Exclusive: T-Systems MMS went live on Polkadot. In an interview, the company reveals why validation alone is not enough and why Deutsche Telekom relies on staking.
The daughter of Deutsche Telekom announced in an exclusive conversation with BTC-ECHO that it is now operating a validator on the Polkadot blockchain. This is new territory for T-Systems MMS However not. The company is also involved in staking on the Celo blockchain. Nevertheless, with the latest news, the Telekom subsidiary is making a steep development in the direction of decentralization.
“That has become a strategy at T-Systems MMS. When we support a network, we support it holistically with investment, infrastructure and applications, ”explained Dr. Andreas Dittrich, Head of the Blockchain Solutions Center at T-Systems MMS opposite BTC-ECHO.
The reason why the Telekom subsidiary opted for Polkadot as a proof-of-stake network was primarily due to the interoperability of the protocol. “We also want to drive application development in the Polkadot ecosystem because interoperability between dApps is incredibly important,” said Dittrich.
The reason why Deutsche Telekom is increasingly relying on staking is not least due to the nature of the company. “Our USP is trustworthiness, security and reliability. What we bring with us in terms of value for a network with investment, infrastructure, and applications, fits perfectly for proof-of-stake networks, ”says Dittrich.
However, T-Systems MMS has not yet succumbed to the hype surrounding the current Parachain auctions. Dittrich said that although they are watching the auctions, participation in Parachain auctions is not yet under discussion in the short term.
Staking is more than validating blocks
The head of the Blockchain Solution Center told BTC-ECHO why staking is not only an important topic for the company, but is almost part of the Telekom DNA:
As Deutsche Telekom, we have a social mandate. We are fulfilling this mandate and providing infrastructure for these new, global, decentralized networks. In the case of proof-of-stake networks, this means, for example, providing a validator and other nodes. But that also means actively participating in governance. We were careful in the beginning. We started at Chainlink as a data provider, at Flow we were an execution node, and at Celo we went one step further. With Polkadot we are going further in this direction: It is not enough just to validate.
Dr. Andreas Dittrich, Head of the Blockchain Solution Center at T-Systems MMS
The operation of validators in a proof-of-stake network is at the same time “a social mandate and a business model” for the company. For the first time, T-Systems MMS is investing itself in the staking venture. Previously, this job was taken on by Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, based in Hamburg. “We are successful with what we do,” said Dittrich.
For the telecommunications company, however, it is also important what the data center landscape looks like for a network. As in the Celo network, the Open Telekom Cloud (OTC) is also used. “We run our nodes on our own infrastructure,” said Dittrich.
This enables the company to be independent of other platforms that also operate nodes. “Bug on the AWS at Amazon, on Azure or at Google do not correlate with errors on our platform ”, says Dittrich,“ you have to think about decentralization from every angle ”.