Which are the good databases for Blockchain Application?

• Toshendra Kumar Sharma
• April 16, 2018

The blockchain is the most buzzing topic nowadays and for all the good reasons. Garnering the attention of many,  it has become a significant technology. It is versatile, dynamic, comes with the multitude of features which fund application is myriads of sectors like healthcare, medical, supply chain, retail, etc. Despite its recent origin, blockchain has now become an accessible technology which lays the foundation stone of the future world. From improving the operations to securing the information, this technology has it all which makes it the most popular technology in the world.

Database- The heart of any technology

Do you know what the crux of this entire discussion is? It’s the data; any technology that we work upon whether the traditional one or the futuristic, data is the heart of it. It is because of this data that the world is going balmy. From corporate houses to political parties, everyone needs data to lay the foundation for their future course of action. Whether it is political parties fighting for elections or companies planning to strategize their marketing policies or companies trying to formulate their strategies, the data is the critical source for any of these.

But what is data?

Data is any information. It can be name, age, demographic record, geographic record, choices, preferences, inclination, political interest, financial information, etc. This data collectively forms the database. The exchange of this information takes place over a system like Blockchain. When we talk about database form the blockchain perspective, then it is often in connection with the financial transactions. This technology which forms the heart of Bitcoin which came in 2009 after we got the first digital currency Bitcoin coming into the picture.

As mentioned above, blockchain comes with a series of benefits and features that make it so unique. It has decentralized control which means that no one owns or controls the network. Immutability is another vital factor which means that the data remains in the system forever and is unchangeable and unalterable. Furthermore, all the information in Blockchain is time-stamped which means you can easily trace the source and destination which makes it different and a technology par excellence.

The increasing scope of blockchain is not hidden from anyone. The single blockchain technology can be re-framed into building blocks at four levels, the likes of which include the following :

Applications

Decentralized (blockchain) computing platforms
Decentralized storage, processing, and communication
Cryptographic primitives, consensus protocols, and other algorithms.
Similar to other technologies, blockchain works with data which is stored as a part of the blockchain. Like when we transfer the money from one node to another, at the same time, all the information about the sender, receiver and the time of transfer are stored. This opens up yet another excellent option for using it as a database.

What’s a useful database?

Well, when it comes to database, I can say that it’s almost the same for both, the traditional database and the blockchain database is the same. However, the difference arises in the features which blockchain offers that are not present in the current or the traditional database. Here are some of the key features :

1. Decentralization
2. Immutability
3. Assets/exchanges

All these features, as I have already disclosed above, makes blockchain database good enough to find usage in various applications. There are companies like BigchainDB which offers blockchain database application. This company, instead of enhancing the Blockchain Technology, it makes use of big data database and merges the same with the features of blockchain like immutability, decentralized control and transfer of digital assets making it even more powerful.

Thus, I cannot say that which are the excellent database for the blockchain based application, but yes I can say that any database when merged with the features to make it useful. Such database becomes useful for IP or Intellectual Property, Digital Identities, Supply Chain and Government work. To sum up, I can say that blockchain does offer series of benefits, but it’s the database and its usefulness which makes this technology even more overwhelming.

The crux of the matter is that an excellent database is all about having features which makes it useful for various applications and at the same time it is error-free and free from any tampering making it a valuable technology for the future.