You're facing pushback from IT teams on blockchain integration. How can you win them over?

The easy answer is that you shouldn't. There are vanishingly few use cases where a blockchain makes sense, and almost none of them in a corporate environment.

A discussion around blockchain without context is a futile discussion. Organizations seeking to strategize and introduce potential value of this architecture must first contextualize the discussion by inviting team input on practical use case scenarios where blockchain could create business value, or mitigate risk for respective lines of business and associated services.

Blockchain technology benefits most where centralized systems of record will not work. There are few use cases that truly require that feature, but they do exist. If your use case is one of them, then you should be able to convey why existing solutions fall short and blockchain will actually solve your problem. Otherwise, perhaps you should listen to their suggestions on alternatives.

I believe addressing IT team concerns is paramount for successful integration. Listening to their worries about compatibility, scalability, and security is the first step. Acknowledge their expertise and collaborate to find solutions. Share examples of successful integrations in similar organizations and discuss how these challenges were addressed. Reassure your team that their role is crucial and their input invaluable. Engaging them in this process transforms resistance into support, ensuring a smoother blockchain implementation in our business.

Start by addressing their concerns head-on. Listen carefully to understand their hesitations—whether it’s about security, complexity, or resource allocation. Provide clear, data-backed explanations on how blockchain will benefit and align with current systems. Offer training sessions to ease the transition and showcase real-world success stories to build confidence.

When integrating blockchain, addressing IT concerns is crucial. I make it a priority to listen to their worries about compatibility, scalability, and security. By acknowledging their expertise, we can work collaboratively to find solutions. I share examples of successful integrations in similar organizations and discuss how challenges were overcome. It's important to reassure the team that their role is crucial and their input invaluable. Engaging them in this process turns resistance into support, ensuring smoother blockchain implementation in our business.

It is a minor-risk approach that demonstrates practical advantages without implementing it on a large scale. Select a minor, controllable area of your business operations that blockchain can promptly influence. This method enables the IT team to observe concrete outcomes, grasp the worth of the technology, and address issues in a supervised setting. Pilot initiatives not just boost confidence but also set the stage for wider acceptance.

Why would you hand off such a strategic product to another team to support? The product, weather blockchain or not, should continue to have involvement from the development team. This notion of lobbing it over the fence to IT to support is antiquated. There is a whole movement about not doing that called #DevOps. More specifically, blockchain is consistently evolving. If you do not continue to evolve the offering, it will fall apart. Keeping all the teams involved is key.

I emphasize the importance of ongoing support for our IT team during and after blockchain integration. Assure your team that they will have access to extensive training resources, direct support from blockchain experts, and a clear troubleshooting plan for any issues. Highlight that their expertise is valued and their role is critical. Knowing they are not alone in this journey can significantly reduce anxiety and resistance to change, fostering a smoother and more successful integration process.

Once the organization’s management strategically determines Blockchain adoption, this must be conveyed to the IT team. Strategic planning meetings must be held with the IT team that ultimately results in an official multi-year strategic Blockchain plan. During strategic planning the IT team is engaged and participate in multiple sessions where the IT team can understand the organizational goals, how it affects the IT team, and provide input. In the strategic sessions, the IT Team develops ; 1. Organizational IT goals and objectives, 2. Offers ideas and suggestions for the best implementation 3 determine project time line / resources (human, financial, material) 4. And ensures plan is thoroughly vetted / accepted organizationally

I understand the importance of involving our IT team in the long-term planning process for blockchain integration. It's essential to discuss how this technology fits into our broader vision for the company's digital transformation. Encourage the team to consider how their roles might evolve and the new opportunities blockchain could create. By making them part of the future planning, we give them a sense of ownership and help align their goals with the company's strategic direction. This approach not only reduces resistance but also fosters a collaborative and forward-thinking environment

Blockchain is really a niche technology. It is beneficial when you need to work in a context that spans multiple companies and organizations yet still need a centralized version of the truth. I have not come across a single-company solution using blockchain where a simple database (SQL or NOSQL) based solution would not have worked and been easier to implement. They may exist, but I have not personally come across them.