IBM and R3 to scale Enterprise blockchain securely on cloud platform

IBM and R3, an enterprise software firm, are collaborting to expand choice for clients scaling blockchain technology while delivering their highest levels of performance, compliance and data privacy. As part of the collaboration, R3 announced a new open beta program to bring R3's enterprise blockchain platform, Corda Enterprise, to IBM LinuxONE next month across the hybrid cloud—both on-premises and the IBM Cloud—delivered via IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services. The R3 on IBM LinuxONE beta program will open on November 2, 2020 and be available on IBM Cloud and on-premises. General availability (GA) is expected in Q1 2021.

Enterprises, especially those in regulated industries, are increasingly looking to build blockchain solutions with advanced security and data privacy features while addressing performance. For clients with highly sensitive data and workloads such as digital identity, digital assets, central bank digital currencies, tokens, payments information, or smart contracts being spread across hybrid cloud environments, IBM LinuxONE provides a highly secured platform certified to meet the highest level of security certification commercially available.1

IBM LinuxONE and IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services provide customers with confidential computing capabilities, including 'Keep Your Own Key' workload isolation encryption capabilities backed by FIPS 140-2 Level 42 certification, tamper protection from privileged user access and encryption of all data at-rest and in-flight, making the IBM public cloud the industry's most secure and open public cloud for business.

"In keeping with IBM's efforts to bring choice to clients in the era of hybrid cloud, we support an open ecosystem of blockchain providers. Bringing R3 to IBM LinuxONE is another exciting example of leveraging our highly secured Confidential Computing capabilities to help our clients of all sizes, across any industry, protect their most sensitive data across the hybrid cloud," said Ross Mauri, GM of IBM Z. "This announcement builds on the exciting work over the last several months to welcome new workloads to LinuxONE and IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services in emerging areas like blockchain and digital asset custody – and we're looking forward to taking this next step with R3 to build on this momentum with clients of all sizes from early stage startups to the largest global enterprises."

"The infrastructure of financial markets will be rewritten in the next few years, with new technologies bringing a complete shift in how services are created and delivered. While underlying technologies emerge in several areas like blockchain—security, robustness and scalability of new solutions remain critical aspects of any new development. As one of the few custodians integrating public and permissioned blockchains within a universal blockchain platform, it's an honor to be part of this alliance to work with R3 and IBM to bring new solutions to market designed to facilitate the institutional adoption of digital assets at scale." Alessio Quaglini, CEO and Cofounder of Hex Trust, a joint IBM and R3 client.

As the hybrid cloud market opportunity for blockchain continues to grow, IBM Services is also expanding their existing Corda capabilities by establishing a R3 center of excellence. This is intended to provide services to IBM clients that have or plan to adopt R3 solutions, including trained and Corda-certified solution architects, strategy and design consultants, subject matter experts (SMEs) and a delivery pool that can quickly engage to help them advance their network and solution deployment.

"This center of excellence is being designed to innovate and incubate client-requested ideas and use cases leveraging IBM's deep expertise in developing and standing up commercially available production grade blockchain networks," said Jason Kelley, General Manager, IBM Blockchain Services. "We will use IBM methods, including design thinking, to focus efforts on developing interoperability solutions for disparate blockchain networks, digital assets and currencies and industry-focused use cases."

As part of this effort, IBM plans to work with clients across industry ecosystems, in both buyer and supplier roles, across hybrid ecosystems, underpinned by the openness and security of IBM LinuxONE, with the goal of advancing a network of networks to a hybrid of hybrids.

"Corda Enterprise and IBM LinuxONE bring together IBM's best security, efficiency and scalability features in blockchain and hybrid cloud. The result is assurance that customers can run their most sensitive workloads with transparency and flexibility," said David E. Rutter, CEO of R3 "Blockchain is fast emerging as the technology of choice to drive digital transformation and R3 and IBM will provide access to the privacy and security inherent in blockchain technology underpinned by IBM LinuxONE. This combined with the deeply knowledgeable team within IBM Services' new R3 center of excellence, can empower customers to level up their digital transformation drive."