SAP and Cornerstone join the blockchain-based supergroup for talent, The Velocity Network

A new blockchain-based platform is on the market with the goal of automating employee credential verification, and it's backed by fourteen major players in the HCM industry -- now including SAP and Cornerstone OnDemand.

The Velocity Network has similar aims to Workday Credentials, launched last year by the cloud HCM giant, but with the significant difference that the new initiative is designed to operate as a vendor-neutral public utility.

That's key to widespread adoption, says Dror Gurevich, CEO of the venture building the new network:

"Contrary to other initiatives we've seen in the market, the Velocity Network is governed by a collaborative, democratic, non-profit foundation, with members being diverse labor market stakeholders.

Participants in the network are all equal, they adhere to the same protocols, and the network belongs to no one and is run by its members. This is why we call it the Internet of Careers, because it's a public utility, rather than a proprietary platform."

The founding members include educational and background check services Cisive, HireRight and National Student Clearinghouse, the employee assessment businesses of AON and SHL, global staffing agency Randstad, freelance and employment marketplaces Upwork and ZipRecruiter, management consulting firm Korn Ferry and HCM vendors Cornerstone, SAP, SumTotal, Ultimate and Unit4. They are joined by Gurevich's business Velocity Career Labs, the venture-funded startup which is building and will run the network under the direction of the Velocity Network Foundation.

The founding members collectively hold career-related data for more than 700 million individuals in their systems, consisting of professional and student credentials and assessments numbered in billions, along with employment and contract work records that hold information on individuals' experience, competencies and pay histories. These numbers will grow as other organizations join the Foundation.

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