Tech
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA): meaning, examples and membership
What is the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA)?
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), launched in February 2017, brings together various startups, Fortune 500 companies, technology providers, academics and Ethereum subject matter experts to work on Ethereum as an enterprise-grade technology.
Key points
- The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) “…is a member-led industry organization whose goal is to promote the use of Ethereum blockchain technology as an open standard to power enterprises.”
- The EEA’s mission is to provide an open, standards-based architecture and specification to accelerate the adoption of Enterprise Ethereum.
- The EEA provides its members with a community and access to educational materials and various technical and media resources.
How the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) works.
Although many tech giants and companies have supported Ethereum via cloud services and worked towards its adoption, most of the efforts towards its scalability, privacy and interoperability remained missing until the birth of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
The alliance aims to build, promote and support best practices, standards and a reference architecture of Ethereum blockchain technology that can handle real-world applications and usage.
Launched in 2015, Ethereum is a blockchain-based decentralized software platform that enables smart contracts and distributed applications (dApp) to be implemented and managed without downtime, fraud, control or interference from third parties.
Ethereum is not only a platform but also a Turing-complete programming language running on a blockchain that helps developers build and publish distributed applications.
The potential applications of Ethereum are wide-ranging and this has attracted several businesses to explore the technology. Ether, the cryptographic token used on the Ethereum platform, is the second most popular cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, with an aggregate market capitalization of approximately $456 billion as of May 2024.
EEA efforts
Recently, member companies (and others) have initiated and worked on numerous pilot projects covering areas such as supply chain provenance tracking, interbank payments, reference data, securities settlement and many others.
However, real-world enterprise use requires collaborative efforts to create architectures that enable permissions and audiences Ethereum networks. The creation of the EEA represents an important step in this direction.
The EAA also provides education and training to members. The organization publishes newsletters, videos and webinars as part of its public service mission.
Accession to the EEA
Board members of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance included Accenture, BlockApps, ConsenSys, Ethereum Foundation, EY, JP Morgan, Microsoft, and Santander.
According to the EEA website, there are over 100 associate and organizational members of the EEA. Associate members are represented by the Blockchain Research Institute, Hyperledger and SAE ITC. Social impact partners include the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition and the Decentralized Identity Foundation.
EEA members represent diverse companies from every region of the world, including technology, banking, government, healthcare, energy, pharmaceuticals, marketing and insurance.
Aiming to solve the real-world challenges of deploying Ethereum at an enterprise scale, the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is a major initiative in the adoption of blockchain and decentralization.
EEA benefits
Organizations joining the EEA can leverage Ethereum technology in their business operations. It also exposes them to over 20,000 members of the Ethereum community. Members can network, establish partnerships, and showcase technology within the larger Ethereum ecosystem.
EEA membership offers market opportunities through branding, communication and advertising and facilitates the creation of globally trusted EEA standard solutions. EEA also offers speaking and advertising opportunities at events, RFP inclusion, and prominent placement in the Ethereum ecosystem stack.
EEA membership also drives industry adoption by contributing to best practices and using EEA resources to design enterprise-wide solutions. Members participate in working groups to address Ethereum challenges, vote on technical developments, and access the EEA Testnet for testing. EEA also offers certification to ensure solutions meet industry standards and interoperability requirements.
Finally, EEA members can join interest groups, access discounts on member services, and use the EEA brand. Members can access the global developer community of over 3,000 contributors and over 15 user groups across 25 industries and six continents to enhance collaboration. To gain access, the EEA provides a password-protected member collaboration site.
What is the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance?
The EEA is an organization that works together to promote the Ethereum ecosystem for enterprise uses.
Who are the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance partners?
There are over 100 member organizations collaborating with the EEA. Notable members you may recognize include Ernst & Young, FedEx, Microsoft, and VMWare.
What are the main goals of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance?
The alliance is a group of organizations interested in using the blockchain and Ethereum ecosystem to provide business solutions.
The bottom line
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) is an industry-led organization. Its goal is to promote the use of the Ethereum blockchain to empower businesses. The EEA works to provide an open, standards-based architecture created to accelerate the adoption of Enterprise Ethereum in the business world.