Ever since blockchain technology came to light in 2009, it has worked its way up from being little known to a technology that is potentially disrupting traditional systems. One could liken it to the internet and how it revolutionized business and personal interactions. While blockchain has not yet reached the status of the internet, outside cryptocurrency, reports show tremendous potential. Investors placed about $23.7 billion into blockchain startups between 2013 and 2019.

As the interest in blockchain and distributed ledger technology continues to rise, so is the interest in creating decentralized applications. dApps, as they’re better known, are characterized by three main characteristics; they’re distributed, transparent and resilient in nature. Blockchain, the technology behind dApp development, is modification resistant and is decentralized.

What is a dApp?

These are apps that run on a blockchain or peer-to-peer network with no central governing authority. At the core of a dApp development is the backend code or smart contract. Building on blockchain makes it decentralized, enabling the distribution of the transactional burden on multiple machines. The code is also immutable and tamperproof.

These apps allow individuals or teams to manage the flow of a project using visual cues like cards or lists to represent individual tasks. What is a workflow app?

A standard web application runs on a computer system operated by a central organization with full authority over the app and its operation. A dApp may feel like a standard app to an average user, but the underlying technology is quite different.

Features of dApps

A dApp developer will generally be looking to build an application that gives users more power and control over the data managed by the apps. For an application to qualify as a dApp, it should have characteristics that meet the following criteria.

  • Open Source: It should be freely available and capable of modification and redistribution by the consensus of users. The base code should be made available for scrutiny.
  • Decentralized: All the application’s records must be hosted and stored publicly on a decentralized blockchain.
  • Deterministic: The same action performed on different nodes should give the same result.
  • Distributed:  Should rely on complex cryptography to verify transactions.
  • Isolated: If the code happens to have a bug, the bug won’t impact the blockchain network’s normal functioning.
  • Protocol: The dApp community must be in consensus on cryptographic algorithms showing proof of value.

If you look at the definition of dApp and the characteristic features, the first dApp can be said to be Bitcoin.

 Benefits of dApp For Business

Decentralized applications seek to break the limitations of standard apps to ensure that data is more secure and transparent workflows and systems. More and more business leaders are moving towards blockchain-based apps for more efficient and secure business processes.

Alternative for Data Storage

Cloud storage is mainly centralized and governed by organizational authorities. This raises questions on the issue of data privacy, protection, ownership, and control. dApps can ensure that instead of relying on a third party for data storage, data storage is more secure and private.

Decentralized Information Control

With a decentralized structure, each party can run the app without the need to trust the other parties on the network. The design itself is modification proof, and so parties don’t need any authority to act as an intermediary.

Business Innovation and Intelligence

They provide businesses with a new way of reducing running costs by eliminating third parties and creating better and transparent payment systems. They help reduce time wasted when using intermediaries and improve trust in the entire ecosystem.

Data integrity

Data on the blockchain is permanently stored, making dAppas resistant to alteration and modifications. Once the information is added, no one can change it; it remains transparent to users who can easily verify it.

Less downtime

Since dApps don’t need to connect through a centralized server, they’re more robust than standard applications. This means that a business will see minimal interruptions, if ever, which enhances business resilience and continuity.

Reduced Costs

The transaction speed in dApps is relatively high, and that means a reduction in costs. In addition, a business does not need to invest and install servers or workers or a team to manage and maintain data. This further reduces the cost of operation significantly and increases profits.

Better Security

With dApps, there is no single point of failure, making them more resistant to hacking. For a dApp to fail, every computer in the network must fail, and that’s practically impossible.

Decentralizing the Future

With blockchain technology, the development of apps has also evolved through dApps. They enhance the features in standard mobile and web apps but give much more as well. Because of their decentralized nature, they provide better security, storage, and elimination of third parties.

From how technology looks today, the adoption of blockchain technology in business is inevitable. This may render many current practices and systems obsolete. Many industries such as Fin-Tech, healthcare, supply chain, and others are increasingly adopting blockchain solutions. This helps them keep data private, transparent and secure while operating in an autonomous, trustless, and decentralized network.