Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Database
    • Database

    IBM Launches $1B Information Management Effort

    By
    Lisa Vaas
    -
    February 17, 2006
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      NEW YORK—IBM is throwing $1 billion, 15,000 experts and two new server software products at the problem of wrangling business information.

      In an event for analysts, press and customers here on Feb. 16, executives from IBMs Software Group and its Enterprise Transformation Services Group pledged to create a new era of working together to connect data across disparate business processes.

      The new push brings IBMs expertise in data integration, business consulting and math science into the equation in an investment that will stretch over three years.

      Steve Mills, senior vice president of IBMs Software Group, said that thanks to years of technology acquisitions and advances in mathematical analysis, the time is ripe for breakthrough solutions that a few years ago couldnt be delivered.

      “The capability that exists today in terms of technology allows solving problems that couldnt be solved easily a few years ago,” he said in an interview following his presentation. “The cost of solving the problem, the challenge of the quantity of data and the speed [at which it can be accessed and analyzed], along with the growing speed of hardware, now allows things to be [tackled] that couldnt before.”

      The new age of information management will bring about “profound changes” in myriad industries, from health care, real-time crime fighting, financial services, government entitlement programs and manufacturing, he said.

      “Profound changes in health care, for example, will come not just from basic research but from having a complete record view, not just of a patient but [other patients] whove gone through similar ailments, have received similar treatments,” he said.

      One of the examples given by Mills of the direction IBM is going with information management is New York City police use of databases linked across counties, states and even the nation to find crime suspects relations to other people, known addresses and known aliases.

      This information, delivered wirelessly through parole cars, is helping police to solve crime in near real time, he said.

      Giving an example, “An initial piece of information [regarding a nickname used at a crime scene] allowed for them to do a search, come up with a suspect based on a limited amount of information: a tattoo and a nickname,” Mills said. “Databases have been connected, they can run searches, they can deliver information to detectives on the scene.

      /zimages/1/28571.gifTo read more about how police departments can use technology to fight crime, click here.

      “Theyre also able, because we created linkages to other databases across the state and nationally, to go into hundreds of millions of records online,” he said. “They can do cross-checks against other information: summonses, information relative to location, neighborhood maps, maps of where other crimes have occurred. They can then try to understand the relationship of this crime event and [other] events that might lead them to other, similar crimes.”

      Change the details, and the scenario is applicable to pretty much any industry where quick decisions based on solid business intelligence are needed. Financial services firms need to model markets fast, and Medicaid administrators need to quickly decide if theyre being double-billed or, for example, being billed by a party whos deceased.

      Next Page: Business applications of information management technology.

      Business Applications of Information


      Management Technology”>

      Indeed, the spectrum of possible information management applications is broad enough to represent a technology market thats estimated as being bound to hit $69 billion by 2009.

      “Were pouring $1 billion in this space because we think the opportunity is far greater than anybodys estimated,” Mills said.

      IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., will initially devote 15,000 practitioners globally to the opportunity and will expand that population by 65 percent, to a total of 25,000, over the next three years.

      At this stage, IBM is solidifying domain expertise in order to get a firm grasp on what the given problems are in specific industries and how technology can be applied to them.

      “Now what were doing is hardening this and making it repeatable,” Mills said, explaining why IBM isnt yet providing packaged products in this area. “Its not about understanding the mathematics. Its about making it repeatable and making it available in the market.”

      Thats what the 25,000 IBM experts will be doing over the next three years: gathering more domain expertise and making the front ends of these complex mathematical-technological solutions adaptable, Mills said.

      “For many businesses, theyre looking for us to come forward with something much more prepackaged,” he said. “In coming years it will be us coming up with technology packaged in something industry-specific, whether its in real-time crime fighting, in giving financial services customers a common view of the customer, … in manufacturing and distribution, in how do they deal with product data, how do they deal with suppliers, do they have redundancy, is the supply chain clogged with duplicate material?”

      /zimages/1/28571.gifTo read more about IBMs progress in business process management, click here.

      Joe Monk, CIO for Retail Bank and Channel Technology at Wachovia, based in Charlotte, N.C., said the banks ultimate goal is to achieve a single view of the customer that spans all channels, whether the customer calls the call center, walks into a branch office, uses an ATM or signs up for an account online.

      Over the past years, Wachovia has made over 80 acquisitions.

      “Were looking at extensive growth through acquisition, and we had to make sure we had robust, expandable capability” to serve customers, he said. As the bank moved through the application integration stage, it started looking across its key vendors and asking how it all comes together. IBMs information management strategies have been “key” in helping Wachovia navigate change while keeping optimal customer experience as one of the foremost priorities, Monk said.

      At this point, Wachovia is looking at implementing an enterprise services bus with IBM.

      “[Were looking at] how to bring it all together from a [point of view of] services, SOA [service-oriented architecture], and at the top of the stack … from the data perspective. [How do we get to a] common view of who the customer is, how to meet their needs, what products/services they need, and what kind of relationship we have with them?”

      Next Page: IBMs new offerings.

      IBMs New Offerings

      Wachovia started by looking at the business transformation management side of the problem. IBM came to the table with its CBM (Component Business Model) offering, based on carving what any bank does into discrete chunks: how to handle bad loan processing, for example.

      IBM and its CBM helped Wachovia figure out how to do such things consistently across the bank and across all its acquisitions, Monk said, meaning the bank for the first time was able to join its IT view with its business view and figure out how to make the technology bits and pieces work within business processes.

      “Now were able to step back and focus on what is the end-to-end customer experience,” he said.

      IBM is announcing six new solution portfolios, two new software products, step-by-step assessment tools and new, worldwide “centers of excellence” to help clients assess and tackle such information management needs.

      One “center of excellence” will be in New York, staffed by solution architects, information architects and researchers from across the IBM Software, Research and Business Consulting Services Groups.

      The solutions portfolios address risk, compliance, business analysis and discovery, business performance and process management, master data management, process innovation, and workforce productivity.

      IBMs Master Data Management solution product, for example, is a set of best practices, services and technologies to create and maintain a single version of the truth for enterprise data, such as customer, product or supplier data.

      As far as the new software products go, IBM is announcing WebSphere Information Server and WebSphere Content Discovery Server.

      Information Server is designed to integrate heterogeneous information and deliver it to any application, process or user. Its based on technology IBM acquired in its acquisition of Ascential in 2005, combined with internally developed software and SOA service publishing.

      Information Server is now in use by beta customers and is expected to be available in the second quarter.

      Content Discovery Server features search, content integration and contextual information delivery. Its aimed at helping customers boost online sales, enhance customer support and deliver more value from self-service and call center applications. Its available now and combines IBM technology with technology IBM acquired in its purchase of iPhrase in November.

      Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest database news, reviews and analysis.

      Lisa Vaas
      Lisa Vaas is News Editor/Operations for eWEEK.com and also serves as editor of the Database topic center. Since 1995, she has also been a Webcast news show anchorperson and a reporter covering the IT industry. She has focused on customer relationship management technology, IT salaries and careers, effects of the H1-B visa on the technology workforce, wireless technology, security, and, most recently, databases and the technologies that touch upon them. Her articles have appeared in eWEEK's print edition, on eWEEK.com, and in the startup IT magazine PC Connection. Prior to becoming a journalist, Vaas experienced an array of eye-opening careers, including driving a cab in Boston, photographing cranky babies in shopping malls, selling cameras, typography and computer training. She stopped a hair short of finishing an M.A. in English at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She earned a B.S. in Communications from Emerson College. She runs two open-mic reading series in Boston and currently keeps bees in her home in Mashpee, Mass.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×