Red Hat Inc., world leading open source software company, announced today the expansion of its blockchain technology solutions for startups and enterprise enabling fintech and financial services with the OpenShift Blockchain Initiative. The Initiative from Red Hat seeks to provide startups, enterprise and fintech companies with the know-how to explore blockchain, open source and cloud-based solutions using the company’s OpenShift Dedicated development platform.

As an open source technology designed to secure transactions in an auditable format, blockchains have a large number of applications for finiancial services, securities, ledger services and any industry that works with ongoing transactions. With Red Hat’s OpenShift Dedicated platform, businesses gain access to blockchain hosted solutions on the cloud using open source Docker containers and Kubernetes orchestration technologies.

“As enterprises begin to explore the use of blockchain application software, OpenShift Dedicated can provide a well-suited platform for a streamlined, more secure development environment,” said Ashesh Badani, vice president and general manager, OpenShift, Red Hat.

“The hosted container application platform environment, combined with Red Hat’s support and enablement training, offers partners and developers interested in building blockchain applications greater confidence that they can move toward these cloud-based services.”

Aside from access to OpenShift Dedicated, companies that sign on with Red Hat get access to training workshops, enablement materials, go-to-market activities, and OpenShift Commons membership.

Software vendors and companies interested in blockchain technology and the OpenShift platform can sign up on Red Hat’s website.

A continuing dedication to open source blockchain solutions

The announcement of this initiative from Red Hat shows a continuing interest in blockchain-technology from the open source company, which has already shown a commitment to the platform with its inclusion in Linux Foundations’s Hyperledger Project. The intent behind the Hyperledger Project is to deliver industry standards and research using distributed ledger (aka blockchain) technology for open governance and transaction monitoring and security across a wide variety of industry verticals such as finance, manufacturing, banking, insurance and the Internet of Things.

As a company Red Hat has also been expanding its own operations, including exceeding $2 billion in annual revenue in 2015.

With this Initiative and OpenShift Dedicated, Red Hat is pushing into the blockchain-technology industry by providing an open source solution hosted by and supported by the companies engineers. By also being part of the Hyperledger Project, Red Hat is positioned to be part of any innovations that come out of the advancement and use of blockchain technology as well.

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