“ The trick for any digital transformation is to not only have the technology , but to also know how to collaboratively integrate it with the users into standard work processes and intelligent workflows ,” Biller says . “ Not only in one factory , not only at one machine , but across all factories and across all machines .”
More than just possessing a superior vantage point over the industry , however , Biller emphasises that it is great colleagues and collaborators that continue to place IBM in the echelon of global tech company leaders . In an iterative world , in which nothing is stable , both exciting and daunting in equal measure , the company ’ s Darwinian approach has been to excel at adaptation and its people are crucial to that . “ We have the best AI and industrial analytics people in the world , who can develop solutions at a system level ,” he says . “ And our collaborators join us on the journey to determine how to provide additional value to clients . The collaborative , ‘ no walls ’ approach that we share with them is really critical for me .” It is this compound of technological know-how , research-based perspective on the industry and truly collaborative partnerships that has placed IBM in its current position and will continue to inform its activities . What will the company be working on through 2020 and beyond ? Well , for Biller , the answer is simple : continuous optimization of product , manufacturing , and services . With the optimization capacity of Watson firmly established , he is keen to help IBM clients to move to a “ product as a service ” ( PaaS ) model , or , as he puts it , “ selling the power of a jet engine by the hour , not the engine itself .” IBM is truly reaching into the future , to the point where continuously improving products and manufacturing operations are based on data-driven AI and analytics . “ I think that ’ s the holy grail ,” Biller concludes . “ That ’ s what the fourth industrial revolution is all about and IBM will get there .”
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