GE subsidiary GeniusLink seeks to manage experts and on-demand consultants using blockchain

GeniusLink, GE's expert operating system, has partnered with ODEM, creator of the On-Demand Education Marketplace, for blockchain-based tools and technology to support management of experts and on-demand consultants.

Launched by General Electric (GE) in 2013, GeniusLink connects internal and external organizations with over 21 million experts providing insights, solutions and capacity to help clients operate with better information, at a faster pace, for better results. It aims to optimize work with “a new division of labor and intelligent automation.”

ODEM is developing the ODEM Platform on the Ethereum blockchain, which will help streamline the organization and delivery of academic courses and certification. The platform, expected to roll out in Q1 2019, empowers students to customize their education through interaction with educators and employers.

Academic or professional certificates issued on a blockchain generate a tamper-proof digital signature, which can be cross-referenced with the issuing organization's digital signature. This allows certificate holders to control their records and real-time cryptographic proof of validity, ODEM explained.

ODEM Chief Executive Officer Richard Maaghul said that GeniusLink will use ODEM’s blockchain certificates to verify the professional qualifications of its high-impact consultants. This will help ensure that short-term talent successfully fulfills client expectations, he said.

In its official release, ODEM said that its platform will enable GeniusLink to augment and validate the qualifications of its on-demand talent for clients.

"The talent equation is shifting," said Dyan Finkhousen, Director, Open Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing, GeniusLink. "Which means the most competitive organizations are engaging crowdsourced and freelance talent to get business done. Doing so requires a level of trust on both the part of the client and expert. Platforms like ODEM's provide an extra vote of confidence in those newfound geniuses—offering a secure digital fingerprint to attest their true skills and accomplishments."