IBM solutions for smarter businesses

By David Ebert

IBM unveiled a portfolio of smarter software solutions on Tuesday, that promise to transform, grow and make Sri Lankan enterprises smarter in the way they operate, compete and profit in their businesses.

Utilising IBM’s latest solutions for big data, social business, analytics and smarter commerce, the computing giant aims to make local corporates enjoy improved economics and performance with its latest offering.

Mobile technology and cloud computing have become slogans for today’s modern businesses  and with a reported three out of four CIOs showing willingness to invest in mobile deployments this year, companies are leaning increasingly towards smarter commerce programs that effectively manage supply chain, procurement, marketing and sales to cater to a more demanding international customer base.

Already the industry has seen a larger number of global retail brands transitioning from older, outdated business systems, to a focus on new technology that offers a more intelligent customer experience based on data-driven, real-time customer engagement.

Speaking at the press conference, IBM India/South Asia, Director Software Group Jason Mosakowski said: “Our software portfolio is aligned around high growth, high value areas such as business analytics, business process management and integration, virtualization, and asset management software. Together, IBM and our highly skilled IBM Business Partners in Sri Lanka can deliver the capabilities and industry solutions to tackle complex challenges, provide quantifiable business value, and help businesses to become smarter.” Having completed 50 years of business last May, the company has already begun working with 15 business partners in the country to increase scale and customise its new solutions in line with local business operations.

IBM Sri Lanka Country General Manager Chrishan Fernando speaking at the event stated that with rapid growth being witnessed in areas such as infrastructure development, a focus on modernisation and computerisation prevalent, along with a thriving tourism sector, the country offers excellent opportunities for companies to evolve, transform, expand and seize new markets with the smarter systems in the company’s portfolio.

IBM reported a 3% growth in software revenues in its fourth quarter, even with massive investments in expansion made in the last four years to expand the company’s offerings, spending $ 3.7 billion to buy up a total of eleven software and technology companies last year and the opening of its Dublin based IBM Research and Development Laboratory in 2011; a purpose-built research centre for transportation, sustainable energy, water management, and urban information management systems. The company said that it will look to target sectors such as telecom, banking, healthcare, retail, government, insurance and manufacturing with its superior offerings on analytics, mobility, security and privacy in Sri Lanka.  Early this year, IBM was recognised as the undisputed leader in big data for the third consecutive year, having also been named number one in worldwide market share for enterprise social software by the International Data Centre. IBM was also cited as a leader in Mobile App design by Forrester Research is also the undisputed leader in the Middleware market as per Gartner reports.

Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera