Blockchain: How it can improve asset lifecycle management for car rental and leasing

Blockchains have been used for years now to mine and store cryptocurrencies. Why is that exciting for car rental and leasing? Because blockchain technologies are becoming a feasible innovation for all areas of business, especially for those already using flexible systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365.  Both public and private sector industries see blockchains as bringing a new level of accuracy, trust, and ease to the way that they deal with data transactions and storage.

The advertising industry plans to use blockchains to monitor its ads all over the internet. Banks and mortgage companies want to use it to track the deeds of homes and associated documentation. Shipping companies are investing in blockchain technology for bills of lading. The pharmaceutical industry wants to use the technology to verify the drug supply chain. Government sectors around the globe are catching the wave as well.

The blockchains we're discussing might or might not involve cryptocurrency. What's most important is that they are a reliable way to store and manipulate vast amounts of data. Think of a blockchain as a virtual database that is shared and maintained by a group of people and institutions. This model is different than a centralized database, mind you - no one person or entity "owns" the blockchain. Data exists in a matrix of nodes, entered, accessed, and modified by users with appropriate rights. While there isn't a central database, there is a trusted, traceable record of all changes. It's a new age of the "single version of the truth."

Let's focus on asset lifecycle management for car leasing for an example. If you're using the best ISV solutions for Dynamics 365, you're already ...