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Tom Rosamilia, Senior Vice President, IBM Systems
By Tom Rosamilia
Fifteen years ago IBM did what must have seemed to some people like the unthinkable. We started shipping mainframe computers running Linux, the open source operating system.
It was a major step forward for the open software movement, and, for IBM, it marked a significant expansion for the mainframe–helping to establish it as a backbone of the digital economy.
Today, we’re launching another major advance. IBM is going all-in for open software on the mainframe, which is now called z Systems.
This expansion strategy has many moving parts, but the key thing is that it provides entrepreneurs and businesses that are building the future of computing with a powerful, secure and flexible platform for developing and running cloud services and mobile apps.
Lisa Seacat DeLuca, Omni-Channel technical strategist for IBM Commerce, and IBM Master Inventor
By Lisa Seacat Deluca
We’re bombarded by deals every day. Get an extra 10 percent off (if you use a coupon). Get your tenth cup of coffee for free (if you use a rewards card). What if the “deal” was something you didn’t have to remember to bring with you, or something you didn’t even have to remember you previously received?
What if it was pushed to your mobile device based on a store you were nearby, or a particular section of the store you were shopping in? What if the “deal” was personalized for you based on your shopping habits? Continue Reading »
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Angel Diaz, IBM Vice President, Cloud Technology & Architecture, with other young IBMers.
By Angel Diaz
When I was a young guy growing up on a farm in Puerto Rico, I was a neophyte when it came to computer science and mathematics. I was so fortunate at an early age to be empowered by my mother to reach further. At 17, I left for college in America.
Back then, people growing up in less-developed places didn’t have much chance of succeeding in technology unless we left home and headed for major tech meccas such as Silicon Valley, New York and Boston.
But things are different today, thanks in part to cloud computing. This new approach to technology creates tremendous opportunities for young people everywhere to build services and mobile apps on ready-made cloud platforms–either as entrepreneurs or as employees of larger companies. Continue Reading »
Masaaki Tanaka, Designer, IBM
By Masaaki Tanaka
When I came to work for IBM as a designer in the Tokyo Interactive Experience’s User Centered Design lab last September, I expected to focus on enterprise computing. But, much to my surprise, the project I’m working on now for an IBM client has me imagining the digital lifestyles of a certain class of individuals–Japan’s senior citizens.
In fact, the target customer for Japan Post’s just-launched online Watch Over service is my own father. My dad is a 75-year-old retiree who lives alone in a rural area in Saga Prefecture, in the south of Japan. He has never touched a computer. He rides a bike rather than driving a car, so he’s cut off from his friends and it takes him 20 minutes to pedal to the nearest convenience store. I hate to think what would happen if he had a medical emergency. Continue Reading »
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Down under the Manhattan Bridge
By Steve Hamm
Chief Storyteller, IBM
The last mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, captured headlines when he declared that NYC would someday overtake Silicon Valley as the world’s tech capital.
The current mayor, Bill de Blasio, is less bold in his pronouncements but no less aggressive in his deeds.
De Blasio’s program was on display at a tech-industry gathering in the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge) section of Brooklyn last evening–venue: Made in NY Media Center by IFP. City officials, business leaders and entrepreneurs discussed initiatives and business conditions at the second stop in the city’s Digital.NYC Five-Borough Tour–a series of events aimed at helping entrepreneurs succeed in the city. Continue Reading »
The crowds at the Australian Open 2015.
By Samir Mahir
Each January, the world’s greatest tennis stars meet in Melbourne to kick off a new year of Grand Slams. They’re greeted, of course, by more than 640,000 tennis fans – ready to watch each serve and volley.
At Tennis Australia, we strive to provide a premier tournament experience both on and off the court. That’s why we’ve teamed up with innovative technology partners to not only enhance the consumer tournament experience but also find new ways to offer some of the world’s best athletes deeper insight into the game they love. Continue Reading »
Last week’s Winter Storm Juno. (Image: The National Weather Service.)
By James Bales
Fortunately for many, Juno, the blizzard that hit the Northeastern part of the United States last week, was not the storm of the century the U.S. National Weather Service predicted. However, there was still a lot of planning and precaution taken by utilities companies to ensure citizens, as well as road crews and linemen stayed safe on the job while working around the clock to restore power. With their best workers on standby and ready to respond, utility companies across the Northeast scheduled all personnel to report to work immediately.
Nick Adams, Director of One to One Marketing, Telstra
By Nick Adams
For today’s customers, online engagement is often the first point of contact with a brand and sometimes their only measure of customer service.
At Telstra, we recognized that as part of our continual customer focus, we needed to establish a two-way digital dialogue with our customers and get better at delivering a seamless, multi-channel experience. We also wanted to meet their changing expectations and speak to them on a more personal level.
To do it, Telstra embarked on a data-driven digital overhaul in 2011. Back then all 1.8 million weekly visitors to the Telstra website were being presented the same digital experience. The discrepancy between online and offline interaction was not acceptable – for us as a company, for our staff and our customers.
Together with IBM, we strengthened our CRM capabilities and developed a first-of-a-kind Enterprise Marketing Suite. The result is a 360 degree view of customer engagement and the capability to deliver targeted, real-time marketing, and ultimately, higher satisfaction levels for our customers. Continue Reading »
Yolanda Wang, Retail Consultant, IBM Global Business Services
By Yolanda Wang
Even in a world where consumers consult multiple online sources for every purchase they make, the store associate remains the most important face of the retail establishment.
With over 70 percent of shoppers making their most recent purchase in a brick-and-mortar store, it makes good sense for retailers to invest in tools that allow their store associates to provide individually-tailored, real-time customer engagement.
Lately, that’s meant simple and intuitive mobile apps that can turn even inexperienced associates into expert advisors equipped with insights drawn from data and analytics, the collective intelligence of the enterprise, the latest market trends, and data specific to each customer.
And that’s just for openers, because retail customers want more savvy associates who can ensure each shopping trip has a successful outcome. According to IBM’s recent retail study, the number of consumers who consider it important for an associate to solve an out-of-stock problem via a mobile device increased from 41 to 46 percent in the past year. Continue Reading »
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By Ratnakar Lavu
Kohl’s has put its stake in the ground with a new goal to be the most engaging retailer in America. Technology and analytics are a major part of reaching this goal.
Since the first Kohl’s store opened in 1962, so much has changed in the retail industry. Digital and mobile technologies are transforming the business landscape in key ways – blurring the line between physical and digital space and changing the way people and businesses interact.
Companies need to constantly redefine and innovate their strategy to keep up with the pace of change and this is especially true for retailers. At Kohl’s, we are constantly listening to our customers for insights into how we can best serve them. Continue Reading »
