Big four accounting firm KPMG International has announced the launch of joint ‘Blockchain Nodes’ along with tech giant Microsoft Corp. The nodes are intended to create and demonstrate the use cases of blockchain technology to business propositions and processes.

The first Blockchain Nodes are open in Frankfurt and Singapore and has future plans to establish in New York as well. These nodes are innovation workspaces that will expand on a global alliance and combines the technical expertise of Microsoft with that of KPMG’s deep industry and blockchain application knowledge, along with strong connections to the start-up and developer communities.

“The Blockchain Nodes will play a critical role in identifying new applications and use cases that blockchain can address. They will enable us to work directly with clients to discover and test ideas based on market insights, creating and implementing prototype solutions that use this innovative technology,” Eamonn Maguire, global and US leader for KPMG's Digital Ledger Services, stated.

The Blockchain Nodes will focus mainly on applications for financial services and will also further examine blockchain potential in optimizing business processes and models for healthcare and the public sector, and potentially other industries in the future.

"Together with KPMG's experience in successfully transforming business models, we are pursuing innovative applications of blockchain technology that will help our customers worldwide achieve their strategic goals. The global availability of our Microsoft Azure cloud platform, the hybrid cloud architecture, and multi-tiered security address the specific compliance requirements of clients and help accelerate the use case process,” Marley Gray, principal architect program manager, Azure Blockchain Engineering at Microsoft, mentioned.

KPMG has been exploring blockchain for various cases including the introduction of its Digital Ledger Services, which is a comprehensive suite of services designed to help financial services companies realize the potential of blockchain capabilities. This was introduced in last September and provides faster and secure transactions, streamlining and automating back office operations, among others.

KPMG collaborated with Microsoft earlier to work on blockchain initiatives, where Microsoft offered the Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) platform on Microsoft Azure and KPMG provided its comprehensive suite of services. The collaboration helped users and clients effectively and securely move to the cloud storage by adopting blockchain technology.