Blockchain technology is a much discussed subject these days, but when you ask someone what it allows them to do regardless of the interaction they have with crypto-currencies, the answer is rather vague. Guillaume Chollier – Utocat CTO has agreed to talk with me about this technology, the perspective and how the Utocat team is using Clever Cloud.
Let’s take a look at the world of the Blockchain, with the help of those who are using it on a daily basis.
Hey, Economy, do you know Blockchain?
To briefly introduce Utocat, Guillaume Chollier has a simple answer: “We are a Blockchain software editor for the financial sector”. It’s been 4 years that we exist and use Blockchain technology. We have therefore witnessed the emergence of many solutions using it in recent years. Most of them are focused on the use of cryptocurrencies, whereas we prefer to offer our customers a range of software for securing and timestamping data but also simplifying their procedures by making them all digital.
Today, our main solutions are Catalizr and Blockchainiz. Catalizr is a digital investment solution specially designed for the financial sector. It allows an investment to be made in 1 hour, whereas the current paper process takes up to 3 months. This solution is mainly used by players in the unlisted securities sector as well as real estate investment companies. Blockchainiz, on the other hand, can be considered as an access provider to Blockchains.
From the simple connection to the use of the smart contract platform, we support our customers by defining the outlines of their project, their prototype, but also in the implementation of business Uses Cases.
What do your customers look for when they use UTOCAT?
Above all, our unique expertise! We are one of the few players in the sector to implement ad-hoc solutions and to use the Ethereum and Bitcoin public Blockchains.
Then, it’s our “agile” side that seduces them. We have a good knowledge of the financial sector and therefore a good knowledge of our clients’ procedures, it allows us to be reactive on their different requests.
Are you experiencing any particular difficulties right now?
Well, yes. The main one being hiring! It’s increasingly difficult to find senior developers. As a result, management with this type of profiles is not the same as managing junior profiles.
What are Utocat’s development objectives?
Our primary objective is to remain an expert and leader in the use of the Blockchain in the financial sector. At the same time, we are accelerating the deployment of our solution Catalizr in France and plan to deploy it in Europe next year.
Why did you choose Clever Cloud?
At first, our infrastructure was based on a private cloud computing offering. At the time the Docker’s learning curve was too long compared to our expectations, the administration of the system took a long time. There was also a great tangle of problems between development and technical architecture and managing all this with a mainly junior team was not easy. Since then, we have switched to Clever Cloud and we are delighted. It’s much simpler and you are much more efficient.
What do you prefer about Clever Cloud?
The support! The team is very reactive and it’s a real argument for your service, so don’t change anything!
If you could, what would you improve at Clever Cloud?
If we could, we would improve the dashboard. The ability to sectorize the environment and application context to simplify the management of daily applications would be a real plus for us. Indeed, this would simplify the sending of invoices or the management of rights.
More information on www.utocat.com