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IBM - 5/7/2013
IBM Helps Security First Insurance Mine Big Data To Analyze, Prioritize And Route Social Media Requests After A Disaster
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Security First Insurance, a leading homeowners insurance firm based in Florida, is using smarter content software from
IBM and partner Integritie to collect and analyze big data including social media and email to quickly begin the claims resolution process for customers who have
been impacted by a storm.
Headquartered in Ormond Beach, Florida, Security First Insurance serves nearly 180,000 customers. Florida has more people and property exposed to
hurricanes than any state in the country.
Using the combined IBM and Integritie solution, Security First Insurance can now turn social media into an actionable communications channel during a major
disaster. The software analyzes incoming messages sent by email and social media using text mining, text analytics and natural language processing to detect
words that convey distress or identify significant property damage. Security First Insurance can then prioritize the messages and route them to proper personnel
to promptly resolve the issue.
During a typical month, Security First Insurance processes 700 claims for damaged property and possessions, which is less than ˝ of one percent of its customer
base. However, in the aftermath of a hurricane, that number can swell to tens of thousands within days. In the past, customers submitted claims primarily by
phone and sometimes email. Today, policyholders use any means available to connect with an agent or claims representative, including posting a question or
comment on the company’s Facebook page or Twitter feed.
“When customers experience a loss, our goal is to begin the recovery process as quickly as possible,” said Werner Kruck, chief operating officer at Security First
Insurance. “IBM’s big data analytics software allows us to automatically prioritize and route incoming messages saving us a tremendous amount of time and effort.
Responding quickly to our clients to meet their expectations is our top priority, and IBM is helping to make that possible.”
The text analysis in the software helps Security First Insurance filter incoming communications that might contain profanity, for instance, and audit outbound
messages. The IBM and Integritie solution logs all social networking interaction, captures content, monitors incoming and outgoing messages and archives all
communication for compliance review.
Security First Insurance can also easily link specific content to expedite the loss recovery process for policyholders. For example, the software automatically
captures incoming social media and email content and attachments and stores it in a central repository to maintain, control and integrate into the appropriate
business process for the customer.
“Getting insight from big data is helping Security First Insurance build a bridge between social media posts and the claim process. The system in place is also a
great example of IBM and Integritie working together to solve a business problem that can directly affect people’s lives,” said IBM Enterprise Content
Management Leader Doug Hunt. “If we can help partners expand the focus of their practice by using products and software from IBM, the end result will be
more personalized and connected social business solutions for customers like Security First Insurance.”
To further advance the ability to access, mine and discover key insights into big data including social media assets, IBM is now offering IBM Content Foundation
(ICF), a new content management solution for customers and partners. ICF provides a cross-industry enterprise content management (ECM) solution for
document management, custom application development and ECM consolidation.
ICF makes it easier to discover, improve, secure and preserve social content. As a result, partners can develop social ECM solutions at a low cost, giving
customers the ability to access content from anywhere and capitalize on the business’s collective stream of knowledge. The solution is designed with a light
footprint for current and new markets where partners and customers need rapid solutions at low cost, but expect enterprise class capabilities such as scalability,
security and stability to deliver better control of all enterprise content.
IBM is also holding a Business Partner Leadership Forum this week in Dana Point, Calif. with more than 80 top tier ECM partners. The two-day event will
showcase the new ICF solution, cover IBM’s product roadmap, and provide an opportunity for direct feedback with senior IBM executives in attendance.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 3/27/2013
IBM Announces Creation of 800-Job Technology Center in Downtown Baton Rouge
Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal and IBM Senior Vice President Colleen Arnold announced that IBM will establish an 800-job technology center in downtown Baton
Rouge that will provide software development and software maintenance services to clients in the United States.
IBM Services Center: Baton Rouge is the result of an innovative, public/private partnership that will include expanded higher-education programs related to
computer science as well as a major new riverfront development that will accelerate the revitalization of downtown Baton Rouge. The center will employ a broad
range of college graduates and experienced professionals with backgrounds in computer science and other quantitative-intense fields, such as engineering,
mathematics, and science.
The rapid and widespread adoption of mobile and social technologies within the last three years has changed the way customers and companies interact with
one another – driving fundamental transformations to business processes and applications. The center will provide IBM’s clients in the United States with
services that address the increasing demand for flexible software services to keep up with Big Data, cloud and mobile requirements that they are facing. IBM
Services Center: Baton Rouge will deliver technology services including application development, application management and system integration.
In addition to the 800 jobs that will be created at the center over the next four years, LSU estimates the project will result in approximately 542 new indirect jobs,
for a total of approximately 1,342 new, permanent jobs in the Capital Region.
Gov. Jindal said, “Today’s announcement is a game changer that will have a generational impact on Baton Rouge and our entire state. This project will continue
to position Louisiana as a leader in the global technology sector as we are bringing in one of the largest, most successful, most innovative companies to create a
first-of-its-kind software development center in Louisiana.
“We’re able to make today’s announcement because yet another company is joining the growing ranks of companies that see the value of investing in
Louisiana, because our state provides an outstanding business climate; an incomparable workforce; tremendous state, regional and local cooperation; and the
ability to build public-private partnerships that are second to none.
“This historic partnership will help drive major economic activity and extraordinary professional and student achievement. Indeed, this investment is a big win for
LSU, Baton Rouge and our entire state because it means we can make sure our students can find good-paying jobs here at home. No longer are our students
just competing with their peers in Texas and Georgia for jobs. Our students are now competing with their peers from all over the world to find jobs in the 21st
century workforce. In order to make sure our students compete and win, we must make sure they have the very best training and skills in the world – especially
in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This partnership accomplishes that goal. We are investing in our students and workers so can continue to have the most skilled workforce in the world.”
“This center exemplifies IBM’s longtime commitment to partner with local communities and academic institutions to develop the capabilities our clients need,"
said Colleen Arnold, Senior Vice President, Application Management Services, IBM. “Our global capability model is designed to address the broadest spectrum of
client requirements, build and deliver advanced skills, while inspiring and sustaining the next-generation workforce that drives innovation.”
For the event, Gov. Jindal and Arnold were joined by Baton Rouge Mayor/President Kip Holden, Baton Rouge Area Foundation President and CEO John
Davies, and Louisiana State University (LSU) College of Engineering Dean Richard Koubek.
The State will provide $14 million in funding over 10 years for expanded higher-education programs designed primarily to increase the number of annual
computer science graduates. At least 65 percent of these funds will be provided for expansion of the Computer Science Division of the School of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science at LSU. LSU plans to double its computer science faculty and triple the number of computer science graduates in five years,
which will place the LSU Computer Science program in the top 10-15 nationally for the number of B.S. degrees in computer science awarded annually. To fast
track program growth, LSU’s College of Engineering will launch the “Geaux Digital Louisiana” consortium. This unique initiative represents a statewide
partnership with high schools, community and technical colleges and other universities to promote interest in computer science related career fields and
enhance student recruitment.
Additionally, IBM will work closely with local professors at LSU to create coursework focused on technology, math and software development, and equip
students to meet the growing demand for business services including advanced analytics, process innovation and application development.
“This public/private partnership with Louisiana Economic Development, IBM and LSU is a powerful example of the triangulation between industry, government
and academia that elevates the state's role as a national leader in economic development,” said Koubek. “LSU’s College of Engineering is committed to
developing a mutually beneficial partnership with IBM and LED that stimulates economic growth and helps to meet the workforce development needs of the
state.”
A central element of the public/private partnership involved in securing the IBM center is the construction of a mixed-use, riverfront complex that will be
developed by Commercial Properties Realty Trust (CPRT), a real estate investment trust that manages and develops property holdings of the Baton Rouge Area
Foundation (BRAF). Inspired by New Urbanism design principles, the complex will include an office building that will house the new IBM Services Center, as well
as a separate, 11-story residential building with 95 river-view apartments and nine separate town homes.
The riverfront complex is being built on the old Advocate newspaper site bordered by Main, North, Lafayette Street and River Road. Total investment for the
combined development is estimated to be $55 million. The approximately $30.5-million office building will be funded by the State of Louisiana ($14.8 million) and
the City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge ($3.0 million), as well as $12.7 million in Community Development Block Grant funds. The BRAF-affiliated
Wilbur Marvin Foundation (WMF) will own the office building. CPRT will secure private financing for the residential building, which will also be an asset of the
WMF. The office building is scheduled for completion by spring 2015 with the residential complex following in the summer. During construction of the new
complex, IBM will be temporarily lease space at the Essen Centre office complex in Baton Rouge. CPRT estimates that the new complex will result in the
creation of approximately 600 construction jobs.
“We have partnered successfully with the state to build The Shaw Center for the Arts in downtown,” said John G. Davies, Baton Rouge Area Foundation
president and CEO. “This latest collaboration will provide space for 800 professional technology jobs, and apartments for hundreds to live in the city center, an
important piece of continuing the revival of downtown.”
LED has offered IBM a customized, performance-based incentive package that also includes grants totaling $29.5 million over 12 years, including a $1.5-million
contribution from the City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge, to reimburse costs related to personnel recruitment, relocation, and other workforce-
related costs; internal training; and facility operating expenses. The company also will utilize LED FastStart for recruitment support, as well as Louisiana’s Quality
Jobs program.
“The IBM Services Center: Baton Rouge is a game changer for our city, putting us at the forefront nationally of producing a technology-based workforce and
new jobs,” said Mayor Holden. “In a very short period of time, this project will bring development to our downtown and riverfront that will have a ripple effect on
further private investment. This announcement today sends a strong message to our next generation that Baton Rouge is a great place to study, work and build
an exciting future in what is truly becoming America’s next great city.”
“The new IBM Services Center is a transformative initiative for the economy of our region,” said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area
Chamber. “This new technology center in the Baton Rouge area has the potential to transform the region into a software development hub, which is one of our
region’s targeted sectors. There are so many positives to this story. The company will help strengthen our competitiveness for talent, help diversify our region’s
economy, and work in a close relationship with our key partner, Louisiana State University.”
IBM Services Center: Baton Rouge joins IBM’s globally integrated capability network, which delivers deep technical and industry expertise. It is the latest in a
series of job-creating investments IBM has made this year in high-tech, science and innovation in support of the global competitiveness of U.S. workers. This
builds upon IBM’s efforts to build technology skills for primary and secondary school students through its Young Explorers and P-TECH programs, as well as to
train college students for high-tech jobs in local markets.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 3/21/2013
IBM Introduces Predictive Analytics Software and Services that Forecast Asset Failure
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new business consulting services and software that, together, help C-Suite decision makers predict and prevent damaging
supply chain disruptions.
Through IBM's predictive analytics software and business consulting services, the new solution harnesses big data from instrumented assets and identifies
irregularities in the manufacturing process, spots product irregularities, and forecasts a range of asset performance risks before a problem ever arises.
Operating, maintaining, and managing assets throughout their lifecycle is a massive built-in expense, made even more critical by the frequency of unpredicted,
catastrophic machine failures. Asset downtime, especially, if unplanned, is a multi-million dollar issue for organizations; and the related unscheduled maintenance
costs can range from three to 10 times the cost of scheduled maintenance.
"The world is entering a new era of smart - where decisions will be based on facts, data, and increasingly on the ability to apply analytics to massive data sets
and extract very precise business insights," said Fred Balboni, senior partner, Big Data Analytics, IBM Global Business Services. "Companies realize they have a
new opportunity to capitalize on big data to address some of the intractable issues of the past, drive new levels of business efficiency, and create new levels of
value for their customers. Our data shows us that businesses that are applying analytics to structured and unstructured data are outperforming their competitors
in every industry."
Envision the myriad of components that combine to form the complex automobile manufacturing line. How can a decision maker know when it’s time to replace
any one of the thousands of machine parts, robots or sensors; and beyond that, how the line - or an oil rig, or a piece of heavy equipment - can be taken off line
for maintenance with minimal economic impact? IBM's new solution will uncover these data-driven insights, examining both static and streaming information,
combined with analysis of asset sensors correlated with domains such as environmental and facilities monitoring systems.
This new integrated solution analyzes big data from multiple static and streaming sources to make informed decisions by generating predictive statistical models
to predict equipment failure conditions and create alerts. The alerts are then displayed on an employee or manager’s tablet, smart phone or browser with
recommended corrective actions that should be taken through interactive tools that perform root cause analytics and process improvements.
This new offering is intended to help clients in the Automotive, Electronics, Aerospace, Defense, Manufacturing, Mining, Transportation, Telecommunications
and Energy and Utilities industries. For example:
· In the City of Cambridge, Ontario, the transportation and public works department found itself less able to complete inspections and preventive maintenance
because its resources were increasingly being used to respond to emergency repair calls. The city established a division devoted to asset management and with
the help of IBM analytics they are evolving from a break-fix mode of operation moving toward more proactive, industry based practices to boost the quality of city
services and address infrastructure sustainability.
· A global auto manufacturer was looking to improve its production quality. With IBM analytics the company was able to use real-time data to monitor the
production quality and more quickly identify and resolve issues. This resulted in a reduced the defect rate by 50 percent in 16 weeks in the production of their
cylinder heads and increased customer satisfaction.
· Another global manufacturing company was looking to more quickly detect part defects. Through IBM analytics the company implemented an early detection
model and is now saving $130M on warranty costs per year.
· A regional utility company needed to maintain an aging infrastructure. By implementing IBM predictive analytics technology into their supply chain processes
they can now detect potential problems before they occur, and have seen 20 percent productivity gains for service trucks and up to 20 percent reduction of fuel
costs due to fewer truck rolls.
Armed with facts on equipment performance, organizations across a range of industries will anticipate potential failures in their manufacturing systems, supply
chains and distribution networks before something goes wrong -- and improve operational efficiency as well as customer satisfaction with proactive responses
that prevent or minimize potential issues.
"Analytics technology gives us valuable insight into trends and what we can expect in the future," said Michael Hausser, Director of Asset Management and
Supporting Services, Transportation and Public Works Department, City of Cambridge. "We were heading toward a point where reliability of service would be
reduced and we’d be beyond our resource capacity to re-actively resolve issues in a timely manner. We are in transition to be more proactive and gain
efficiencies in day to day maintenance management activities."
IBM Signature Solution - Predictive Asset Optimization
According to engineering estimates, the U.S. will need to spend $2.2 trillion over the next five years just to bring national infrastructures up to date. This includes
improvements to roads, bridges, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications and more. Understanding the data about those systems, and
generated by those systems, has never been more urgent.
IBM is introducing new capabilities through its Predictive Asset Optimization solution, that provides deeper insights into the health of an organization's assets by
proactively maintaining and reducing operation and maintenance costs This broadens IBM’s capabilities and portfolio of IBM Signature Solutions, that take the
power of predictive analytics to new levels of impact for the highest-priority issues of C-suite decision makers.
The Predictive Asset Optimization solution is implemented by IBM business consultants, supported by industry-leading applications management services
capabilities, and cloud offerings. These capabilities are supported by IBM’s Big Data technology platform that includes Hadoop, stream computing, data
warehouse, and information integration and governance capabilities, along with visualization and discovery, application development, systems management and
industry accelerators. To date, the IBM Big Data platform has been adopted by more than 100 business partners, bringing a new class of analytics solutions to
market and extending the reach of IBM analytics offerings for clients.
The new solution will be one of the first capabilities offered to clients at the new Advanced Analytics Center in Columbus, Ohio. Credit qualified clients can take
advantage of financing for services solutions and zero percent loans for IBM software with IBM Global Financing.
IBM Signature Solutions
IBM Signature Solutions are a portfolio of outcome-based analytic offerings that include fraud detection, financial optimization and customer next best action
solutions. They are built with IBM’s global team of researchers, software developers and business consultants.
These new capabilities are part of IBM’s larger focus on big data and analytics that spans hardware, software, services and research. IBM has completed more
than 30,000 analytics client engagements and projects $20 billion in business analytics and big data revenue by 2015.
IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of analytics solutions; deploys 9,000 business analytics consultants and 400 researchers, and has acquired
more than 30 companies since 2005 to build targeted expertise in this area.
IBM secures hundreds of patents a year in big data and analytics, and converts this deep intellectual capital into breakthrough capabilities, including Watson-
like cognitive systems. The company has established a global network of nine IBM Client Centers for Smarter Analytics and goes to market with more than
27,000 IBM business partners.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 1/29/2013
IBM Flex Systems Help Proginov Promote Innovative Use of Cloud Services Within Mid Market Businesses
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Proginov, a leading French managed services provider (MSP), has chosen IBM PureSystems to upgrade its IT
infrastructure and enhance its growing “Software as a Service” (SaaS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) activities. In a market dominated by many of the
world’s biggest cloud providers, Proginov is differentiating itself by being one of the first MSPs in France to use IBM Flex System technology to provide a high
range of cloud services to help clients drive their strategic activities.
Proginov is one of the main ERP providers providing SaaS for small and medium size companies in France. The company also offers hosting services for clients
with high availability application requirements.
As a result of steady business growth, Proginov needed to extend their infrastructure, without increasing the associated risk costs or complexity of the systems
and their management. To meet these requirements, Proginov chose to deploy an IBM Flex System Enterprise system. The system was acquired with a flexible
finance arrangement from IBM Global Financing, which allowed them align payments with the ramp-up of revenues generated by their SaaS offerings.
The new system will enable the organization to offer their clients - especially in the retailing and industry sectors - an efficient infrastructure that is secure and
continuously available.
“The stability of production provided by IBM enables us to minimize the regular maintenance and to significantly reduce services interruptions for our clients,” said
Philippe Plantive, CEO at Proginov.
In addition, the IBM solution will provide investment protection for Proginov’s existing IT infrastructure, allowing a seamless and uninterrupted transition for their
clients as new services are deployed on the new systems.
“Supporting small and medium businesses remains a top priority for both Proginov and IBM,” said Alain Henry, VP System and Technology Group. “The Flex
System solution will allow Proginov to meet its goals and will enable them to respond to the increasing demand from their ERP clients deployed on the SaaS
model.”
IBM Flex System Manager: built-in expertise to support the integrated resources
The integrated IBM Flex System Manager appliance node offers clients such as Proginov a unique, single management view for their entire IT infrastructure,
including the servers, storage and networking. Dynamic allocation of resources, adapted to the different types of workload, allows this software to optimize the
resources used. It frees IT administrators from recurring tasks, enabling them to focus on improving the quality of services and efficiency of the IT infrastructure.
This capability allows Proginov to continually adapt to significant workload changes while offering a high availability service 24 hours a day.
The IBM Flex System goes beyond competitor’s blade configurations and provides the building-block elements for IBM PureSystems. IBM Flex Systems are built-
to-order offerings for clients who want to custom build and tune configurations to their specific requirements. This allows them to select the specific compute,
systems networking and optional storage and management required to support their specific workloads.
The IBM PureSystems family offers clients an alternative to current enterprise computing models, where multiple and disparate systems require significant
resources to set up and maintain.
The true value of PureSystems is the fully integrated and pre-tuned platforms. The PureFlex System enables organizations to more efficiently create and manage
an infrastructure. PureApplication System helps organizations reduce the cost and complexity of rapidly deploying and managing applications. PureData System
is tuned for cloud computing and can consolidate more than 100 databases on a single system. In addition to the common web application patterns supported
by PureApplication System, the combination of both PureData and PureApplication Systems can be used for end to end transaction workloads.
For IBM Business Partners, PureSystems creates a new services opportunity to help clients solve the complexity of enterprise IT, reduce costs and encourage
innovation. From resellers to distributors and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), more than 2500 Business Partners have received PureSystems
certifications. PureSystems currently run tens of thousands of existing ISV applications across four operating environments including Windows, Linux, AIX, and
IBM i operating system. Additionally, Business Partners have created more than 250 new solutions and applications that are optimized to run on PureSystems.
These patterns of expertise, which span 20 industries, can be accessed through the IBM PureSystems Centre. They include leading solutions from some of the
world’s largest ISVs, including ERP systems and applications for the banking, marketing, healthcare and energy industries. Partners are able to perform many of
the configuration and deployment services that previously came only from IBM and are optional and optionally available to be performed by qualified business
partners.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 11/29/2012
IBM Opens Advanced Analytics Center In Columbus, OH
New Center to Foster Economic Competitiveness in the U.S., Create 500 Jobs Aligned to New Markets for Watson, Smarter Commerce and Social Business
Client Capabilities
IBM today announced it will establish a new analytics center in Columbus, Ohio, dedicated to advancing research, development, client services and skills
training in the areas of analytics, big data and cognitive computing. The move aims to create 500 new analytics jobs and nurture economic development in the
region over the next three years.
Ohio is home to 27 Fortune 500, and 57 Fortune 1,000 companies, as well as a burgeoning technology sector and leading academic institutions. The IBM Client
Center for Advanced Analytics will offer a strong foundation for a broad public and private sector collaboration that will include The Ohio State University (Ohio
State), JobsOhio, Columbus 2020, ICC, an IBM Premier Partner, and other Columbus-based businesses.
The first of its kind technology, research and development, and client services lab is intended to spark economic competitiveness that will draw on the expertise
of educational institutions and industry partners to create a world-class ecosystem serving industries' fastest-growing technical disciplines aligned to business
analytics.
As part of the initiative, IBM will add as many as 500 new analytics consultants and research and development professionals to the center over three years,
focused on creating new markets for Watson commercialization, Smarter Commerce and Social Business Client Capabilities.
In addition, IBM will partner with Ohio State to develop job-ready graduates through new course curriculum in its graduate and undergraduate programs. The
new higher education collaboration between IBM and Ohio State will help develop students with the high demand analytics skills necessary to drive the
economy of the future.
"Data is a powerful natural resource that if used wisely can drive U.S. economic competitiveness and lead to rewarding careers in the future dedicated to
building a smarter planet," said Mike Rhodin, Senior Vice President, IBM Software Solutions Group. "This center will have a tremendous amount to offer: world-
class educational institutions, a highly-educated workforce, industry-leading businesses and – perhaps most important of all – will serve as the foundation of a
community of innovators that will transform industries around the world."
In this new era of computing, IBM is developing innovative approaches to tackling big data, such as breakthrough technologies like IBM Watson, a new class
of industry specific analytical capability that uses deep content analysis, evidence-based reasoning and natural language processing to identify relationships
buried in large volumes of data that can be used to improve decision making.
The need for these types of capabilities, and the specialized talent required to create and develop them, is being fueled by an increasingly competitive global
marketplace, data-rich industries, and the accessibility to sophisticated computing at a lower cost.
The Ohio State University & IBM Partner To Advance Student Skills in Analytics
To address the need for a more analytical-skilled workforce, Ohio State and IBM are collaborating on new business and technology curricula to help students
and mid-career professionals gain the latest skills in analytics and prepare for high value jobs in the future. New courses of study are in development at the
undergraduate, graduate and executive education levels that will include access to the center's technology assets and thought leaders.
"In order for business leaders to solve the societal challenges of the future, they must integrate critical thinking skills with expertise in their fields," said E. Gordon
Gee, president, The Ohio State University. "The ability to apply a wholly new level of analytical insights and solutions will bolster our nation's role as a
competitive global leader and be the catalyst for the next frontier of economic growth."
The partnership between Ohio State and IBM is part of an ongoing effort with more than 200 other academic organizations to expand and strengthen education
curricula globally to meet the growing demand for highly skilled analytics business professionals.
"Our strong collaboration with IBM will help our students across a variety of majors gain the latest skills in this burgeoning Big Data discipline and set them on a
path to secure the high skilled jobs of the future," said Christine A. Poon, dean, Ohio State's Fisher College of Business.
As part of its Academic Initiative, IBM is providing Ohio State with curriculum materials, relevant case studies, access to a wide spectrum of software solutions,
IBM guest speakers and faculty awards to accelerate program development.
IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics To Foster Competitiveness
The ability to capture and analyze data is enabling organizations to make more informed decisions and maintain a significant competitive advantage.
The principal mission of the center will be to deliver new innovations and advance skills through the design, development and support of advanced analytics
solutions in new, emerging market areas. This includes clients using cognitive computing systems such as Watson, the ability to gain actionable insights from
information generated through Social Business networks, and helping companies swiftly adapt to the rising customer demands in today's digitally transformed
marketplace through Smarter Commerce.
Key focus areas of the center include:
· Develop new advanced computing technologies and techniques across all industries to process big data that address important societal challenges.
· Provide a delivery and prototype testing environment for clients to explore new ways that advanced analytics and cognitive systems can improve decision
making.
· Broaden awareness and strengthen skills in analytics capabilities in the region among students, recent graduates and existing professionals.
The center will also be connected to 200 IBM client centers globally, and IBM's network of eight Analytics Solution Centers with expertise in financial risk
management, rail and transportation and the specific needs of state, local and federal government organizations.
IBM has established the world's deepest portfolio of analytics solutions. This includes almost 9,000 business analytics consultants and 400 researchers around
the world. IBM has secured hundreds of patents a year in analytics, and has acquired more than 30 companies to build targeted analytics and information
expertise since 2005. In addition, the company continues to expand its ecosystem, which today consists of more than 27,000 IBM business partners.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 10/11/2012
Agriauto Selects IBM to Fully to Consolidate Data Center
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it is streamlining the IT infrastructure and processes of Agriauto Industries Limited, one of the leading auto parts
manufacturers in Pakistan. The moves will help Agriauto improve operational processes throughout the company as well as increase uptime as it extends its
footprint across the country.
Agriauto manufactures auto parts for some of the world’s leading car, bike, and tractor companies, including Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki, building components
to ideal specifications for local markets. Though it has grown considerably since its founding in 1981, Agriauto has plans to expand into new regions. As it began
to strategize it realized that such expansion would require everything from the company-wide rollout of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, to new
high-performing, energy-efficient systems that could help reduce system downtime as well as energy costs.
“As we move to expand our operations to cover more products serving a wider geography, we required a comprehensive solution that would enable us to
enhance our offering and maintain our status as one of the leading automotive companies in the region,” said Fahim Kapadia, Chief Executive Officer, Agriauto.
To start, IBM implemented an SAP enterprise resource planning solution, which has allowed Agriauto to fully automate its supply chain and production line. This
work alone has resulted in the company being able to increase its uptime levels by ten percent, to a consistent 99 percent.
On the systems front, Agriauto replaced its existing HP-based infrastructure with IBM BladeCenter HS22 blades within an IBM BladeCenter H Chassis.
The holistic IBM solution also includes the establishment of a disaster recovery site based on IBM advanced System x servers and advanced storage systems.
Through the use of two IBM System x3650 M3 servers, as well as an IBM System Storage DS3500 Express disk system and IBM System Storage TS3200 Tape
Library, the center will ensure resiliency for Agriauto’s businesses in the event of a disaster and prevent interruptions to the manufacturing line.
In addition to higher performance and increased resiliency, consolidating onto IBM’s BladeCenter solution has allowed Agriauto to unlock significant savings in
energy and floor space, and ultimately a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than its previous infrastructure.
“Our holistic approach to resolving Agriauto’s business challenges has already paid off in tangible business benefits,” said Adnan Siddiqui, Country General
Manager IBM Pakistan and Afghanistan. “With this deployment, we were able to deliver world class systems and globally tested solutions that provided the
company with greater visibility into their processes and optimized each step of their manufacturing process efficiently and cost-effectively.”
Switching to the solution has increased uptime levels for Agriauto, enabling them to provide support for operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For
example, daily production reports, which used to take up to three days to generate, can now be provided in just one minute, an improvement of over 99 percent.
As a result, monthly reporting, which typically took up to ten days, can be completed in just a day, an improvement of 90 percent.
To architect and deploy Agriauto’s new infrastructure, IBM’s Global Business Services unit provided consultants with in-depth expertise in the automotive
industry to help ensure the implementation was handled efficiently and effectively.
The work with Agriauto is another demonstration of IBM’s continued commitment to emerging markets like Pakistan where a growing number of businesses and
government organizations are turning to IT to transform their operations and increase competitiveness.
Over the last year, IBM has worked with a number of new customers in the wider Middle Eastern region as clients in the financial, government,
telecommunications, oil and gas sectors seek solutions to help them optimize their operational costs and support business expansion.
The project went live in February 2012.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 10/2/2012
Fixing the Failures of Enterprise Social Technology with Worksocial
CITO Research Report Analyzes the Difference Between “Facilitating Awareness” and “Getting Work Done”
The massive consumer influence wielded by social media such as Facebook and Twitter has created an industry of “enterprise social platform” technologies
trying to bring social media into the workplace. According to a new report by CITO Research, nearly all the vendors trying to ride the social wave are missing the
point. The report contends that merely bringing external social media into the workplace is insufficient. Real business value will come by bringing work, tasks,
and accountability into the realm of social technology. Using McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) data, the report estimates that integrating social and mobile into
core business processes would deliver $1.3 trillion in annual value to a broad range of industries.
The report, “Turn Enterprise Social Into Real Business Value,” is available for download at http://ap.pn/SuU9iW. Dan Woods, author of the report, said, “There
is tremendous untapped potential for Social Business. Most attempts at incorporating social and mobile into business processes have failed because vendors
have not invested effort in the heavy lifting of enterprise integration. With worksocial, as typified by Appian, process design, automation, business visibility,
collaboration, and action happen in the same place.” Mr. Woods’ expanded thoughts on worksocial can be found on Forbes.com.
MGI data cited in the report estimates there are 1.5 billion social networking users globally. New data from International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals that
worldwide total unit shipments for mobile smart devices will reach nearly 1.2 billion in 2012, and the market will surpass 2 billion devices by 2016.
These technology revolutions are creating the opportunity for new, higher-value work patterns. To-date, however, this potential has not been realized because
the much-hyped enterprise social technology platforms are wholly disconnected from work. They lack deep integration across a broad range of business
systems, and therefore simply create yet another siloed platform, cut off from enterprise processes, data, and actions.
In contrast, the report defines a worksocial technology approach as, “the combination of business process, enterprise systems and data, social collaboration,
and mobile access in one shared model for visibility and action across the enterprise. Capitalizing on BPM’s roots in work—automating, improving, and simplifying
processes—worksocial is an automation platform for organizing and executing work in the 21st Century.”
The report includes a series of case studies demonstrating the practical value of the worksocial approach for key enterprise initiatives including launching new
lines of business, increasing operational effectiveness, modernizing case management, and improving the customer experience. These real-world examples
show that the best business outcome occurs when people “swarm” to collaborate and resolve a business problem, without losing process context or abandoning
governance. Worksocial uses rules to automate processes, while allowing humans to intervene in work where needed. It does so by connecting users in an
open collaboration platform that provides direct access to applications through a single, unifying interface.
“Enterprise Social vendors, as well as other BPM vendors, are trying to figure out how to drive business value from social collaboration and mobility, but Appian is
the only one who has achieved it,” said Matthew Calkins, President and CEO of Appian. “Further, we have done it elegantly, with true simplicity masking
tremendous power.”
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 10/1/2012
IBM Business Analytics Services and Software Help Power Transformational Health Analytics Project At UPMC
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that UPMC will use IBM Business Analytics services and software to expand the healthcare system’s analytics capabilities
to improve patient care by making it more effective and more personalized.
UPMC turned to IBM to help develop an overall strategy and predictive analytics vision for the integrated healthcare delivery system. The strategy is based on
an enterprise analytics platform that is flexible, easy to use and that provides intensive prescriptive and predictive analytics capabilities.
By centralizing information across UPMC’s 20-plus hospitals, 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites and health insurance services division, big data from more
than 200 sources of information, such as medical records and imaging systems, labs, pharmacies, financial and administrative systems, can be mined using
predictive and content analytics software to support UPMC’s personalized medicine strategy. IBM will also work with UPMC to incorporate massive amounts of
unstructured textual data, such as information in physician notes and nursing documentation, for new insight to improve care.
Big data can be combined with analytics to help reduce hospital readmissions by identifying high risk individuals, such as congestive heart failure or diabetes
patients, to ensure they receive the care they need after leaving the hospital. For chronically ill patients, UPMC will be able to track their progress and health
outcomes over a lifetime so UPMC can continuously improve treatment plans and develop new models of care.
UPMC will also integrate the latest health data from other organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and national disease
registries, for the latest outcome benchmarks and metrics, or Press Ganey for insight on patient satisfaction and other performance metrics.
“Every patient is different; every patient has a unique story. This comprehensive analytics approach will enable us to treat each patient in a personalized way to
produce the best possible results,” said Dr. Steven S. Shapiro, chief medical and scientific officer at UPMC, recently ranked No. 10 in U.S. News and World
Report’s Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals.
“Working with IBM, UPMC is once again taking the lead in innovating,” said Dan Pelino, general manager, IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences. “Using smart
technology with a focus on analytics will help improve the quality of care and research. Our shared vision for using analytics in new ways will help further
differentiate UPMC among the nation’s leading healthcare systems.”
IBM Global Business Services will help UPMC initiate the analytics infrastructure project using IBM Healthcare Data Models and IBM Business Analytics and
Optimization software, including Netezza, Cognos TM1 and SPSS analytics tools to create predictive models with IBM Cognos business intelligence tools for
reporting. IBM Initiate software provides the foundation for all patient identification at UPMC, resolving patient identity issues and improving search and patient
identification.
Last month, UPMC announced an extension of its agreement with IBM to improve data center performance and reliability while reducing costs. The renewal was
valued at $120 million over the next four years. Under the original agreement signed in 2005, UPMC achieved cost savings of more than $191 million over six
years.
IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of analytics solutions, business and industry expertise. This includes almost 9,000 dedicated business analytics
and optimization consultants and 400 researchers. IBM secures hundreds of patents a year in analytics, and continues to expand its ecosystem, which consists
of more than 27,000 IBM business partners. IBM has also created eight global analytics solution centers in Berlin, Beijing, Dallas, London, New York, Tokyo,
Washington and Zurich.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 9/24/2012
IBM Advances Storage Capabilities with Acquisition of Butterfly Software
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has acquired Butterfly Software Ltd., a privately held data analysis and migration software company headquartered in
Maidenhead, England. Financial terms were not disclosed. Butterfly will become part of IBM's Software Group.
Butterfly offers storage planning software and storage migration tools, helping companies save storage space, operational time, IT budget and power
consumption. IBM will use Butterfly to help clients find new ways to drive greater value from its storage software and hardware solutions.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 9/12/2012
IBM Redefines Social Business with the Power of Analytics
Fortune 100 Clients Tout Returns on Social Investments
IBM today unveiled new software and services that bring the power of big data analytics into the hands of today's social savvy workforce anytime, anywhere.
Now, organizations can apply analytics to their social business initiatives, allowing them to gain actionable insight on information generated on networks and put
it to work in real-time.
As part of today's news, IBM is announcing the availability of its industry-leading social software platform, IBM Connections. IBM Connections incorporates
sophisticated analytics capabilities, real-time data monitoring, and faster collaborative networks both inside and outside the organization, whether on premises, in
the IBM SmartCloud or using a broad range of mobile devices. View the demo today.
In support of today's news, IBM also announced leading companies around the globe, including Bayer MaterialScience, Colgate-Palmolive Company,
LeasePlan, Primerica and Teach for America, are using its social software to achieve real returns on their social business investments.
Today's news builds on IBM's leadership in social software and analytics. For three consecutive years, IDC ranked IBM number one in enterprise social
software. Today, more than 60 percent of the Fortune 100 have licensed IBM social software to activate their workforce to improve productivity, and gain insight
on data to anticipate individual customers needs. IBM's leadership role in analytics has been established through a thoughtful strategy that required the
expansion of R&D, acquisition and business initiatives across its hardware software and services portfolio.
The rise of social media is prompting business leaders, from the CMO to the chief HR officer to the CIO, to evaluate how to create opportunities that drive
business transformation through the use of social technology, creating real business value. According to Forrester Research, the market opportunity for social
enterprise apps is expected to grow at a rate of 61 percent through 2016*.
At the same time, business leaders lack the tools to gain insight into the enormous stream of information and use it in a meaningful way. According to IBM's CEO
Study, today only 16 percent of CEOs are using social business platforms to connect with customers, but that number is poised to spike to 57 percent within the
next three to five years. A recent IBM study of more than 1,700 chief marketing officers reveals 82 percent plan to increase their use of social media over the
next three to five years.
"To truly realize the full potential of a social business, leaders need to empower a company's most vital asset - the information being generated from its people,"
said Alistair Rennie, general manager, social business, IBM. "Now is the time for business leaders to embed social into their key business processes to shift their
business from the era of 'liking' to 'leading'."
Global Ecosystem Touting Returns on Social Investments
Today, more than 60 percent of the Fortune 100 have licensed IBM social software. There is strong demand for IBM's social business platform in regulated
industries, with 41 percent of Connections 4 beta participants in banking, finance and healthcare institutions.
For example, Primerica, a leading distributor of financial products in North America, will utilize Connections and WebSphere Portal, to transform how its agents
engage with its 2.3 million policy holders on the fly, to provide increased value for its customers. The company plans to use social business software to improve
the overall client experience, drive competitive edge and stay on the forefront of innovation in the financial services industry.
LeasePlan, one of the leading vehicle leasing and fleet management companies in the world, is using IBM's social software platform across the organization's 40
subsidiaries, in 30 countries and over 6,000 employees. With nearly 800 communities formed, 400 blogs, and over 800 forums, the platform has become an
integral component to business operations for the organization, increasing efficiency, enhancing knowledge retention, increasing innovation, and helping to
improve customer care and insight. By socially enabling its business processes with IBM's social platform, the organization is seeing significant improvements in
workforce effectiveness.
"By collaborating with IBM we've been able to transform our business processes. Our internal social network allows employees to find experts faster, leading to
better customer service, superior workforce effectiveness, and enhanced product and service innovation," said Wim de Gier, Senior Global Project Manager
Corporate Strategy and Development, LeasePlan. "It's allowing us to transform our organization into a social business."
To support the burgeoning demand for social business solutions in growth markets, in the fourth quarter of 2012 IBM will open two social business customer
support centers to serve IBM's Asia-Pacific and Latin American clients. Located in Manilla, the Philippines, and Sao Paolo, Brazil, these centers will support the
rapid adoption of social business tools in these growth markets. The Philippines and Brazil centers join a roster of IBM social business centers in North America,
Dublin, Japan, China and India.
IBM's growing business partner network of more than 39,000 business partners are bringing new, cutting-edge capabilities to IBM's social platform every day in
areas including gamification, video, compliance, project management and mobility. For example, Actiance provides leading compliance capabilities to thousands
of organizations globally, SugarCRM helps sellers use social networking and analytics for effective selling, and Bunchball provides gamification capabilities to
IBM Connections.
IBM Connections, a cornerstone of IBM's social platform
Available on premises, in the cloud, and on a broad range of mobile devices, IBM Connections integrates activity streams, calendaring, wikis, blogs, a new email
capability, and more, and flags relevant data for action. It allows for instant collaboration with one simple click and the ability to build social, secure communities
both inside and outside the organization to increase customer loyalty and speed business results. The new Connections mail capability provides simplified
access to email within the context of the social networking environment.
Now, organizations can integrate and analyze massive amounts of data generated from people, devices and sensors and more easily align these insights to
business processes to make faster, more accurate business decisions. By gaining deeper insights in customer and market trends and employees' sentiment,
businesses can uncover critical patterns to not only react swiftly to market shifts, but predict the effect of future actions.
"I am thoroughly enjoying the ability to engage with a variety of employees through micro-blogging," said Patrick Thomas, CEO, Bayer MaterialScience. "I can
get information out quickly, but even more importantly I can encourage two way communication and stimulate an open communication culture by breaking
through barriers."
The new capabilities empower employees from every line of business, such as marketing, human resources and development to gain actionable insight into the
information being generated in their social networks.
For example, the Connections landing page features a single location that allows users to view and interact with content from any third party solution through a
social interface, right alongside their company's content, including email and calendar. The embedded experience of the news feed, also known as an activity
stream, allows employees from any department inside an organization to explore structured and unstructured data such as Twitter feeds, Facebook posts,
weather data, videos, log files, SAP applications, electronically sign documents, and quickly act on the data as part of their everyday work experience.
To learn more about IBM's social business initiative, participate in a simulcast on September 13, 2012 at 1 PM ET at bit.ly/Pn9sqd or sign-up to attend IBM's
Connect conference in January 2013.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 6/20/2012
IBM Puts Business Content in Motion for Mobile Workforce, Speeds Access to Big Data through Mobile Devices
IBM today introduced new software that helps employees tap into the broadest range of business information to do their jobs more effectively from their
desktops, mobile phones and tablets. The new offering allows traditional and mobile workers to securely access, manage and gain insight from structured and
unstructured content such as emails, documents, images, Web data and collaboration tools to improve productivity.
Last year, smart phone shipments beat those of PCs for the first time ever, with 73 million more units being sold. With the proliferation of tablets, smart phones
and social business applications, organizations are seeking an enterprise content management (ECM) solution that can help extend their employees' ability to
access and share business content to speed workflow. In IBM's 2011 Global CIO Study of more than 3,000 CIOs, 75 percent of respondents identified mobility
solutions as one of their top priorities.
IBM is responding to these trends with IBM Content Navigator, new software that gives employees access to a broad range of documents, records, images and
other relevant content to do their jobs more effectively.
Built on open standards like HTML5 and CMIS, the new software provides a consistent user experience across a variety of mobile devices, operating systems
and content sources, allowing employees across all lines of businesses to access, manage, contribute and share content any time, from any location. Whether
they need to conduct everyday business while on the road or in a client's office, IBM is arming them with the access to the right data, anytime, anywhere. For
example, a human resources manager who is traveling to meet employees can now access a range of documents such as employee records, compensation,
benefits and evaluations without the need for a PC.
Similarly, an insurance claims adjuster who spends her day inspecting damaged property or vehicles can now use her iPad to take a picture, document the
incident and automatically upload it in the client's claim file. The document can be found immediately by colleagues in the main office using Content Navigator's
integrated search and analytics to speed-up claims processing.
In addition to the collaboration and mobile capabilities IBM Content Navigator delivers, the underlying platform was built for easy customization; employees can
set up document collaboration areas themselves with minimal help from the IT department. This self-provisioning capability allows departments such as sales,
human resources, finance or legal to customize the solution for their specific business needs.
For example, a government agency could use the software to provide large numbers of employees with access to enterprise content based on an individual's job
role without having to devote IT resources to setting up the interface for each user. In the State of North Dakota, 22 agencies and more than 2,000 state
employees – including the Departments of Commerce, Taxation, Transportation, Human Services, and Secretary of State – already use IBM's Enterprise Content
Management software to manage a wide variety of citizen records and information, ranging from unemployment applications and vehicle registrations to tax
filings and flexible benefit records.
"The self-provisioning capability IBM is offering will make it easy to set up a team space for collaboration without the help of our IT department," said Chuck
Picard, enterprise electronic document management system coordinator for the State of North Dakota. "As additional state agencies and county governments
start using the system, we will be able to instantly share critical information at both the state and local levels. This software provides significant economies of
scale, which is a critical requirement for a state operating on a limited budget."
Aon Risk Solutions – an early adopter of electronic document management technology – sees the opportunity mobile access can offer its employees who need to
access enterprise content on the go. "With IBM's help, we could reduce the need for customization and boost productivity by opening our enterprise content
management system to mobile devices," said Stuart Williams, IT global product director, Aon Services Group.
Analytics and Search for Big Data
To gather the facts needed to make the right businesses decisions, organizations must have the ability to uncover trends, patterns, and relationships from both
their structured and unstructured enterprise content. With IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search v3.0, IBM is integrating content analytics software with
enterprise search capabilities into a unified platform. In fact, content analytics and enterprise search capabilities are an integral part of the IBM Content
Navigator experience, enabling users to quickly locate content across IBM and third-party repositories, with thumbnails, facets, summaries and term highlighting.
Through its capabilities in natural language processing, semantic search, and sentiment analysis, this solution provides richer, more accurate, and relevant
insights from content such as documents, reports, e-mails, Web content, surveys and enterprise applications.
IBM has also integrated its content analytics software with a component of IBM's big data platform, InfoSphere BigInsights, which allows clients to derive greater
insights in a cost-efficient manner from the ever-increasing volumes of unstructured information flowing both within and outside the enterprise. This helps clients
overcome processing limitations and indexing constraints to analyze petabytes of information to support decisions in areas such as crime intelligence, healthcare,
insurance claims and customer care.
"IBM is continuing to lead the way in helping organizations manage the content they rely upon for everyday operations," said IBM Enterprise Content
Management Leader Doug Hunt. Today we are enabling clients to make content available in any context to help them deal with the information sprawl of big
data. "It's key that clients can now drive business insights from enterprise content and share collaboration content with others who need it."
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 5/1/2012
IBM Launches PowerLinux Solutions to Help Customers Increase Efficiency and Insights
IBM today introduced new IBM PowerLinux Systems and Solutions to help customers exploit the cost efficiency of Linux and virtualization for business-critical
workloads. IBM PowerLinux Solutions offer deep integration of new Linux-specific POWER7 processor-based hardware with industry-standard Linux software
from Red Hat and SUSE for analyzing Big Data, managing industry-specific applications and delivering open source infrastructure services.
The new IBM PowerLinux Solutions are more affordable for businesses of all sizes with the introduction of two new Linux-specific servers: a system for the
recently announced IBM PureFlex System, part of the new IBM PureSystems family of systems with integrated expertise; as well as a standalone high-
performance, energy-efficient IBM PowerLinux System that is value-priced for the mid market and above.
The new PowerLinux Solutions and supporting systems are designed to provide customers with lower deployment time and costs, and greater performance,
dependability and workload density than competitive x86 platforms at similar price points. This extends the ability for IBM to address customers’ Linux application
needs more effectively, just as it does for UNIX (AIX) and IBM i application requirements with Power Systems.
IBM is offering the new integrated and workload-optimized PowerLinux Solutions in conjunction with its ISV and OEM partners, starting with three specific Linux-
centric workloads. IBM PowerLinux Solutions are designed to match each workload’s specific performance requirements, offering customers a simpler Linux-
based IT environment that can help reduce infrastructure costs and aide in freeing IT staff to focus on bringing innovative products and services to market
faster.
“Our tests have shown excellent performance results for Zucchetti human resources and ERP industry application software running on the new PowerLinux
Systems – an improvement of at least 40 percent compared to Linux machines based on Intel x86,” said Alberto Cazzulani , HR Business Unit Technologies &
Services Manager for Zucchetti Group, a leading provider of software and technology solutions with more than 450,000 installations and 85,000 clients.
By basing the new solutions on lower cost Linux-specific Power Systems and PowerVM for Linux virtualization technology, IBM can help provide more value to
customers at a lower cost than others offering Linux on other commodity x86 servers. In addition, replacing aging x86-based Windows servers with PowerLinux
Systems and utilizing open source applications, clients may further reduce costs by reducing or eliminating high proprietary software license fees and upgrade
charges.
“With PowerLinux, IBM has made a real conscious effort to lower the acquisition price for customers who have wanted to take advantage of POWER to run
their Linux environments,” said Andy Lin, Solutions Consultant, Mark III Systems. “So now clients who perhaps would not have looked at IBM systems in the past
are saying, ‘This is actually a really good idea – this is very compelling for us.’ That not only represents an opportunity for the greater IBM, but as an IBM Premier
Business Partner, it’s a tremendous opportunity for Mark III Systems as well.”
University of Hamburg Improves System Performance At Lower Cost
IBM is working with customers across a number of industries and geographies to help improve the performance of their Linux-based applications and services,
including the University of Hamburg. As a participant in PHYsnet.org, the worldwide scientific data exchange, the University of Hamburg wanted to improve the
performance levels of its existing PHYSnet servers without investing in large numbers of physical servers for its Physics research lab.
By implementing a virtual distributed configuration for its OpenAFS file system using two IBM PowerLinux 7R2 systems running 10 virtual Linux servers using the
new IBM PowerVM for PowerLinux, the university was able to improve file serving performance by 50 percent at 30 percent less cost than the competing Intel
x86-based systems option.
“IBM PowerLinux is the best option for running OpenAFS as it can handle the high I/O requirements of the system and delivers the throughput needed to quickly
access files,” said Bodo Krause-Kyora, Head of Systems and Deputy Director, PHYSnet, for University of Hamburg. “We would have needed to purchase
significantly more Intel-based systems to achieve the same levels of file serving performance that we do with just two IBM PowerLinux servers.”
Three Workload-Optimized PowerLinux Solution Editions
As customers find their business needs are increasingly addressable with open source software, they still face the challenge of maintaining the quality of service
and reliability previously achieved with proprietary software solutions. By leveraging the self-healing and self-managing capabilities of POWER7 systems,
customers can confidently run one or many highly scalable, reliable and flexible industry-standard Linux environments. The three new PowerLinux Solutions
include:
IBM PowerLinux Big Data Analytics Solution
Smarter companies are thinking differently about how to deal with Big Data that is growing exponentially within their organizations. To meet this challenge, many
are deploying Linux-based IT infrastructures designed to capably handle both structured and unstructured data, making it easier to capture, manage and
analyze information to drive better-informed business decisions.
The highly threaded, parallel processing capabilities of IBM PowerLinux Systems provide optimal compute and I/O performance for Big Data analytics projects
using Apache Hadoop, a software framework that enables distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers. IBM OEM partner Fixstars is
planning to deliver a Hadoop-based appliance for Big Data based on IBM PowerLinux Systems for the SMB market in 2012.
PowerLinux Systems also help businesses cost-effectively gain new insights from Big Data with IBM solutions, such as IBM InfoSphere BigInsights software that
enables organizations to analyze a variety of Big Data information sources. InfoSphere BigInsights, will be generally available for PowerLinux Systems on June
15. IBM InfoSphere Streams software for PowerLinux, which analyzes data-in-motion, is available immediately.
The deep integration and optimization of analytics workload performance on IBM PowerLinux Systems enables businesses to run thousands of tasks in parallel
to deliver analytics services faster, such as analyzing historical credit card data to help improve real-time fraud detection or examining social media in real time to
better understand brand sentiment among customers.
IBM PowerLinux Industry Application Solution
More companies are relying on Linux for business applications that are designed for their industry and tuned for specific business needs. IBM PowerLinux
Systems provide a highly secure, resilient and fully integrated platform stack for industry applications, providing smoother implementation enabling faster time-to-
delivery for new, differentiating services with less downtime.
With offerings like the IBM PowerLinux Solution Edition for SAP Applications, midsize IT shops can deliver these services at a lower cost per workload with high
quality compared to x86 commodity servers running Windows or Linux. Additional ISVs like Zucchetti Group are planning to provide pre-integrated, tested and
validated solutions tailored for their local regions across a variety of industries.
IBM PowerLinux Open Source Infrastructure Services Solution
PowerLinux Systems offer cost-effective control over server and virtual image sprawl with the addition of the new PowerVM for PowerLinux virtualization
technology. With fewer servers to manage, businesses can deliver services such as web, email and social business collaboration more cost effectively by using
PowerLinux Systems as the foundation for flexible open source-based software delivery. Integrated, tuned and tested so everything works together, PowerLinux
Systems offer highly secure and scalable virtualization of business infrastructure services.
“As CIOs seek to transform their IT department from a cost center to a strategic asset, many have a misconception that deploying Linux on x86 servers equipped
with VMware software is their only option for taking advantage of open source applications,” said Colin Parris, General Manager, IBM Power Systems. “Serving
the Linux market with Power Systems is an important initiative for IBM. With IBM PowerLinux solutions and systems, customers now have powerful, cost-
effective alternatives, as well as a broad ecosystem of support from our global partners to get the right solution—hardware, software and services—for virtually any
business requirement.”
Built on New Linux-Specific Servers
The new IBM PowerLinux Solutions are more affordable for businesses of all sizes with the introduction of two new Linux-specific servers:
IBM Flex System p24L Compute Node – Linux-specific two-socket server for the recently announced IBM PureFlex System which contains 12 or 16 POWER7
microprocessor cores, option of Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating systems, and built-in PowerVM for PowerLinux. The new
PowerLinux-specific server is supported in the PureFlex System Express, Standard and Enterprise configurations.
IBM PowerLinux 7R2 System – A two-socket, high-performance, energy-efficient rack server that supports 16 POWER7 microprocessor cores and a choice of
industry standard Linux operating systems – Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Scalable and efficient with a built-in PowerVM for
PowerLinux hypervisor, the PowerLinux 7R2 System can run multiple Linux workloads, offering a potentially lower solution stack cost for virtualized infrastructure.
Financing
IBM Global Financing provides flexible financing options for clients to acquire the new PowerLinux systems and lower their total cost of ownership. For example,
credit-qualified clients(1) can acquire the 128GB/3.6TB PowerLinux 7R2 System for $400 per month with nothing down with a 36-month lease. IBM Global
Financing enables clients to manage budgets more easily with predictable payments and to reduce the risk of IT technology obsolescence with options to
upgrade at mid or end of lease. Thousands of clients globally already experience the advantages of financing their Power Systems solutions.
Since 2000, Linux had held a strategically significant position within the IBM systems portfolio and IBM has invested more than a billion dollars into the Linux
movement to date. IBM is traditionally among the top commercial contributors of Linux code with more than 600 IBMers involved in more than 100 open source
projects. Built on industry-standard Linux, open source and IBM software, IBM PowerLinux Solutions are designed to help customers make better business
decisions and assist them to operate more efficiently.
(1) IBM Global Financing offerings are provided through IBM Credit LLC in the United States and other IBM subsidiaries and divisions worldwide to qualified
commercial and government customers. Minimum transaction size $5,000, rates are based on a customer's credit rating, financing terms, offering type,
equipment type and options, and may vary by country. Other restrictions may apply. Rates and offerings are subject to change, extension or withdrawal without
notice. Example based on a 36 month lease for a PowerLinux 7R2 rack server configured with 128GB memory and 3.6TB total hard drive storage, RHEL
(includes open source workload packages), and IBM PowerVM for IBM PowerLinux.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 4/17/2012
Toshiba TEC to Acquire IBM’s Retail Store Point-of-Sale Solutions Business
Toshiba TEC to Acquire IBM’s Retail Store Point-of-Sale Solutions Business; Agreement Allows Both to Tap Growing Smarter Commerce Opportunity
IBM (NYSE: IBM), the leader in Smarter Commerce, and Toshiba TEC Corporation (TSE:6588), Japan’s leading maker of point-of-sale systems and related
technology for retailers, today announced a definitive agreement under which Toshiba TEC will acquire IBM's Retail Store Solutions (RSS) business, which
offers retail point-of-sale solutions worldwide. Upon completion of the transaction, Toshiba TEC would become the world's foremost retail point- of-sale systems
company, offering hardware, software and integrated in-store solutions, and will team with IBM to bring the Smarter Commerce experience to retailers and their
customers worldwide.
The purchase price is approximately US$850M (JPY: 68B).
As part of the transaction, Toshiba TEC will enter into a multi-year agreement with IBM in which Toshiba TEC will become an IBM Premier Business Partner for
Smarter Commerce. This agreement will help ensure that IBM's portfolio of enterprise-level Smarter Commerce solutions and services, which extend from the
corporate data center to the local retail store, and Toshiba TEC's customer-facing retail store point-of-sale (POS) solutions are available to customers worldwide
to meet the growing demand for multi-channel commerce.
It is expected that upon completion of the deal, Toshiba TEC, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, will acquire RSS’s overall business operation functions
globally, including development, sales and related in-store maintenance. Toshiba TEC's retail store point-of-sale solutions operation will benefit from a worldwide
distribution and sales network, enhanced product and solution selection for customers and decades of innovation by both companies.
The transaction is expected to close late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2012 subject to the satisfaction of regulatory requirements and
customary closing conditions. Subsequent closings will occur subject to similar conditions, local agreements and the information and consultation process in
applicable countries.
Retailers, including those with global store operations, will benefit from accelerated development of new products and solutions for regional and geographic
needs. Toshiba TEC customers also will benefit from a “one-stop retail store solution” providing comprehensive support --planning, maintenance and services --
to help them accelerate new store deployments worldwide.
In 2011, IBM announced a major Smarter Commerce initiative that helps businesses automate and infuse intelligence into their procurement, marketing, sales
and customer service functions to better serve today's empowered online consumer in the era of mobile and social networks. In a time when brands can be built
or broken across the Web within minutes --- and customers expect the same quality experience from all channels --- businesses need to adapt with technology
that quickly responds or even anticipates customer needs across any sales channel at any time.
"Together, IBM and Toshiba TEC represent the broadest multi-channel offerings worldwide," said Craig Hayman, general manager, Industry Solutions, IBM
Software Group. "The pace of retail expansion requires a strategy to serve this dynamic marketplace. This acquisition by Toshiba TEC creates not only the
world’s leading point-of-sale company, but also a key business partner for IBM in its strategically important Smarter Commerce initiative. Retailers can invest with
confidence in the proven abilities of these two leaders to deliver multi-channel commerce to more demanding consumers who want the same experience
shopping online, in-store, mobile, social or by any other means."
“The opportunities in retail store solutions are expected to grow by increasing demand in POS systems. In addition, demand for multi-channel integration and
enhancement of store back office management accelerates further expansion of sales,” said Mamoru Suzuki, president and CEO, Toshiba TEC. “Toshiba TEC
will become the world’s foremost point-of-sale provider capable of providing products and services at the same level of high quality. It also will allow Toshiba
TEC to expand its global point-of-sales business through a combination of the competitive product lineup and worldwide network proven by Toshiba TEC’s and
Retail Store Solutions’ history of the business.”
The acquisition will enable Toshiba TEC to seek expanded opportunities to deliver new value to customers, including mass merchandisers, specialty and
convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Toshiba TEC also expects to generate new retail business opportunities based on synergies with its printing
solutions business combined with the RSS sales network.
“Toshiba warmly welcomes this agreement,” said Norio Sasaki, president and CEO, Toshiba. “Toshiba TEC enjoys a strong presence in retail store solutions in
Asia-Pacific, including Japan, and we are confident that this acquisition will support expansion in North America, Europe and the emerging economies. I also
expect this significant step to support innovation and the creation of new business opportunities for Toshiba Group.”
While the transaction is being completed, the companies will continue to operate independently. After the transaction closes, IBM will continue to provide
maintenance services to RSS clients under a multi-year services agreement. Retail Store Solutions customer service and product availability will continue as
usual as the RSS operations are integrated.
Additional Transaction Details
A new holding company will be established in Japan. This company will hold the equity of a number of companies organized in countries around the world.
Toshiba TEC will acquire an 80.1 percent stake in this holding company and in order to promote a smooth transfer, IBM will hold a 19.9 percent stake in the
holding company. Eventually, the holding company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba TEC. The new companies, including the holding
company, will continue to operate Retail Store Solutions’ business worldwide as Toshiba TEC’s core retail point-of-sale solution affiliates.
Steven D. Ladwig, currently general manager, IBM Retail Store Solutions, will become the chief executive officer (CEO) of the new US company with
headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina.
A portion of the aggregate purchase price will be paid on the closing date and on the first anniversary of the closing. The remaining portion will be paid on the
third anniversary in exchange for IBM’s 19.9 percent equity interest.
The Retail Store Solutions revenue in 2011 was approximately (US)$1.15 billion with approximately 1,000 employees worldwide plus maintenance specialists.
Over time, maintenance specialists are expected to join the new companies subject to local business conditions and completion of local information and
consultation processes.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 4/16/2012
IBM Survey Reveals Digital Behavioral Trends for Consumers
IBM Survey Reveals Digital Behavioral Trends for Consumers: What is your Digital Personality?
A new IBM study of the media and entertainment market (NYSE: IBM), reveals that as consumers adopt an increasing number of digital devices, four distinct
new "digital personalities" are emerging. This shift is compelling companies to adopt more innovative business models that deliver personalized experiences.
The Connected Consumer
The "Beyond Digital" study released at the 2012 NAB Conference, paints a portrait of a rapidly changing audience that is adopting a wide range of digital
devices at a dizzying pace. And, contrary to popular belief, most are not college students. For example, sixty-five percent of respondents aged 55 to 64 report
surfing the Web and texting with friends while watching TV. Of those over age 65 watching TV, 49 percent surf the Web and 30 percent are texting. Eighty-two
percent of surveyed global consumers aged 18 to 64 are embracing connected digital devices.
Moreover, consumers in China and the U.S. are moving away from traditional forms of media, with more than 50 percent using online sources for breaking news.
The New Personalities
Today's connected consumers demand instant access to personalized content on their own terms. With the growth of digital devices, one-way communication
and distribution of content is no longer feasible. According to the IBM study, most users fall into one of four emerging personality categories:
· Efficiency Experts: With 41 percent in this category, these respondents use digital devices and services to simplify day-to-day activities. Efficiency experts send
emails rather than letters, use Facebook to communicate with others, access the Internet via mobile phones, and shop online.
· Content Kings: Are generally male consumers, who frequently play online games, download movies and music, and watch TV online. This audience represents
9 percent of the global sample.
· Social Butterflies: Place emphasis on social interaction – they require instant access to friends, regardless of time or place. Fifteen percent of consumers
surveyed reported they frequently maintain and update social networking sites, add labels or tags to online photos, and view videos from other users.
· Connected Maestros: 35 percent of those surveyed take a more advanced approach to media consumption by using mobile devices and Smartphone
applications to access games, music, and video or to check news, weather, sports, etc.
"Media companies need to engage with consumers based on their digital personalities, if they are going to maintain a sustainable and connected relationship,
said Saul Berman, Global Strategy Consulting Leader, IBM Global Business Services, and co-author of the study. "With the mass infiltration of digital devices,
organizations can now enhance, extend or redefine the customer experience within minutes due to a steady stream of real-time data via social media. Future
success is dependent upon successfully executing on insights based on this data, to reach the right consumer, at the right time and place, using the right tools."
According to the IBM study, media and entertainment companies' payment infrastructures need to be flexible and scalable to allow a variety of innovative pricing
approaches to attract consumers with different preferences to their content. The need for payment option flexibility, even for the same set of consumers, is
apparent by looking at those most active in adopting new devices. This group's preferred mode of payment to watch a movie on a website is by viewing
advertising that is included with the movie (39 percent of this segment chose this option), while they prefer to see movies on a tablet by purchasing a
subscription (chosen by 36 percent). But to watch movies on a smart phone, they prefer to pay per use (the payment choice of 36 percent).
IBM surveyed 3,800 consumers in six countries – China, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States for this study, and also met with
global representatives in broadcasting, publishing, as well as media service agencies, and telecommunication providers, to evaluate digital consumption
behaviors.
How Analytics Can Help
Using analytics, media companies can now take advantage of existing consumer data to understand audience sentiment, online personalities and behavior.
This new intelligence can be used to develop targeted advertising campaigns and personalized offers, as well as to boost customer service.
The 2010 IBM Global Chief Executive Officer Study reiterated that CEOs understand that in order to stand out in a competitive market, that they must effectively
and consistently connect with the consumer. Some are making strides and tapping into the new opportunities that are becoming available with this digital
transformation. By taking into account digital personalities and behaviors, media and entertainment organizations can add a layer of intelligence to customer
interactions and develop innovative business models that can help respond and keep ahead of an increasingly complex marketplace.
About the Study
This area of study is IBM's forth-annual digital consumer survey by the Institute of Business Value, following on from the 2010 "Beyond content: Capitalizing on
the new revenue opportunities," the 2009 "Beyond advertising: Choosing a strategic path to the digital consumer," and "The end of advertising as we know it"
surveys. These reports have all focused on the journey from the physical to the digital distribution of information, and the impact this transformation has on
consumers and the media & entertainment industry.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 4/13/2012
IBM Broadens Analytics Portfolio with Acquisition of Varicent Software
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Varicent Software Incorporated, a leading provider of analytics software for compensation
and sales performance management. Varicent is a privately held company, with headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Varicent software automates and analyzes the collection and reporting of sales data across finance, sales, human resources and IT departments to gain
efficiencies, uncover trends and improve sales performance. The acquisition accelerates IBM's Smarter Analytics capabilities across line of business operations
in all industries, and will be combined with IBM's existing software offerings that are delivered to clients through on-premise or cloud computing models.
"The acquisition of Varicent advances IBM's efforts to drive analytics capabilities into the hands of front line employees to transform business operations and
ultimately improve the bottom line," said Les Rechan, general manager, business analytics, IBM. "For the thousands of sales organizations still relying on silos of
data, spreadsheets and e-mail to manage sales, there is an enormous opportunity to apply analytics to this vital area of business and uncover new, untapped
growth opportunities."
“Sales Performance Management is still viewed by many in the industry as an art versus a science, but there is plenty of opportunity for this mind set to change,”
said Dan Shimmerman, president and CEO, Varicent. “As part of IBM, we can now bring our technological expertise in maturing and advancing the efficiency
and effectiveness of the sales function to a broader range of clients across the globe who are looking to improve their processes, and strategically align
incentive compensation with profitable growth.”
With growing volumes of data, companies are increasingly looking for ways to automate and gain faster, more accurate intelligence on sales and financial
management data in order to increase competitiveness. According to Gartner, organizations that adopt compensation management solutions can expect to
reduce errors by more than 90 percent and reduce processing times by more than 40 percent.
Varicent's software automates and integrates all aspects of sales, client and financial performance management across the enterprise, which is traditionally a
labor intensive process. Unlike traditional tools, Varicent provides a single management system that relies on a sophisticated calculation engine to model and
analyze the effectiveness of incentive spend.
The software allows clients such as banks, insurance companies, retailers, information technology and telecommunications providers to more accurately
determine compensation, streamline territory assignments, manage quotas, and report and analyze sales activities. The software also strengthens audit and
compliance readiness and provides transparency for all aspects of incentive compensation.
Founded in 2003, Varicent has more than 180 customers using its software, including: Starwood Hotels, Covidien, Dex One, Manpower, Hertz, Office Depot and
Farmers.
IBM will combine Varicent with its R&D and prior acquisitions including Algorithmics, Clarity Systems, OpenPages, Cognos and SPSS, to expand IBM capabilities
in business analytics and optimization across finance, sales, and customer service operations. These acquisitions are part of IBM's larger focus on analytics,
which spans hardware, software, services and research.
IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of analytics solutions, business and industry expertise. This includes almost 9,000 dedicated business analytics
and optimization consultants and 400 researchers. IBM secures hundreds of patents a year in analytics, and continues to expand its ecosystem, which consists
of more than 27,000 IBM business partners. IBM has also created eight global analytics solution centers in Berlin, Beijing, Dallas, London, New York, Tokyo,
Washington and Zurich.
These investments have enabled IBM to introduce Smarter Analytics Signature Solutions to address vital client issues such as fraud detection, financial
operations and customer service. They have also led to breakthrough technologies like IBM Watson, a new class of industry specific analytical capability that
uses deep content analysis, evidence-based reasoning and natural language processing to identify relationships buried in large volumes of data that can be
used to improve decision making.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. With the closing of this acquisition, it is
expected that all of Varicent’s employees will join IBM's Software Group.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 4/4/2012
EBX Group and IBM Announce Strategic Agreement
- IBM acquires 20% of SIX Automacao's capital, subsidiary of SIX Solucoes Inteligentes, an EBX Group technology company
- Companies to collaborate on research, to create Joint Industry Solutions Center at SIX Automacao
- EBX Group to outsource IT operations to IBM for approximately $1 billion over 10 years
The EBX Group and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a strategic agreement that includes: IBM's investment in SIX Automacao; the creation at SIX
Automacao of a joint center for the development of technology solutions and investments in R&D focused primarily on natural resources and infrastructure; and
the outsourcing to IBM of IT operations of EBX Group.
As part of the strategic agreement, IBM will acquire 20% of SIX Automacao, the subsidiary of SIX Solucoes Inteligentes, the EBX Group company focused on
technology. SIX Automacao was established in October 2011 after the purchase of AC Engineering, a company with 18 years of market experience. IBM will
contribute smarter industry solutions, providing new products, software and services that complement SIX Automacao's expertise in sectors including oil and gas,
mining, naval construction, naval ports and others. The two companies will create a broad portfolio for those areas, creating a unique, strategic position in the
market.
The partnership also includes a research collaboration agreement, which will ensure synergy between EBX Group companies and IBM Research. SIX
Automacao and IBM will jointly develop research programs and intellectual property focused on natural resources, sustainability and solutions aligned to IBM's
Smarter Planet strategy, EBX Group's business needs and market requirements. A new Solution Center for joint industry solutions will be created to give
customers in four Latin American countries (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru) the ability to conduct tests, proofs of concept and customize technology for their
specific needs.
The agreement gives IBM responsibility for EBX Group's IT operational activities through an outsourcing agreement valued at approximately $1 billion. The new
10-year contract covers EBX Group's IT infrastructure investments, operation services and new technology projects. It will cover all the companies of EBX
Group, including international operations, such as those in Chile and Colombia. Its main objective is to ensure overall Group flexibility, scalability and solutions
that support the expansion of all EBX Group businesses. The strategic management of IT remains with the Group, ensuring continuation of its standards of
excellence and cutting-edge architecture.
The partnership with IBM will enhance SIX Automacao's entrance into the industrial technology solutions market, while also establishing joint research and
development capabilities for EBX Group companies. It will also provide EBX Group with access to flexible, large-scale and competitive systems and IT
infrastructure with the latest technology to support the rapid growth of the Group. EBX is investing US $15.5 billion between 2011 and 2012 in Brazil, generating
20,000 jobs
"Partnering with one of the largest technology companies in the world offers EBX Group a broad portfolio of modern IT solutions. IBM, in turn, will expand its
presence in one of the most promising markets in the world, working with a Group that has a significant presence in strategic sectors," said Eike Batista,
chairman of the EBX Group.
"This partnership with EBX Group demonstrates IBM's strength in generating higher value business," said Ricardo Pelegrini, IBM Brazil general manager. "EBX's
business depth and industry insight opens up significant opportunities to collaborate on growth and new market development in Brazil and beyond. IBM brings
innovation and cutting-edge technology that will contribute to the country's development through our Smarter Planet agenda," he added.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 4/3/2012
Made in IBM Labs: New IBM Software Accelerates Decision Making in the Era of Big Data
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new software to provide clients with a sophisticated way to tame the data deluge and speed up business processes,
making it easier for decision makers to gain insights from data. Based on innovations from IBM labs, the new software continuously accesses, compresses, and
analyzes data, freeing up IT staff to work on higher value tasks such as big data and business analytics.
Over the past four years, more than 100 clients, 200 business partners, and hundreds of experts from IBM Research and Software Development Labs around
the world collaborated to develop the new software.
In the era of big data, organizations are struggling to gain insights from information assets to transform business operations and be competitive in their industries.
The challenge is compounded by new high performance applications that require instant access to new types and massive amounts of data from social
networks, sensors, and mobile devices, along with data growing exponentially inside business applications.
New Software Helps Clients Find Answers Up to 10 Times Faster and Free Up Storage
To help clients meet these challenges, IBM is unveiling DB2 10 and InfoSphere Warehouse 10 software that easily integrates with big data systems,
automatically compresses data into tighter spaces to prevent storage sprawl, and slices information from the past, present, and future to eliminate expensive
application code.
During testing, clients performed data warehouse queries up to 10 times faster to speed up decision making, freed up storage space up to 90 percent to
dramatically reduce storage needs, and easily migrated data from expensive Oracle Database to IBM DB2 software with 98 percent code compatibility that didn't
require changing the data or retraining staff. Using the new software, clients can:
Access big data for deeper insights –- Big data integration and real-time data analysis provides faster insights from unstructured data, such as social networking
information or text from mobile devices. Insights from Hadoop-based systems are now easily integrated with real-time analysis of structured data in the warehouse
to enable better and faster business decisions.
Speed up business processes and lower data management costs -- Adaptive Compression and Multi-Temperature Data Management instantly compresses data
to make it easier for business applications to use it and place into the most effective storage. Compression speeds up the flow and better manages big data for
use by analytics applications. The new software automatically assesses how frequently data is needed and moves it to cost effective storage based on how
"hot" or "cold" it is.
Look into the past and future to improve decision making -- Time Travel Query enables easier access to data at any point in time. For example, an online travel
agency can automatically detect inconsistencies in itineraries such as a hotel booked in Rome for eight days while a car is reserved in New York City for three of
those days. Previously, database administrators and application developers had to write complex code to uncover this relationship.
“Today’s growing data volumes make it tougher for clients to access the right data when they need it to stay competitive," said Arvind Krishna, general manager,
IBM Information Management. “IBM has advanced database and data warehouse technology to the point where data management can be automated and
insights shared more broadly than ever before, freeing up decision makers and IT staff to focus on business growth.”
Coca-Cola Bottling Company Reinvests Cost Savings by Switching to DB2
The largest independent bottler of Coca Cola products in the U.S. has been using DB2 10 to drive increased performance and lower software and hardware
costs.
“Coca Cola Bottling Company has saved more than a million dollars over the past four years in licensing, maintenance, and storage costs by migrating from
Oracle to IBM database software,” said Tom DeJuneas, IT team manager. “We’ve reinvested these savings into other business projects, while keeping our
operating expenses flat. As a result, we don’t have to pass rising costs on to consumers, which allow us to maintain our sales volumes and market share.”
The upgrade to DB2 10 further enhances performance and boosts business processes. Coca-Cola Bottling Company has seen the time to process queries
decrease dramatically. This improves Supply Chain Management processes with increased average response of SAP workloads from 30 to 60 percent, which in
turn helps bring products to market faster.
Clients Choose IBM Software for New Workloads
“Banking customers today require instant and anytime access to accounts either online or through mobile devices. IBM's new database software allows us to
meet these demands and helps predict and address network bottlenecks so there is not an interruption in service,” said Lefentse Sennelo, DB2 database
specialist, ABSA Bank, a member of the Barclays Group. “The high availability and disaster recovery features help ensure our customers get the best experience
every time.”
“IBM's new database software allows Mindray to compress business data flowing through our SAP applications by nearly 77 percent, which means we spend
less time and money on managing and storing our data,” said Eric Xu, DB2 database administrator, Mindray Medical International Limited. “This new feature is
automatic and we don't have to take our data offline or require an administrator to spend time working on it, freeing up valuable resources.”
“As one of China’s top 15 manufacturers, Jianlong Steel is interested in controlling costs and improving performance as we process 6.5 million tons of steel each
year,” said Feng Wang, database administrator, Jianlong Steel. “We tested the IBM software and found improved performance and cost savings from the new
adaptive compression and workload manager features. We think the new database software will prove very valuable to our business.”
Credit-qualified clients can take advantage of 0 percent financing over 12 months for new IBM database and data warehouse software licenses and support
charges. Competitive rates are also available for 24 and 36 month payment terms. Clients benefit by improving project payback, preserving upfront cash for
other strategic investments and securing a fixed, predictable monthly payment.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 3/20/2012
IBM Introduces New Predictive Analytics Services and Software to Reduce Fraud
IBM Introduces New Predictive Analytics Services and Software to Reduce Fraud, Manage Financial Performance and Deliver Next Best Action
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new consulting services and software that take the power of predictive analytics to new levels of impact for the highest-
priority issues of C-suite decision makers. The new analytic offerings address the emerging opportunities of big data to manage financial operations, decrease
fraud and nurture next-generation customer relationships.
Based on experiences drawn from more than 20,000 analytics engagements, the new solutions combine innovations developed by IBM Research with new
predictive technologies from dozens of companies IBM has acquired.
IBM will significantly broaden the group of clients – specifically C-suite leaders – who can adopt analytics, extending IBM's leadership position in the strategic
market for business analytics. IDC estimates enterprises will invest more than $120 billion by 2015 to capture the business impact of analytics, across hardware,
software and services.
“These new capabilities target the agendas of global business leaders operating in a world of accelerating complexity, unpredictability and massively available
information,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. “By integrating analytics into business processes and converting
new insights into action, IBM is helping organizations transform big data from a threat into an opportunity, one that will be their most valuable natural resource.”
Enterprises across all industries are under increased pressure to extract new insights from the explosion of available data. To address this imperative, IBM has
expanded its multi-billion dollar investment in business analytics to address three vital client issues – fraud detection, financial operations and customer service –
and help organizations increase revenues. The IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solutions include:
· IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solution – Anti-fraud, Waste & Abuse
Each year, health care fraud tops $250 billion, according to the FBI. Tax fraud costs billions more. IBM’s adaptive systems learn from the latest data, helping to
protect against emerging fraud. The solution embeds advanced algorithms directly into business processes, providing government agencies and insurers with
the ability to detect fraud in real time – before funds are paid out. Using sophisticated analytics, the solution recommends the most effective remedy for each
case, optimizing an organization’s finite resources. For example, the system might recommend that a simple letter requesting payment be sent to resolve one
case, while recommending that a full investigation be opened in another case.
The solution will help clients replicate success stories like Infinity Insurance. One of the nation’s leading “nonstandard” insurance providers, specializing in
covering higher-risk drivers. The company is applying IBM analytics to more than 25,000 automobile claims processed monthly in order to identify patterns in
historic data. In the first three months, Infinity reduced the time needed to identify fraudulent claims from 14 days to 24 hours.
· IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solution – Next Best Action
All organizations understand the value of collecting customer data, but many struggle to extract new insight and use it to create more meaningful relationships.
IBM’s solution helps organizations gain a comprehensive view of a customer, derived from traditional enterprise data and customer sentiment gleaned from social
networks, logged customer service interactions and web click stream data. Then, real-time analytics predicts customer behavior and preferences to inform
decisions on the next best action on behalf of that customer.
These capabilities bring together Marketing and Customer Service functions and have helped companies like Sprint, which is using IBM analytics to determine
the most effective offers for existing and new customers.
· IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solution – CFO Performance Insight
Financial information is growing at an astounding rate of 70 percent each year, according to IBM research. The industry’s intricate data sets have to be
collected and cross-referenced against analyst reports, economic market data, financial reports, news stories, board notes and company balance sheets. IBM’s
capabilities provide increased insight, visibility and control over financial performance with predictive capabilities applied to key metrics and data on past
performance. The predictive analytics, combined with what-if analysis, and traditional business intelligence in an executive-style dashboard, guides users with
root-cause analyses. Organizations can uncover relationships among performance metrics, anticipate performance gaps and assess alternatives with scenario
planning.
This kind of improved financial visibility is used by Alfred Angelo, one of the largest U.S. wedding gown manufacturers and retailers. The company is using IBM
analytics to move beyond spreadsheets to a more comprehensive view of its operations across product lines. By analyzing which wedding dress styles or
accessories have been profitable over time, Alfred Angelo can take the SKU level “investigation” down to a particular color, size, or design and then optimize its
inventory to meet client demands and increase revenues.
IBM works with clients across industries and geographies to apply analytics and gain a competitive advantage from analyzing big data.
“IBM is helping Sprint manage and analyze network data 90 percent faster than before,” said Von McConnell, executive director of the Innovation and
Advanced Labs at Sprint. “We can now customize new products and services in real-time and respond instantly to changing market dynamics. The insights we
gain from big data allows us to create and deliver new mobile applications in minutes, instead of hours, giving Sprint the ability to stay well ahead of our
competitors.”
Big Data: The New Natural Resource
The new solutions can be delivered by IBM consultants, supported by industry-leading applications management services capabilities, and cloud offerings.
Clients can access these capabilities through IBM’s big data technology platform that includes Hadoop, stream computing, data warehouse, and information
integration and governance capabilities, along with visualization and discovery, application development, systems management and industry accelerators. To
date, the IBM big data platform has been adopted by more than 100 business partners, bringing a new class of analytics solutions to market and extending the
reach of IBM analytics offerings for clients.
Clients can access IBM’s solutions through a global network of eight Analytics Solution Centers. Credit qualified clients can take advantage of financing for
services solutions and zero percent loans for IBM software with IBM Global Financing.
IBM Smarter Analytics
The new analytics services and solutions are part of IBM's larger focus on business analytics and optimization, which spans hardware, software, services and
research. IBM projects $16 billion in business analytics revenue by 2015. To meet that target, IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of analytics
solutions; grown its business and industry expertise to almost 9,000 business analytics and optimization consultants, 400 researchers, and created global
analytics solution centers in Berlin, Beijing, Dallas, London, New York, Tokyo, Washington and Zurich.
IBM has acquired 28 companies to build targeted analytics and information expertise since 2005, and continues to expand its ecosystem, which today consists
of more than 27,000 IBM business partners. IBM has also secured hundreds of patents a year in analytics.
These investments have enabled IBM to develop breakthrough technologies like IBM Watson, a new class of industry specific analytical capability that uses
deep content analysis, evidence-based reasoning and natural language processing to identify relationships buried in large volumes of data that can be used to
improve decision making.
www.softwaremag.com
IBM - 3/4/2012
IBM To Make Its Cloud Services and Software Open Sourced-Based
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that all of its cloud services and software will be based on an open cloud architecture. This move will ensure that innovation
in cloud computing is not hampered by locking businesses into proprietary islands of insecure and difficult-to-manage offerings. Without industry-wide open
standards for cloud computing, businesses will not be able to fully take advantage of the opportunities associated with interconnected data, such as mobile
computing and business analytics.
As the first step, the company today unveiled a new private cloud offering based on the open sourced OpenStack software that significantly speeds and
simplifies managing an enterprise-grade cloud. Now, for the first time, businesses have a core set of open source-based technologies to build enterprise-class
cloud services that can be ported across hybrid cloud environments.
“History has shown that open source and standards are hugely beneficial to end customers and are a major catalyst for innovation," said Robert LeBlanc, IBM
senior vice president of software. “Just as standards and open source revolutionized the Web and Linux, they will also have a tremendous impact on cloud
computing. IBM has been at the forefront of championing standards and open source for years and we are doing it again for cloud computing. The winner here
will be customers, who will not find themselves locked into any one vendor -- but be free to choose the best platform based on the best set of capabilities that
meet that needs."
Based on customer-driven requirements, the new software, called IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator, gives clients greater flexibility by removing the need to develop
specific interfaces for different cloud services. With the new software, companies can quickly combine and deploy various cloud services onto the cloud
infrastructure by lining up the compute, storage and network resources with an easy-to-use graphical interface. The new IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator allows
users to perform the following:
Build new cloud services in minutes by combining the power of pattern-based cloud delivery, with a graphical orchestrator for simple composition of cloud
automation;
Reduce operational costs with an orchestrator that can automate application deployment and lifecycle management in the cloud: compute, storage and network
configuration, human tasks automation, integration with third party tools, all delivered by a single cloud management platform and;
Simplify the end user consumption of cloud services, via an intuitive self service portal, including the ability to measure the cost of cloud services with metering
and charge-back capabilities.
In addition, IBM also announced new versions of software that use open standards to help companies better monitor and control their enterprise cloud
deployments. For example, IBM SmartCloud Monitoring Application Insight helps businesses monitor the real-time performance and availability of applications
hosted on a cloud and being delivered via the Web, hosted on public cloud platforms and IBM SmartCloud. Two new beta programs, that use analytics to
predict changes in scale and usage, are now available. In addition, new integration between IBM SmartCloud ControlDesk and IBM Endpoint Manager
automates and extends the ability to control cloud services for compliance, regulation, and security to various "end points" or devices, such as mobile phones,
medical devices and car engines. The integration of these two products is made possible through open-standard OSLC.
The development of open industry standards has proven a critical turning point in the success of many technologies, such as the Internet and operating
systems. For cloud computing to grow and mature similar to its predecessors, vendors must stop creating new cloud services that are incompatible. A recent
report by Booz & Company warned that without a more concerted effort to agree on such standards, and leadership on the part of major companies, the promise
of cloud computing may never be reached.
IBM is applying its experience in supporting and validating open standards from Linux, Eclipse and Apache to cloud computing. Working with the IT community,
IBM is helping to drive the open cloud world by:
Creating a 400-member strong Cloud Standards Customer Council that grew from about 50 members at launch;
Sponsoring OpenStack Foundation as a platinum and founding member and as one of the top code and design contributors to all OpenStack projects;
Driving related cloud standards, such as Open Service for Lifecycle Collaboration, Linked Data in the W3C and TOSCA in OASIS, to enhance cloud application
portability;
Dedicating more than 500 developers on the open cloud projects and;
Working closely with the OpenStack Foundation, along with its 8,200+ members from 109 countries and 1,000 organizations.
IBM is one of the world’s largest private cloud vendors with more than 5,000 private cloud customers in 2012, which increased 100 percent year-over-year.
IBM’s cloud portfolio, called SmartCloud, is based on a common code of interoperability, allowing clients to move between IBM’s private, hybrid and public cloud
services.
IBM Orchestrator is expected to be available later this year. IBM SmartCloud Monitoring Application Insight is expected to be available in the second quarter of
the year. The analytics beta programs are expected to be available by the end of March.
www.softwaremag.com
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