Every fifth small business already uses blockchain
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 3:45 am
There's a lot of hype around blockchain. Should small businesses pay attention?
orange header image with a seven cube connection grid representing the blockchain
Everyone is talking about blockchain, and even the smartest small business owners are asking themselves, “Am I falling behind by not jumping on the bandwagon?”
What is blockchain?
Gartner defines blockchain as “a type of distributed ledger in which value exchange transactions are sequentially grouped into blocks. Each block is linked to the previous block and immutably recorded on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network using cryptographic trust and assurance mechanisms.”
Let me reassure you. Gartner predicts that by 2022, only 10% of enterprise businesses will achieve radical transformation through the use of blockchain technologies, while the remaining 90% will struggle with where to start with blockchain ( full content available to Gartner clients ).
In other words, many businesses don’t even know how best practices for using the contact data to make the most of blockchain. Given this reality, small businesses — with lower revenue and often tighter margins — aren’t expected to grow quickly just yet, although many are blazing a trail and already seeing the benefits of blockchain technology.
3 Key Ideas About Blockchain for Small Businesses
Let's take a look at what small businesses think about blockchain and its uses, why you don't need to worry about investing just yet, and why blockchain is worth considering in the long term.
1.
In a recent Gartner survey of small and midsize businesses (SMBs), 19% of business leaders involved in procurement technology said they are currently using blockchain.
About a quarter say they plan to use blockchain in the next one to two years or are currently evaluating the technology. About a third of small businesses do not plan to evaluate blockchain.
In other words: most SMEs have shown at least some interest in blockchain, but most have no immediate plans to fully commit to it.
A quarter of small businesses are evaluating blockchain for the near future
Small and medium-sized businesses with greater financial resources are more likely to have invested in blockchain. A quarter of high-revenue small and medium-sized businesses (between $50 million and under $100 million in fiscal year 2018) are currently using blockchain, exceeding the share of businesses with lower annual revenue.
orange header image with a seven cube connection grid representing the blockchain
Everyone is talking about blockchain, and even the smartest small business owners are asking themselves, “Am I falling behind by not jumping on the bandwagon?”
What is blockchain?
Gartner defines blockchain as “a type of distributed ledger in which value exchange transactions are sequentially grouped into blocks. Each block is linked to the previous block and immutably recorded on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network using cryptographic trust and assurance mechanisms.”
Let me reassure you. Gartner predicts that by 2022, only 10% of enterprise businesses will achieve radical transformation through the use of blockchain technologies, while the remaining 90% will struggle with where to start with blockchain ( full content available to Gartner clients ).
In other words, many businesses don’t even know how best practices for using the contact data to make the most of blockchain. Given this reality, small businesses — with lower revenue and often tighter margins — aren’t expected to grow quickly just yet, although many are blazing a trail and already seeing the benefits of blockchain technology.
3 Key Ideas About Blockchain for Small Businesses
Let's take a look at what small businesses think about blockchain and its uses, why you don't need to worry about investing just yet, and why blockchain is worth considering in the long term.
1.
In a recent Gartner survey of small and midsize businesses (SMBs), 19% of business leaders involved in procurement technology said they are currently using blockchain.
About a quarter say they plan to use blockchain in the next one to two years or are currently evaluating the technology. About a third of small businesses do not plan to evaluate blockchain.
In other words: most SMEs have shown at least some interest in blockchain, but most have no immediate plans to fully commit to it.
A quarter of small businesses are evaluating blockchain for the near future
Small and medium-sized businesses with greater financial resources are more likely to have invested in blockchain. A quarter of high-revenue small and medium-sized businesses (between $50 million and under $100 million in fiscal year 2018) are currently using blockchain, exceeding the share of businesses with lower annual revenue.