In terms of the transformation of an enterprise, there are several areas in which IBM can assist with the creation of what it calls ‘the Cognitive Enterprise’. As organisations face an unparalleled influx of new technology – such as AI, the Internet of Things, automation and blockchain, along with the convergence of various social and regulatory forces – the method with which enterprises have approached digital transformation over the past decade is no longer workable. Namely, the ‘outside-in’ method must now give way to the ‘inside-out’ potential of exploiting data through these groundbreaking technologies.
A logical place to start with an enterprise’s transformation is its overall business plan. This is supported by a far-reaching data strategy, which enables enterprises to become better innovators. Through a new data strategy, IBM can help clients capture new value from their data, making it a precious corporate asset that helps drive their organisation forward. IBM does this while also taking into account the various drivers that create new opportunities and disrupt existing business models – in other words, technological, regulatory, economic and environmental factors. Through its business strategy and transformation service, IBM can also help clients engage more deeply with all their stakeholders – both external, in the form of customers and shareholders, and internal, in terms of staff and board members.
With the help of exponential technologies, IBM can help clients reinvent their workflow and industry processes. Via IBM’s business platforms, cognitive organisations can pay attention to being the very best in one key area. This goal is realised not only by automating strategic workflows, but by making them optimised, more efficient, agile and intelligent. Through the help of IBM, clients can achieve scalability with ease, which in turn will ensure that human capital and machine learning continue to develop and evolve. And instead of imposing processes on workers in order to govern their activities, AI, for example, allows organisations to redirect how work is carried out. Workflows are thus reimagined through new interactions between knowledge workers and smart machines across the breadth of an organisation.
In today’s radically changing world, the drivers of economic growth are not what they once were; putting more people to work will no longer increase efficiency. Instead, we need to increase both the productivity and value of human capital. As such, we must channel resources into today’s most crucial assets – knowledge workers – while cutting costs elsewhere. To achieve this delicate balance, IBM has adopted a unique four-pronged approach: first, it seeks to enhance business performance through the strategic management of knowledge workers, who act as an irreplaceable asset and differentiate the company from its competitors. Next, it helps its clients to improve their HR delivery, while also reducing the cost of the function. Third, IBM assists with learning and development: it helps clients improve the knowledge, skills and performance of their employees.
Finally, there is IBM’s ‘On-Demand Workspace’. This e-workplace simplifies access to applications and content, as well as people and processes. It does this through a highly secure, enterprise-wide portal that enables any team of people to work at any time, in any place, while doing so faster and more effectively than before. Through this approach, IBM enables clients to achieve greater efficiency and innovation, all the while simplifying employee work processes.
All of the platforms that enable an organisation’s transformation into a cognitive enterprise happen via IBM’s highly protected security protocol, Java 2 Connector – or J2C – so clients can rest assured that they remain safe and secure at all times. With this knowledge, customers can continue along their cloud journey through this next-generation business transformation. In today’s increasingly competitive landscape, this is more necessary than ever in terms of cost, but even more so from a speed and innovation perspective.