Cloud computing company Salesforce and Raiffesen Bank International, which primarily caters to Central and East European customers, have joined the Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), an independent think-tank organized to study the strategic implications of blockchain for business, government and society.
The Institute was founded by Don Tapscott and Son Alex in 2017. Tapscott is the author of “Blockchain Revolution”, a leading book explaining the history of distributed ledger technology. While speaking at the Cisco IoT World Forum in June 2017, Tapscott senior told the attendees that blockchain was ‘nothing less tan the second era of the internet’ and ‘the biggest innovation in computer science in a generation.’
Salesforce’ CEO Marc Benioffs had recently acknowledged that the company is looking at the possibility of using blockchain technology to improve its product portfolio.
In an interview with Business Insider, Benioff had revealed how a crypto conference attendee made him think seriously about the use of blockchain technology in the company’s range of products. It was ‘serendipity’, according to Benioff.
Peter Schwartz, Salesforce SVP strategic planning said
“As with other disruptive technologies, blockchain requires deep study from a variety of perspectives to understand its broader implications. The Blockchain Research Institute is providing key insights that will help shape the future of blockchain applications as this revolutionary technology emerges.”
About Salesforce
Salesforce is the company behind the world’s #1 CRM platform that employees can access entirely over the Internet.
About Raiffeisen Bank International
RBI was established in October 2010 through the merger of Raiffeisen International with the principal business areas of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB). RBI’s position as one of the leading banks in CEE (including Austria) was further reinforced by the merger.
In Austria, RBI is one of the top corporate and investment banks. It primarily serves Austrian customers, but also international as well as major multinational clients operating in CEE. Moreover, RBI is represented in the world’s financial centers and operates branches and representative offices in Asia. All in all, RBI employs about 50 000 staff and has total assets of € 138,5 billion
Raiffeisen’s strong roots in Austria date back more than 125 years. Raiffeisen’s first Austrian credit cooperative was founded in Mühldorf, a village in Lower Austria, in 1886.
About Blockchain Research Institute
In 2017, Don and Alex founded the Institute to create a network of experts to study the strategic opportunities and implementation challenges discussed in Blockchain Revolution.The Institute is conducting over 70 research projects. Each paper will come with such digestible extras as infographics and accompanying videos.
The Institute’s program focuses on eight key sectors expected to be disrupted by blockchain:
• Financial Services
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Technology
• Healthcare
• Media & Telecommunications
• Government
• Energy & Resources
The BRI is a division of the Tapscott Group, a company incorporated in the Province of Ontario, Canada. This division of the Tapscott Group is run on a cost-recovery basis and all funds raised are allocated to conducting the BRI’s research.
Some of the prominent members of BRI are Accenture, IBM, Fujitsu, KPMG, Capgemini, Microsoft, FedEx, and Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
