Healthcare Technology Featured Article

October 10, 2014

IBM Watson Enjoys Substantial Expansion and Adoption


After the launch of IBM Watson Group in January 2014, the company’s focus on research and development of cognitive computing has led to significant technological advances and adoption on a global scale. Watson is a cloud-delivered cognitive computing system built to interact with humans and respond to queries in a more natural way, drawing insights from Big Data and constantly learning ways to adapt into something even more intuitive and useful.

The Watson platform is quickly rising in popularity as it’s adopted by numerous clients all around the world and more opportunities arise for its implementation. Examples of its application include ANZ Global Wealth in Australia discovering ways to enhance the financial advice given to customers and speed up its delivery, Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand improving the quality of cancer care and case evaluation, CaixaBank in Spain teaching Watson Spanish in order to expand options for the future, Deakin University in Australia developing an online student engagement advisor and Metropolitan Health in South Africa developing a system for delivering personalized, outcome-based health advisory services. The extensive knowledge and processing power offered by the platform allows it to become an indispensable aspect of many different use cases.

Many smaller businesses and organizations are also undergoing transformations thanks to the revolutionary power of Watson. For example, many non-profits and retail service providers are developing mobile apps powered by the platform that make use of its ability to interact naturally with customers and process impressive amounts of data. It has also been implemented into next-gen security solutions and analytical services, demonstrating how the rising number of clients with diverse needs is an important force in the growth of Watson and cognitive computing in general.

To centralize the logistics behind these pioneering efforts and grow the community surrounding Watson, IBM has announced the opening of the IBM Watson Group Global Headquarters in New York City’s Silicon Alley. The location will be home to a large portion of the company’s employees while also opening its doors to developers and entrepreneurs in the area, providing them with the technology, tools and talent necessary to launch a business on the platform. IBM plans to host industry workshops, seminars and networking opportunities in order to build a community around Watson and generate enthusiasm for expanding its capabilities.

IBM is focused on bringing the skills necessary for working with IBM to other clients around the world, recently announcing the opening of five new Watson Client Experience Centers around the world. Co-located with IBM Research and Design Teams, the centers will open in Dublin, London, Melbourne, Sao Paulo and Singapore.

IBM’s bold commitment and large investment ($1 billion) into the Watson Group has so far proven to be the power necessary to lift the revolutionary project off the ground. As awareness of the platform grows and more clients are signed on, it is clear that cognitive computing is likely to be a significant force in the near future.




Edited by Maurice Nagle
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