Reinvention key to providing value: IBM India & South Asia Chief Digital Officer Nipun Mehrotra

International Business Machines (IBM), is a global technology company that provides hardware, software, cloud-based services and cognitive computing. Founded in 1911 following the merger of four companies in New York State by Charles Ranlett Flint, it was originally called Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. It was renamed to IBM in 1924. The company is now transitioning from being an infrastructure player to a cloud and AI company with a data driven strategy. Following are excerpts of an interview with IBM India & South Asia Chief Digital Officer Nipun Mehrotra on the recent paradigm shifts in the company:

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

Q: What is the reason for IBM to transform regularly?

A: For over a century, IBM has reinvented itself to help our clients move from one era to the next. In the 90s, the company moved on from being an infrastructure and product manufacturer to a services company. In the 2000’s we shifted focus to software and solutions, and recently we have transformed ourselves to be a Cloud & AI platforms company. We do this for one reason: to provide a differentiated value for our clients, business ecosystem, and the larger society.

Q: How would IBM differentiate being a platform company from what it was doing before?

A: The nature of a platform company is dramatically different than a product or a solutions company. A product or a solutions company approaches each client on a one-on-one basis, and relevant customised products are made to cater to their specific needs. But as a platform company, we deep-dive into the consumption pattern on the platform, which happens on a variety of different ways. 

For example, is there a simple way for clients to use data from social media, other media sources, search engines, as well as from their traditional SAP/ ERP engines? Maybe they can put these data into a single platform using standard APIs, and analyse them with an AI/analytics engine to make a better predictive decision. This is essentially what a platform does.

Today, all companies need an enterprise-strength cloud platform. They need AI capable of understanding all their data. They need services grounded in their professions and industries. And they need a technology infrastructure infused with intelligence, protected with advanced security, and future-proofed against the flow of new breakthroughs and risks. That is, they need today’s IBM.

Q: What will be the future of platforms?

A: Data is the world’s new natural resource – a phenomenon that is growing exponentially in both quality and quantity. 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone. Out of the current available data, only 20% is searchable, as the remaining 80% is unstructured and held by enterprises.

Enterprises need AI and Cloud platforms to analytically mine this data, and get insights which will be used to run the future business. The data-based insights can be used to predict consumer behaviour across multiple industries – food, travel, clothes, or any other selections. Companies as well as individuals are struggling to deal with huge volumes of data without proper platform tools. Let’s take an oncologist, for example. Currently 50,000 research papers are published every year globally on cancer. Regardless of how good an oncologist is, it cannot be expected that a single person can keep pace with the new information published through these research papers. So, you need a platform to update and consume all those research material, process it much faster than a human brain, and provide insights for the oncologist. The oncologist will evaluate those results, and can use it to take decisions on a particular mode of treatment. This is why AI & Cloud platforms are important for business. 

Q: What are the other sectors a platform comes in handy?

A: IBM is working with clients around the world in diverse industries and sectors to help them embrace this new era of business and technology. We are aggressively looking at expanding our platforms to help clients adopt new technologies such as cloud, data analytics, IoT, AI, ML, and blockchain. We have built the Watson platform to further analyse data using AI, ML, and deep learning. 

Digital disruption is all-pervasive, and we have seen adoption of emerging technologies across industries from BFSI to Telco, from large enterprise to Government/public sector to start-ups – just the scale of adoption differs. Companies are re-evaluating their structure, go-to-market strategy, and overall corporate identity. Besides healthcare, telco, retail, it will make a deep impact in different verticals like finance and banking, policy initiatives by governments, various enterprise applications, etc. 

Q: Will you be using the platform technology in Sri Lanka?

A: We have been in Sri Lanka for 55 years, and have strived to bring the best of our technology expertise to the Sri Lankan industry. The Bank of Ceylon and Sri Lanka Insurance are some key industry leaders who were with us during the last five decades. We continue to acquire new clients on a regular basis. Earlier this year, Cargills Bank became the first commercial bank in SL to deploy IBM’s AI-based cybersecurity solutions to augment their security capabilities. 

For IBM, Sri Lanka is a very healthy and key market as we continue to strengthen our past relationships and acquire new alliances as part of the digital transformation in Sri Lanka. 

Q: How will the competition impact your platform business?

A: We have always had competition of different types from inception itself. Over the years, many competitors have come and gone, but our core focus has mainly been on the enterprise clients. It’s been our main focus for the last 106 years, and our core customers have gone through this journey with us from when they started off itself. In Sri Lanka, we know our clients better than any other player who may have similar technologies. We are, have been and always will drive business success for our clients – and that’s the reason for IBM to have remained successful for all these years.