Blockchain hype is not matched by business take-up, with 77% of CIOs saying their organisation has no interest in the technology or plans no investigation or development.

A global survey by US-based research and advisory company Gartner also highlights skills difficulties for companies wanting to become involved, potential culture clashes with the development community and the challenges of changing business models.

Gartner VP David Furlonger says the survey shows the “massively hyped state of blockchain adoption and deployment”.

About 14% of the 3160 CIOs surveyed are in medium or long-term planning to use blockchain, while 8% are in short-term planning and actively experimenting, and 1% have invested and deployed. They included 113 CIOs from Australia and New Zealand.

CIOs from telecoms, insurance and financial services are more actively involved in planning and experimentation than other sectors.

Of the CIOs from enterprises in short-term planning or that have invested, 23% say blockchain is the technology that requires most new skills and 18% say those skills are the most difficult to find.

“The challenge for CIOs is not just finding and retaining qualified engineers, but finding enough to accommodate growth in resources as blockchain developments grow,” Mr Furlonger said.

“Qualified engineers may be cautious due to the historically libertarian and maverick nature of the blockchain developer community.”

Re-engineering operating models also takes time and it remains to be seen whether businesses that express an initial interest in blockchain accept the changes it brings, according to the report.

Gartner’s Hype Cycle model suggests new technologies move from a peak of inflated expectations to a trough of disillusionment before rising on a slope of enlightenment to a productivity plateau.

“How quickly different industry players navigate the trough of disillusionment will be as much about the psychological acceptance of the innovations that blockchain brings as the technology itself,” Mr Furlonger said.