The global blockchain-as-a-service market size is set to reach USD 24.94 billion by 2027, exhibiting an impressive CAGR of 39.5% during the forecast period. Multiple advantages of BaaS for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will fuel the market growth, states Fortune Business Insights™ in its recent report, titled “Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Component (Tool and Service), By Application (Smart Contracts, Supply Chain Management, Payments, Governance, Risk, and Compliance Management and Others (Identity Management)), By Industry (BFSI, Energy & Utilities, Government, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Retail & Consumer Goods, Travel and Transportation and Others (Education etc.)), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027”.
Blockchain technology is emerging as an optimal solution to many of the challenges faced by SMEs such as access to trade financing, bank loans, and cash flow difficulties, among other issues. SMEs looking to expand their businesses in foreign lands can gain wider access to trade financing sources using BaaS as this technology is decentralized and cuts out middlemen from the process. The World Economic Forum (WEF) opines that blockchain technology could be instrumental in bridging the gap in trade financing around the world. Similar benefits can be reaped by SMEs in the context of supply chain processes. Thus, these potential advantages of blockchain for SMEs will provide a significant boost to the BaaS market growth in the coming years.
Market Restraint
Heightened Vulnerability to Cyber Threats to Hamper Market Growth
The safety quotient of financial transactions has gotten considerably elevated since the advent of blockchain technology. Given its complex architecture, hacking into a blockchain-based system requires sophisticated computer skills and tools. Nonetheless, analysis by NASDAQ, one of the three stock indexes in the US, reveals that this technology is not bereft of vulnerabilities, originating primarily from the endpoints that use wallets to initiate transactions. These wallets become easy targets for hackers. For instance, a crypocurrency exchange platform, Ethereum Classic, was hacked in 2019, with the hacker rewriting the transaction history of the platform and stealing millions. During the same year, hackers stole around $40 million in Bitcoin transactions, exploiting the susceptibility of the same endpoint issue stated earlier. Thus, the constantly looming threat of cyber-attacks may prohibit the blockchain-as-a-service market growth during the forecast period.
Regional Analysis
Increasing Investment in Blockchain Technology to Drive the Market in North America
In 2019, the market size in North America stood at USD 1.01 billion owing to the vast number of blockchain development projects being undertaken in the US. One of the major reasons for the widespread development and adoption of BaaS tools in North America is the strong presence of small, medium, and large tech companies operating in the US. This, along with rising integration of BaaS solutions with public utilities services, will enable the region to dominate the blockchain-as-a-service market share in the foreseeable future.
In Asia-Pacific, the market will be mainly driven by the rising investment in blockchain technology by the Chinese government and advancements in complex computer technologies in Japan and South Korea. The BaaS market report states that Asia-Pacific will register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. In Europe, increasing focus of well-established players on blockchain technology will propel the market in the near future.
Industry Developments:
· May 2019: Microsoft and JP Morgan announced their partnership to further the advancement and adoption of enterprise blockchain. Under the partnership, JP Morgan’s distributed ledger platform Quorum will be made accessible via Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain Service to enable customers to build cloud-based blockchain networks.
· April 2018: Huawei unveiled its novel BaaS solution, called Blockchain Service, based on Linux Foundation’s Hyperledge Fabric 1.0. The solution is devised to aid companies design smart contracts focusing on supply chain, securitized assets, and public services, on top of a distributed ledger network.
List of Companies Covered in the Report:
• Huawei Service (Hong Kong) Co., Limited
• Stratis Group Ltd.
• NTT Data Corporation
• Baidu, Inc.
• Oracle Corporation
• Microsoft Corporation
• VMware, Inc.
• Infosys Limited
• Accenture Plc
• SAP SE
• Alibaba Group
• IBM Corporation
