Blockchain technology makes paperless offices a reality
In a world where nearly everything is digital and online, the ongoing paper storage of certain high-value documents seems increasingly anachronistic. Paper is heavy but also fragile; storing it is difficult and expensive. Organisations that secure large quantities of paper documents are well aware of the inconvenience. Such organisations have tried many document-management technologies. Yet none has emerged that is simultaneously secure, legal, and long lasting. Until recently, paper remained the only medium that satisfies all such requirements. Now the EU-funded B4TDM project has developed a digital ‘trusted document management’ system that does meet those requirements. Focused on providing a complete solution for managing contracts, the system uses a combination of distributed ledger (blockchain) and digital-signing technologies. The system processes and publishes both public and private documents. This is possible using securely protected digital identities, which are compliant with digital privacy legislation.
Blockchain-distributed ledger system
Key to the system is blockchain technology, as used in cryptocurrencies. “Blockchain is a kind of database that is cryptographically secure and decentralised,” explains Bogumiła Cebelińska-Woźniak, project coordinator. “Instead of relying on a central server, the blockchain is distributed among a number of independent nodes.” In practice, the blockchain data structure makes it very difficult to change one record without simultaneously changing all others in a complex connected series, held redundantly at multiple sites. Thus, any change can be readily identified. This provides an unsurpassed degree of authentication that is effectively tamper-proof. A key priority for the research team was to use blockchain technology to support a paperless office. Blockchain allows strong authentication, but by itself does not eliminate paper. That comes with the addition of project lead partner Billon’s on-chain publishing technology.
Secure electronic publishing
“The technology was originally tested and used in a different context,” adds Cebelińska-Woźniak. “What we did during the project was expand its capabilities for document management and add specific functions enabling contract management. These included remote-signature capability, active delivery, digital identity management, and observer-mode functions for regulatory oversight. We also added publishing panels for corporate clients and reading panels for individuals.” These technologies are flexible and customisable according to individual user needs. This collection of features on a blockchain data structure prevents data loss and manipulation, and that is what allows for the end of paper documents. B4TDM has reached its final stage of development, whereby the product is commercially available. Potential clients hail chiefly from the financial, legal, and supply-chain sectors. One of Poland’s leading energy providers already uses it for a pilot project involving digital distribution of energy tariffs and customer contracts. Several academic institutions are also using it to digitise academic diplomas. Performance testing showed that the B4TDM system was able to add millions of documents per day to the blockchain sequence, three times more than competitor Ethereum. Furthermore, the system was more energy efficient, consuming about 70 % less power. This reduced costs by 30 %, compared to conventional paper storage. So the technology is both proven and accepted in the marketplace. The long-anticipated paperless office may have finally arrived.
Keywords
B4TDM, document, trusted document management, security, storage, blockchain, on-chain, publishing, paper, paperless, data