IBM boosts information on demand portfolio

IN 2006, IBM promised to spend more than $1 billion constructing an information management strategy that it said would help its customers put information at the centre of their organisations. Two years and $7 billion later, the company is pushing information on demand (IOD) more than ever, with a raft of new announcements made at IBM`s recent Information on Demand Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The new offerings will address address three critical business needs says IBM: innovating by creating new intelligence to identify business opportunities; improving efficiency; and making better use of information for improved decision-making to outmanoeuvre competitors. Although IBM won`t give dollar figures, its IOD business is enjoying a 26% annual growth rate and has attracted over  10 000 new clients and 2 000 new business partners.

Since 2006 we`ve deliberately constructed a strategy which helps customers build an information agenda for their businesses," said Ambuj Goyal, general manager of the IOD division. "Information on demand is a journey, and each step of the way you have to deliver value.  Everything we`re talking about today has been collected from clients. Our customer advisory boards have been advising us on direction. It hasn`t been two and half years of them waiting for us to deliver our vision - otherwise our business wouldn`t have grown."

Steve Mills, senior VP and group executive of IBM`s Software Group, noted that the process of analysing and capturing information is very old but that technology is just now becoming capable of proper information on demand.

"How do we organise data so that it`s useful? Can I consistently present my data? What are the analytics?" he asked. He said by way of illustration that in the transport industry, some 20% of containers shipping goods around the world are empty. "Clearly, there`s lots of room for improvement."

INDUSTRY SPECIFIC

The announcements follow IBM`s recent launch of industry-specific technologies and services to help its customers develop their information agendas, including solutions for finance, pharmaceuticals, internal controls, sales and operations planning, municipal scorecarding and business reporting. The technology comes from IBM`s acquisition of Cognos. It now also offers consulting services focused on analytics software to help customers create and execute on their information agenda by bringing together people, process and technology offerings.

IBM Global Business Services is also introducing four new service offerings developed to address key information-related business issues, including enterprise risk management, customer analytics, data quality and integration, operational intelligence and performance management. IBM Global Delivery Centers will also now provide application development and maintenance services to help customers support their information on demand strategies in key growth markets.