Middleware Consulting International

Keio University, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mizuho, MUFG, JSR, DIC, Toyota, Mitsubishi Chemicals and IBM to expand the country-wide quantum computing research, development and education ecosystem

TOKYO, July 30, 2020 — Today, IBM and the University of Tokyo unveiled a landmark collaboration with the launch of the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium (QIIC). Expanding from the December 2019 Japan–IBM Quantum Partnership initiative, QIIC, aims to accelerate the collaboration between industry, academia, and government to advance Japan’s leadership in quantum science, business, and education.

QIIC’s main goal is to strategically accelerate quantum computing R&D activities in Japan by bringing together academic talent from across the country’s universities and prominent research associations and large-scale industry. The consortium plans to further develop technology for quantum computing in Japan and build an ecosystem to improve student skills and expertise, opening doors to future scientific discoveries and practical quantum applications.

Headquartered at the University of Tokyo, member organizations of QIIC will collaborate to engage students, faculty, and industry researchers with seminars, workshops, and events to foster new quantum business opportunities in Japan. Organizations in agreement to join the consortium include Keio University, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mizuho, MUFG, JSR, DIC, Toyota, Mitsubishi Chemicals and IBM Japan. 

These organizations in consortium will also be part of the IBM Q Network – the world’s first community of Fortune 500 companies, startups, academic institutions and research labs – to advance quantum computing and the development of practical applications for it. As part of the network, they will have access to IBM’s expertise and resources, and cloud development environment, as well as cloud-based access to the IBM Quantum Computation Center, which includes IBM’s most-advanced quantum computers.

In addition to cloud-based access to the IBM’s fleet of quantum systems, the QIIC will also have access to an IBM Q System One, a dedicated system planned for installation in Japan in 2021. The first of its kind in the region, and only the second such installation outside of the US, this system – along with a separate testbed system to be part of a system technology development lab – will support the consortium’s goals of next-generation quantum hardware research and development, including cryogenic components, room temperature electronics, and micro-signal generators.

According to Professor Makoto Gonokami, President of the University of Tokyo:

“Society 5.0 is the concept of a better future with inclusive, sustainable and a knowledge-intensive society where information and services create value underpinned by digital innovation. The key to realizing this society is to utilize real data in real-time. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to protect and nurture the global environment, an entity of physical space and cyberspace as one, by taking it as a global commons (a concept that encompasses global resources and the ecosystems) which is sustainable and reliable, while the fusion of physical space and cyberspace progresses.

“Quantum technology and quantum computers are indispensable technologies to make that happen. I believe that Japan will play an important role in implementing quantum computing technology to society ahead of rest of the world, and that industry-academia-government collaboration is necessary for this. The QIIC will accelerate quantum technology research and its implementation to the Society 5.0 while firmly sharing each other’s wisdom and promoting the close sharing of information.”

“Today, I am extremely excited and proud to launch this new consortium that will help foster economic growth and quantum technology leadership in Japan. The QIIC will greatly advance Japan’s entire quantum computing ecosystem, bringing experts from industry, government and academia together to collaborate on research and development,” said Dario Gil, Director of IBM Research. “Quantum computing has the potential to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges in the future. We expect that it will help us accelerate scientific discovery so that we can develop vaccines more quickly and accurately, create new materials to address climate change or design better energy storage technologies. The potential is massive, and we will only reach this future if we work together – uniting the best minds from the public and private sectors. Universities, businesses and governments have to collaborate so that we can unleash the full potential of quantum computing.”

QIIC’s members are forging a path for Japan’s discovery of practical quantum applications for the benefit of society. The cooperation between industry, academia, and government aims to create a new community for quantum computation research and use cases.

Initial Focus on Regulated Industries Using Hybrid Cloud

SAN FRANCISCO and ARMONK, N.Y. and RALEIGH, N.C., July 21, 2020 — Adobe, IBM and Red Hat today announced a strategic partnership to help accelerate digital transformation and strengthen real-time data security for enterprises, with a focus on regulated industries. The intent of the partnership is to enable companies to deliver more personalized experiences across the customer journey, driving improved engagement, profitability and loyalty.

As companies undergo their digital transformations and move core workloads to the cloud, the entire C-suite is facing a re-framing of their roles to meet customer demands – all while keeping security front and center. Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Digital Officers – particularly those working in regulated industries such as banking and healthcare – are finding that with the emphasis on data-driven marketing, they are now becoming stewards of critical enterprise and customer information. For these executives, the need to protect data while delivering meaningful customer experiences is paramount.

The partnership will initially focus on:

• Deployment Flexibility with Hybrid Cloud: Adobe, IBM and Red Hat aim to enable brands to manage and deliver their content and assets within any hybrid cloud environment, from multiple public clouds to on-premise data centers. By certifying and delivering Adobe Experience Manager 6.5, part of Adobe Experience Cloud, to run on Red Hat OpenShift, the industry’s leading enterprise open source container platform, IBM will offer clients the flexibility to host, access and leverage data in the environment of their choice.
• Adobe Enabled for Financial Services: Adobe joins IBM’s partner ecosystem as a strategic partner providing CX solutions for the IBM Cloud for Financial Services. Using the IBM Cloud for Financial Services, IBM will extend Adobe Experience Manager to professionals in this industry with the aim of helping them as they meet their security and regulatory requirements when delivering personalized experiences to their customers.
• Adobe and IBM Services: IBM iX, the business design arm of IBM Services, will extend their offerings across all of Adobe’s core enterprise applications. With broader, integrated support for clients across Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Cloud, and Adobe Document Cloud, IBM iX will accelerate how global brands use data to design, implement, and scale personalized customer experiences to instill trust across every corner of their business.

“Now more than ever companies are accelerating their efforts to engage customers digitally,” said Anil Chakravarthy, executive vice president and general manager, Digital Experience, Adobe. “We are excited to partner with IBM and Red Hat to enable companies in regulated industries to meet this moment and use real-time customer data to securely deliver experiences across any digital touchpoint, at scale and compliant with regulations.”

“The reality is that today, businesses across industries are operating in an experience first world where it is possible to gain immense value from data if trust and technology flexibility are central to the equation,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Markets. “It is with these principles as the focus of our partnership – bringing Adobe’s marketing expertise, IBM’s industry domain knowledge and the open innovation of Red Hat –that will give clients the confidence to use their data for new competitive advantage.”

“Being competitive in the digital economy requires delivering innovation quickly,” said Ashesh Badani, senior vice president, Cloud Platforms, Red Hat. “Through this collaboration, Adobe, IBM and Red Hat are enabling organizations to deliver great digital experiences in any environment with flexibility and speed across the hybrid cloud, whether in on-premises data centers or across multiple public clouds.”

As part of the partnership IBM has named Adobe its “Global Partner for Experience” and will begin adopting Adobe Experience Cloud and its enterprise applications to transform its own global marketing.

Sporting goods retailer responds to rapid shifts in consumer demand

ARMONK N.Y. and Beijing: Anta Group, a multi-brand sporting goods group specializing in the design, production and sale of sports equipment, has launched a group wide digital platform based on SAP S/4HANA®. Designed and deployed by IBM Services, the new platform integrates data management from brand sales, production management, supply chain and logistics to group finance.

This initial step in Anta Group’s digital transformation to full intelligent workflows was completed in January 2020 and has allowed the group to more quickly adjust its retail operations by switching to promoting sales through online channels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anta has always been focused on the consumer-centric value segment, rapidly developing new brands and business models to meet the evolving needs of its customers. As a result, the company has grown quickly in the past few years, and with this growth, came the need to upgrade to a group-level management platform to help the business run more efficiently across its business chain of ordering, supply, production and sales. Implementation of SAP S/4HANA is powering the modernization of these processes with the delivery of data driven insight and the company leadership now has a single view of current data from brand sales and supply chain through to shoe and clothing production information to ensure that production and sales are optimized.

In addition, the platform assists the supply chain to place orders through automatic calculation of sales delivery, supply chain delivery, and online feedback mechanisms, helping efficiency increase by more than 80% and reducing delivery times which has further fueled business growth.

To increase data insights and intelligent decision-making, IBM Services helped Anta to integrate various data flows from retail stores, multi-brand products, different channels, customers, suppliers and financial centers. Integrating this data into one platform helps the management of the group’s business and finances which can help Anta to settle accounts quickly and issue business analysis reports for different entities as well as displaying the overall picture of the operation.

Ding Shizhong, chairman and CEO Anta Group said, “In the digital age, the best way to win and gain customer loyalty is to establish the most trustworthy and best quality in the market. Anta has always been committed to using technology to promote the core change of management. As we look to the future to drive more direct to consumer interaction, we’re using data insights and will use AI and automation to make our workflows more intelligent in order to meet and exceed consumer preferences as they continue to evolve.”

Stephen Laughlin, General Manager, Global Consumer Industry, IBM said, “The creation of the new digital platform has helped improve efficiency in product distribution and can shorten decision time for product replenishment across the Anta Group. It can also lay a solid foundation for Anta’s next phase of digital transformation on their path to become a cognitive enterprise and to further support multi-brand, omni-channel and global development.”