Sensors 22 05238

sensors
Review
Blockchain–Cloud Integration: A Survey
Abhirup Khanna 1, * , Anushree Sah 1 , Vadim Bolshev 2,3 , Alessandro Burgio 4 , Vladimir Panchenko 5
and Marek Jasiński 6
1 Department of Systemics, School of Computer Science, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies,
Dehradun 248007, India; asah@ddn.upes.ac.in
2 Laboratory of Power Supply and Heat Supply, Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM,
109428 Moscow, Russia; vadimbolshev@gmail.com
3 Laboratory of Intelligent Agricultural Machines and Complexes, Don State Technical University,
344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia
4 Independent Researcher, 87036 Rende, Italy; alessandro.burgio.phd@gmail.com
5 Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Russian University of Transport, 127994 Moscow, Russia;
pancheska@mail.ru
6 WWSIS “Horyzont”, 54-239 Wrocław, Poland; jasinski.lubin@gmail.com
* Correspondence: akhanna@ddn.upes.ac.in; Tel.: +91-9759-617-150
Abstract: Over the last couple of years, Blockchain technology has emerged as a game-changer for
various industry domains, ranging from FinTech and the supply chain to healthcare and educa-
tion, thereby enabling them to meet the competitive market demands and end-user requirements.
Blockchain technology gained its popularity after the massive success of Bitcoin, of which it consti-
tutes the backbone technology. While blockchain is still emerging and finding its foothold across
domains, Cloud computing is comparatively well defined and established. Organizations such as
Amazon, IBM, Google, and Microsoft have extensively invested in Cloud and continue to provide a
plethora of related services to a wide range of customers. The pay-per-use policy and easy access
Citation: Khanna, A.; Sah, A.; to resources are some of the biggest advantages of Cloud, but it continues to face challenges like
Bolshev, V.; Burgio, A.; Panchenko, V.; data security, compliance, interoperability, and data management. In this article, we present the
Jasiński, M. Blockchain–Cloud advantages of integrating Cloud and blockchain technology along with applications of Blockchain-
Integration: A Survey. Sensors 2022, as-a-Service. The article presents itself with a detailed survey illustrating recent works combining
22, 5238. https://doi.org/10.3390/ the amalgamation of both technologies. The survey also talks about blockchain–cloud services being
s22145238 offered by existing Cloud Service providers.
Academic Editors: Massimo Villari,
Maria Fazio, Giuseppe Di Modica Keywords: blockchain; cloud computing; decentralization; Blockchain-as-a-Service
and Antonino Galletta
Received: 8 June 2022

Accepted: 8 July 2022
1. Introduction
Published: 13 July 2022
Blockchain is a new and emergent technology that is expected to change the way
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral current markets work. It is a distributed digital ledger and is decentralized. With the
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
current working capacity of blockchain, it has the potential to be the operating system of
published maps and institutional affil-
smart cities. Blockchain is technology that is open source and distributed and is used to
iations.
record transactions between parties. It provides a way to develop a system that is both
verifiable and secured. Blockchain is open source, so different versions of blockchain are
available on the market. Each version is developed depending upon the different needs
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
of the various industries. Blockchain is neither owned nor singly controlled by any one
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
authority [1]. Blockchain technology is evolving at a swift pace. It started with Bitcoin, and
This article is an open access article now there are many types of blockchain. Organizations are developing different versions of
distributed under the terms and blockchain depending upon their need and benefits. The critical development in blockchain
conditions of the Creative Commons innovation is that it permits its member to transfer resources across the Internet without
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// the requirement of an incorporated outsider. The blockchain concept was created as the
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ fundamental innovation behind the cryptocurrency called Bitcoin. Blockchain technology
4.0/). is currently being tested in many different asset management and procurement services for
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22145238 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors

Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 2 of 31
opportunities and has already led to many applications. Similar to today’s sophisticated
flow of goods, there is a lack of transparency and trust. There are many intermediate
people associated with high documentation requirements, which leads to time-consuming
processes. Still, with a distributed blockchain system, the different interests of participants
in a feed chain can be linked to a public register. Blockchain eliminates disclosure and
accountability issues. Blockchain technology demonstrates high flexibility and has led to
lasting changes in business models that could prove to be more profitable than existing
ones [2]. Blockchain is an innovation that permits deals among numerous parties to be
addressed in a dependable, non-impermanent, and appropriately secure way. A blockchain
fills in as a grown-up trail to check the provenance in the food inventory network. In this
way, it will prevent lawsuits. In international supply chains, blockchain will help if all the
nations have a completely working general set of laws and execute the laws. The following
are some of the prominent contributions of our work:
• Providing a systematic review of Blockchain technology with respect to Cloud Computing
• Exemplifying prominent works discussing the application of Blockchain–Cloud integration
• Providing a detailed bibliometric analysis across five real-world application areas of
Blockchain–Cloud integration along with a reference architecture
• Exploring three key areas of Cloud computing which have had the maximum impact
of Blockchain integration followed by a bibliometric analysis
• Identifying the top three allied technologies which complement Blockchain–Cloud
integration for creating new-age solutions followed by their bibliometric analysis
• Providing a structured overview and description of publication patterns for Blockchain-
as-a-Service and leading Cloud Service Providers rendering Blockchain integrated
Cloud services.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 talks about Cloud computing
along with its deployment models. In Section 3, we discuss benefits of Blockchain–Cloud
integration followed by illustrating the key areas of Cloud computing wherein Blockchain
can have a significant impact in Section 4. Section 5 discusses the notable works concerning
application areas of Blockchain–Cloud integration. Section 6 talks about the adoption
challenges pertaining to Blockchain–Cloud integration. In Section 7, we identify and
discuss prominent allied technologies that are being combined with Blockchain–Cloud
integration for creating new-age solutions across different research verticals. In Section 8,
we describe our research methodology and present a detailed bibliometric analysis based
upon existing academic literature. Section 9 discusses prominent Cloud Service Providers
rendering services involving the integration of Blockchain and Cloud computing. Finally,
Section 10 summarizes our findings and concludes the work.
2. Cloud Computing and Deployment Models

Cloud computing is an incredible model that enables clients and associations to
purchase the administrations they need as indicated by their requirements. This model
offers many types of assistance, such as stocking, arrangement, and helpful admittance to
web administrations. Load adjusting is a typical issue in the cloud, making it hard to keep
up with the exhibition of utilizations connecting Quality of Service (QoS) estimation and
to meet the service level agreement (SLA). Cloud computing is an inventive organization-
based framework that can deal with various solicitations from the cloud and offer quick
support to clients. It is a computation and preparation model utilized in various parts
of the world. Distributed computing can be utilized to further develop the estimating
cycle utilizing high processing. It provides helpful, on-request admittance to tremendous
processing assets such as CPU, memory, organization, worker, stockpiling, and applications.
Moreover, these assets are frequently allotted to clients with the lowest assistance charge [3].
Cloud Computing is a new trend in information technology that is gaining a lot of attention
from researchers. It provides an accessible, flexible, and scalable computing system over
the internet for users. It enables them to use these resources remotely over the internet.
Using these services, a lot of money is saved that was earlier spent to establish computing
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infrastructure and maintain it. We are living in a world where, every second, million and
billions of data are processed and refined so as to provide a quality service. User bases in
different firms share their data and activities to use the service and those data are processed
so as to improve the services. As we are moving forward, this also is a threat to the privacy
of user data. Accessing data from local machines was good in previous times, but these days
the user has the power to sync their data to the cloud so that they can use services remotely
from anywhere around the world. This opens another pipeline for direct targets to user
data. So, it is important for firms to adapt a proper user-access control-management system.
This article revolves around different algorithms and techniques to improve security and
precision when accessing the services in cloud.
The characterization of cloud deployment models is performed, keeping in mind
where the deployment of the model resides and who commands the network. Each
model has a variety of necessities, and picking a model to fulfill the requirement of the
client or organization is significant. One of the main deployment choices that you will
have to make is which model to choose as per your requirements and needs. Every
cloud-deployment model offers different features or services and has a different variety
of alternatives depending upon its costs. Therefore, to select the correct model for your
organization, you should make an intelligent choice. The last decade has seen significantly
more organizations become dependent on Cloud computing for better effectiveness and
adaptability, as well as faster time to take products to the market. However, the response
as to which cloud model is the best fit for an organization relies upon the organization’s
demands and needs. It assists them with accomplishing the long-term advanced objectives
as a feature of their system. Picking the right one from the different kinds of cloud
deployment models is fundamental. It would guarantee your business is provided the
protection, security, adaptability, consistence, compliance, and cost-adequacy it needs.
Different types of cloud deployment models are listed below.
2.1. Private Cloud

Private cloud, as its name suggests, is the cloud that is maintained, controlled, and
managed by an organization. Usually, the entire infrastructure is in the datacenter that an
organization controls or manages. In this way, the organization is liable for procurement,
upkeep, and support services. Resources in the private cloud are confined within a single
organization. A private cloud is a committed environment for one (client). You do not
impart the infrastructure to some other clients. When we need our information to be secure
and we want assets that ought to be restricted to a specific measure of groups, private
clouds are preferred. Private clouds are utilized by a restricted measure of individuals,
e.g., where an association sets up its cloud only for the utilization of its workers. Only the
individuals working in that association can access it. The information put away on the
cloud is available just to the chosen group of individuals with the components of improved
security, quality, and protection. Generally, all the equipment is yours. A few examples of
private clouds are IBM Bluemix, Rackspace, Red Hat OpenStack, VMware, and Microsoft
Azure Stack. The private cloud is beneficial for putting away corporate information where
just an approved work force can gain access to resources, i.e., data privacy is important
in this type of cloud. Private clouds are also great for security purposes. There are more
significant levels of safety and better access, as resources are distributed inside the same
organization. Private clouds support legacy systems [4].
2.2. Public Cloud

The public cloud is accessible for everybody, for example, every last one of us is
qualified for use and can store information. Generally, single clients utilize it. Mid-level
organizations’ cloud service providers offer their resources and services to everybody as per
their demands. The public cloud is facilitated on the premises of the service provider. Being
available to everyone, it does not ensure security by and large. Thus, it is appropriate for
the organizations for which security is definitely not a main pressing issue while managing
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their information. Examples of public clouds are Google App Engine, Salesforce Heroku,
etc. Public cloud models are ideal for associations with developing and fluctuating requests.
Accordingly, you pay a cloud service provider for an infrastructure, computation, and
networking service. Moreover, the public cloud is utilized when investment is minimal,
i.e., there is no enormous forthright expense and is great for organizations where they
need quick access to resources. This model also fit best where the whole infrastructure
is stored with the cloud provider only. Moreover, there is no need for management of
the infrastructure.
2.3. Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud is a blend of both public cloud and private cloud where a client can
utilize benefits of both parts. Assuming you need for a few pieces of your information not
to be open to everybody, you can store it to the private part of the hybrid cloud, and, for
the other non-confidential and public type resources and information, you can use public
part of the cloud. It provides the infrastructure at a sensible cost which is higher than the
public cloud, but also less expensive than private cloud. It is restricted to the organizations
that can isolate their information into private and public crucial parts. Many organizations
have many resources of their own, so they would like to utilize few resources of their own
and want to borrow a few from cloud vendors. In such scenarios, this model plays a vital
role and is a good choice. Thus, this model is the second-most famous model. This model
allows organizations to use some of the on-premises available framework and the rest
of the resources of the public cloud. This is one of the very intelligent choices, and it is
valuable too. Using only public cloud causes security or information-breach issues and,
for a few organizations, security is one of the critical requisites, so they utilize the hybrid
cloud with advantages of using public cloud. The model is costly and expensive to use
and execute.
2.4. Community Cloud

The community cloud is used for a gathering of individuals that have comparative
interests, regularly known as a community. At the point when at least two associations
have comparative necessities, they counsel to a community cloud that holds services
that are normal for organizations. It can end up being of extraordinary advantage to the
organizations that are dealing with joint tasks/projects. Data transmission or limits on the
capacity are fixed in this type of deployment model. This cloud is committed to a couple of
organizations from similar communities. A community cloud is neither public nor private,
as it is not open for the public, and it is also not governed by a single organization or vendor
but is governed by group of organizations. A community cloud is shared by a gathering of
associations that have a common reason or objective. The cloud is mostly used to assist
them with accomplishing that objective. A community cloud is ideal where investment is
smaller and setup benefits are good.
2.5. Multi-Cloud
In a Multi-Cloud model, each cloud vendor is used in turn. This model uses private
and public clouds, and is very much similar to a Hybrid cloud. You would utilize more than
one type of cloud in this model. The Multi-cloud model gives you far better accessibility of
services than any other type of deployment model. One more justification behind utilizing
a multi-cloud is the point at which you want a particular infrastructure or services from one
public cloud and explicit help from another public cloud. The Multi-cloud model provides
various options to the organizations for expanding service dependability.
3. Benefits of Blockchain–Cloud Integration

Blockchain innovation is a vital innovation in the world that will allure businesses
and other sector areas to utilize that innovation to work on various services. Blockchain
is a progressive innovation that may innovate current market trading exchanges. The
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forthcoming Industry 4.0 interfaces the most recent advancements, for example, blockchain,
AI, distributed computing, and IoT for improving the usefulness and productivity of their
frameworks [5–8]. There are several benefits of blockchain and cloud integration; here, we
are discussing the popular advantages of blockchain and cloud integration.
3.1. Decentralization
In cloud computing, information is kept in a centralized server, which is one of the
major issues from the perspective of security; this can be overcome by accepting blockchain
in cloud computing. In IoT and cloud computing, a significant issue is a reliance on a
brought-together server to oversee information and for making choices. The blockchain
can give an answer to these issue as in the decentralized framework different duplicates
of similar information are put away on numerous hubs which eliminates the chance of
failure of the whole system. Additionally, the deficiency of information cannot be an issue,
as numerous duplicates of the information are available on different hubs. Blockchain
with integration with cloud computing is a possible good solution for decentralization and
could provide total privacy to users.
3.2. Data Security

Blockchain systems by default inherit data security features. Loads of data are trans-
acted and loaded into the cloud, so security of data is one of the main concerns in cloud
computing that is provided by blockchain–cloud integration in different sectors. Even the
storage of information on the cloud in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT) is a major
test. IoT devices put away information, such as the individual data of the house proprietor
including their voice accounts, video films, their family things, their property, and their
own propensities in cloud, and the destruction of this information can hurt the individual
security including assaults, theft, and illicit selling of the individual’s information for
cash. These conditions represent a danger to the IoT and cloud foundation. The answer to
this issue is the utilization of blockchain in cloud computing, which has the capability of
providing upgraded security to the entire engineering.
3.3. Adaptability
In blockchain applications, the quantity of exchanges in blockchain organizations
can be tremendous. Blockchain has amazing information handling techniques to have
large-scale exchanges for empowering adaptable blockchain services. Therefore, in this
regard, cloud computing can provide on-demand services for blockchain activities, because
of its scalability abilities. In this way, the blend of blockchain and cloud computing can
provide an exceptionally versatile coordinated system.
3.4. More Efficient Supply Chain Management

Blockchain is the technology that will help to develop cost effective and more efficient
ways of supply chain management. Blockchain enables better end-to-end tracking of goods
and services, and it can be incorporated into cloud computing for much better results for the
supply chain industry. A significant challenge of the supply chain management industry is
to consistently monitor all vehicles in its organization, their present areas, time for which
a vehicle remained in one spot, to set up correspondence between different vehicles. In
a similar way, tracing different services such as products, parcels, etc., deal with issues
because of the centralized methodology of their design. Blockchain has sufficient potential
for tracing these goods and services.
3.5. Tolerance of Faults and Errors

Blockchain requires replicating information over the network over different servers,
and this can be achieved by using Cloud. This will also limit the single point of risks from
the point of view of the disturbance of any cloud hub, so that blockchain can provide
uninterrupted services.
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4. Impact Areas of Blockchain in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is one of the key complementing technologies that support the
creation and functioning of blockchains. Some of the prominent advantages of Blockchain–
Cloud integration have been discussed in the previous section. In this section, we explore
the key areas of Cloud computing which have undergone significant transformations as a
result of integration with Blockchain technology. “Security”, “Privacy”, and “Storage” are
areas of Cloud computing wherein numerous advancements have been observed since its
integration with Cloud. Section 6 discusses the bibliometric analysis for all three areas and
demonstrates the interests of researchers through publication patterns. Moreover, it has
been realized that, to facilitate the growth of Cloud computing, it is essential to overcome
the roadblocks of data security and privacy for which blockchain seems a perfect match.
Table 1 summarizes some of the prominent works for the mentioned areas.
Table 1. Blockchain impact areas in Cloud Computing.
Theme Publications
Security [9–12]
Cloud Impact Areas Privacy [13–17]
Storage [18–24]
Data security and user privacy are major concerns for Cloud adoption. Blockchain inte-
gration with Cloud has the potential to mitigate the challenges of security and privacy [10].
The distribution of vast volumes of data over a Blockchain–Cloud environment improves
accuracy and minimizes cost [22]. Furthermore, improved access control mechanisms
can be implemented in a Cloud environment through means of blockchain integration.
As most Cloud organizations follow a centralized access control mechanism, integration
with blockchain will infuse decentralization, preventing tampering or leakage of data via
internal cloud managers [15]. Blockchain-enabled cloud solutions will ensure an efficient
framework for identity access control, thereby supporting privacy protection [25–28]. Cloud
auditing is another such area wherein privacy is of the utmost importance, as it involves
the tracking and logging of all operations and their relevant data. Blockchain integration
with Cloud will ensure preserving the provenance of data from being violated within the
cloud ecosystem. The decentralized nature of blockchain will facilitate securing the origin
of data and information on data owners, thereby solving one of the major concerns of cloud
storage applications.
Blockchain-data-based cloud data entry protection mechanism. Over the years, cloud
computing developed a lot, but data security and trusted computing remains a challenge
in many cloud applications. Though scholars have conducted many kinds of research,
and many models have been proposed by them, including the data integrity test and
multiparity calculation; they still face problems such as excessive computational com-
plexity and the lack of scalability. Blockchain technology has emerged as a new dynamic
computing paradigm in which data blocks present in the database are generated through
a crypto-graphic algorithm. The key features of blockchain, such as decentralization,
anonymity, auditability, and persistence have made it possible to use blockchain technology
in many fields. The topic discussed in this paper is how Blockchain technology can be
applied to cloud computing using the security mechanism to improve the performance in
secure storage and secure computing. The paper analyzes the requirements of security in
cloud storage data and also examines cypher text access control technology and integrity
verification technology.
Ref. [29] discusses the distributed virtual machine agent model deployed in the cloud
using mobile agent technology. The multi-tenants cooperate with each other ensuring
data trust verification through the virtual machine agent. The virtual machine agent
can complete the monitoring and verification tasks, which are essential for building the
blockchain-based integrity protection mechanism. This integrity-protection mechanism
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based on blockchain is built utilizing the virtual machine proxy model and the unique
hash value generated by the Merkel hash tree. It is used in monitoring the data change
utilizing the smart contract in the blockchain database and the data that is used in the
current time. Here, users can issue a message for the data tempering and the creation of
blockchain-based cloud data integrity verification scheme is completed by “block-and-
response” mode [30]. Ref. [31] examines the decentralized virtual machine specialist model
deployed in the cloud utilizing the mobile agent innovation. The multi-tenants cooperate
with one another, guaranteeing the information trust check through the virtual machine
specialist. The virtual machine specialist can observe and check jobs, which is essential
for building the blockchain-based trustworthiness insurance instrument. Here, users of
the system can signal information tampering and the construction of a blockchain-based
cloud information-verification system [32]. Ref. [33] constructs a technology application
scheme of blockchain-based cloud computing by combining the plus points of blockchain
and cloud computing. This scheme provides the protection and integrity check of the data.
Moreover, the multi-parity scheme that is based on the blockchain has been projected. The
security mechanisms and algorithms in blockchain and the general schemes of scalable
multiparity computing have been discussed and studied.
5. Application Areas of Blockchain–Cloud Integration

The concept of Cloud computing has had a prevalent computing model for almost
a decade. The last couple of years have seen a surge in the number of organizations
migrating their businesses to the Cloud. The ubiquitous availability of resources, attractive
pricing models, customized solutions, and numerous market players are some of the
factors that contribute to the success of Cloud computing. In recent years, Cloud has
emerged as a synonym for computing and storage capabilities that can be accessed over the
internet. Cloud has transformed itself into a generic computing paradigm that supports and
compliments the functions of other new-age technologies. Containerization, AI, Internet of
Things, and Big data analytics are some of the services to have become a part of the larger
pool of services being offered by leading Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). Researchers
are truly of the belief that the integration of Cloud with other technologies can result
in the creation of more robust, scalable, and secure applications. Blockchain technology
is the newest entrant to the list of technologies looking forward to Cloud integration.
Blockchain has merged as a new-age technology and has been exciting researchers and
industry professionals for the last couple of years. The distributed ledger technology
allows individuals to conduct transactions in a secure and automated manner. Figure 1
represents a reference architecture for Blockchain–Cloud integration. In this section, we
discuss the integration of Blockchain technology with Cloud computing. During the course
of our research, we carried out a comprehensive literature review and identified five
key application areas of Blockchain–Cloud integration: (1) Healthcare, (2) Supply Chain,
(3) Finance, (4) Smart Cities, and (5) Agriculture. Table 2 summarizes some of the prominent
works for the above application areas.
Table 2. Blockchain–Cloud Application Areas.
Theme Publications
Healthcare [34–41]
Supply Chain [42–47]
Blockchain and Cloud Finance [48–51]
Smart Cities [52–59]
Agriculture [60–65]
FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 31
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Figure 1. Blockchain–Cloud
Figure 1. Blockchain–Cloud Reference Architecture.
Reference Architecture.
5.1. Smart City
Table 2. Blockchain–Cloud Application Areas
In the recent past, the concept of “smart cities” has attracted considerable curiosity
among researchers across theTheme
world. The rise of Cloud computing and the Internet of Things
Publications
has provided immense infrastructure support for the creation of smart cities. Blockchain
Healthcare [34–41]
being the new member of the bandwagon of technologies, aims to facilitate the creation
Supply
of citizen-centric applications forChain [42–47] has the ability
a smart city environment. Blockchain
to operate
Blockchain and Cloudan entire smart city in an autonomous fashion when
Finance combined with IoT, AI,
[48–51]
and Cloud computing. Blockchain-enabled IoT solutions are becoming more and more
Smart Cities [52–59]
popular among industry players as they support ubiquitous sensing capabilities and
Agricultureand processing. Blockchain
intelligent information communication [60–65]
enables the trusted and
transparent exchange of information between IoT devices through the use of smart contracts
5.1. Smart City and consensus algorithms. Energy trading and distribution platforms, traffic management
systems, smart homes, and IoT applications are some of the many application areas of
In the recentblockchain
past, the integration
concept ofin “smart cities”
smart cities. has attracted
Moreover, blockchainconsiderable curiosity
has the potential to enhance
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extent ofthe world. Thethereby
e-governance, rise of Cloud computing
improving and the
citizen participation andInternet of of
formulation
Things has providedgovernment
immense schemes in a smart city.support for the creation of smart cities.
infrastructure
Blockchain being the new member
5.2. Smart Healthcare of the bandwagon of technologies, aims to facilitate the
creation of citizen-centric applications
Blockchain for a smart
has revolutionized the city environment.
healthcare Blockchain
sector by providing has the for
applications
ability to operate an entire
health smart
record city in anmedical
management, autonomous
insurancefashion when
claims, and combined with
pharmaceutical supplyIoT,
chains.
AI, and Cloud computing. Blockchain-enabled
The technology IoT solutions
has enabled health professionals are becoming
to manage more
patient data in a and more
secure manner
without third-party intervention. Blockchain has enabled government
popular among industry players as they support ubiquitous sensing capabilities and in- authorities to roll
out better healthcare schemes on the basis of the health records of its citizens. Diagnostic
telligent information communication and processing. Blockchain enables the trusted and
reports of patients can now easily be communicated to doctors and insurance firms for the
transparent exchange
purposeof of
information between IoT
faster claim settlements. devices through
The immutable the use ofallows
nature of blockchain smart con-
it to ensure
tracts and consensus
trustalgorithms. Energy
and accountability andtrading
facilitate and distribution
the creation platforms,healthcare
of a patient-centric traffic man-system.
agement systems,Complementary
smart homes,technologies of the likes of are
and IoT applications AI, Cloud,
some and IoT are
of the manya great success when
application
combined with blockchain in creating modern day healthcare systems. The Internet of
areas of blockchain integration in smart cities. Moreover, blockchain has the potential to
Medical Things, Edge-based healthcare systems, and AI-enabled medical imaging systems
enhance the extent areofsome
e-governance, thereby
of the many areas improving
of blockchain citizen Post
integration. participation and formu-
pandemic, numerous works
lation of government
have schemes in a smart
been published city.the applicability of Blockchain technology, IoT, and AI for
discussing
the purpose of contact tracing and vaccination certificate distribution and validation.
5.2. Smart Healthcare
5.3. Supply Chain
Blockchain has revolutionized
The recent studiesthe healthcare
in the sector technology
area of blockchain by providing
depictapplications for
its popularity beyond
health record management,
the realm ofmedical insurance
cryptocurrencies. claims,
Supply andManagement
Chain pharmaceutical
(SCM)supply
is one ofchains.
the many
The technology has enabled health professionals to manage patient data in a secure man-
ner without third-party intervention. Blockchain has enabled government authorities to
roll out better healthcare schemes on the basis of the health records of its citizens. Diag-
nostic reports of patients can now easily be communicated to doctors and insurance firms
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 9 of 31
leading areas discussing the applicability of blockchain technology. Numerous works in

the past have been published stating the use of blockchain technology for managing food,
agriculture, retail, hospitality, and pharmaceutical supply chains. SCM has always been
a challenging task for organizations, and, specifically post pandemic, the complexity and
challenges have increased manyfold. SCM holds the key to numerous economic activities
of a country, and any disruption may lead to large fiscal deficits and job losses. Companies
need to modernize SCM practices in order to stay relevant and possess a competitive
advantage. Blockchain integration with SCM serves this purpose by providing viable
methods of asset tracking while ensuring security and data integrity. Data being generated
at every stage of the supply chain are recorded in the form of transactions. Blockchain-
enabled systems are transparent in nature and support the real-time data collection of a
product across the entire supply chain. The entire lifecycle of a product can be managed
using blockchain technology while ensuring quality control. Blockchain technology has the
potential to contribute to various aspects of SCM such as physical and digital asset tracking;
tracking orders and payments; and managing invoices, licenses, and copyrights. The
decentralized nature of blockchain enables a continuous information flow and facilitates
the seamless sharing of this information between suppliers, vendors, manufactures, and
end-user customers across the entire supply chain. The absence of a central authority, the
presence of a distributed ledger, and a trust-based ecosystems enable blockchain to weave
a network of complex assembly lines.
5.4. Agriculture
Blockchain technology can be seen as an enabler for the agriculture sector. Removal of
numerous intermediatory entities and direct communication between farmer and the end
user are the biggest advantages that blockchain technology provides to the agriculture sec-
tor. Smart-contract-enabled trading platforms are enabling farmers to sell their produce at
favorable rates directly to the end customers. Blockchain is a great supporter of the concept
of information-intensive farming that involves Agri data assimilation and intelligent deci-
sion making. Smart agriculture that involves the use of new-age technologies is inevitable
for the farmers to adopt as it is the only means of rural development and revitalization of
the farmer economy. A Blockchain-enabled token-based economy can provide a secure and
efficient trading platforms for assisting farmers in trading their crop produce.
6. Blockchain–Cloud Adoption Challenges

6.1. Limited Interoperability
Multiple, enterprise-grade blockchain platforms exist that can handle enterprise trans-
actions. However, there are no standards allowing them to communicate with each other.
For widespread adoption to occur, there needs to be some kind of proven cross-platform
system that allows businesses running on different blockchain platforms to collaborate.
However, currently, no such system exists. It would be hard for a company using Hyper-
ledger Fabric to coexist with its partner using Corda services without having compatibility
issues. Blockchain Platform Services have begun to address this issue. Hyperledger and
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, two of the most popular enterprise blockchain platforms,
have decided to work together to define standards to enable interoperability. However,
there is still more work to be completed to address this concern and enable the mass
adoption of enterprise blockchains.
6.2. Regulatory Issues

Enterprise blockchain technology is still in its infancy, with a small number of pilot
projects being completed. This makes it difficult for lawmakers to set forth adequate
rules and regulations for managing enterprise blockchain networks. For a vast majority
of enterprises, these networks will be distributed across the world, making it a complex
process for governments to establish jurisdiction. Globally dispersed blockchain networks
will make it hard for governments to establish rules around data storage and sharing. Given
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 10 of 31
the network’s complexity, once an illicit transaction has occurred, authorities may find it
challenging to trace it down and identify the legal obligations of the parties involved.
6.3. Regulation Deficiency

One of the major challenges in the blockchain industry is that there is no regulation
for blockchain in any organization. Most organizations in the IT world are opting to use
blockchain technology to make transactions. Even sometimes, many products depend on
this technology. Moreover, with no specific regulation, it is becoming difficult to manage
and regularize, as no one is following any rules that are specific to the blockchain market.
So, to make blockchain work and to overcome challenges in the application of blockchain
in the real world, the government and other such governing parties need to set up rules
and regulations or protocol for blockchain to be successfully adopted in the market.
6.4. Tensions Regarding Criminal Activities and Cybersecurity

News about people using digital currencies for criminal activities and conducting
dubious transactions has painted a negative picture of blockchain technology. According
to blockchain data company Chainalysis, just 0.34% of all cryptocurrency transactions in
2020 were illegal, but there was a 311% increase in ransomware incidents. The thought
of such risks is holding some enterprises back from adopting blockchain technology. One
of the most attractive features of blockchain technology is that it is secure by nature, yet
companies are not comfortable with deploying blockchain in their operations. Blockchain
is vulnerable to phishing scams, but this generally affects cryptocurrency transactions and
not enterprise blockchains. Ransomware attacks still pose a threat to enterprise blockchains.
However, strong multi-factor authentication can be used to stop these.
6.5. Uncertain ROI

The return on investment from a blockchain solution is a major concern for companies
implementing blockchain technology. As discussed earlier, blockchain adoption is a cost-
intensive affair, which makes ROI crucial. According to an IBM study, organizations expect
just around 20% ROI on their blockchain investments in the next 4 to 5 years and about
50% ROI in 10 years. Predicting ROI from a blockchain project is a complex process, and
there is no proven formula for the blockchain ROI calculation. This is a major challenge
that holds organizations back from adopting blockchain technology.
6.6. Integration of Blockchain–Cloud with Legacy Systems

Integrating legacy systems with the new blockchain system is a major challenge the
industry is facing nowadays. To completely integrate blockchain with legacy systems de-
signers have to restructure the complete system and have to integrate different technologies.
While integrating blockchain with legacy systems, a few issues arise such as there is a
shortage of skilled labor (or you can say there is a lack of developers with the proper skill
set for the blockchain industry). Due to this, sometimes organizations have to rely on a
third party that further softens this problem. Therefore, to complete this transition, organi-
zations have to invest a significant amount of their time and resources. Most companies
nowadays are encouraging the transition to blockchain, as there are many indices of loss of
data. Companies are not willing to make changes to their databases and this contributes to
great risk. Data loss or data corruption are two major losses IT companies may face, and,
with the adoption of blockchain technology, these companies benefit. With the growing
market demands, new companies are investing and developing new systems or ways to
integrate blockchain and legacy systems. One example of this type of product is the Modex
Blockchain database. The product is developed with the mind that users who use this do
not have much knowledge of blockchain, and thus it reduces the chances of the loss of
sensitive data.
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 11 of 31
6.7. Low Scalability

Scalability came as another challenge in implementing blockchain. Blockchain works
fine in the case of a small number of users, but what will happen when mass integration
takes place. When it comes to the number of users, Ethereum and Bitcoin have the highest
number of users on their networks, but they are having difficulty managing and dealing
with them. With the increasing number of users on the network, the transition takes a longer
process. Thus, the transition costs are higher than usual and, in turn, result in more users
on the network. It can take days, with the entire process of transaction leading to making
the technology less and less lucrative and worthwhile. A few other blockchain technologies
adopted showed a faster output but eventually slowed down when the number of users
logging into the system increased. Thus, this challenge needs to be managed quickly, as it
is making the entire technology dull.
6.8. High-Energy Consumption

Another challenge that comes up is energy consumption. The majority of blockchain
technology follows the blockchain framework and uses Proof of Work as a consensus
algorithm. However, Proof of Work needs computational power to keep the system alive.
Mining leads to solving complex equations using the computer. This, in turn, leads to
the PC utilizing more and more electricity in overcoming the situation when you start
mining. As of now, the miners are utilizing 0.2% of the total electricity, and if it continues
to increase then they might take even more power than the world can provide. This
becomes one of the primary challenges in adopting blockchain technology that needs to
be dealt with. But how? Blockchain can use consensus methods to authorize transactions.
Consensus algorithms used require much less energy to process. This is the only way to
make blockchain technology a blessing again.
7. Allied Technologies
The combination of innovative technologies such as Cloud Computing, Blockchain,
and IoT has proven to be beneficial for designing new-age IoT solutions. Even through IoT
and Blockchain are distinctive technologies, they both have the potential to come along
and create futuristic solutions. Blockchain can be seen as a solution to existing concerns of
privacy and security in the IoT domain [66–68]. The use of blockchain technology along
with cloud computing can be seen as a promising solution for numerous IoT applications.
Identity management, data storage, and autonomous processing are some of the impact
areas wherein Blockchain–Cloud integration can prove beneficial for IoT applications.
Supply Chain Management, Smart cities, and Intelligent healthcare systems are some
of the most popular research areas of IoT which have recently found the applicability
of Blockchain–Cloud integration [69,70]. Smart contracts have proved their significant
worth for managing and operating supply chains and smart cities. The concepts of the
Internet of Vehicles (IoV) and Device-to-Device communication are majorly supported
by Blockchain–Cloud integration, wherein blockchain supports the secure exchange of
data between devices and establishes trust and traceability among various passengers.
The availability, interoperability, and standardization of data is ensured by the Cloud
end. Talking of intelligent healthcare systems, data collected from a variety of sensors is
exchanged, stored, and processed using Blockchain–Cloud integration. The combination of
these technologies assists the doctor to monitor the health of their patient on a real-time
basis with utmost efficiency and privacy protection.
The rapid growth in the number of IoT devices has led to large volumes of data
being transmitted to the Cloud end, thus resulting in massive levels of network bandwidth
consumption. In order to resolve the problems of centralized failure and large bandwidth
consumptions, an extension of Cloud was introduced, known as edge computing. Data col-
lected by various IoT devices are stored on different edge servers for faster processing and
high-frequency real-time access [71–73]. Storing and processing sensitive data over edge
servers continues to be a challenge and thereby involves an integration with blockchain
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 12 of 31
technology. Blockchain helps to create a secure decentralized system that supports privacy
protection, encrypted data storage and access, secure access control, intrusion detection,
and effective authentication mechanisms. The consensus mechanisms of blockchain assist
in managing distributed databases spread across multiple edge servers. Blockchain–Cloud
integration with edge computing helps to create a distributed edge-computing environment
that supports the tracking of assets and integrity of transactions among IoT devices [74].
The decentralized nature of the system will help to prevent any malicious attacks from
insiders, along with maintaining data transparency. Blockchain–Cloud integration will
ensure enhanced cooperation between IoT devices and edge servers. Blockchain–Cloud
integration with edge computing is mutually beneficial, as edge servers assist in manag-
ing mining time and improve the scalability of the blockchain. Blockchain coupled with
6G-enabled edge services and edge-computing-based autonomous vehicles are some of the
most prominent research areas for researchers working on Blockchain–Edge integration.
The third biggest allied technology for Blockchain–Cloud integration is AI. The mas-
sive production of data from IoT devices, web applications, and social media websites has
given rise to numerous applications of AI and deep learning [75–78]. The complexity of
machine learning models and the large variety and volume of data which they process
make it a mandate for them to be hosted on Cloud. However, the centralized nature of AI
could result in issues relating to data breaches and the authenticity of the data [79]. The
combination of blockchain and AI gives rise to a new concept called Decentralized AI,
wherein data are stored and shared in a secure manner using digital signatures and encryp-
tion techniques are stored in a decentralized manner. Trusted decision-making and proper
data governance mechanisms are in place one Blockchain–Cloud integration is coupled
with AI. The use of smart contacts can be extremely beneficial for creating autonomous
systems, as decisions taken by an intelligent machine can be verified and validated by
miner nodes of the blockchain. Moreover, blockchain integration with AI can support the
concept of decentralized learning and involving the secure and trustworthy distribution
of decision outcomes, hyperparameter values, and weights in neural networks [80–83].
Decentralized learning will involve the coming together of autonomous intelligent ma-
chines that can contribute to accurate decisions. Blockchain–Cloud integration with AI
will the support storing and processing of tamper-proof data that can be cryptographically
signed before distribution and subsequently validated before further processing. Smart
city is one such specific domain that finds the applicability of all allied technologies along
with Blockchain–Cloud integration [84]. It is through the use of these allied technologies
that we can create a truly smart, autonomous, and sustainable smart city. Table 3 presents
a comparative analysis of some of the prominent works concerning Blockchain-Cloud
integration with allied technologies.
Table 3. Blockchain–Cloud Integration with Allied Technologies.
Cloud Deployment Blockchain

Serial No Allied Technology Cloud Impact Area Blockchain Type
Model Platform
[85] IoT, AI Private Cloud Computation Private Ethereum
[86] IoT Public/Private Cloud Storage Private -
[87] IoT, Deep Learning Public Cloud Security, Privacy Private Ethereum
[88] IoT Private Cloud Security Consortium Ethereum
[89] IoT Private Cloud Security, Storage Consortium -
[90] Edge Computing Public Cloud Computation Consortium -
[91] Edge Computing Public Cloud Computation - -
[92] Edge Computing Private Cloud Security, Storage Multichain -
Computation, Security,
[93] AI, Edge Computing Private Cloud Public, Private -
Privacy
Customized
[94] AI, IoT Public Cloud Computation, Storage Public
Blockchain
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 13 of 31
Table 3. Cont.
Cloud Deployment Blockchain

Serial No Allied Technology Cloud Impact Area Blockchain Type
Model Platform
[95] Edge Computing, AI Public Cloud Privacy Private Ethereum
[96] AI, IoT Private Cloud Security, Computation Public -
Security, Privacy,
[97] IoT Public/Private Cloud Public -
Storage
Edge Computing,
[98] Public Cloud Security, Computation Private Ethereum
Deep Learning
[99] IoT, Edge Computing Private Cloud Security, Privacy Private -
8. Literature Survey
8.1. Methodology
This paper follows a multi-step research methodology for analyzing publishing pat-
terns in the field of Blockchain technology and Cloud computing. A survey was conducted
based on the Scopus database [100]. Articles published between 2017 and 2021 were con-
sidered for the survey. During the process of the publication search, we ensured that the
papers selected were written in English language. The primary step involved searching
publications on the basis of keywords such as “Blockchain AND Cloud”. We ensured
that the keywords were mentioned in either the paper’s abstract or title. The results of
the first step led to the identification of three prominent sub-domains wherein Blockchain
and Cloud find applicability. The subsequent step involved searching publications on the
basis of keywords “Blockchain AND Fintech”; “Blockchain AND Smart City”; “Blockchain
AND Healthcare”. Furthermore, we analyzed our search results on the basis of three
dimensions which led to enhanced insights with respect to the research being conducted
in Blockchain technology and Cloud computing. Finally, we have a subsection discussing
publications focusing on Blockchain-as-as-Service (BaaS). The keyword “BaaS” has been
used for the classification of works that talk about either the implementation or the use of
Blockchain-as-as-Service. The following is the set of keywords that were searched during
our survey.
1. Blockchain + Cloud Computing
2. Blockchain + Cloud + Smart Healthcare
3. Blockchain + Cloud + Finance/DeFi
4. Blockchain + Cloud + Agriculture
5. Blockchain + Cloud + Supply Chain
6. Blockchain + Cloud + Smart City
7. Blockchain + Cloud Security
8. Blockchain + Cloud Privacy
9. Blockchain + Cloud Storage
8.2. Blockchain–Cloud Application Areas

Figure 2 illustrates the comparison between prominent application areas with respect
to the number of publications from the year 2017. Our survey indicated the abovementioned
five subdomains as the most notable ones with respect to works concerning Blockchain and
Cloud integration.
Figure 3 describes publication distribution in terms of article classification such as
conference papers, book chapters, articles, conference review papers, etc. Except in the case
of healthcare, all other sub-domains have conference papers constituting the largest section
in terms of works being published.
chain and Cloud integration.
8.2. Blockchain–Cloud Application Areas
Figure 2 illustrates the comparison between prominent application areas with respect
to the number of publications Publication Count
from the year 2017. Our survey indicated the abovemen-
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238
tioned five subdomains as the most notable ones with respect to works concerning Block- 14 of 31
100
90chain and Cloud integration.
80
70 Publication Count
60
50 100
40 90
30 80
20 70
60
10
50
0
40 Healthcare Finance Smart City Supply Chain Agriculture
30
20 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
10
Figure 2.0Publication count comparison among application areas.
Healthcare Finance Smart City Supply Chain Agriculture
conference papers, book chapters,2021 articles,
2020 2019 2018 review
conference 2017 papers, etc. Except in the
case of healthcare, all other sub-domains have conference papers constituting the largest
Figure
section 2. Publication
in terms ofFigure
workscount comparison
being countamong
published.
2. Publication application
comparison areas.
among application areas.

Publication
conference papers, book chapters, Classification
articles, conference review papers, etc. Except in the
case of healthcare, all other sub-domains have conference papers constituting the largest
sectionEditorial
in terms of works being published.
Book
Conference Review
Conference Paper Publication Classification
0 50 100 150 200 250
Editorial
Conference
Book Conference Book
Article Review Book Editorial
Conference ReviewPaper Review Chapter
Finance 30 18 4 4 2 2 1
Conference Paper
Healthcare 74 113 36 25 2 17 1
0 50 100 150 200 250
Smart City 52 43 17 4 2 4 0
Conference Conference Book
Supply Chain 60 38Article 20 12Review 4 Book 9 1
Editorial
Paper Review Chapter
Agriculture
Finance 16 30 16 18 10 4 5 4 0 2 3 2 0 1
Healthcare 74 113 36 25 2 17 1
Figure 3. Smart City Figure
Publication 523. Publication
classification 43 classification
comparison 17 comparison
among 4 among
application 2
areas.
application 4
areas. 0
Supply Chain 60 38 20 12 4 9 1
Agriculture Figure
16 4 represents
16 the country-wise
10 5 publication
0 distribution
3 for works0 concerning the
use of Blockchain and Cloud in the area of Supply Chain Management. India leads from
the front, followed by China and The United States. India having the maximum numbers
Figure 3. Publication classification
indicates comparison
the creation of modernamong application
supply areas. which is an essential part of the
chain solutions,
larger plan to be the global manufacturing hub.
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 15 of 31
Supply Chain
Supply Chain
India United States China
Australia South Korea United Kingdom
Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates
4% 2%
4% 2%
3%
3% 3% 8%
3% 8%
33%
33%
25%
25%
22%
22%
Figure 4. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Supply Chain.

Figure 4. Region-specific publication distribution
Figure 4. Region-specific for Blockchain–Cloud
publication distribution and Supply
for Blockchain–Cloud andChain.
Supply Chain.
Figure 5 represents
Figure 5the country-wise
represents publication
the country-wise distribution
publication for works
distribution concerning
forconcerning
works concerning
Figure 5 represents the country-wise publication distribution for works
the use of Blockchain
the use and
of Cloud
Blockchain in the
and healthcare
Cloud in the sector. India
healthcare is
sector. the largest
India is the contributor
largest contributor
the use of Blockchain and Cloud in the healthcare sector. India is the largest contributor
followed, by the Unitesby
followed, States
the and China.
Unites States TheChina.
and graph The
reinstates
graph the fact that
reinstates the countries
fact that such such
countries
followed, by the Unites States and China. The graph reinstates the fact that countries such
as India and China
as Indiaare
andaggressively working working
China are aggressively on creating new-age
on creating healthcare
new-age healthcaresolutions
solutions that
as India and China are aggressively working on creating new-age healthcare solutions
combine
that combine the use ofthe use of multiple
multiple technologies.
technologies.
that combine the use of multiple technologies.
United Arab
United Arab
Emirates
Emirates
Healthcare
Healthcare
5%
5% Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
8%
8%
United Kingdom
United Kingdom India
8% India
8% 33%
South Korea 33%
South Korea
9%
9%
Australia
Australia
10% United States
10% China United States
China 15%
12% 15%
12%

publication distribution and Healthcare.
for Blockchain–Cloud and Healthcare.
Figure 5. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Healthcare.
Figure 6the
Figure 6 represents represents the country-wise
country-wise publicationpublication distribution
distribution for worksforconcerning
works concerning
Figure 6 represents the country-wise publication distribution for works concerning
the use of Blockchain and Cloud in the area of Finance. The graph represents the topthe
the use of Blockchain and Cloud in the area of Finance. The graph represents fivetop five
regions and Cloud
for works in the
involving area of Finance. The graph
the use of Blockchain–Cloud represents
integration the top five
for Finance
regions for works involving the use of Blockchain–Cloud integration for Finance relatedrelated
regions for works involving
applications. the has
China usethe
of highest
Blockchain–Cloud
numbers, with integration for United
India and The Finance related
States following.
applications. China has the highest numbers, with India and The United States following.
applications. China has the highest numbers, with India and The United States following.
2, 22, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 5
2, 22, x FOR PEER2022,
Sensors REVIEW
22, 5238 2 of 5 16 of 31
Finance
Finance
United Kingdom
United10%
Kingdom
10%
Australia
Australia
10% India
10% India
21%
21%
United States
United
14%States
China 14%
China
45%
45%
India United States China Australia United Kingdom

India United States China Australia United Kingdom
Figure 6. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Finance.

Figure 6. Region-specific publication for Blockchain–Cloud
distribution and Finance.
for Blockchain–Cloud and Finance.
Figure 7 represents the

Figure the country-wise
7 represents publication
distribution concerning
for works concerning the
Figure 7 represents country-wise publication distribution for works concerning
use of and Cloud
Blockchain and inCloud
the area
in ofarea
the agriculture.
of China,
agriculture. India,
China, and
India, the
and United
the United States
the use of Blockchain and Cloud in the area of agriculture. China, India, and the United
States are the are
topthe
runners. The large numbers coming from China indicate the efforts
top runners. The large numbers coming from China indicate the efforts which they
States are the top runners. The large numbers coming from China indicate the efforts
which they have been
have been making
makingtowards
towards sustainable agriculture.
sustainable agriculture.
which they have been making towards sustainable agriculture.
Agriculture
Agriculture
South Korea United Kingdom United Arab Emirates
South Korea United Kingdom United Arab Emirates
7%
7%
13% 23%
13% 23%
7%
7%
17%
17%
33%
33%

Figure 7. Region-specific publication for Blockchain–Cloud
distribution and Agriculture.
for Blockchain–Cloud and Agriculture.
Figure 7. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Agriculture.
Figure the
Figure 8 represents 8 represents the country-wise
country-wise publicationpublication
distributiondistribution
for works forconcerning
works concerning
Figure 8 represents
the the country-wise
applicability of publication
Blockchain–Cloud distribution
integration for the for works
creation of concerning
smart cities.and
India and
the applicability of Blockchain–Cloud integration for the creation of smart cities. India
the applicability of Blockchain–Cloud
China integration
are the most prominent sources for the creationwhich
of publications, of smart
is acities.
direct India and to the
correlation
China are the most prominent sources of publications, which is a direct correlation to the
China are the most prominent
fact that sources
both countries haveof publications, which
made significant is a direct
investments correlation
in relation to the smart
to creating
fact that both countries
cities in the
have
past
made
few
significant investments in relation to creating smart
years.
fact that both countries have made significant investments in relation to creating smart
cities in the past few years.
cities in the past few years.
2, 22,x xFOR
22, FORPEER
PEERREVIEW
REVIEW 17 3ofof315
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 17 of 31
Smart City
Smart
India
India United States
United States China
China
Australia
Austr alia SouthKorea
South Korea United Kingdom
United Kingdom
SaudiArabia
Saudi Arabia United Arab
United Arab Emirates
Emirates
6%
7% 6%
7%
7% 28%
28%
7%
9%
9%
11% 13%
11% 13%
19%
19%
Figure 8. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Smart Cities.

publication distribution and Smart
for Blockchain–Cloud andCities.
Smart Cities.
8.3. Cloud Impct Areas

8.3. Cloud Impct Areas
Figure 9 illustrates
Figure the
9 illustrates Security
publication comparison
the publication betweenbetween
comparison key areas of Cloud
key areas compu-
of Cloud computing
ting which have seen
which theseen
have highest impacts
the highest as a result
impacts of blockchain
as a result integration.
of blockchain Our
integration. survey
Our survey indi-
indicates thatIndia
security,
cates privacy,privacy,
that security, and storage
Unitedand are the
storage
States aretop
the three
top
China segments
three segmentsofofthe
theCloud
Cloud eco-
ecosystem,
to which blockchain technology has significantly
system, to which blockchain technology has significantly contributed. contributed.
Publication Count
5% 2%
5%
450
5%
400 20%
350
6%
300
17%
250
200 40%
150
100
50
Figure 11. Region-specific publication distribution for the impact of Blockchain–Cloud integration
0
on Cloud Security.
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
Figure 12 represents the country-wise
Security publication
Privacy Storage distribution for works concerning
the applicability of Blockchain technology and privacy aspect of Cloud computing. China
has a 41%
Figure share
9. Year of thePublication
specific total number
Countofcomparison
publications.
among Cloud impact areas.
Figure 9. Year specific Publication Count comparison among Cloud impact areas.
Figure 10the
Figure 10 represents represents the publication
publication classifications
classifications of all
of all three three impact
Cloud Cloud impact
areas areas
since the year 2017. The graph clearly indicates conference papers to be the largest sectionsection
since the year 2017. The graph clearly indicates conference papers to be the largest
in term of works being published. Cloud Security is one particular impact area which has
in term of works being published. Cloud Security is one particular impact area which has
seen the highest number of publications in recent times.
seen the highest number of publications in recent times.
x FOR PEER REVIEW
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 18 of 31 18 of 31
Publication Classification
22, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 5
Editorial
Book Chapter
Book
Review
Conference Review Smart City
Article
Conference PaperIndia United States China
Austr
0 alia 100 South
200 Korea300 United Kingdom
400 500 600 700
Saudi Arabia
Conference United Arab Emirates
Conference Book
Article Review Book Editorial
Paper Review Chapter
Storage 327 279 78 14 3 16 0
Privacy 302 299 106 6% 17 3 20 1
7%
Security 579 515 149
7% 28%
5 6 33 2
9%
Figure comparison
10. Publication among
classification Cloud among
comparison impactCloud
areas.impact areas.
11% 13%
Figure
Figure 11 represents the11country-wise
represents the country-wisedistribution
19%
publication publication distribution
for works for works concerning
concerning
the applicability of Blockchain technology and Cloud security. China has a significant lead
the applicability of Blockchain technology and Cloud security. China has a significant lead
on the rest of its contemporaries. Cloud security is one such impact area which is seeing
on the rest of its contemporaries. Cloud security is one such impact area which is seeing
equal numbers of contributions from countries such as South Korea, the United Kingdom,
equal numbers
Figure ofand
contributions
8. Region-specific fromdistribution
Saudipublication
Arabia. countries such as South Korea, and
for Blockchain–Cloud the United Kingdom,
Smart Cities.
and Saudi Arabia.
Security
Security
5% 2%
5%
5% 2%
5%
5%
20%
5%
20%
6%
6% 17%
17%
40%
40%

Figure 11. Region-specific for the impact
publication distribution of impact
for the Blockchain–Cloud integration
of Blockchain–Cloud integration
Figure 11. Region-specific
on Cloud on Cloudpublication
Security. Security. distribution for the impact of Blockchain–Cloud integration
on Cloud Security.
Figure 12
Figure 12 represents represents
the the country-wise
country-wise publication publication
distributiondistribution
for worksfor concerning
works concerning
the applicability of Blockchain technology and privacy aspect of Cloud computing. China
theFigure 12 represents
applicability the country-wise
of Blockchain technology publication
and privacy distribution for works
aspect of Cloud concerning
computing. China
has a 41% share of the total number of publications.
thehas
applicability
a 41% shareof of
Blockchain technology
the total number and privacy aspect of Cloud computing. China
of publications.
has a 41% share of the total number of publications.
22, x FORSensors
PEER2022,
REVIEW
22, 5238 4 of 519 of 31
Privacy
Privacy
6% 3%
6% 3%
16%
7%
5% 16%
7%
5%
6% 16%
6% 16%
41%
41%
Figure 12. Region-specific publication distribution for the impact of Blockchain–Cloud integration
Figure
on 12. Region-specific
Privacy publication distribution
in Cloud. for the impact
on Privacy in Cloud.
on Privacy in Cloud.
Figure 13 represents therepresents
Figure 13 country-wise publication
distribution for concerning
works concerning
Figure 13 represents
the applicability the country-wise publication distribution for works concerning
theofapplicability
Blockchainof technology
Blockchainand Cloud storage.
technology and CloudChina has the
storage. highest
China con-
has the highest
the applicability of Blockchain
tributions withcontributions
48% of the total technology
with publications. and Cloud storage.
48% of the total publications. China has the highest con-
tributions with 48% of the total publications.
Storage
Storage
3% 1%
3%
4% 3% 3% 1%
4%
19%
8% 19%
8%
14%
14%
48%
48%

Figure 13. Region-specific for the impact
Figure
on 13.Storage.
Cloud Region-specific publication
on Cloud Storage. distribution for the impact of Blockchain–Cloud integration
on Cloud Storage.
8.4. Blockchain-as-a-Service
Figure 14 represents the publication classification for the area of Blockchain-as-a-
Service sincethe
thepublication classification
year 2017. The graph clearlyfor the area
indicates of Blockchain-as-a-Ser-
conference papers to be the largest
Figurethe
vice since 14 year
represents
2017. the
The publication
graph classification
clearly indicates for the
conferencearea of Blockchain-as-a-Ser-
papers
section in terms of the works being published, followed by research to bearticles.
the largest
The graph
vice since the
section in terms year 2017. The
of the aworks
suggests graph
rise inbeing clearly indicates
published,
the number conference
followedwhich
of conferences papers
by research to be
are beingarticles.
conductedthe in
The largest
graph
the area of
section inaterms
suggests rise inofthe
thenumber
works being published,which
of conferences followed by research
are being articles.
conducted Thearea
in the graph
of
suggests a rise in the number of conferences which are being conducted
blockchain. Blockchain-as-a-Service being a recent research topic is attracting researchersin the area of
blockchain.
to publish moreBlockchain-as-a-Service
of their work in the being
form of a recent
journalresearch
articles.topic is attracting researchers
to publish more of their work in the form of journal articles.
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 20 of 31

blockchain. Blockchain-as-a-Service being a recent research topic is attracting researchers
to publish more of their work in the form of journal articles.
Publication
2% Classification
2% 4%
6%
4% Conference Paper
6%
Conference Paper
Article
ArticleConference Review
31%
57% Conference Review
31% Review
57% Review
Book Chapter
Book Chapter
Figure
Figure 14.
14. Publication classification
Publication
Figureclassification
Publication 14. comparison
classification
comparison for Blockchain-as-a-Service.
comparison for Blockchain-as-a-Service.
for Blockchain-as-a-Service.
Figure 15
Figure 15 illustrates theillustrates the region-specific
region-specific publicationpublication for Blockchain-as-a-Service
for Blockchain-as-a-Service in in terms
of publication
terms of publication count. Similar
count. Similar to othertosurvey
other survey
graphs,graphs, thecontinues
the trend trend continues
to be into be in favor of
favor of China China and as
and India India
the as the leading
leading publication
publication destinations.
destinations.
Publication Count
25
20
15
10
0
China India Australia South Korea United United Brazil Germany Spain Canada
States Kingdom
Publication Count

Figure 15. publication distribution
Region-specific for Blockchain-as-a-Service.
publication distribution for Blockchain-as-a-Service.
8.5. Blockchain–Cloud Allied Technologies

8.5. Blockchain–Cloud Allied Technologies
Figure 16 illustrates
Figurethe
16publication comparison
illustrates the between
publication different
comparison allied different
between technologies
allied technologies
for Blockchain–Cloud integration. Our survey identifies the Internet of Things (IoT), Edge
for Blockchain–Cloud integration. Our survey identifies the Internet of Things (IoT), Edge
Computing, and AI/Deep Learning
Computing, as theLearning
and AI/Deep top threeasmost prominent
the top allied
three most technologies
prominent allied technologies
that are currently being used in combination with Blockchain–Cloud integration.
that are currently being used in combination with Blockchain–Cloud integration.
2, 22, x FOR PEER2022,
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22, 5238 21 of 31 21 of 31
Publication Count
Publication Count
450
450
400
400
350
350
300
300
250
250
200
200
150
150
100
100
5050
00
2021
2021 2020
2020 2019
2019 2018
2018 2017
2017
IoT
IoT Edge
Edge Computing
Computing Learning
Deep Learning
Figure
Figure16.
16.Year-specific
FigurePublication
Year-specific Publication Count
Count
16. Year-specific comparison
comparison
Publication among
Count Allied Technologies.
Allied
comparison Technologies.
among Allied Technologies.
Figure17
Figure 17describes
describes the17
the
Figure publication
publication distribution
distribution
describes the publicationindistribution
terms
terms ofof article
article classification
classification
in terms such
such
of article classification such
asasconference as conference
conferencepapers,
papers, papers, articles,
bookchapters,
book chapters, book chapters,
articles, articles,
conference conference
review
review review
papers,
papers, etc. papers, etc.
etc.
Publication
Book
Book
Book Chapter
Book Chapter
Review
Review
Conference Review
Conference Review
Article
Article
Conference Paper
Conference Paper
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Conference Conference
Conference Article Conference Review Book Chapter Book
Paper Article Review Review Book Chapter Book
Paper Review
Deep Learning 32 39 94 6 6 2
Deep Learning 32 39 94 6 6 2
Edge Computing 190 190 64 32 11 3
Edge Computing 190 190 64 32 11 3
IoT 383 351 143 52 41 12
IoT 383 351 143 52 41 12
Figure 17. Publication classification comparison for Allied Technologies.

Figure comparison
17. Publication for Allied
classification Technologies.
comparison for Allied Technologies.
Figure 18 represents the region-wise publication distribution for works concerning
Figure
the use of Blockchain–Cloud the
18 region-wise
represents thepublication
with thedistribution
region-wise publication
integration along for works
distribution
IoT. China and concerning
for
India are
works concerning the
leading
the usethe
of front, use of Blockchain–Cloud
Blockchain–Cloud integration integration along with the IoT. China and India
along with the IoT. China and India are leading are leading from
from followed by the United States.
the front,by
from the front, followed followed by the
the United United States.
States.
022, 22,
022, 22, xx FOR
FOR PEER
PEER
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22 of 31
31 22 of 31
Blockchain Cloud Inegration with IoT

3%
3% 3% China
4% 3%
4%
China
4%
4% India
India
24%
24% United States
United States
4%
4%
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
5%
5%
SouthKorea
South Korea
5%
5%
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
6%
6% Australia
Australia
23%
23%
7%
7% Canada
Canada
12%
12% Italy
Italy
United Arab
Emirates
Figure 18.
Region-specific publication distribution
publication
Figure 18. Region-specificdistribution for Blockchain–Cloud
for Blockchain–Cloud
publication distribution integration
integration
for Blockchain–Cloud with IoT.
with IoT.with IoT.
integration
Figure 19
represents the
Figure 19the region-wise
represents publication
the region-wise
region-wise publication distribution
works
distribution
distribution for concerning
forconcerning
works concerning
the use
the use of the use of Blockchain–Cloud
of Blockchain–Cloud
Blockchain–Cloud integrationintegration
integration withalong
along with
along Edgewith
Edge Edge computing.
computing.
computing. China is
China is China is the most
the most
the most
prominent prominent
region with region
the with
highest the highest
number ofnumber of contributions.
contributions.
prominent region with the highest number of contributions.
Blockchain Cloud Integration with Edge

2%
2% 2%
2% China
China
4%
4% India
India
5%
5% United States
United States
5%
5% 35%
35% United Kingdom
United Kingdom
4%
4%
South Korea
South Korea
4%
4%
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
6%
6%
Australia
Australia
6%
6% Canada
Canada
12%
12%
15%
15% Italy
Italy
United Arab
Emirates
Figure 19.
Region-specific publication
publication
Figure 19. Region-specific distribution
distribution
publication for Blockchain–Cloud
for Blockchain–Cloud
distribution integration
integration
for Blockchain–Cloud with
with
integration with Edge
Edge
Edge Computing.
Computing.
Computing.
Figure 20 represents the region-wise publication distribution for works concerning the
Figure 20
Figure use
20 of Blockchain–Cloud
represents
represents the integration
the region-wise
region-wise along with
publication
publication Deep Learning.
distribution
distribution for works
for works concerning
concerning
the use
the use of
of Blockchain–Cloud
Blockchain–Cloud integration
integration along
along with
with Deep
Deep Learning.
Learning.
022, 22, x FOR PEER

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22, 5238 23 of 31 23 of 31
Blockchain Cloud Integration with Deep Learning

Blockchain Cloud
1%
2% Integration with Deep Learning
China
4% 2%
4%1% India
China
4%
7% 23% United
India States
4%
23% United
UnitedKingdom
States
6% 7%
South
UnitedKorea
Kingdom
6%
5% Saudi
SouthArabia
Korea
15%
5% Australia
Saudi Arabia
10%
15% Canada
Australia
10% 6%
17% Italy
Canada
6% United
17% Italy Arab Emirates
Figure 20. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud integration with Deep
Learning.
Figure 20. Region-specific publicationpublication
Figure 20. Region-specific distribution for Blockchain–Cloud
distribution integration
for Blockchain–Cloud integrationwith DeepLearning.
with Deep
Learning.
8.6. Research Growth Tajectorires
8.6. Research Growth Tajectorires
Figure 21Growth
8.6. Research illustrates a comparison
Tajectorires
Figure 21 between publication
illustrates a comparison growth trajectories
between publication for differ-
growth trajectories for different
ent blockchain application areas. The figure represents a relative publication growth
Figure 21blockchain
illustratesapplication
a comparison areas. The figure
between represents
publication a relative
growth publication
trajectories forgrowth
differ- among
among application areasareas
application and aims to assist
and aims readers
to assist to pick
readers and
to pick andchoose
choosea aspecific
specificapplica-
application area
ent blockchain application areas. The figure represents a relative publication growth
tion area for their research.
for their research.
among application areas and aims to assist readers to pick and choose a specific applica-
tion area for their research.
Publication Growth Tajectory
800 Publication Growth Tajectory
700
Points
800
600
700
Points
Percentage
500
600
Percentage
400
500
300
400
Growth
200
300
Growth
100
200
0
100
Healthcare Finance Smart City Supply Chain Agr iculture
0
Healthcare 2021
Finance 2020 City
Smart 2019
Supply Chain Agr iculture
2021 2020 2019

Figure 21. Comparison
Figure 21.ofComparison
PublicationofGrowth Trajectory
Publication Growthamong Blockchain
Trajectory Application
among Blockchain Areas. Areas.
Application
Figure 21. Comparison of Publication

Figure Growth
22 illustrates Trajectory
a comparison amongpublication
between Blockchaingrowth
Application Areas.for different
trajectories
Figure 22 illustrates a comparison between publication growth trajectories for differ-
Blockchain–Cloud
ent Blockchain–Cloud impact The
impact areas. areas. The figure
figure represents
represents a relative
a relative publicationgrowth
publication growth among
Figure 22different
illustrates a comparison
Cloud impact between
areas and aimspublication
to assist growth to
readers trajectories
pick and for differ-
choose a research
among different Cloud impact areas and aims to assist readers to pick and choose a re-
ent Blockchain–Cloud impact areas. The figure represents a relative publication growth
problem in accordance with the publication growth trajectory of a specific impact area.
search problem in accordance with the publication growth trajectory of a specific impact
among different Cloud impact areas and aims to assist readers to pick and choose a re-
area.
search problem in accordance with the publication growth trajectory of a specific impact
area.
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Publication Growth Tajectory

200
180
Growth Percentage Points
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Security Storage Privacy
2021 2020 2019
Figure 22. Comparison of Comparison

Figure 22. PublicationofGrowth Trajectory
Publication Growthamong Blockchain–Cloud
Trajectory ImpactImpact
among Blockchain–Cloud Areas.Areas.
9. Industry
9. Industry Players Players and Services
and Services
The last coupleThe last couple
of years of years
have seen have seen aacceptance
a widespread widespreadofacceptance
blockchain of across
blockchain
mul-across
multiple domains, making it one of the fastest growing technologies in the IT industry.
tiple domains, making it one of the fastest growing technologies in the IT industry. Seeing
Seeing the rise of blockchain, many cloud service providers (CSP) came up with their own
the rise of blockchain,
blockchainmany cloudpopularly
solutions service providers (CSP) came up with their
known as Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) own block-Many
[101–103].
chain solutionstech
popularly known as Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) [101–103].
giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and IBM have invested Many techheavily
giants such asinMicrosoft,
blockchainGoogle, Amazon,
technology, Oracle, and
which showcases theirIBM have invested
conviction towards the heavily in of
integration
blockchain technology, which
Blockchain and showcases
Cloud. their toconviction
The CSP intend towards
provide enterprise thesolutions
grade integration of
for blockchain
Blockchain and Cloud. The CSP intend to provide enterprise grade solutions for block- three
coupled with the infrastructure support of Cloud. In this section, we discuss the
chain coupled most
withprominent blockchainsupport
the infrastructure offeringsofbyCloud.
leadingIn CSP
thisand presentwe
section, a comparison
discuss the among
their blockchain solutions. Figure 23 illustrates the various stages of the Blockchain–Cloud
three most prominent blockchain offerings by leading CSP and present a comparison
adoption journey that any industry player can adopt or customize according to its own
among their blockchain solutions. Figure 23 illustrates the various stages of the Block-
business requirements.
chain–Cloud adoption journey that any industry player can adopt or customize according
9.1. AWS
to its own business Managed Blockchain
requirements.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched its BaaS in the year 2018 in the form of Amazon
Managed Blockchain. It is a fully managed service for creating and managing a blockchain
network. AWS allows for the fast and scalable deployment of blockchain networks over
EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and EC3 instances. Amazon Managed Blockchain allows
a user to choose between the two most popular blockchain frameworks, Ethereum and
Hyperledger Fabric. The BaaS allows a developer to build distributed applications where
multiple entities can securely perform transactions without the need for a central authority.
The BaaS is offered as a pay-as-you-go service by Amazon, wherein the user only pays for
the services being used and the amount of time they are being used for. AWS allows its users
to customize their infrastructure in terms of variable CPU and memory configurations.
Sensors 2022,22,
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31
Figure23.
Figure 23.Blockchain–Cloud
Blockchain–CloudAdoption
AdoptionJourney.
Journey.
9.1. Azure
9.2. AWS Managed
BlockchainBlockchain
Service
Amazon Web
Microsoft AzureServices (AWS)
blockchain waslaunched
the pioneerits BaaS
cloudin the year
service 2018 in
provider tothe formBaaS
render of Am-
for
azon Managed
companies Blockchain.Azure
and developers. It is promises
a fully managed service
its customers for creating
low-cost, fast, andand
safemanaging
blockchaina
blockchain network.
implementations. AWSin
Talking allows
termsforof the fast and
a market scalable
cap, Azure deployment
has the largestof blockchain net-
when it comes
works
to over EC2 (Elastic Compute
Blockchain-as-a-Service. The Azure Cloud) and EC3
blockchain instances.
provides Amazon Managed
pre-configured Block-
infrastructure
chain
and allowsresources
network a user totochoose between
its customers, the two
thereby most popular
ensuring blockchain frameworks,
reduced deployment time. It also
provides
Ethereuma plethora of internal
and Hyperledger tools for
Fabric. Thethe fastallows
BaaS and secure development
a developer to buildofdistributed
decentralizedap-
applications.
plications where Themultiple
central entities
cloud repository
can securely allows users
perform to store their
transactions data the
without in aneed
securefor
manner.
a centralAzure Blockchain
authority. The BaaS Service offersas
is offered two kinds of services:
a pay-as-you-go Basic
service byand Standard.
Amazon, The
wherein
service
the usertiers
only are divided
pays based
for the uponbeing
services the performance
used and theand capabilities
amount of timethe services
they can offer.
are being used
The
for. basic
AWSservices areusers
allows its meant tofor lightweight
customize theirdevelopment
infrastructure andintest workloads
terms whereas
of variable CPU andthe
standard services can
memory configurations. support the deployment of large production workloads.
9.3.
9.2. Oracle
Azure Cloud Blockchain
Blockchain Service
Oracle
Microsoft Azure with
came up its blockchain
blockchain solutioncloud
was the pioneer soon service
after the launchtoofrender
provider the Azure
BaaS
Blockchain
for companies and developers. Azure promises its customers low-cost, fast, and was
Service. It named its blockchain service Oracle Blockchain Platform, which safe
an enterprise-grade
blockchain solution focusing
implementations. Talking on the needs
in terms of enterprises
of a market and has
cap, Azure businesses. The
the largest ser-
when
vice is a platform comprising of a distributed ledger that allows users to build and deploy
it comes to Blockchain-as-a-Service. The Azure blockchain provides pre-configured infra-
blockchain applications over the cloud. The blockchain offering uses Hyperledger Fabric
structure and network resources to its customers, thereby ensuring reduced deployment
as the base framework for deploying blockchain networks. The Oracle Blockchain Platform
time. It also provides a plethora of internal tools for the fast and secure development of
allows its users to access numerous services of Oracle Cloud through in-house REST API
decentralized applications. The central cloud repository allows users to store their data in
gateways. Identity management, Oracle DB, and on-chain access control are some of the
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 26 of 31
prominent built-in features of the blockchain platform. Table 4 illustrates a comparative

analysis among key industry players rendering Blockchain-Cloud integration services.
Table 4. Comparative analysis of blockchain services by Cloud Providers.
Factor AWS Blockchain Azure Blockchain Service Oracle Blockchain Platform

Ethereum, Hyperledger Ethereum, Hyperledger
Blockchain Hosting Platform Hyperledger Fabric
Fabric, Corda Fabric, Corda, MultiChain
Permissioned, Private,
Blockchain Type Permissioned Permissioned
Consortium
Amazon Quantum Ledger Blockchain App Builder,
Azure Blockchain Workbench,
Key Services/Products Database (QLDB), Amazon Blockchain Tables,
Ethereum on Azure
Managed Blockchain Oracle PaaS
Architectural Design Component based architecture Layered Architecture Layered Architecture
Subscription plan, Pay-as-you-go, Subscription
Pricing Pay-as-you-go
Pay-as-you-go based, Licenced
Accenture, Nestle, GE J.P. Morgan, Singapore
Major Clients iPoint, M2O, SERES, AJIB
Aviation, PHILIPS, SonyMusic Airlines, XBOX, Starbucks
10. Discussion and Conclusions

Blockchain is one of the fastest emerging technologies which has started to see its
applicability beyond the financial sector. Its characteristics, such as immutability, data trace-
ability, and security and its decentralized nature, have been the major driving factors for
ensuring its success. Despite the merits of blockchain technology, there are a few challenges
of scalability, energy consumption, and infrastructure requirements. It is believed that the
integration of the Cloud with Blockchain can mitigate these challenges and enhance the
development and deployment of decentralized applications. This work of ours aims to
identify the extent of research that has been conducted concerning Blockchain–Cloud inte-
gration in the last few years. The paper presents case studies discussing Blockchain–Cloud
integration that help to enhance the understanding of its readers. A detailed survey is con-
ducted to examine the publishing patterns in the areas of Blockchain technology coupled
with Cloud computing, Healthcare, Smart cities, and Finance. Furthermore, we discuss
the concept of Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) and explore key cloud service providers
(CSP) which are offering blockchain services. The work presents a literature survey of
publications concerning the implementation of BaaS along with a comparison between
various blockchain services being offered by the CSP. The study performed presents us
with a few questions to further investigate. What are the challenges of Blockchain–Cloud
integration? What are the future application areas for BaaS? What kind of pricing and
SLA policies can be created for ensuring efficiency and QoS? What type of architecture can
be created for rendering BaaS? Through this work, readers can obtain an insight into the
existing literature and will be able to craft their research journeys to answer some of the
above questions.
Author Insights:
• Blockchain and Cloud computing are complementary technologies that work on
the principles of distributed computing. Key challenge areas of Cloud, i.e., security,
privacy, and the heterogenous storage of big data, can be easily mitigated by its
integration with Blockchain technology.
• Resource allocation policies and internal Cloud operations can become more efficient,
secure, and robust by Cloud’s integration with Blockchain.
• Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) is expected to see a surge as more and more industry
players are moving towards offering BaaS-related services.
• Existing Cloud services may experience an improvement in QoS when rendered along
with blockchain integration.
• New integration areas for application and creation that prove beneficial for both Cloud
and Blockchain users need to be identified by researchers.
Sensors 2022, 22, 5238 27 of 31
• Supply chain management and smart agriculture continue to be the top runners for
application areas of Blockchain–Cloud integration, as they represent the maximum
spike in terms of publication growth trajectories.
• Cloud data privacy and Cloud storage are two specific research areas which show
maximum spikes in terms of publication growth trajectories and thus can be beneficial
choices as research problem areas.
• New models and frameworks are being proposed for the creation of smart cities involving
the use of disruptive technologies such as Blockchain, IoT, AI, and Cloud computing.
• New Cloud governance models can be proposed by making use of blockchain con-
sensus algorithms, thereby allowing multiple levels of customized data preferences,
access control, and resource validation.
• IoT is the most prominent allied technology which has seen significant traction from
researchers across the world when it comes to creating solutions in collaboration with
Blockchain–Cloud integration.
• Researchers can work on problems involving the amalgamation of AI and Blockchain–
Cloud integration, as it is the newest entrant to the club of allied technologies and has
a significant research potential.
• Researchers can focus on devising efficient smart contracts that can facilitate the
integration of both technologies by means of the efficient allocation of Cloud resources.
• Blockchain implementation on Hybrid Cloud models is an area for identifying new
research possibilities.
• Scalability continues to be an open research challenge for Blockchain–Cloud systems
in situations of varied heavy workloads.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.K. and A.B.; methodology, A.K. and A.B.; software,
A.S. and V.B.; validation, V.B. and M.J.; formal analysis, V.B. and M.J.; investigation, A.K. and A.S.;
resources, V.B., V.P. and M.J.; data curation, A.K. and A.S.; writing—original draft preparation, A.K.,
A.S. and A.B.; writing—review and editing, V.B. and V.P.; visualization, A.S. and V.B.; supervision,
A.B., V.B. and M.J.; project administration, V.B.; funding acquisition, V.B., V.P. and M.J. All authors
have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by Don State Technical University (RF state assignment No.
075-03-2021-019/5).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Sensors 2022, 22, 5238. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22145238 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors

2. Cloud Computing and Deployment Models

2.1. Private Cloud

2.2. Public Cloud

2.3. Hybrid Cloud

2.4. Community Cloud

3. Benefits of Blockchain–Cloud Integration

3.2. Data Security

3.4. More Efficient Supply Chain Management

3.5. Tolerance of Faults and Errors

4. Impact Areas of Blockchain in Cloud Computing

Table 1. Blockchain impact areas in Cloud Computing.

5. Application Areas of Blockchain–Cloud Integration

Table 2. Blockchain–Cloud Application Areas.

leading areas discussing the applicability of blockchain technology. Numerous works in

6. Blockchain–Cloud Adoption Challenges

6.2. Regulatory Issues

6.3. Regulation Deficiency

6.4. Tensions Regarding Criminal Activities and Cybersecurity

6.5. Uncertain ROI

6.6. Integration of Blockchain–Cloud with Legacy Systems

6.7. Low Scalability

6.8. High-Energy Consumption

Table 3. Blockchain–Cloud Integration with Allied Technologies.

Cloud Deployment Blockchain

Cloud Deployment Blockchain

8.2. Blockchain–Cloud Application Areas

Figure 3 describes publication distribution in terms of article classification such as

Figure 4. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Supply Chain.

Figure 5. Region-specific publication distribution

India United States China Australia United Kingdom

Figure 6. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Finance.

Figure 7 represents the

Figure 7. Region-specific publication distribution

Figure 8. Region-specific publication distribution for Blockchain–Cloud and Smart Cities.

8.3. Cloud Impct Areas

Figure 11. Region-specific publication distribution

Figure 13. Region-specific publication distribution

2, 22, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 5

Figure 15. Region-specific

8.5. Blockchain–Cloud Allied Technologies

Figure 17. Publication classification comparison for Allied Technologies.

Blockchain Cloud Inegration with IoT

Blockchain Cloud Integration with Edge

022, 22, x FOR PEER

Blockchain Cloud Integration with Deep Learning

2021 2020 2019

Figure 21. Comparison of Publication

Publication Growth Tajectory

2021 2020 2019

Figure 22. Comparison of Comparison

prominent built-in features of the blockchain platform. Table 4 illustrates a comparative

Table 4. Comparative analysis of blockchain services by Cloud Providers.

Factor AWS Blockchain Azure Blockchain Service Oracle Blockchain Platform

10. Discussion and Conclusions

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