IBM is known for its cognitive computing platform, Watson, and its work on the Jeopardy game show. However, IBM's Mac Devine explained at the 2016 Structure Conference on Tuesday, that IBM's efforts in cognitive computing, big data, and IoT go beyond mere fun and games, and have real impact in the data center.
Part of this is driven by what Devine called the "move from data centers to centers of data." People have traditionally used the data center as a large data repository, upon which they can then use data science and analysis. But, he said, IBM wants to extend that and leverage new technologies to create a "cognitive loop," where they can generate more insights at the edge and in real time.
Watson is IBM's brand through which they provide some of those cognitive insights. Currently, IBM Watson has 12 primary industry verticals for which they provide insights and services.
The traditional legacy client-server model was a North-South data pattern, but a smarter connected world moves to an East-West data pattern as more servers and machines continue to communicate with each other, Devine said. Additionally, he noted, communication needs to increasingly be done in real time or near real time.
