Deloitte: More than 20% of companies have successfully deployed blockchain technology, and the financial services sector no longer occupies an advantageous position

While the financial services sector still accounts for a large portion of blockchain investment and activity, the technology is gradually transitioning to other sectors. In 2017, blockchain will see the greatest adoption in the consumer goods and manufacturing, technology, media and communications industries.

Deloitte recently conducted an online survey of 308 US executives familiar with blockchain, all from companies with annual revenue of more than $500 million. The survey results showed that 21% of the companies have already deployed blockchain technology in their products, and 25% of the companies said they plan to adopt the technology next year.

During the survey, Deloitte found that the companies with the fastest blockchain development and deployment were from the technology, media and communications, and consumer products and manufacturing sectors, of which 30% had already used the technology for product development.

Executives in the consumer products and manufacturing industries are particularly optimistic about blockchain, with 42% of respondents in the industry planning to invest at least $5 million in the technology next year. The technology, media and communications industry ranked second with 27% of people paying attention, and finally the financial services sector, where the investment in blockchain has shown a clear downward trend, with only 23%.

At the same time, only 12% of the financial services companies participating in the survey have deployed blockchain technology. However, they also plan to implement detailed deployment plans next year.

Eric Piscini, blockchain leader at global financial services giant Deloitte, said:

Most financial services companies have begun to engage with blockchain technology in various ways, including setting up labs, investing, and conducting pilot projects. Other industries have also begun to realize the disruptive impact and new opportunities brought by blockchain.

The survey also found that respondents have varying degrees of understanding of blockchain technology. 39% of corporate executives have little knowledge of the technology, and some are completely unclear about the significance of blockchain. However, those who are familiar with blockchain believe that the technology is very important to their company and their industry: 50% said that if their company is not in a favorable position to deploy blockchain, they are likely to lose their competitive advantage; 42% believe that blockchain can completely subvert their industry.

David Schatsky, Managing Director at Deloitte, said:

It’s fair to say that some industries are still skeptical about blockchain’s potential. A quarter of respondents said their companies see blockchain as an important technology and a top five strategic initiative for corporate development. But a third of executives believe the technology is just hype.

The survey results also include the main barriers to blockchain adoption, including the lack of technical standards and regulatory uncertainty. 48% of participants believe that if the federal government takes positive measures to regulate blockchain business, the technology may soon become mainstream.