Blockchain based enhanced ERP transaction integrity architecture and PoET consensus

Abstract

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is extensively used for the management of business processes. ERP offers a system of integrated applications with a shared central database. Storing all business-critical information in a central place raises various issues such as data integrity assurance and a single point of failure, which makes the database vulnerable. This paper investigates database and Blockchain integration, where the Blockchain network works in synchronization with the database system, and offers a mechanism to validate the transactions and ensure data integrity. Limited research exists on Blockchain-based solutions for the single point of failure in ERP. We established in our study that for concurrent access control and monitoring of ERP, private permissioned Blockchain using Proof of Elapsed Time consensus is more suitable. The study also investigated the bottleneck issue of transaction processing rates (TPR) of Blockchain consensus, specifically ERP's TPR. The paper presents system architecture that integrates Blockchain with an ERP system using an application interface.