Engineering the Future of Software
Feb 25–26, 2018: Training
Feb 26–28, 2018: Tutorials & Conference
New York, NY

Are you really sure you want a blockchain?

Ben Evans (jClarity)
10:45am–12:15pm Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Business solutions, Distributed systems, Fundamentals
 Location: Mercury Ballroom
Secondary topics:  Best Practice, Overview
Average rating: ****.
(4.00, 10 ratings)

Who is this presentation for?

  • Architects, technical leads, and CTOs

Prerequisite knowledge

  • A basic understanding of computer science, especially hashing
  • Familiarity with distributed systems (useful but not required)

What you'll learn

  • Understand what a blockchain is at a technical level
  • Learn the basic types of blockchains and when they are (and aren't) appropriate

Description

In 2017, blockchains have definitely gone mainstream. Every major vendor and consulting firm seems to be offering blockchain solutions to business problems. However, a large amount of the coverage is still driven by vaporware and a certain measure of hype. How can architects move beyond the noise to determine whether a blockchain is actually useful for their projects?

Join Ben Evans to learn the basic technology underlying the blockchain, explore real use cases, and find out how to avoid antipatterns.

Topics include:

  • Distributed ledger basics
  • Smart contracts
  • ICOs
  • Common pitfalls and dangers
  • Positive use cases
  • Alternatives to the blockchain
Photo of Ben Evans

Ben Evans

jClarity

Ben Evans is cofounder of jClarity, a startup that makes performance tools for development and ops teams. Previously, Ben was chief architect for listed derivatives at Deutsche Bank, performance tested the Google IPO, worked on the initial UK trials of 3G networks with BT, built award-winning websites for some of Hollywood’s biggest hits of the ‘90s, developed some of the UK’s very first true ecommerce websites, and provided technology to help some of the UK’s most vulnerable people. Before joining the tech industry, Ben was a researcher in theoretical physics, working on theories that are now being tested at the LHC. Ben helps to run the London Java Community and represents the user community as a voting member on Java’s governing body, the JCP Executive Committee. He is a Java Champion and JavaOne Rock Star speaker. Ben is author of 4 books on Java and the JVM and writes regularly for industry publications. He’s also a frequent speaker at technical conferences worldwide. Ben holds a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge.

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Comments

Picture of Ruben Sousa
Ruben Sousa | INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER
03/06/2018 5:22am EST

Hi Ben,
thanks for sharing your knowledge during the conference. I couldn’t attend your session and was wondering if you will be posting your slides to be used as reference later?
Thanks in advance for posting,
Ruben