Icertis, the leading provider of enterprise contract management in the cloud, today announced a collaboration with Microsoft to expand the Icertis Blockchain Framework to create a more sustainable, ethical and open world.  By enhancing the connection between blockchain/distributed ledger technology and contract management, Icertis and Microsoft will deliver greater transparency, speed of execution and improved compliance in increasingly critical areas of modern business. 

Customers like Mercedes-Benz Cars have already taken advantage of this technology by utilizing smart contracts on the Icertis Blockchain Framework to create an immutable distributed ledger of transactions. This helps to ensure global sourcing and contracting practices adhere to Mercedes-Benz Cars’ strict requirements for sustainable, ethical and secure sourcing. With the expanded capabilities developed with Microsoft, customers will be able to apply blockchain technology to help address additional business processes requiring transparency including measuring supplier diversity, tracking product provenance and executing outcome-based pricing. 

Icertis and Microsoft will expand the application of blockchain and distributed ledger technology to contract management by:

•        Using Microsoft Azure Blockchain Workbench to allow rapid prototyping and provisioning of blockchain solutions on the Icertis Blockchain Framework for Icertis Contract Management (ICM) platform global customers.

•        Leveraging the ecosystem of Service Bus, Azure Active Directory, Logic Apps and other components in the Azure Blockchain Workbench environment in combination with the Icertis Blockchain Framework to help build the foundation of Icertis’ next generation smart contract platform.

•        Connecting Azure Cognitive Services components and the Icertis Blockchain Framework with the ICM platform to provide business solutions that leverage AI/ML and blockchain technology including compliance, certification, provenance tracking and outcome-based pricing ICM apps.

“More than ever, enterprises must maintain sophisticated governance and contract compliance, and blockchain technology has a critical role to play,” said Monish Darda, CTO and Co-founder at Icertis. “We are thrilled to work with Microsoft to extend the Icertis Blockchain Framework to solve the most critical contracting challenges – enabling a new level of visibility and control in the contract management space, while helping build a more ethical and sustainable enterprise ecosystem.”  

Companies can deploy the Icertis Blockchain Framework to track contractual requirements, obligations, commitments and fulfillment across entities enabling a new level of collaboration, visibility and accountability. This will help solve some of the world’s most intractable challenges, such as the use of child labor and conflict materials in supply chains; the tracing of tainted food distribution to aid recalls; and tracking efficacy-based pharmaceutical outcomes.

The close collaboration between Icertis and Microsoft has benefited joint customers since the creation of the Icertis Blockchain Framework, which was built on Azure, Blockchain Workbench, Cognitive Search and Cognitive Services.  It is the first to connect blockchain and distributed ledger systems like Ethereum and Corda to an enterprise CLM system in a meaningful way.

“Icertis and Microsoft continue to partner on digital transformation solutions that leverage blockchain in innovative and meaningful ways,” said Penny Philpot, Vice President of One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. “Together, we are giving our enterprise customers a competitive edge with technologies that have immediate impact on their responsible business practices.”