VeChain is a blockchain-enabled platform that is designed to enhance supply chain management processes. By utilizing tamper-proof and distributed ledger technology, VeChain provides retailers and consumers with the ability to determine the quality and authenticity of products that are bought. From product source materials, to servicing history, and spare part replacements, every single piece of information about the supply chain movement of a product can be recorded and verified to bring about a supply chain management ecosystem that is secure for all participants. VeChain plans to achieve this secure supply chain management ecosystem via the method of asset digitization. VeChain enables manufactures to assign products with unique identities to the platform. This will allow manufacturers, supply chain partners, and even consumers, to track the movement of products through their supply chain. There is also the VeChain Foundation. The Vechain Foundation is a non - profit entity established in Singapore in July 2017 and is responsible for the construction of the network, and technological research and development. The Foundation also plays an important role in business development. The Foundation encourages and supports partnerships with enterprises that may be interested in utilizing blockchain technology as a service. This includes payment services, private key management, smart contract development, and wallet development. There is no doubt that blockchain technology can be an important innovation to supply chain management. With a growing list of business partnerships and technological developments, VeChain is positioning itself to be THE disruptive, and innovative force that reshapes the way we think about supply chain management. The solution of 'hard forking' has made people question the idea of 'de-centering' of Ethereum and even Blockchain. This way of governance is not so much a 'democracy' as an 'anarchy.' VeChain development team highly regards blockchain’s decentralizing nature, yet intends to adopt some traditional corporate governance and thus improve the efficient formulation and implementation of the VeChain development and strategy for the benefit of the community to prevent and avoid serious blockchain design philosophy differences and irreconcilability. Sunny Lu is the CEO of the VeChain Foundation and has already become an important figure in the blockchain space. Before he established VeChain, he co-founded the Chinese Internet start-up which developed Qtum, a very important digital asset in the crypto space. He was previously the CIO and COO of Louis Vuitton China.The team behind VeChain consists of over 90+ employees, most of them being developers. Chief Technology Officer, Gu Jianliang, has over 18 years of experience in areas such as mobile devices and the IoT field, and has created over a 100 patents in several technological fields. Kevin Feng serves as the Chief Operations Officer of the VeChain Foundation. Feng has been actively involved in many technology projects in his 12 years working for VeChain’s partner, PWC, as a consultant and assurance advisor.
iExec is an open-source, decentralized cloud computing platform, running on Ethereum blockchain. iExec allows decentralized applications (dApps) an on-demand access to computing resources and technologies on iExec cloud. iExec has built a blockchain network where dApps can take advantage of cost effective and high-performance resources such as servers, databases, SaaS applications, web hosting and computer farms. iExec’s native cryptocurrency — The RLC token is the primary asset used to access services in iExec infrastructure. RLC is short for “Run on Lots of Computers.” iExec is headquartered at Lyon, France. It was founded by Gilles Fedak and Haiwu He, both are serving as Chief Executive Officer and Head of Asian-Pacific Region of iExec, respectively. Oleg Lodygensky is the Chief Technical Officer. Gilles Fedak received his PhD from the University of Paris Sud in 2003, and has been working as INRIA (Inventeurs du Monde Numerique) research scientist at ENS in Lyon, France. Similarly, Haiwu completed his M.Sc. and PhD from the University of Sciences and Technologies of Lille, France. On April 19, 2017, iExec launched its token sale and raised more than $12 million in exchange for 86,999,784 RLC. In order to support dApps, smart contracts, and their platforms, iExec takes processing-intensive computations off-chain so as to keep a blockchain’s on-chain functions running smoothly. To do this, iExec makes use of XtremWeb-HEP, an open-sourced Desktop Grid Software. Desktop Grid computing (also known as Volunteer Computing) pools unused computing resources to be used by applications and platforms, and according to iExec’s whitepaper, XtremWeb-HEP “implements all the needed features” to make this possible on a global scale, including “fault-tolerance, multi-applications, multi-users, hybrid public/private infrastructure, deployment of virtual images, data management, security and accountability, and many more.” Essentially, with this software, dApps can utilize any computing resource in the iExec framework to run their programs. In their whitepaper, the iExec team lays out the project’s competitive landscape and explains these competitors in relation to iExec. They’re quick to note that decentralized cloud storage providers like Filecoin, Storj, and Siacoin are not direct competitors, and it’s easy to see why. While iExec could theoretically take a step in this direction as it matures, it’s not a storage platform; it’s a computing platform. This does put it in competition with other decentralized computing protocols like Golem and SONM. Both of these, however, are taking aim at a different animal. Essentially, they’re both building a decentralized supercomputer on blockchain technology, while iExec is targeting dApp development and sustainability. Both look towards a future of a blockchain-powered, decentralized internet, but their functions, while sometimes similar, are more complementary than conflicting.