Combining Blockchain Know-how With LMSs

Blockchain expertise—nice potential, proper? That is what we have heard over the previous 6 years; and, in case you’re in provide chain administration (SCM), the use instances are apparent. However, what in case you’re not in SCM? For instance, my firm is within the Studying house and we work with Studying Administration Methods (LMS). Extra particularly, we work with SAP and their LMS SAP SuccessFactors.

We began asking fundamental questions like: What can blockchain do for studying, what are the use instances, are there use instances, what expertise is out there, and so on. We began asking these questions two years in the past, and over the previous few years seen that SAP has invested closely in blockchain and Hyperledger Material (see).

Blockchain remains to be comparatively new and LMS is a big matter so we wished to maintain it easy.

Why Mix Blockchain With An LMS?

What we discovered was very fascinating. First, credentialing applications or certifications depend upon a system to securely retailer and supply standardization and ease of entry (directed by inner enterprise guidelines and/or regulation in fact). Secondly, credentialing/certifications are straight associated to and are depending on Studying Historical past or studying completion information; and completion information is managed by an LMS. 100% of LMS clients handle studying historical past information in some type or vogue and most, if not the overwhelming majority of, LMS customers implement and handle certifications or credentialing.

A Little Extra Background

At a fundamental degree, each LMS mission has to handle information, particularly studying information (e.g., studying historical past exhibiting “who has accomplished what” course [course, curriculum, or learning event]). The LMS additionally authenticates and manages the “studying” content material or occasions (like eLearning, instructor-led registrations, and so on.). Our staff noticed that in most LMS engagements (implementation or migration) information retention questions pop-up like: how far again do now we have to go to retain studying historical past; what particularly do now we have to maintain; what’s the course of for retaining info; what about catastrophe restoration; can this be automated; what reviews can be found; and so on. In fact, the diploma of deal with these subjects varies wildly by business and buyer, however we do see that the majority SAP LMS clients will take care of studying historical past information administration questions (curiosity Level 1 beneath).

As well as, as famous above, most SAP SuccessFactors studying clients can be “concerned in” certification or credentialing. For instance, enterprise and even small scale LMS engagements will use the LMS to map studying actions to a certification or credentialing want.

One of many extra generally used methods we see is the usage of the curriculum function in SuccessFactors as a result of this function permits the corporate to create re-training per merchandise/course. For instance, an organization can develop a curriculum for a certification and that certification would require that 5 programs be accomplished yearly to be thought of “licensed.” The LMS and curriculum function can do that with some configuration round retraining variables and notifications. There are different strategies, however this can be a widespread approach. Certification/credentialing may also range wildly relying on the business sector (e.g., hospitals can be involved about credentialing for medical employees, nuclear services can be involved about credentialing for engineers, safety, and so on.).

So, with that context and background, this was our place to begin: Can we make the most of Hyperledger Material when utilizing SAP SuccessFactors studying to create a blockchain-based certification utility?

This query has three elements, let’s break it down:

1. Can we method take learners’ completion information and mechanically retailer completion information on the blockchain?
2. Can we offer a method for compliance officers, regulators and/or LMS customers, based mostly on regular role-based permissions (RBP), to add and retailer certificates or credentials on the blockchain?
3. Can we offer a strategy to ship a certificates or certificates to a third social gathering (regulatory particular person or physique) and/or present a method for it to be simply accessed by a third social gathering like a regulatory physique or compliance officer?

Here’s a diagram of our proof of idea that reveals every of these three questions:

Now that we have coated the background, let’s take a more in-depth have a look at our structure and expertise:

• AWS
  We used AWS EC2 Ubuntu 16.04 occasion to put in, configure, and deploy the business-network functions on the cloud.
• ReactJS
  We used reactJS to show the information within the ledger on to the net utility. We additionally used reactJS to show the person info and the certificates which the person has uploaded.
• Ledger and chaincode
  We used the distributed ledger to take care of a ledger of any transactions or contracts throughout completely different areas and folks. We used chaincode to develop enterprise contracts, asset definitions, and collectively-manage decentralized functions.
• Node.js
  We used Node.js to learn .CSV recordsdata from FTP servers and to load/course of the information in .CSV format to the ledger, and in addition to schedule the cron job to test if now we have any recordsdata within the FTP folder to course of.
• The Hyperledger Composer REST server
  The composer-rest-server is used to generate a REST API from a deployed blockchain enterprise community that may be simply consumed by HTTP or REST purchasers.
• The Hyperledger Composer Playground gives a Person Interface for the configuration, deployment, and testing of a enterprise community.
• NGINX
  We used NGINX because the webserver to reveal net functions and rest-APIs to the web.

Additionally:

• We used reverse proxy to make sure that the identification of our backend servers stays nameless.
• The PM2 server permits us to maintain functions alive without end, to reload them with out downtime, and to facilitate widespread system admin duties.
• We used a easy server for the FTP to maintain all .CSV recordsdata which were exported from SAP SuccessFactors, or as the situation for different techniques to put recordsdata.

Level 1

Now, to level 1: Can we offer a strategy to mechanically retailer studying historical past or studying completion information on the blockchain? Right here’s how we attacked that in our proof of idea:

As outlined, the overview of the method is (please be aware that we’re holding this high-level by design):

1. The learner takes and completes studying. The LMS mechanically posts the educational historical past file on a schedule. For the SAP SuccessFactors LMS, there’s a method to do that with any report, whether or not out of the field or customized, see this weblog explaining the distant report drop off course of. For this POC we used the educational historical past.csv.
2. Node.js cron job picks and reads the file, then inserts the information utilizing the REST APIs.
3. Transaction and information are saved within the ledger on the blockchain.

Key issues for this step:

• We aren’t restricted to what sort of information we place on the FTP server, we will select any sort of studying information if staying with our idea of connecting studying historical past or completion information and certifications. We selected to start out with a fundamental studying historical past report that reveals fundamental person, course/studying, date/time info. All this info can be required for many certification verification points.
• We aren’t restricted to SAP SuccessFactors. This may be utilized to any LMS or different customized system that shops studying completion information, that’s, as famous above, all LMSs take care of studying historical past and have reporting.
• Now we will simply change how Node.js reads the file on the FTP. The method has been established, now customization can be simpler to accommodate enterprise course of, regulation, and so on.
• We’re not restricted to 1 system because the enter. It’s the case that some firms retailer and/or obtain studying historical past and completion information from a number of customized techniques or LMSs.

Level 2

Now, to level #2: Can we offer a method for LMS customers, based mostly on regular role-based permissions (RBP), to add and retailer certificates or credentials on the blockchain? Right here’s how we attacked that in our proof of idea:

For this a part of the POC, now we have created an online utility that permits customers, underneath sure RBP settings, to add and retailer certifications or credentialing documentation on the blockchain.

Key issues for this step:

• We’re not restricted by the kind of person, for this POC we assume that learners have certification and/or credentialing paperwork to retailer on the blockchain. We may use any sort of RBP mannequin and settle for any sort of paperwork, for instance, HR recordsdata, medical information, and so on. In our use case, most learners that work together with an LMS will both get a display screen print of a completion web page whereas in a course, be capable to print out a certificates generated by the LMS, and/or have entry to fundamental reviews.
• Authentication into the net utility will be modified. We assume both two-factor authentication however have additionally deliberate for single sign-on (SSO).
• The performance on our POC is restricted to add and a few fundamental sorting, however there may very well be a number of processes that would test or validate the documentation. For instance, an Oracle will be constructed to permit for an automatic authentication or validation to happen towards current information. One variation of this instance may be to create administrative capabilities that maybe map to the LMS administration RBPs which embody a “pre blockchain” test.

Open Questions And Limitations

1. This can be a proof of idea (POC), not a totally developed product gross sales pitch. It has the essential constructing blocks wanted to deal with our focus areas of LMS and blockchain.
2. SAP SuccessFactors Studying is a part of a “suite” of complementary merchandise by SAP. This suite of merchandise gives a robust enterprise answer. This POC centered on one a part of the suite, the LMS and information exported from the LMS.
3. We don’t want a blockchain to realize the entire options on this POC. We agree. The intent was to benefit from the SAP Blockchain expertise and enterprise LMS SAP SuccessFactors. SAP has some splendidly highly effective expertise that would apply, see S/four HANA for starters.
4. We make the most of a “semi-private” or permissioned blockchain strategy. For some blockchain purists, this isn’t the very best case and never true decentralization. We agree.
5. This isn’t a enterprise case. We don’t attempt to make a enterprise case. The market is clearly very giant and now customized providers can simply be added to accommodate enterprise processes, regulatory necessities, and different applied sciences; a enterprise case can comply with this POC.

Abstract

Blockchain expertise is being utilized by a rising variety of firms. In accordance with SAP, 44% of organizations are able to utilizing blockchain expertise to doc transactions in a safe method (reference).

This proof of idea proved we may apply the important thing advantages of blockchain expertise: safety, restricted intermediaries, traceability, automation, and information privateness in a blockchain-based certification/credentialing utility.

The market and utility are there, and we hope this text gives sufficient element to start out your personal mission and we want you luck as you construct blockchain-based functions.