C3HSB: A Transparent Supply Chain for Multi-cloud and Hybrid Cloud Assets Powered by Blockchain

Blockchain networks have made inroads in the supply chain domains due to their transparency, security and immutable logs. For cloud providers, a typical supply chain consists of complex networks of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, auditors, and consumers. Even though there is an increased focus on self-serve or cloud provider managed SaaS (Software-as-a-service), a portion of sales for an enterprise customer occurs the old-fashioned way with the sales department drawing up a purchase order to begin the procurement process. In many cases, there could be several disjoint suppliers who fulfill the order behind the scenes unbeknownst to the buyer. In this paper we propose C3HSB, a decentralized distributed application architecture using blockchain and smart contracts to build the supply chain. Motivated by challenges in the industry, this approach can be considered as a building block for future supply chain procurement and deployment of cloud assets. The design goal for our system was to facilitate efficient handling of enterprise-scale purchase orders and alternatives in real-time while maintaining data provenance. C3HSB streamlines complex non-repudiated transaction workflows, promotes trust, and achieves cost savings for the customer and suppliers.