Why IBM hopes Watson could be its next “mainframe”
Must-know: Is IBM on the road to recovery or stuck in transition? (Part 4 of 8)
IBM hopes Watson could be its next “mainframe”
Big data is varied, grows exponentially, and comes in different formats. As a result, traditional IT software isn’t capable of dealing with its ever increasing presence and impact. IBM Corp. (IBM) claims that its cognitive supercomputer Watson, being an enterprise big data and analytics platform, has all the vital ingredients to ward off the full spectrum of big data business challenges.
The previous chart shows the huge growth expected in “big data.”
Data are coming from various sources like video, audio, social networking, texting, and messaging. It’s in structured as well as unstructured form. Currently, industry experts state that 80% of the time is spent on data cleaning, integrating, and transforming, and only 20% is spent on analysis. As a result, IBM’s (IBM) announcement of investing $1 billion in building Watson group couldn’t be more opportune.
Artificial intelligence is attracting huge investments
If you think, it’s only IBM that is pooling so much of money on artificial intelligence, you’re wrong. Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), and Google Inc. (GOOG) don’t want to get left behind. All of them have funneled large sums of money into the realm of artificial intelligence. They have their own virtual assistants and “human” computers, catering to varied customers.
Watson is more than a supercomputer
According to Virginia M. Rometty, IBM’s CEO, “Watson does more than find the needle in the haystack. It understands the haystack. It understands context.” Watson, due to the presence of advanced analytics and natural language interface, provides a unified view. It provides data discovery, navigation, and search capabilities that are secure and unified. This explains why it’s adopted by a broad range of applications, data sources, and data formats, both inside and outside an enterprise. Todate, IBM’s Watson has collaborated with banks, insurance companies, clinics, and universities that include Nielsen & DBS Bank and WellPoint. However, revenue generated from these efforts aren’t sufficient to indicate its proclaimed wide acceptance and long-term profitability.
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