Traditional organisations can begin to tap into the opportunities that digital disruption – especially cloud innovation, provides rather than worry about being taken out of business, says IBM Nigeria.
The global cloud and technology firm recently organised an IBM Cloud Innovation Forum in Lagos, Nigeria, which was attended by major players in cloud services and data centre.
Speaking during the forum, Dipo Faulkner, Country-General Manager IBM Nigeria, noted that companies in every sector need to undergo fundamental transformation in order to compete and develop technology that solves human problems.
Citing a report titled ‘Tailoring Hybrid Cloud’ prepared by IBM Institute for Business Value and, Faulkner said that organisations now have the opportunity to employ cloud innovation to advance their business models. This is buttressed by the responses received from different executives of major corporations.
As at 2016, according to the report, 78 percent of business executives said they had a solid plan for adopting cloud computing representing a significant leap from 2012 when only 34 percent senior business leaders said they were ready. Similarly, IDC research shows that worldwide spending on public cloud services is expected to grow from USD96.5 billion in 2016 to more than USD195 billion in 2020.
Anthony Butler, Chief Technology Officer, IBM Middle East and Africa (MEA) said during his presentation “Cloud is actually the platform for modern innovations offering seamless opportunities for applications, analytics, middleware and infrastructure that will drive businesses in the future.
Aside from cloud, innovative companies are also using cognitive computing to innovate. IBM research showed that 73 percent of CEOs predict that cognitive computing, or artificial intelligence (AI), technologies will play a key role in their business future. Hence more than 50 percent of these CEOs plan to adopt these technologies by the year 2019.
Among the top three areas expected to be impacted by AI are information technology, sales, and information security.
However, Butler dismissed the concern that machines will someday take over people’s jobs rendering them redundant. If anything, AI will improve human efficiency, he said. People will still be required to make the most important decisions that directly affect their lives.
IBM deepens cognitive technology using its super computer Watson which famously won a TV game show called Jeopardy. Also the Watson Internet of Things platform was named as a 2017 leader in IDC MarketScape Report.
“To win, you need to create smarter apps and services, accelerate data intelligence innovation, optimize your infrastructure with cloud options,” Butler said.
Attention should also be given to building infrastructure. This is because a company’s technology and strategy can no longer be separated in the digital era.
“The right architecture supports innovation today, tomorrow and beyond,” Butler said.
Yusuf Assenjee, cloud service leader, Central/West Africa IBM noted that the technology company was at the fore-front of innovation leveraging advanced set of products based on new architecture that drives applications (Watson health, Watson for IoT); AI (Watson conversation, Watson Discovery, Watson Virtual Agent); Data (Watson Data and Watson IoT); and cloud (Object storage, Computer for HPC).
