IBM IRL Focused On The Business Finder Technology

IBM India Research Laboratory has recently announced the Business Finder technology. Daniel Dias, director, IBM India Research Lab throws some light on this new technology and also discusses about its prospective clients.

What are the new technologies developed by IBM India Research Lab?

IBM India Research Laboratory (IRL) is the youngest one out of the total 8 Labs of IBM situated across the globe. It was set up in April 1998 with a mission to advance state-of-the-art breakthroughs in IT through research in software and services and to provide leadership by delivering innovations to IBM’s clients globally.

Telecom Research and Innovation Centre (TRIC), a core research group at the IBM India Research Lab has recently developed the Business Finder technology. The IRL has also rolled out many new technologies including Sensei (a web-based, interactive language learning technology) and Score/Erocs (an information management technology designed to help HDFC Bank rapidly enhance customer care and identify new business opportunities).

More from Biztech

Future Group - Reliance Retail Deal approved by CCI RBI ban on cryptocurrencies takes effect; prohibition could force investors to tap the black market

The lab is also working on establishing a standards-driven, secure and cost-effective infrastructure to coordinate healthcare information through a system that includes central, state and local governments, as well as private providers for both rural and urban locations across India.

How is the Business Finder technology different from other technologies?

The Business Finder technology is a next-generation, real-time, presence based mobile resources management technology. It combines sophisticated geographic information system (GIS) applications and data analysis with mobile telephone networks to provide information, wherever and whenever to a consumer who is looking for a specific near-by service.

The existing location-based search techniques suffer from the caveat that they do not adequately exploit the mobility of business entities. Today’s telecommunications market is incredibly competitive, making value-added services one of the most critical aspects of the business, and that’s where business finder technology can play a significant role, offering more innovative and consumer-oriented-services. TRIC research group has been working on this technology for the last 18 months.

Which industries could leverage this technology?

The technology allows telecom service providers to track and update data sources including mobility, presence and reputation of service vendors. Service providers can offer this service, especially in metropolitan cities, where there is a potential for the mobile businesses to make significant earnings by subscribing to this service and the service provider to earn revenue through this value-added service. In addition to service industries, the technology also has a potential to be applied to other industries including transportation and logistics, utilities, healthcare and manufacturing.

How have prospective clients responded to this new technology?

The Business Finder Technology provides a flexible, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) based, Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) compliant services solution to telecom service providers. It will also help the evolution of service providers from existing networks into a converged network that allows easy interoperation using industry standards. We have demonstrated a working prototype of the solution to various customers. We are in the process of talking to some of the major service providers both in India and abroad. The initial response has been quite encouraging. We can’t name them for reasons of confidentiality. The technology could either be hosted by an individual network operator or can cut across different operators.