IBM: Research is the key

The cutting edges
IBM is largely concentrating its efforts in five areas: nanotechnology, data retrieval, supercomputing, large-systems management and human-machine interaction.

Each of these efforts stems from an existing IBM business line. In the next several years, nanotechnologies such as carbon nanotubes and spintronics are expected to help chip designers increase the performance and reduce the power consumption of microprocessors.

"The tried-and-true path of scaling down isn't working anymore," said Robert Morris, director of IBM's Almaden Research Centre, who claims that the effort to use spintronics -- the precise control of tiny magnetic fields -- to switch chips off and on could become "as significant as the start of the transistor 50 years ago."

Similarly, supercomputing advances inevitably trickle down to high-volume commercial servers. One of IBM's more ambitious current projects involves developing a supercomputer on a chip with the University of Texas. When it emerges in 2010, the chip will churn one trillion operations per second.

A dominant theme of IBM's software division is data retrieval and organisation. Despite the vast sums invested in databases and servers, companies still encounter major problems in getting real-time sales results or data about the same customer from different internal databases.

"People have information all over the place," Mattos said. "It is a major pain point."

Last year, IBM released DB2 Information Integrator, a layer of "middleware" that is already being used by an estimated 1,300 customers to pull data from various sources. Later this year, IBM will introduce an enhanced version called Masala with an add-on portion for data mining called Criollo.

So far, the results are promising. Kawasaki Motors, one of IBM's beta testers for these products, was able to create a system that could track spare parts among dealers and reduce repair times. Merrill Lynch has used it to track software licenses and cut costs.

Agrawal, the data-mining pioneer, is today working on a system that will scramble customer data in a way that will allow companies to study buying trends or other patterns while preserving strict privacy.

The service division is also getting its share of the results from the lab. IBM is investing in a logistics lab at Michigan State University and other institutions to analyse how supply chains work and find recruits.

On a more ambitious scale, the autonomic-computing effort, which aims to create "self-healing systems," is largely targeted at automating functions that have required human intervention.

Related efforts are focused on making machines much simpler to use. In its Beijing labs, researchers are tinkering with handwriting recognition systems for Asian languages and a digital home in which appliances -- lights, alarm systems, dishwashers, computers -- can be operated through voice commands.

In the United States, scientists are working on ways to merge email with instant messaging and to integrate speech more smoothly in applications through a technology dubbed NotesBuddy. The experimental software has been downloaded by nearly 30,000 people, who in turn provide feedback. In times past, an application might be tested by only a few dozen people.

At the Almaden Research Centre, researchers are gathering with anthropologists and behavioural economists to better understand the sociological patterns of the workplace and thereby incorporate technologies more coherently.

Like many other IBM efforts, the work is grounded in practicality.

"We take data and build models that can be used to predict outcomes," said Jim Spohrer, director of Almaden Services research. The mantra among clients buying the fruits of this research, he said, is "show me the return on investment."

This report is part of a three-part series focusing on IBM.
Part one: Reinventing IBM: The evolution of on-demand
Part two: The Big Blue boom: Betting on services
Part three: IBM: Research is the key