How does IBM layout the global blockchain business?

       For the world's largest technology company, "small" is a relative concept.

       So when the technology group has 380000 employees, IBM said it has a "small" team responsible for block chain transaction, don't to start-up standards to imagine the size of the team because IBM can not only set up a workshop, and equipped with several engineers in it, it has also established a global network office, to achieve the existing 10, 1500 blocks of several office chain collaboration between professionals.

        Perhaps even more impressive is that all this has been done by one person: Marie Wieck, an older worker at IBM for two decades, is now the general manager of the newly created block chain. 

       Wieck explains in an exclusive interview, using its proprietary IBM block chain Platform (IBM Blockchain Platform) and open source Hyperledger Fabric build distributed network requires a lot of preparation work, IBM to help them lay the road ahead. For those who want to build their own distributed network, or even want to compete with IBM in this aspect, this article can make them a glimpse of the $135 billion the company how to develop its block chain business. 

       Wieck first from the IBM Watson headquarters in midtown Manhattan office (within the company a lot of people called it "chain blocks north"), its painted a reflected image block chain design principle of the distributed team.

       "We keep working with teams in different regions so that we can really focus on how fast we are going to market," she said.

Blockchain north

(Thomas j. Watson research center)

       At present, the work of Wieck and New York in Manhattan office Yorktown Heights (Yorktown Heights) Thomas j. Watson research center (i.e., the other half of the Blockchain North) between, she joined IBM in 1997, is the founding member of the company emerging Internet department.

        As the head of this newly established blockchain team, her job is to look for commercial use cases that can be applied to this cutting-edge technology, including XML, Web services, and mobile technology.

        "Solution" of the process, Wieck called chain around blocks north of the line mechanism, where staff can help customers around the world to use the IBM block chain platform to build your application.

        To a large extent, the IBM block chain strategy is the core part of the open source code, which allows customers to build their own distributed books, unless the customer or potential customer have in their work on block chain has made great progress, otherwise Wieck usually can't be involved.

        As for open source platform work, and the development of the IBM blockchain platform itself, it has largely occurred 511 miles south.

 Block chain south

IBM research triangle park

        Known as the "block chain South", a research triangle park in raleigh, north Carolina, it's IBM's "platform work" point, according to Wieck.

        Over the past three years, the IBM blockchain platform has been flat here. The platform aims to be an end-to-end or "full cycle" solution, where developers and administrators can experiment, build, and test the blockchain technology on time or through subscription.

        For developers around the world, it is also a place for them to seek help in building a project that bypasses IBM's proprietary platform and goes straight to its open-source core Hyperledger Fabric.

        One third of Fabric's code is used for proprietary IBM blockchain platforms, and anyone can build a new platform on top of it, or even create a direct competitor to an IBM blockchain.

Wieck says:

        "Whatever they need to do on a technical level to operate or build a blockchain network, we want to continue to expand that platform."

        Littleton laboratory in Massachusetts

 IBM quality lab at Littleton

        IBM's latest blockchain is IBM Mass Lab in Littleton, Massachusetts.

        The department, which was founded in January 2010 as the largest software development laboratory in North America, has become a satellite location service in the north of the blockchain.

        This department is not focused on providing solutions and other services, but are helping develop Wieck says "solution accelerator" or use the widget, such as IBM's the source of the engine tracking items requested by many customers.

        But crucially, it is also the base for another solution: network management.

        Based on the lessons learned from other experiments, IBM helped its new members write software through Littleton division and build consensus mechanisms so that they could find ways to agree. If something goes wrong, IBM kicks bad members out of the network.

As Wieck says:

        "The actual operating network can guarantee its size."

 IBM's garage

       In IBM's block chain affairs like most start-ups is scattered throughout the world - New York, Toronto and nice, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Austin and Melbourne nine workshop "Bluemix Garages".

        The workshop was originally launched in 2014, and the collaboration mechanism is similar to WeWork facilities, but the chosen startups can get IBM support.

        These locations gradually adapt to the growing demand of blockchain companies. In July, Bluemix Garages (pictured above) in Soho, New York, had expanded its business to support blockchain services.

        Wieck says that in these different locations, and all of the actual workshops built on open source technologies that Wieck helped develop, the basic principles that form the IBM blockchain network begin to take root.

She concluded:

        "For me, it's like a shopping mall, you probably have some of the main tenants, but unless there is a food court and good-looking film, otherwise you will not stay in the mall, you want all these value-added services in the network."