Independent Analysts Recap of IBM Think 2023
About the session
– The session of the informal independent analyst council, Keit, Maribel, Tim, and Larry discussed IBM’s Think conference, focusing on the company’s AI and hybrid cloud strategy, as well as the integration of AI and infrastructure.
Key speakers
– Speaker A: Keith
– Speaker B: Maribel
– Speaker C: Tim
– Speaker D: Larry
Agenda
– Overview of IBM Think conference
– AI and hybrid cloud strategy
– Integration of AI and infrastructure
– Challenges and opportunities for IBM
Takeaways
Takeaway 1: IBM’s focus on AI and hybrid cloud solutions offers a competitive edge for enterprises
IBM’s recent Think conference showcased the company’s focus on AI and hybrid cloud solutions, making it an attractive option for enterprises looking to capitalize on these technologies. The company aims to offer a comprehensive suite of AI tools and resources to help businesses train their own models, manage data governance, and leverage AI in hybrid cloud environments. Larry highlighted IBM’s role as a “good steward” for companies embarking on AI projects, while Maribel noted the company’s efforts to address real business concerns related to AI.
“IBM is going to be a good steward to help a company on that path,” said Larry, emphasizing the company’s potential to support businesses in implementing AI solutions. Maribel added that IBM is “trying to address what they were hearing as real business concerns related to AI.”
Tim also mentioned the importance of connecting AI to data and applications, stating, “AI strategies are really difficult to deploy. And the ones that I think will get deployed first are when you can anchor them to some application or data source and try to do something different.”
Takeaway 2: IBM’s Watson X platform aims to simplify AI adoption for businesses
IBM’s Watson X platform, which includes Watson X AI, Watson X Data, and Watson X Governance, aims to provide businesses with a more streamlined approach to AI adoption. The platform can be used as a standalone solution or integrated with other IBM offerings, allowing businesses to choose the components that best suit their needs.
“Each one of these components, whether how you consume it ultimately with AI and OpenShift, is something that you don’t need to start with IBM to get the advantage of, which I thought was really smart,” said Keith.
The platform also addresses some of the challenges businesses face when implementing AI, such as the lack of skills in enterprises. Larry mentioned, “the lack of skills in enterprises is still a real thing for making AI work. And IBM, with their consulting and their partnerships with other public cloud providers like Amazon and others, can help them give a customer a story or a narrative that can be actually implemented and you can gain value out of.”
Takeaway 3: The future of AI-driven hybrid cloud solutions will require greater integration with applications and data
As AI-driven hybrid cloud solutions become more prevalent, businesses will need to focus on greater integration with applications and data. Maribel emphasized the importance of connecting AI to data and applications, stating that AI strategies will likely be deployed first when anchored to an application or data source.
“I think [IBM] will be a really nice, interesting set of offerings, but won’t get traction until we see it actually connect with the app ecosystem,” said Maribel. Tim echoed this sentiment, saying, “the rubber doesn’t meet the road until you actually connect [AI] to data.”
By focusing on addressing real business concerns related to AI and offering a comprehensive suite of AI tools and resources, IBM is positioning itself as a strong contender in the growing market for AI-driven hybrid cloud solutions.
Insights surfaced
– IBM is betting heavily on AI, focusing on being a home for training and using AI models regardless of the source.
– IBM’s Watson X (scale) platform aims to make AI more consumable for enterprises, offering AI, data, and governance components.
– IBM’s hybrid cloud solution, IBM Cloud Satellite, can run in various infrastructures, including other public cloud providers or private infrastructure.
Key quotes
– “This was an AI conference, make no mistake about it. IBM is betting heavily on it.”
– “IBM really wanted to drive home that whether you’re buying a model from IBM, building a model, or bringing a model, they want to be your home for either training or using inference on that model.”
– “IBM’s cloud and run it in your infrastructure. Whether that infrastructure is another public cloud provider or colo or your private infrastructure, you’re able to do that.”
– “IBM has a compelling story there. So let’s do some final thoughts.”
– “I think the real opportunity for these companies is to start to consolidate and tie up some of these functions to make them more consistent in the way that they operate and more approachable as a tool for enterprises.”