Middleware Consulting International

IBM’s Cognitive and Blockchain capabilities will support Lenovo’s ThinkSystem and ThinkAgile platforms

ARMONK, N.Y.,  — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it will support the customer experience of Lenovo’s Data Center Group with Cognitive and Blockchain-powered field service solutions in over 200 countries worldwide.

The multi-year agreement continues to build on the IBM-Lenovo relationship that began in 2005.

Today’s customer service demands have evolved to a current standard that is expected to seamlessly integrate various networks and deliver 24×7 connection with a high level of speed and accessibility. In fact, according to IBM’s research, more than $1 trillion is spent on 265 billion customer service calls each year industry-wide, with 50% of those calls going unresolved. That data, compounded by a recent report, revealed that poor customer service is costing businesses more than $75 billion a year –up $13 billion since 2016.

This collaboration can help take customer care to the next level for Lenovo. When a customer connects with an agent for Lenovo’s server, storage, or networking services, IBM’s Virtual Assistant for Technical Support uses its natural language capabilities and contextual recognition to personalize the conversation. It is designed to ask targeted questions about service issues and obtain solution advice. It will also access key customer information, aligning to Lenovo’s focus on driving a fast, effortless, and proactive customer support experience.

“The enterprise today is equipped with a host of new technology solutions built to offer customers unprecedented support and deliver a world-class customer experience,” said Laura Laltrello, Vice President and General Manager, Lenovo Data Center Group. “We are looking forward to working with IBM to take the next step with our customers to deliver a personalized and seamless experience that ensures we continue to deliver industry leading customer satisfaction in data center support.”

These IBM services are designed to improve the customer experience for Lenovo’s end users by integrating the global coverage and capacity of IBM’s Customer Engagement Centers'(CEC) field service solutions, and parts and logistics services around the world, with the help of:

• Blockchain to help create a more secure and transparent environment to process and monitor the purchase and distribution of critical hardware and software equipment for Lenovo’s data centers.
• Virtual Assistant for Technical Support to use customer history and preferences, product manuals, technical documentation, and any other available information including FAQs, all within fingertip reach for call center agents.
• Client Insight Portal to provide data analytics and trend analysis with enhanced personalization, on screen alerting to identify troubled areas, and automated root cause logic.
• Augmented Reality to enable more than 19,000 field agents to help deliver a consistent client experience around the globe by allowing customers and technicians to share real-time video of machines requiring repair with fellow IBM professionals to help diagnose problems and illustrate the best practices to solve them.

“Data can have an unprecedented impact on the enterprise, and artificial intelligence can take customer service to a whole new level of personalization,” said IBM General Manager of Technology Support and Services, Vivek Mahajan. “This global collaboration with Lenovo further strengthens our long-standing relationship and will help to empower technicians in every corner of the globe to help deliver service excellence using the power of Blockchain and Cognitive Computing.”

IBM Technology Support Services receives more than 50 million service requests per year in over 200 countries worldwide, and provides proactive, reactive, on-site, and remote support for over 30,000 IBM and non-IBM products.

Watson has helped Regions answer over 1.5 million customer calls and 1.4 million banker questions

NEW YORK, — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Regions Bank has selected the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help improve customer service and assist bankers in everyday work.

In today’s digital world, the customer experience remains paramount. A staggering 62% of banking customers will consider switching to a competitor after only 1-2 bad experiences, and more than 90% of customers share details about bad experiences with others¹. Customer service professionals know that most questions don’t always require long troubleshooting. Agents spend their time answering similar questions, rather than focusing on more complex, exceptional cases.

To ensure a positive customer experience, Regions Bank is using Watson in its contact centers to help both customers and employees. The company’s Banker Assist harnesses Watson Assistant to provide bankers with guidance on customer inquiries, enabling them to resolve customer service needs faster. With Banker Assist, employees can use AI-powered search when faced with a question to provide quicker call resolutions and more consistent answers. Already, 700 professionals at the bank rely on Watson to complete customer problem resolution.

Additionally, when customers call Regions, many interact directly with Watson Assistant receiving rapid and consistent answers to their questions. They can get help on a variety of issues including updating personal information and navigating the Regions Bank website. Letting Watson take on the more routine questions allows service representatives to tackle the more intellectually challenging questions, spend more time engaging with customers and be better informed to resolve issues. Over time, Watson will be trained on other tasks, including analyzing customers’ tone to help determine when a customer should be transferred to a live agent.

“At Regions we are investing in technology to make banking easier for our customers and to recruit and retain talented associates,” said Chris Brasher, head of Bank Operations for Regions Bank. “IBM Watson’s automated intelligence is an important tool that allows us to operate more effectively by understanding customer needs. We are identifying additional use cases for this technology as part of our focus on continuous improvement across the company.”

“The use of artificial intelligence among banks continues to rise, helping financial institutions make better use of vast amounts of data, analyze patterns, evaluate risks and improve customer service,” said Beth Smith, General Manager, IBM Watson AI. “Regions Bank is focused on improving customer and associate relationships and Watson will help them continue to provide a great customer experience.”

Sund & Bælt uses IBM Maximo for Civil Infrastructure to help construct Europe’s smartest tunnel

ORLANDO, Fla.,  — At IBM’s IoT Exchange, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a collaboration with Sund & Bælt — which owns and operates some of the largest infrastructure in the world — to assist in IBM’s development of an AI-powered IoT solution designed to help prolong the lifespan of aging bridges, tunnels, highways, and railways. The new industry solution, IBM Maximo for Civil Infrastructure, further extends the IBM Maximo portfolio while providing deep industry and task-specific functionality to help organizations manage, monitor and administer their infrastructure assets.

Deteriorating infrastructure is a global challenge. Organizations struggle with aging facilities, the difficulty of physical inspections and high cost of continued maintenance.  According to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association 2019 Bridge Report, in the United States, 47,052 bridges are considered “structurally deficient.” Today’s announcement leverages Sund & Bælt’s operational expertise with IBM’s Maximo Enterprise Asset Management and Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions, to help extend the lifespan of infrastructure and reduce overall maintenance costs.

Maximo for Civil Infrastructure consolidates various sources of data including maintenance and design details, near real-time IoT data generated from sensors placed on structures, wearables from workers, stationary cameras and drones, and weather data from The Weather Company, to help clients identify and measure the impact of damage such as cracks, rust and corrosion, as well as displacement vibrations and stress. By implementing predictive and prescriptive maintenance strategies using IBM Maximo APM coupled with AI visual recognition tools developed by IBM Research, organizations can endeavor to model, map and monitor each structure. This can help them perform rapid assessment to prioritize maintenance decisions that target critical repairs, and address compliance issues in order to help them meet regulatory obligations.

“Bridges, tunnels, and roads provide access to family, job opportunities, education and more, but much of this infrastructure is aging. With Maximo for Civil Infrastructure, IBM is applying IoT and AI technology to help organizations improve the way these structures are monitored and managed,” said Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D., General Manager, IBM Watson IoT. “Sund & Bælt’s industry expertise coupled with IBM’s 30-year investment in Maximo capabilities for the management of physical assets and  IBM’s Maximo Asset Performance Management portfolio, can be leveraged to help organizations with their maintenance and operation of aging infrastructure worldwide.”

Sund & Bælt utilizes AI to maintain some of the world’s largest bridges

Sund & Bælt owns and operates some of the largest infrastructure in the world, such as the Storebælt Link and the 16km Øresund Link between Denmark and Sweden. Currently preparing construction for the world’s longest immersed tunnel, the 18 km Femern Belt Fixed Link between Denmark and Germany, Sund & Bælt is working  to also make this Europe’s smartest tunnel. The Maximo for Civil Infrastructure solution is designed to help organizations more efficiently operate and maintain this crucial public infrastructure.

“As our infrastructure facilities are aging and traffic increases, it is crucial for us to take in new methods for keeping the structures safe and operational at all times while avoiding rising costs,” said Mikkel Hemmingsen, CEO at Sund & Bælt. “Collaborations with world leading tech-partners such as IBM can help us secure the future operation of our link, and at the same time we are pleased that the know-how from our operation can benefit organizations in the industry around the globe through this new IoT solution.”

World’s First Enterprise Computer Hardware Partnership Recognized for Using Disruptive Technologies to Achieve End-to-End Supply Chain Security

CHICAGO, — today announced, that its global supply chain transformation has won a 2019 NextGen Supply Chain Leadership Award for the innovative use of blockchain and IoT. The distinction recognizes the world’s first enterprise computer hardware partnership using these disruptive technologies to achieve end-to-end supply chain security. Using IBM Blockchain and IoT, IBM’s supply chain improved traceability and single source-of-truth to each network partner to improve product authentication and reduce warranty costs.

IBM’s supply chain organization manages the critical supply chain operations of engineering, logistics, manufacturing, and sales transaction support. It digitized physical assets such as hard disk drives, while registering asset transactions throughout the product life cycle into an immutable shared ledger using blockchain and IoT as part of this award-winning initiative. One key project began as a Proof-of-Concept in 2018 between IBM and Seagate Technology, which came to a successful conclusion in March 2019. Both companies are now working toward a potential pilot deployment that may be expanded to include more suppliers.

“Industry 4.0 is an end-to-end industrial transformation, in which mastering the 21^st century digital supply chain – enabled by blockchain, IoT, and AI technologies – is a critical success factor for enterprises to gain a competitive business advantage,” said Ron Castro, VP of Supply Chain, IBM. “With these innovative technologies revolutionizing the entire supply chain by lowering transactional costs and accelerating processes, harnessing their transformative power is imperative for executives to build transparent, intelligent and predictive supply chains at scale.

IBM’s supply chain transformation initiative contained three separate, yet complimentary project use cases to make a positive business impact as blockchain was infused into IBM’s supply chain. The three application cases include:

• Parts Provenance – The initial impact for this blockchain application in IBM’s supply chain included GDPR risk mitigation, improved compliance for data erasure, product authenticity, and reduced part and shipping costs. This encompassed capturing parts data as they proceed through the supply chain from suppliers and system integrator to customer.
• Internet of Things (IoT) – The Supply Chain IoT Blockchain project focused on improving products lifecycle traceability in IBM’s complex global supply chain. This resulted in an increase in product traceability, while also achieving improvement on cost avoidance for parts provenance. By equipping each inbound and outbound shipment asset with an IoT enabled tracking device to provide near-real-time visibility of assets, IBM’s supply chain can predict each asset’s behavior to reduce the risk or loss or damage liability.
• Customs Declaration – IBM’s supply chain group focused on improving efficiencies by decreasing compliance risks during import and export processes, while reducing delays and stoppages in supply chain logistics with improved data integrity and improved visibility of assets within the network. With the shared ledger in IBM’s supply chain accessible to each key stakeholder involved in the customs declaration process and automated interfacing of data to customs’ system, time and cost savings were achieved in the logistics and customs process.

“The success of IBM’s initiative can enable extremely effective confirmation of provenance and authenticity of assets, while optimizing security and efficiencies by simplifying and accelerating documentation exchanges between supply chain partners, ” said John Morris, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Seagate Technology. “Additionally, it potentially increases productivity by eliminating redundant processes, while helping to strengthen regulatory compliance and build trust among all key stakeholders.”

IBM’s Vice President of Supply Chain, Ron Castro, presented his 2019 NextGen Supply Chain Conference keynote titled, Applying Augmented Intelligence (A.I.), Blockchain and Predictive Analytics to Expand End-to-End Visibility and Improve Operational Efficiency on Tuesday, April 16 from 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. CT.

Grocer is the latest company to adopt blockchain-based traceability system for global food ecosystem

ARMONK, N.Y. and BOISE, Idaho,  — Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, is joining the blockchain-based IBM Food Trust network and will begin piloting the technology to improve how food is traced from farm to store shelf. The addition of Albertsons Companies to the Food Trust ecosystem of more than 80 brands brings blockchain-based food traceability to more consumers and industry players – from producers to suppliers to retailers – by helping enable greater transparency and collaboration, and ultimately, a safer food supply.

Blockchain is a system of record that establishes a shared environment for food transactions in which all participants can collaborate in a highly secured and transparent way to build trust. Food Trust enables network members to share digital, distributed and immutable data, so that stakeholders across the supply chain can work together to trace and authenticate products or optimize supply chain processes. The solution creates a digital record of transactions or interactions – from a packaging date, to the temperature at which an item was shipped, to its arrival on a grocery shelf.

The growing number of participants using the technology helps address a broad range of food system issues, such as supply chain efficiency, freshness, waste reduction, sustainability and participants’ ability to verify certifications, such as fair trade and organic. It is being used to make the end-to-end food ecosystem more transparent and trustworthy, and has the potential to transform broad, nationwide food recalls into efficient, precise eliminations of recalled products. Already, more than five million food products digitized on the solution are on retail shelves.

Albertsons Companies, which operates nearly 2,300 stores across the U.S., will pilot Food Trust for tracing bulk romaine lettuce from one of its distribution centers, then will explore expanding to other food categories throughout its distribution network. Albertsons Companies plans to pilot the solution to help overcome the obstacles that have existed when a traceback is initiated for a product like romaine and is evaluating ways to use the technology to highlight the provenance of its extensive Own Brands portfolio.

“Blockchain technology has the potential to be transformational for us as we further build differentiation on our fresh brand,” said Anuj Dhanda, Chief Information Officer, Albertsons Companies. “Food safety is a very significant step. In addition, the provenance of the products enabled by blockchain — the ability to track every move from the farm to the customer’s basket — can be very empowering for our customers.”

“Multiple high-profile consumer advisories from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration demonstrate the need to find more efficient ways of tracing products and identifying likely sources of contamination in a timely manner,” said Jerry Noland, VP of Food Safety & Quality Assurance, Albertsons Companies. “Consequently, retailers are exploring new technologies to improve the infrastructure that underpins the global food supply chain.”

A blockchain network is strongest when it includes multiple, diverse members that form a transacting ecosystem. That is why the solution can enable an ecosystem of companies from across the food industry to onboard and share data. Already, members are recommending or mandating that their supply chain partners, such as downstream suppliers, join the network. This is intended to bring a more complete view of the entire lifecycle of a food product.

“Establishing IBM Food Trust and opening it to the food ecosystem last year was a major milestone in making blockchain real for business,” said Raj Rao, General Manager, IBM Food Trust. “Today, we are focused on ensuring that the solution scales and is accessible to participants across the food ecosystem, such as Albertsons Companies. By bringing more members into the network and enabling them to share greater cross-sections of data in a secured environment, we believe our vision of a transformed food ecosystem using blockchain is closer than ever.”

By creating a transparent, secured information-sharing platform, the food ecosystem can benefit from greater efficiencies and lower barriers to critical information access to help make the food supply chain safer. Built on Hyperledger Fabric-based open source technology, the solution uses permissioning to ensure companies can set rules about who can see the data they upload to the solution and for how long, and that they maintain control of their data even after it has been uploaded to Food Trust.