IBM Pulse: Enterprises urged to get smart

Real-time analytics can enable organisations to more with less, says IBM

The annual IBM Pulse conference in Las Vegas kicked off yesterday with a resounding message that smarter enterprises are needed to deal with austere times and a fast-changing commercial environment.

By smarter, IBM means that businesses that collect and effectively use large amounts of data will be more efficient.

"Day by day things become more interconnected. People, systems and objects can interact with each other in entirely new ways," said Scott Hebner, IBM vice-president for integrated service management.

"This allows you to respond quickly to change and react optimally for future events," he added.

By collecting mass amounts of data that can be used for analytics, IBM argues that companies can have a better insight into decision making in real time.

Hebner suggested that smarter technology could even be applied to critical infrastructure such as the US national grid. If the US grid was five per cent more efficient, it would equate to eliminating green house emissions from 53 million cars, he said.

"Core IT budgets in the enterprise are generally stagnant. It is clear we need to do more with less," said Hebner.

"It is obvious our entire community needs to embrace a new era of smarter computing. Why? Because it isn't just about the technology anymore. It's about the economic impact of the technology."

IBM general manager of Tivoli Software, Daniel Sabbah, said that the drive for smarter technology is coming from government and business.

"There is a maniacal focus on reducing risk and cost today. That is what businesses and governments are demanding. I see it every day," said Sabbah.

"Enterprise managers predict significant change going forward. However, the gap between expected change and the ability to manage this change has nearly tripled in recent years. This is only going to widen as things become more complex.

"We are spending way too much time, labour and money on issues that have little business impact. The bottom line is we need to use smarter tech to eliminate inefficiencies to focus on better business outcomes."