Throughout IBM Think, an important message has resonated everywhere — empowering businesses to overcome vendor lock-in and the freedom of choice to apply IBM technology wherever data resides.

Our Watson team made some major announcements this week about making AI models and applications run across any cloud. Today, we are re-stating that same commitment for the IBM Blockchain Platform.

For two years, IBM has led the enterprise blockchain market, enabling hundreds of companies to build solutions, convene networks, and rapidly move into production on the IBM Blockchain Platform. And now, it’s time for those networks to grow anywhere. 

See how blockchain solutions transform industries

As the market matures and new use cases emerge, one thing has become clear — the value of blockchain networks increases with the addition of diverse members. In today’s complex IT world, organizations run their systems across multiple environments — both on-premises and across cloud vendors.

IBM’s vision is a fully-flexible blockchain platform that can truly run in any computing infrastructure. Back in November, IBM took the first steps toward this multi-cloud strategy with the release of two offerings. IBM Blockchain Platform for IBM Cloud Private allows an organization to connect their on-premises computing systems to cloud-based blockchain networks to meet data residency, compliance requirements or corporate preferences. IBM Blockchain Platform for AWS makes it simple for organizations to deploy IBM Blockchain Platform components natively, through templates, on AWS.

Today, we are unveiling the first look at the next generation of the cloud-based IBM Blockchain Platform with a free 2.0 beta. It has been rearchitected for hybrid and multi-cloud deployment capabilities, enabled by Kubernetes containers. The new platform will give users the freedom to run blockchain components in any environment, whether on the IBM Cloud, on-premises, or in other public clouds.

These multi-cloud and other advanced capabilities have been built into our new platform based from learnings from over 500 blockchain client engagements:

Build your network faster and easier within a seamless experience

A new VS Code extension provides smooth integration between smart contract development and network management, and you can now easily move from development to test to production from a single console. The IBM Blockchain Platform meets developers where they are, offering support for smart contracts to be written in Javascript, Java, and Go languages.

Operate and govern networks with total control

Deploy only the blockchain components you need, whether it’s just a Peer, Ordering Service, or Certificate Authority, and manage them all in one place with the redesigned console, no matter where they are deployed. You also maintain complete control of your identities, ledger, and smart contracts featuring the industry’s first “team-based” network management.

Grow distributed networks with ease with newly enabled multi-cloud flexibility

Connect to nodes running in any environment, whether on-premises, or in public or hybrid clouds. Easily connect a single peer to multiple industry networks, and pay only for what you use, with no upfront investment. You can also start small and scale as needed, and upgrade easily through Kubernetes architecture.  Pay as you grow, and pay only for what you use, with full control over total cost of network ownership.

Not only has the platform been designed with extensive client experience in mind, but also with the unique expertise that stems from being a pioneer on The Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric, and the perspective that comes from being the only full-stack blockchain player — IBM is committed to investing in the solutions, services, platform and open source to help you accelerate your journey.

As we look to the future, blockchain is primed to be the nexus of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and quantum computing. We’re laying the groundwork now to help blockchain networks proliferate, interconnect and be prepared for what’s next — anytime, anywhere.

Deploy the IBM Blockchain Platform across multiple environments