The inaugural aviation blockchain challenge is about to be launched. The SAP.IO Berlin Foundry has teamed up with the Lufthansa Innovation Hub (LIH) to make this a reality. If plans put in place by the Lufthansa Innovation Hub (LIH) together with the SAP.IO Berlin Foundry are successful, then it will represent another first for crypto-currencies and blockchain as a whole. Amid all the challenges and turbulence the blockchain industry has been through this year especially, there have been some victories, and this right here is one of them since this challenge will familiarize the blockchain to people who probably haven’t heard much about it.
The purpose of this one of a kind blockchain challenge to be unveiled by LIH in conjunction with SAP.IO Berlin Foundry is to test the potential of blockchain technology in relation to the aviation industry. These tests if successful will not only endear the aviation industry to the blockchain but also catch the attention of more investors leading to faster adoption. According to Lufthansa’s blog post announcement, the current widespread application of blockchain technology in the finance sector stunts what blockchain technology can do for the aviation industry as well as the mobility technology industry.
The two firms, SAP.IO Berlin Foundry and Lufthansa Innovation Hub, have ambitions to change this. This is the purpose of the planned challenge which will seek to draw in the most skilled and talented blockchain entrepreneurs and innovators from the world over. The two challenge organizers also plan to create a fitting environment so that the blockchain entrepreneurs and innovators are able to come up with new exciting ideas and try out new ways of doing things. Lufthansa’s rich innovation background and ecosystem coupled with SAP’s assets and mentorship competencies will likely see to it that even the boldest ideas stand a chance of making it big.
Thorsten Dirks, who doubles up as Eurowings CEO and Lufthansa innovation Hub (LIH) board member stated that the need to carry out tests and discuss innovative ideas in which the blockchain, which is one of the most game-changing technologies of our time, is what drove the partnership with SAP in order to create the blockchain challenge. He further stated that the combination of competencies brought in by an aviation industry major player and blockchain technology leader would create an ideal framework which will assist blockchain entrepreneurs who are interested in travel and mobility. In his part, the chief strategy officer and SAP executive vice president, Deepak Krishnamurthy, spoke of the partnership in glowing terms, stating that the new innovation had the potential of revolutionizing the industry.
The challenge itself will be divided into three rounds;
- The traveler challenge
- The airline challenge
- The supplier challenge
These challenges will test developers’ ability to create and bitch blockchain ideas that will help the aviation industry. The supplier challenge is specifically aimed at realizing innovative ways to deal with suppliers in issues to do with document digitization and tracking. The submission of ideas will close on the 31st of August 2018 and the results will be announced soon afterward. The final pitch will take place at the Lufthansa innovation Forum in front of both SAP and Lufthansa senior management.
