IBM and Microsoft are the leading companies in the blockchain theme, according to the latest Thematic Scorecard for the application software sector from GlobalData.

Blockchain is defined as an electronic ledger of transactions that is continuously maintained in blocks of records. The ledger is jointly held and run by all participants. Coupled with cryptographic security, this makes the ledger (in theory) tamper proof.

Both companies gained the highest Thematic score (5 out of 5) for the blockchain theme in GlobalData’s Thematic Scorecard for the application software sector. A Thematic score of 5 out of 5 indicates that the companies’ competitive position in this theme will significantly improve their future performance.

On their tail, with a score of 4 out of 5 in the blockchain theme is SAP.

GlobalData’s Thematic Scorecard ranks companies within a sector on the basis of overall leadership in the 10 themes that matter most to their industry, generating a leading indicator of future performance.