ITWeb: IBM looks to the future

IBM is investing $6 billion into research for next-generation technologies such as quantum computing, nanotechnology and data centres.

This is according to Clifford Foster, CTO of IBM Sub-Saharan Africa, who presented a global technology outlook at the ITWeb Technology Roadmaps 2008 conference, held at the Campus, in Bryanston, yesterday.

Foster says: “The world is in a transition era. Advances in core IT will enable companies to improve performance and reduce costs. The fastest and most effective systems will be those that are designed with processors, subsystems and software – all designed in concert.”

According to Foster, IBM has nanotechnology and quantum computing running in its labs and these technologies are expected to be in operation and available to the public by 2020. It's now all about containing the costs of the technology.

Mobile innovation
Foster points out that the liberalisation in telecommunications will change the playing field. “Open standards are being driven by an entire wireless ecosystem where the network and infrastructure provider dictates what application the user has access to. But with the emergence of wireless broadband we see a new player – a wireless content and service provider that is driving it.”

Foster believes the emergence of broadband wireless networks will drive a transformation in businesses as more enterprises will move to mobile devices. He adds that, in the developing world, innovation is being born out of need.

Several countries, such as Kenya, are experiencing a mass adoption of cellphones as subscribers use their phones to transfer cash payments because of the lack of accessible banking.

New trend
Another emerging trend Foster highlighted is that enterprises are increasingly adopting and seeing financial benefits from using social networking technology, Web platforms and real world networks. He believes information-centric Web platforms will become more dominant from 2009.

“We are seeing a development of eco-systems being developed around central applications such as Salesforce. This is an entire eco-system of users and application developers maintaining and enhancing the applications on an ongoing basis.”

Foster notes that World of Warcraft, which has over 12 million subscribers, has a mass community, which continuously evolves aspects of the game. In this way, Web platform communities are being given more control and drive the direction of how the applications should be developed.

He says this is an opportunity for enterprises to leverage their business. “A typical concern for many businesses is that using social network technologies opens up their data to the eyes of their competitors. Collaborative intelligence gives an organisation the ability to monitor and support the ongoing contribution of its community and to determine the value coming back into the business.”

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