IBM, the silent giant, quietly powering familiar institutions we trust. Its reach is so vast, its presence so ubiquitous, it blends effortlessly into the background like the air we breathe. But despite its reputation, I felt I never truly grasped its essence.
So, imagine my surprise finding myself representing Locus at an IBM TechXchange event in Auckland, eager to peel back the layers and unveil the real IBM.
The day unfolded with diverse sessions – FinOps, Emissions Reporting, Enterprise Security, and real-world customer stories. What surprised me most? IBM® watsonx.ai™, effortlessly weaving through all these areas.
Forget the hype of ChatGPT or Google Gemini. IBM watsonx.ai offers businesses an AI platform that goes beyond mere copywriting. Split into three components, the platform consists of;
- watsonx.ai Studio: Create and deploy diverse AI models
- watsonx.data: Store and manage curated datasets for AI learning
- watsonx.governance: Manage AI models responsibly, including bias detection and mitigation
Combined, the solution looked pretty impressive. However, one consistent challenge across all presentations resonated: data management and integration and that of course is where FME excels.
Whether automating data processing, validating, or transforming data, FME makes data headaches disappear. It already boasts readers and writers for IBM Infomix and DB2 databases, ensuring efficient data flow between applications. Additionally, FME’s Watson IoT platform connector while not discussed at the event but I am pleased to highlight here, manages data flows from IoT devices using the MQQT protocol.
While FME hasn’t as yet built a dedicated watsonx.ai connector, it offers connections to OpenAI tools like ChatGPT and Dalle2, not to mention its new Generative AI and Leap.AI connectors for text-to-image generation. More AI connectors are on the horizon, solidifying FME’s commitment to this evolving landscape.
The event left me wanting more of watsonx.ai, but more importantly, I felt a deeper understanding of IBM itself. And yes, I did walk away with some fancy IBM socks – reinforcing my theory that the best companies understand the power of sock swag.
