IBM Think 2018 took place from March 19-22, bringing together nearly 40,000 business leaders and IT experts to attend multiple conferences and launches.  This is the largest event ever organized by IBM and of course, we attended!

IBM took the opportunity to make several announcements and share some compelling statistics:

Today,

• 60% of digital transformation is led from outside of IT;
• 51% of IT budgets are controlled by lines of business;
• 72% of CEOs expect their platform to integrate data with that of their partners;
• 8 billion devices are connected to the Internet, more than the number of people on the planet.

By 2020,

• 90% of businesses will use multiple cloud services and platforms;
• 55% of companies will have started modernizing their data centers assets.

By 2021,

• 50% of enterprise infrastructure will employ artificial intelligence (AI) to improve productivity, manage risk and drive cost reduction;
• 65% of companies will deploy universal encryption on their servers to comply with data integrity, privacy and confidentiality requirements;
• 20 billion devices will be connected to the Internet.

Here are the four strategies they laid out that all companies should focus on to become leaders in their industry.

1. Cloud and your data

As cloud platforms will be the norm within the next two years, IBM aims to refine its cloud offering. The company has developed a catalog of applications similar to salesforce.com.

Applications can be used to manage a multitude of tasks and services, in addition to integrating cloud networking with blockchain technology.

IBM Blockchain, based on Hyperledger Fabric (the open source blockchain technology hosted by The Linux Foundation) is a huge, secure database of all your data. It allows each involved stakeholder to locate, track and access each and every transaction throughout the chain of operations. Since no one can change or delete a step in the process without being spotted, the registry eliminates the risk of fraud and error, documenting every step of the process and tracking progress in real time. The technology is accessible in traditional architecture or in the cloud, Blockchain as a Service.

2. Modernized infrastructure

To be competitive in the digital age, businesses need an efficient, secure, integrated and, above all, agile infrastructure. If you do not want to use the applications offered by IBM directly, it is always possible to combine your existing infrastructure with the IBM Cloud, or to transfer your applications to their servers, if necessary. With its à la carte and on-demand services, this strategy offers additional computing power during periods of high traffic or during the development of applications. IBM's strength in this area is the ease of use for businesses.

3. Artificial intelligence for businesses

The development of artificial intelligence is an urgent imperative for IBM. Rather than using man or machine to make better use of knowledge, the company wants to combine man and machine.

For now, machine learning specializes in three main areas: health, financial services and telecommunications. With its Watson Artificial Intelligence System, IBM aims to target all industries that have massive volumes of data, such as banking, legal, insurance, energy, and more.

Currently, only 20% of market and customer information is publicly available. To be successful, companies must use the remaining 80% of the information that is inside their organization. Watson represents a solution to extract and analyze this information, and thus allow management to make better decisions, within their company, but also within an industry by allowing a more global approach to data sharing. The more data that Watson processes, the more "intelligent" it becomes...

Watson can be deployed in the cloud or on a high-performance server such as the new Power 9.

4. Security and resilience

Hackers will continue to hack and will become more and more skilled. IBM wants to stay ahead of the game, notably by making data encryption more secure and by developing security protocols using AI.

IBM relies heavily on training and supporting its partners to help organizations update their security processes. The effort is put on developing applications with seamless integration as not to affect the user experience.

Conclusion

Our markets and industries are undergoing profound disruptions, and the fast paced race towards progress is not about to stop or slow down. In the coming years, technological changes will continue to accelerate and the ways to make profits will multiply.

At IBM Think, the IT giant took the opportunity to reaffirm its desire to make more tools and innovations available to facilitate the daily lives of business people. Through strategic partnerships, IBM wants to seize as many opportunities as possible and to be part of the force, energy and momentum of new trends. Its goal ? To continue to develop an effective work ecosystem to remain a leader in the transformations that are already disrupting the market.

Photo credit: © IBM