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 Learning Objectives

Why do we organise this seminar on blockchain technology ?

The technology that is most likely going to spur the most business disruption in the next decade is not social media, not big data, not the cloud, not artificial intelligence and not even machine learning. It is blockchain, the technology behind digital currencies like bitcoin, and behind global, decentralized, secure solutions for doing trusted transactions - not only money transfers, but any asset.

Blockchain technology is complex, but the idea is simple. Essentially, blockchain is a huge global distributed but shared ledger (database), running on millions of devices and open to anyone. Anything of value - money, music, houses, deeds, art, intellectual property, scientific discoveries, and even votes and identity information - can be stored, processed and transferred securely and privately.

In other words, blockchain is the first native digital medium for value, ownership and trust, just as the Internet was the first native digital medium for information and communication. Believe me, blockchain technology could have huge implications for business, government and the society. Blockchain technology may dramatically drop transaction costs for transferring all sorts of assets, while making these transactions much faster and more secure. While the first applications were in the financial services industry, there are now applications in many more industries. During this seminar, we'll show you how to prototype on the leading blockchain platform ethereum, and how to write distributed applications (DApps) and smart contracts, small applications that automate and support value transactions on the blockchain.

Blockchain is also ideal for both managing and maintaining digital identities, and will give a boost to the Internet of Things, one of the accelerators of Digital Transformation. The possibilities of blockchain technology are only as limited as our imagination. Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology will continue to grow in importance in our agile, global, digitally transformed and highly connected world. Be prepared by attending this in-depth seminar.

Who should attend ?

This workshop is aimed at anyone who wants to know more about blockchain technology, one of the most important innovations since the Internet. Blockchain is not just for the financial industry but can disrupt any industry. We organize this seminar to show you how blockchain technology can be applied in your industry, and will focus on the why, what and how.

This seminar answers these and many other questions:

• What are Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum, Hyperledger, DApps, smart contracts, the DAO, ... ?
• How does blockchain technology work and how you can use this ?
• Why and how will this change businesses, government and the society ?
• How do you start a blockchain project, and prototype a blockchain solution ?
• Where do ethereum, smart contracts and distributed apps fit in ?
• How do big companies like Microsoft and IBM look at (and try to influence) the blockchain evolution ?
• What does the future of blockchain looks like ?

Interesting links:

• Blockchains: How They Work and Why They'll Change the World - The technology behind Bitcoin could touch every transaction you ever make
• ...

 Full Programme

Sam will give you a broad introduction to Bitcoin and the blockchain, to help you understand why there are millions of people around the world that believe in it, despite the skepticism and misconceptions.

• Why do Bitcoin and blockchain exist ?
• How do they work ?
• Debunking the skepticism and misconceptions
• What can be done with blockchain technology ?
• Some business use cases

We'll dive further into the different characteristics of a blockchain network. The 4 types of existing blockchains – public/private and permissioned/permissionless – will be discussed.

• A decentralised network needs concensus mechanisms, which ones are currently used ?
• When can a blockchain improve your business? How to differentiate a good use-case from a bad ?
• Where does a blockchain fit in your current - or future - technology stack ?
• What are the different competences needed in the team to start a project ?

Bitcoin is old blockchain technology. Currently there are much more capable technologies under development. We'll discuss the differences between Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric in detail, both so-called blockchain 2.0 technologies.

• What is a smart contract and how can it benefit cross-industries ?
• What you need to know about HyperLedger, Ethereum, BigchainDB and other solutions
• How do big companies like Microsoft and IBM see the evolution and what are they investing in ?

Let's think and discuss about what your company can do with this technology. This managed brainstorming session is mainly aimed at business managers, but we'll make it useful for all.

MECOMS™ is Ferranti's flagship product that helps energy and utility companies serve their customers better. Their prospect-to-cash Meter Data Management (MDM) and Customer information system (CRM) is actually Microsoft's recommended solution for energy and utility companies across the globe.

This Belgian company now supports smart contracts using private blockchain technology (Ethereum) to allow peer-to-peer energy trading. By the way, their Mecoms product is also using Microsoft's latest cognitive solutions to revolutionise customer service via the MIA (Mecoms Interactive Agent) chatbot.

We show you how to build a blockchain from scratch. We'll guide you through the different steps needed to set up a private ethereum blockchain network. This demonstration and presentation focuses on technology, tools and skills, and contains some technical details, do's and don'ts, and coding examples.

• How to start with Ethereum ?
• Schematic overview of the toolbox and setup
• Beyond the prototype: how does it fit in my architecture ?
• Where and how do you deploy it ?
• Blockchain-ops
• How does a blockchain team look like ?

Blockchain will undoubtedly have an enormous impact on our society. But how will the technology further evolve and what are the different visions ? How it will integrate on different levels of our daily lives? Will the Internet-of-Everything (IoT/IoE), smart cities and sharing economy be built on top of blockchains ?

We'll discuss how the blockchain in combination with other technologies can bring science fiction closer to reality.

 Speakers

Questions about this ? Interested but you can't attend ? Send us an email !