do not need to be a programmer, but you do need to have knowledge and a bird’s eye view of the protocols to be applied in each case. You may wonder why it is necessary for them to have this background, well, it is necessary because nowadays there are no professionals with a specific training that makes them suitable for the position. Basically because the technology is very new and the use cases are growing.
If you are a company that has a quality control that is audited by your customers, such as a company that produces components for the automotive industry and the brand for which you produce the components has strict quality controls, it may be interesting for you to apply blockchain technology, along with IoT devices to certify that the orders pass the necessary standards as well as that you have delivered your goods on time.
For example, let’s say you want to prove to your customer, in this case, the car brand for which you produce the components, that the goods were in their warehouse at a specific date and time. This is a key process, as it will improve the transparency relationship with your customer, and avoid disputes arising from human error. By having an immutable record on the blockchain, you will be able to demonstrate in real time where every order the customer has paid for is. IoT devices send every 5 minutes the geolocation of all orders as they leave the warehouse. This transaction is automatically recorded in the blockchain in such a way that in this case the car brand can consult at any time where that merchandise is. This is especially significant when there are penalties for stopping the production line and delivery of components on time and in a manner that is key to the success of the business relationship.
Another example could be that there are many disputes over the quality of orders being delivered. Well, IoT devices can send recordings of your product’s production process to customers and record them on the blockchain. There is a limitation here when it comes to recording videos and or photographs within the blockchain, which today is a very expensive thing to do, as this type of file is very heavy. It is then necessary to hash the files through an algorithmic protocol such as SHA256 in order to transform the video or photo or any arbitrary block of data into a new series of characters with a fixed length, in this case 64 characters. These 64 characters that prove that this is the video of the production process of the order in question, can be recorded within the blockchain. For a more in-depth understanding of the SHA256 algorithm and to understand how a blockchain works you can refer to the following video:
As you may have seen in the video, the SHA256 algorithm is also used in many blochchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin among many others to generate the hash number that is used to enumerate each of the blockchains.
Blockchain consultants with technical profiles
Blockchain consultants with technical profiles are programmers who have undergone university computer science training and have specialized in the solidity language. This language is especially necessary for developing smart contracts within the blockchain.
A junior solidity programmer has a starting salary between 35,000 euros and 50,000 euros depending on the industry he/she will be working for. Developers with more than three years of experience who have autonomy when developing projects will have a salary between 55,000 euros and 80,000 euros.
Examples and case studies on how blockchain can be applied to your business
To understand in detail how a blockchain is used I will explain different practical examples that are being used today and that different companies are applying.
Nursing homes
To certify in real time that the necessary care is being provided to nursing home patients, through the registration of tasks recorded by the nurses.
Quality controls
In the following example Javier Belarte Ballester CIO and CDO of the KH group explains how suppliers like him bet on blockchain technology to accredit in front of big brands that quality standards are met, thanks to the hash record within the blockchain of videos and images of the production process in real time. In the following interview we analyze a complete example of how blockchain technology can help you improve the transparency of your quality controls. Go to the video above starting at minute 4:30.
Customer retention and loyalty in the jewelry industry
Jewelry representation within the digital environment through NFTs that give you access to exclusive experiences. Later in the interview, see the attached cut, we present an example of the application of NFTs. Go to the video above from minute 31:20.
Supply chain
This is the simplest example to understand. Certify through IoT devices in real time that the potatoes we are consuming were harvested and picked less than two weeks ago and that is why customers are willing to pay a premium. Go to the video above from minute 22:05.
