AT&T has become the latest tech giant to take the blockchain plunge. The telecommunication giant unveiled a suite of AT&T blockchain services for business last week at its annual Business Summit. The suite allows the company and its partners to provide complete industry-specific IoT solutions to customers by marrying AT&T’s massive connectivity prowess and industry-tailored IoT products with blockchain technology from IBM and Microsoft.  

The goal, the company says, is to help customers reduce costs, risk and simplify business processes by creating a shared ecosystem across parties to exchange information in a way that is permissioned and highly secure. And, of course, to make a lot of money for AT&T.  

Said Andy Daudelin, vice president, Alliances Business Development, AT&T Business: "Blockchain is far more than just Bitcoin or cryptocurrency. It’s transforming the way many companies conduct business. Blockchain improves security and enables better management of transactions through complex processes. Utilizing our global network and IoT capabilities, AT&T enhances blockchain by providing edge-to-edge solutions that automate the tracking and that can even monitor the environmental conditions throughout the process."