IBM Think 2023: The Power of Cloud & AI

IBM Think 2023 took center stage in Orlando, showcasing an impressive portfolio of technologies set to shape the future of enterprises. 

Among the innovations on show, the two standout technologies that are set to shape the future (bearing in mind the future is right now), are: Cloud and Artificial Intelligence - specifically AI foundation models.

Cloud: Bridging worlds and unlocking potential

At the heart of every digital move lies cloud. It’s the foundation to seamlessly connecting data ingestion, storage, workloads, platforms, and technologies across physical, geographical, and industrial boundaries. It’ll continue to provide unparalleled scalability, agility, and accessibility for businesses. In short, it’s the best of all worlds.

AI & Foundation Models: The fastest path to transformation

Pre-built and pre-trained AI models are revolutionizing the way businesses leverage AI. These models come ready for tuning and deployment, enabling extraordinarily rapid implementation with unmatched flexibility. 

So, Cloud + AI foundation = a new level of transformation capabilities

The fusion of cloud and AI foundation models empowers businesses to unlock transformative capabilities swiftly and efficiently.

Major Use Cases for Cloud & AI

Now, let’s dive into the growing possibilities these technologies offer and the major use cases that will drive industry transformation.

1. Robotics - Autonomous Air & Ground Transport

The convergence of cloud and AI is about to produce the largest and fastest technological and business growth engine ever. Combined with advances in battery technology, such as silicon anode we will see an exponential growth in opportunity and value created.

The biggest use cases for this convergence will be the autonomous air and ground transport industry. Which is expected to go from zero today to 8 trillion USD in revenue by 2030. Currently this space has received over 200 billion USD in investment. (Source: Forbes)

It’s an example of the power the converged technologies, cloud and AI, possess to create value.

The convergence of cloud and AI is about to produce the largest and fastest technological and business growth engine ever.

2. ESG Reporting & Actions

Effective Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting and actions have become imperative for businesses, both ethically and strategically. Accurate and predictive insights are vital for meaningful sustainability actions. This is where the combination of cloud and AI foundation models shines. 

However, the challenge to having accurate reporting and making meaningful sustainability actions is the creation of accurate and predictive insights. Cloud’s ability to handle massive data ingestion demands, coupled with AI models' power to extract valuable insights, allows the creation of actionable ESG Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The continuous cycle of learning and improvement enables businesses to make a significant impact on their ESG goals.

Ingest

Cloud technologies have the ability to deal with the massive data ingestion demands, in a performant and cost effective way, and to integrate with almost anything that has data to share. 

Inform 

Once in the cloud, AI Foundation Models can be applied to the data, for the creation of valuable and actionable insights related to your ESG KPIs, with a continuous cycle of learning and fine-tuning.

Improve

Use these insights against your existing ESG KPIs, or as a base to create a set of KPIs. Remember, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it (or improve it) so this process is one of the smoothest ways to make a meaningful impact on your ESG goals.

Cloud’s ability to handle massive data ingestion demands, coupled with AI models' power to extract valuable insights, allows the creation of actionable ESG KPIs.

3. Cybersecurity

In the face of expanding attack surfaces and increasingly sophisticated threat actors, speed and prediction are crucial in cybersecurity. Cloud and AI offer solutions to tackle these challenges effectively. 

Managing and automating cloud estates allow businesses to identify exposed attack surfaces and patch vulnerabilities promptly. Automation plays a pivotal role in ensuring these tasks are completed within the required time frame. 

Additionally, AI vulnerability and attack predictive models, fueled by massive amounts of performance data, provide the means to stay ahead of threats. By ingesting, informing, and improving security postures, businesses can enhance their resilience and protect against evolving cyber threats.

Speed - Manage & Automate

Effective management of cloud estates allows identification of exposed and potentially exposed attack surfaces. These surfaces can be massive and thus present a considerable challenge in terms of patching and updating any vulnerabilities. Automation is the key to be able to perform these tasks in time, giving you the speed necessary.

Predict - Ingest, Inform & Improve

With massive amounts of performance data, coming from an ever expanding source pool, being ahead of the curve and keeping your attack surface secure is challenging to say the least. 

This is where AI vulnerability and attack predictive models shine. Ingesting the configuration and performance data in cloud, using data to inform on the state of the attack surface and finally predicting vectors and methods of attack. These combine to produce a robust and resilient security posture.

The foundational capabilities of cloud and AI discussed above present a formidable toolbox for enterprises to seize current and future business opportunities and overcome threats. 

Embrace the Appetite for Disruption

IBM Think 2023 showcased the immense power and potential of cloud and AI technologies. The convergence of these transformative forces promises to revolutionise industries and drive business success in the digital era. With the speed, flexibility, and scalability offered by cloud and the intelligence and rapid deployment of AI

The foundational capabilities of cloud and AI discussed above present a formidable toolbox for enterprises to seize current and future business opportunities and overcome threats. 

These are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of uses, AI Foundation Models can be deployed to almost any use case you can imagine, producing insights and actionable inferences.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) and generative AI, leveraging the power of the cloud, are poised to create a nearly unrecognisable business workload environment in the near future. It's time for businesses to embrace their appetite for disruption, transform their operations, and reshape their cultures to stay ahead of the game.