Software Multinational SAP Announces Launch of Cloud Blockchain Platform

Multinational software company SAP has launched a blockchain-as-a-service platform, SAP Leonardo Blockchain, the company reported Wednesday, June 6.

The platform is designed to let corporate customers build applications and networks using blockchain technology.

SAP's official announcement notes that the new blockchain service will support Hyperledger Fabric and MultiChain, and will be built on top of SAP's SAP HANA data management system.

Gil Perez, SAP's senior vice president for product and innovation as well as head of digital customer service initiatives, explained that SAP will not commit to any one underlying distributed ledger technology in order to be more flexible as the blockchain market changes and grows.

Last fall, SAP accepted 27 new members from industries including retail, pharmaceuticals, logistics, public services and telecommunication to its blockchain program with the aim to integrate the technology into the Internet of Things, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions.

This spring, both Microsoft and Amazon announced new advances in their blockchain tech applications, with Microsoft Azure releasing its blockchain app creation service and Amazon launching blockchain frameworks for Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric.