Disruptive innovation: The rocky road to Web3

Recently, HFS hosted a summit in London where Dr. Mary Lacity, David D. Glass Chair and Distinguished Professor of Information Systems, Director of the Blockchain Center of Excellence, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, shared her insights on the growing importance of Web3 and how verifiable credentials are one of the leading use cases today.

Public blockchain technology has emerged as a critical component in fostering individual empowerment and ensuring a secure, private online experience. The transition to Web3 is marked by innovative solutions gradually revolutionizing how we manage our digital identities and interact with the online world. Mary discussed the current trends in public blockchain adoption, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for enterprise technology and business leaders, particularly regarding verifiable credentials.

Web3 has the power to fix the inequalities of Web2—and it’s powered by a public blockchain

Mary started her keynote by outlining the potential of Web3, explaining how it can empower individuals with freedom and privacy and allow them to monetize their assets—fundamentally fixing the inequalities of Web2, which sees central intermediaries profiteering from user data. Mary used the Brave Browser as an example of a completely new Web3 business model. It doesn’t track user activity, it blocks advertisements, and it even allows users to be paid if they choose to watch advertisements.

Public blockchains underpin the new Web3, says Mary, and HFS’ research supports the assertion; we have previously written about Ethereum becoming the number one blockchain for enterprises. Mary explained that private permissioned blockchains use few of the Web3 building blocks; she advised that the industry can be measured in tens or perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars. On the other hand, public blockchains are fundamental for the future of Web3 and represent a trillion-dollar industry—but what does that mean for enterprises that have spent the last five adopting private blockchains?

We went from studying enterprise adoptions to enterprise autopsies.

— Dr. Mary Lacity, David D. Glass Chair and Distinguished Professor of Information Systems, Director of the Blockchain Center of Excellence, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas

After outlining the failures of flagship initiatives like TradeLens, B3i, and we.trade, Mary was keen to emphasize that enterprise blockchain is not dead. Private blockchain networks will work for some ecosystems, particularly where regulations or powerful trading partners coerce adoption. But for most enterprises, it requires a different approach, which is (unsurprisingly) public blockchains.

Verifiable credentials have an impact

To use public networks, enterprises need to know their customers, suppliers, and employees. Mary passionately discussed the potential of verifiable credentials and the impact they could have on the digital economy. Highlighting how they change the way individuals establish trust and manage online identities, she emphasized the decentralized approach that puts individuals in control of their personal information and enables secure and private connections.

But Mary didn’t stop at theory—she made it real. Explaining how the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) struggled with the lengthy and costly process of moving doctors between hospitals, Mary told us that a million doctors move across 1,200 hospitals annually, taking an average of two days per transfer. To address this, the NHS launched a “digital staff passport” pilot in 2019. By December 2022, 100 of 1,200 NHS hospitals had adopted the system.

The benefits were evident. The passport system reduced onboarding time to minutes, decreased administrative costs, and gave healthcare professionals more control over their personal information—all while delivering improved patient outcomes.

The Bottom Line: The shift toward Web3 is coming, and enterprises must focus on business value to drive tangible benefits and create a more equitable and user-centric online experience.

Despite the early failures of enterprise blockchain, Web3 is coming. Smart enterprises are already dabbling in enabling technologies, including blockchain, to ensure they are ahead of the curve. The key to ensuring the success of your initiative, says Mary, is focusing on the business value rather than the underlying technology. That’s what drove the NHS engagement forward. Further, Mary’s enthusiasm demonstrated that verifiable credentials are revolutionary, paving the way for a new era of online transactions and interactions prioritizing security, privacy, and individual control.

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