AWS Managed Blockchain: Powering Business Potential

According to research by Gartner, between 2016 and 2021, an average of 45% of CIOs reported that their organizations showed no interest in blockchain. Despite this, startups and major digital enterprises are utilizing AWS Managed Blockchain to solve complex problems and create value that traditional centralized technologies cannot.

Industries such as finance, healthcare, and government are increasingly using Managed Blockchain Services. Some of the major players in the market for Managed Blockchain Solutions include IBM, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP.

The world is steadily moving toward Managed Blockchain. In this blog, we will understand what is Managed Blockchain and how it is affordable and a practical service provider for enterprises and organizations to leverage blockchain technology. Also, we will understand the attributes of Managed Blockchain and AWS’s Amazon Managed Blockchain service with its pricing.

What is AWS Managed Blockchain?

AWS Managed blockchain refers to a type of blockchain network that is operated and maintained by a third-party service provider. It allows businesses and organizations to create and manage their own blockchain networks without the need for extensive technical expertise or infrastructure which provides a secure and immutable record of transactions.

Various cloud-based solutions such as Amazon Managed Blockchain and IBM Blockchain Platform offer online access to the blockchain, while on-premise solutions like Hyperledger Fabric require implementation and maintenance on the client's servers. Regardless of the specific solution, managed blockchain service providers typically offer support and management services, including technical assistance, upkeep, upgrades, and training, to ensure clients get the most out of the platform.

Managed Blockchain Services provide an affordable and practical option for enterprises and organizations to leverage blockchain technology. By outsourcing technical components, businesses can focus on innovation and operational efficiency, enabling streamlined access to the full potential of blockchain.

Use Cases of AWS Managed Blockchain :

Some of the common use cases of AWS Managed Blockchain are:

1. Supply Chain Management: AWS Managed Blockchain can be used to create a decentralized network for supply chain management, where stakeholders can securely track the movement of goods and ensure transparency in the entire process. This can help to reduce fraud, minimize errors, and increase efficiency.
2. Financial Services: AWS Managed Blockchain can be used to create a decentralized network for financial services such as cross-border payments, securities trading, and insurance.
3. Healthcare: AWS Managed Blockchain can be used to create a decentralized network for healthcare, where medical records can be securely stored and shared between healthcare providers and patients.
4. Identity and Access Management: AWS Managed Blockchain can be used to create a decentralized network for identity and access management, where users can securely manage their digital identities and control access to their personal data.
5. Gaming: AWS Managed Blockchain can be used to create a decentralized network for gaming, where players can securely trade in-game assets and currencies.

Attributes of a managed blockchain solution:

Here are some key attributes of a Managed Blockchain Solution mentioned below:

1. Easy setup and maintenance: A managed blockchain solution typically provides a simple setup process and easy maintenance, as the provider manages the underlying infrastructure and software components.
2. High availability and scalability: A managed blockchain solution is designed to be highly available and scalable, with the ability to handle large volumes of transactions.
3. Robust security: Managed blockchain solutions typically offer robust security features such as encryption, identity management, and access controls to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of data.
4. Interoperability: A managed blockchain solution should be interoperable with other blockchain networks, allowing for seamless integration with existing systems and applications.
5. Cost-effectiveness: Managed Blockchain solutions can be more cost-effective than self-hosted solutions, as the provider handles the infrastructure and maintenance costs.
6. Smart contract support: A managed blockchain solution should support smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts that can automate business processes and improve efficiency.

Overall, a Managed Blockchain Solution can offer a range of benefits for organizations looking to deploy blockchain technology without the complexity and costs of managing the infrastructure and software themselves.

Credit: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/performing-analytics-on-amazon-managed-blockchain/

Pricing for AWS Managed Blockchain with Hyperledger Fabric:

A Breakdown of Costs and Features:

1. Starter Edition: The AWS Managed Blockchain Starter Edition is made for small projects and testing. It only allows up to 5 members and 2 peer nodes per member, with two types of peer nodes available. You can also create up to 3 channels for your project. However, the Starter Edition has lower performance than the Standard Edition.

2. Standard Edition: The AWS Managed Blockchain Standard Edition is for larger production projects. You can have up to 14 members and 3 peer nodes per member, with 3 types of peer nodes available. It also allows up to 8 channels for your project. The Standard Edition has better performance than the Starter Edition.

For example, Let's say the Managed Blockchain test network now has three Standard Edition members instead of two Starter Edition members. Each member has a single bc.t3.small peer node with 30 GB of storage and writes 12 MB to the network per hour.

Membership cost: (3 Standard Edition members) x ($0.30 per hour) x (1 hour) = $0.90 per hour

Peer node cost: (3 members) x (1 bc.t3.small peer node per member) x (0.034 per hour) x (1 hour) = $0.306 per hour

Peer node storage cost: (3 members) x (1 peer node per member) x (30 GB storage per peer node) x ($0.10 per GB-month) x (1 hour) = $0.027 per hour

Data written cost: (3 members) x (12 MB per hour) x (0.10 per GB) = $0.036 per hour

Total test network hourly cost: $1.269 per hour

AWS Managed Blockchain for Ethereum Pricing:

AWS Managed Blockchain for Ethereum offers On-Demand pricing that allows customers to pay per second for the blockchain peer nodes they create, with a minimum duration of one minute. By leveraging this pricing model, customers can scale their infrastructure up or down with ease, without the need for manual hardware provisioning.

With Amazon Managed Blockchain for Ethereum, customers can create nodes and connect them to Ethereum public networks. Nodes, also known as peer nodes, are computers that connect to a blockchain network consisting of multiple peers connected in a decentralized way. The customers are billed for the cost of the peer node, peer node storage, and the total number of Ethereum requests they generate.

On-Demand peer node pricing:

The On-Demand peer node pricing eliminates the overhead associated with manual hardware provisioning and allows customers to pay only for the nodes they create, with a minimum duration of one minute. By leveraging this pricing model, customers can easily scale their infrastructure up or down to meet the demands of their application.

For example, Let's say the financial company now requires four c5.large nodes for higher throughput and redundancy. Each node has a 500GB ledger, and there are 50 million requests made to these nodes during the month.

Monthly on-demand peer node cost: 4 X ($0.136 per hr X 24hrs) X 30 days = $391.68

Monthly peer node storage cost: 4 X 500GB* X $0.10 per GB-month = $200

Assuming the main network ledger is 500GB

Monthly Requests: 50 million X $3 per million = $150

Total Monthly Cost: $741.68

So the new monthly cost for running the nodes and storing the data would be $741.68.

Overall, AWS Managed Blockchain is a powerful and easy-to-use service that simplifies the process of building, deploying, and managing blockchain networks, making it accessible to organizations of all sizes and technical expertise.

End note:

In the blog, we discussed what is Amazon Managed Blockchain, why it is necessary, how it is helpful to organizations to leverage Blockchain, the attributes of Managed Blockchain, and how it works. We also looked at Amazon Managed Blockchain how it can be helpful and its different pricing models such as Pay-as-you-go pricing and On-Demand pricing with an example of each.

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