IBM Launches New Real-Time Data Analysis Software

IBM is set to begin selling long-awaited software aimed at helping companies analyse real-time data, ranging from traffic data to manufacturing processes, to find more efficient ways to run their business. IBM, which has shifted its focus from computers to higher-margin software and services over the past decade, said the new software, named IBM System S, will be available from Friday, May 15, following six years of development.

The software is designed to analyse streams of real-time data and could help financial institutions monitor transactions and analyse risks, or help hospitals monitor patients to detect problems early, the company said. It could also help chipmakers, for example, monitor the entire manufacturing process, which often involves 500-1,000 steps. IBM said the software could pinpoint errors to solve them before they multiply or lead to serious losses.

Nagui Halim, head of IBM’s stream computing project, said the software can be used for “anything that has a situation where vast amounts of data are available at real-time”. “As businesses go more and more online, as more and more of what they do becomes available digitally, with cars, equipment and sensors … there’s this rising tide of information,” Halim told Reuters. “Generally people store the data, and they try to understand it later. What we’re saying is, it’s hard to do that, and by the time you get around to looking at it later the events of interest may be over.” (Reuters)