Skip to main content

Microsoft and Intel unite to bring blockchain to businesses

microsoft intel coco framework the blockchain
Image used with permission by copyright holder
You still may not know what bitcoin is, but soon, you could be working with the technology that powers the cryptocurrency. Intel and Microsoft are working together to bring blockchain into the workplace, and it’s all contingent on a new framework they’re calling Coco. Heralded as a first-of-its-kind innovation, the goal is to jumpstart widespread adoption, particularly among businesses, of blockchain technology. After all, blockchain allows for secure and speedy transactions, which are key to many modern businesses.

As Microsoft noted in a news release, the Coco Framework is meant to reduce the complexity currently associated with blockchain protocol technology. As such, the company notes, the framework could pave the way for “more complex, real-world blockchain scenarios across industries — like financial services, supply chain and logistics, healthcare and retail — further proving blockchain’s potential to digitally transform business.”

Recommended Videos

Once integrated with a blockchain network, the Coco Framework could allow for transaction speeds of more than 1,600 transactions per second as well as seamless and confidential data management.

“Blockchain is a transformational technology with the ability to significantly reduce the friction of doing business,” Mark Russinovich, chief technology officer of Azure at Microsoft, said. “We have listened to the needs of our customers and the blockchain community and are bringing foundational functionality with the Coco Framework.”

While this won’t necessarily mean that every company everywhere will suddenly implement blockchain solutions, it does mean that large corporations that have trouble reaching privacy and security at scale could begin to more easily take advantage of a technology that really does lend itself quite well to business.

“We are thrilled to work with Microsoft to bring blockchain to the enterprise,” Rick Echevarria, vice president, Software and Services Group and General Manager, Platforms Security Division at Intel, said. “Our mutual customers are excited by the potential of blockchain. Intel is committed to accelerating the value of blockchains powered by Azure on Intel hardware, by improving the scalability, privacy and security of the solutions based on our technologies.”

So start reading up on your bitcoin and blockchain news, friends. It could soon affect your daily life sooner than you think.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Thunderbolt 5 may help bring back external GPUs, Intel says
The Razer Core X Chroma external graphics card on a desk next a laptop and a monitor.

Intel has just revealed Thunderbolt 5, which brings a stonking bandwidth increase to the speedy connector. Not only does that mean you’ll be able to charge connected laptops much faster than you can with Thunderbolt 4, but Intel also believes it could breathe new life into a forgotten product for gamers and creatives: the external GPU.

Thunderbolt 5 is a substantial improvement over Thunderbolt 4. The new standard offers 80 gigabits of bidirectional bandwidth -- double that of its predecessor -- and 120Gbps of bandwidth for external displays.

Read more
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio 2 might get a massive performance boost
The new Bing preview screen appears on a Surface Laptop Studio.

A mysterious laptop was spotted in an impressive Geekbench 5 benchmark, and many signs point to it being the next-gen Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2.

The test gives us the first bits of insight into the laptop's specifications. If everything checks out, we're going to see a huge performance jump in this upcoming generation.

Read more
Windows 11 has been causing problems with Intel graphics for months, and no one said a word
A Windows 11 device sits on a table.

If you're using Intel integrated graphics and you've been having some issues with DirectX apps, we may know the reason why -- outdated drivers paired with a recent Windows update.

According to Microsoft, a Windows 11 update may have caused some errors in Intel graphics. The update is not recent at all, so even if you haven't updated in the last few weeks, you may be affected.

Read more