Microsoft's Project Bletchley helps to build consortium blockchain ecosystems

Microsoft has announced Project Bletchley, an architectural approach to building an enterprise consortium blockchain ecosystem. Project Bletchley comes on the heels of the launch of Microsoft Azure Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) last November.

Common themes Project Bletchley address for early adopters of blockchain:

· Platform openness is a requirement.

· Features like identity, key management, privacy, security, operations management and interoperability need to be integrated.

· Performance, scale, support and stability.

· Consortium blockchains, which are members-only, permissioned networks for consortium members to execute contracts, are ideal.

In a blog post, Marley Gray Director, BizDev & Strategy, Cloud and Enterprise, Microsoft said, "In Project Bletchley, Azure provides the fabric for blockchain, serving as the cloud platform where distributed applications are built and delivered. Microsoft Azure’s availability in 24 regions across the globe, hybrid cloud capabilities, extensive compliance certification portfolio, and enterprise-grade security enable blockchain adoption, especially in highly regulated industries like financial services, healthcare and government."

Introduced in Project Bletchley are two new concepts: blockchain middleware and cryptlets.

· Blockchain middleware will provide core services functioning in the cloud, like identity and operations management, in addition to data and intelligence services like analytics and machine learning. These technologies will ensure the secure, immutable operation that blockchain provides, at the same time, deliver the business intelligence and reporting capabilities business leaders and regulators demand. Newly developed middleware will work in tandem with existing Azure services, like Active Directory and Key Vault, and other blockchain ecosystem technologies, to deliver a holistic platform and set of solutions.

· Cryptlets, a new building block of blockchain technology, will enable secure interoperation and communication between Microsoft Azure, ecosystem middleware and customer technologies. Cryptlets function when additional information is needed to execute a transaction or contract, such as date and time. Microsoft expects that they will become a critical component of sophisticated blockchain systems, enabling all technology to work together in a secure, scalable way.

Interested?

Read the white paper.