2019 ‘won’t be the year of blockchain’, says Fujitsu

Blockchain technology will not break through into the mainstream of the British transportation sector during 2019, according to 5163 Fujitsu.

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Blockchain false http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/classification-data-collection/features/blockchain-the-next-big-thing-for-its-really/ false false%> has been touted as the solution to a number of transportation issues, but Chris Patton from Fujitsu’s EMEIA transport team urges caution.

While acknowledging that the technology holds ‘exciting’ operational and commercial potential for the public transport sector, he says: “The key word there, though, is potential. While it is undeniable blockchain will make an impact, it is not yet infallible and can fall prey to cyber-attacks.”

He believes that there will instead be a plethora of small blockchain projects this year “so that technology partners can demonstrate to stakeholders the benefits”. This will then lead to take-up by bigger transport organisations.

Patton’s prediction is one of several trends which Fujitsu sees emerging over the next 12 months. In a similar vein, he sees local use cases as vital to generate sufficient momentum in public sector Mobility as a Service (8356 MaaS) projects “before national scale overhauls can be made”.

Other trends identified are the need for increased security as transport becomes more connected. “It’s crucial to remember that if they are ‘connected’ they can be compromised,” he adds.

“Throughout 2019, there will undoubtedly be more significant attacks on national organisations, across sectors, which sees customer data falling into the wrong hands,” he warns.

While autonomous vehicle ride-sharing stands to be a useful addition to public transport, “the dangers involved with data hacking mean vehicles and services must be as close to impenetrable as possible before they are made widely available to consumers”.