Accenture: 86% of Aerospace, Defense Companies Eye Blockchain Tech Integration by 2021

A new Accenture report shows that 86 percent of aerospace and defense companies plan to incorporate blockchain technologies into their corporate platforms by 2021.

Accenture said Tuesday it surveyed 30 A&D industry leaders for the “Launchpad to Relevance: Aerospace & Defense Technology Vision 2018” report and found potential areas where blockchain technologies could be applied, including the use of the technology to discover falsified information and validate the accuracy of data.

The study showed that 70 percent of respondents believe companies will see an increase in manipulated insights as more fake data enter their information systems.

Blockchain “has the potential to deliver profound benefits for the hundreds of suppliers typically involved in the manufacturing of a single aircraft,” said John Schmidt, head of Accenture’s global aerospace and defense practice.

“Blockchain enables aerospace and defense companies to securely share, capture and authenticate data from a single source,” Schmidt added.

Accenture noted that 67 percent of A&D leaders said their firms will invest in artificial intelligence in 2019 with plans to focus on research and development, security and production.

Eighty percent of the respondents said decisions based on AI will have a direct impact on every individual in the workforce by 2021, while 57 percent of respondents said their companies will invest in virtual and augmented reality technologies over the next year.