Today, we're announcing Salesforce Blockchain — a new, low-code blockchain platform connected to CRM so organizations can securely collaborate and share data across third parties.

Blockchain is a foundational technology with a wide range of use cases. Think of any process today where data has to be authenticated and shared across multiple third parties. Chances are the experience is clunky, slow, and leaves you questioning why the process was built that way in the first place. That's where blockchain can help. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that can streamline how transactions and documents are created and exchanged.

Consider these potential use cases:

• Buying a house: Blockchain can help simplify the document transfers between the appraiser, inspector, real estate agents, title company, bank, county, buyer, and seller

• Filing a car insurance claim: Blockchain can help the flow of communications between your insurance company, the other driver's insurance company, claim's adjuster, auto body shop, and tow shop

• Transferring colleges: Blockchain can authenticate courses and transcripts from high schools, community colleges, and four-year universities making the transfer process for students and schools alike much easier

These processes were cobbled together years ago. They weren't built around the customer, nor do they reflect our modern, technology-powered world today.

Blockchain allows us to upend antiquated processes like these and rebuild them entirely with customers at the center. Data can securely flow beyond an organization's four walls and be extended to partners. Every party in the blockchain network can verify and see each transaction in an open, transparent way. The information is secure, trusted, and — if the need arises — can be audited.

Salesforce Blockchain is powered by Lightning. That means our customers can easily and declaratively build and maintain blockchain apps, networks, and flows that are directly connected to customer records within Salesforce. Partners and third parties can leverage Lightning's intuitive UX and easily connect to your blockchain app or network — which helps with adoption, one of the most crucial pieces of the blockchain puzzle. And this also means you don't have to go out and recruit blockchain developers — any Salesforce admin or developer can use Salesforce Blockchain.

As a consumer, I'm looking forward to seeing how blockchain might make buying a house or filing a car insurance claim a little easier. And as the head of Emerging Tech here at Salesforce, I'm excited to see what our customers do with blockchain.

Up until now, it's been onerous to extend data outside a company, so much so, that most companies didn't really try. Now, businesses can easily share information beyond their organization. They can create trusted networks of third parties to share data — and turn previously painful processes into amazing customer experiences (while also freeing up employees to focus on more high-value work.) And looking further out — there is the potential for even more — like using blockchain to validate the safety (and origin) of food and pharmaceutical drugs, authenticating high-value items like art or jewelry, securing voting, or moving healthcare records from one provider to another.

I'm sure there are hundreds (thousands, or even more) use cases for blockchain and I can't wait to see what our customers do with it.

To see Salesforce Blockchain in action, check out the video: