New Era in Distributed Computing with Blockchains and Databases

Explore the emerging era of distributed computing with blockchains and databases in this distinguished lecture by Dr. C. Mohan from IBM Almaden Research Center. Delve into the growing popularity of blockchains as shared, replicated, and distributed ledgers, and their application in commercial and permissioned environments. Learn about pioneering efforts by major tech companies and industry players in adapting blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrencies. Discover various blockchain projects, their architectures, and approaches to specific technical areas, with a focus on how traditional and modern data stores are utilized. Compare replication methods in traditional distributed database management systems with those in blockchain systems. Gain insights into potential application areas for blockchain technology, including smart contracts, supply chain management, and provenance management. Understand the current state of blockchain standardization and the numerous open problems in this nascent field, encouraging database and distributed systems researchers to get involved. This lecture, originally delivered as the opening keynote at the 37th IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems, provides a comprehensive overview of the intersection between blockchain technology and database systems, presented by a renowned expert in the field.