The News: IBM attended SC23 with two new product announcements: Storage Scale System 6000 and Watsonx.governance. Read more about Storage Scale System 6000 here and watsonx.governance here.
SC23 Recap: IBM
Analyst Take: SC23 came with two AI and high performance computer (HPC) related announcements from IBM. The first was the announcement of a new Storage Scale System (formerly ESS) offering: Storage Scale System 6000. The 6000 system replaces the previous 5000 system and forms the basis for IBM’s Global Data Platform vision. The announcement, made shortly before SC23, is key for IBM, because the new Storage Scale System aims to be the basis for future HPC and AI deployments. More can be found about the Storage Scale System 6000 in an additional The Futurum Group Research Note.
IBM’s other notable announcement during SC23 was the introduction of IBM watsonx.governance. This announcement introduces the third piece of IBM’s watsonx AI platform, alongside watsonx.AI and watsonx.data. Watsonx.AI provides a studio for AI builders to train and deploy AI models and watsonx.data provides an open lakehouse data platform for managing AI data. The new watsonx.governance is described by IBM as a “nutrition label for AI.” The new solution aims to reduce risk, monitor bias, and manage the safety and transparency regulations of AI.
The introduction of watsonx.governance provides a much needed service for the recent eruption of new AI technologies. Although the opportunities that the technology brings are exciting, there are also valid ethical concerns. Concerns around AI include the use of unvalidated training sets, algorithmic bias, and AI drift. IBM’s goal with watsonx.governance is to provide a toolset for developers to monitor, detect, and combat these issues with their AI models.
Much of the focus at SC was around developing and building AI, but it is refreshing to see an announcement that also addresses the difficulties and concerns associated with the technology. The recent excitement around AI appears to only be the beginning, but as AI continues to develop, it is important that leading technology companies such as IBM address the potential concerns and regulatory issues as well.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other Insights from The Futurum Group:
Author Information
Mitch comes to The Futurum Group through the acquisition of the Evaluator Group and is focused on the fast-paced and rapidly evolving areas of cloud computing and data storage. Mitch joined Evaluator Group in 2019 as a Research Associate covering numerous storage technologies and emerging IT trends.
With a passion for all things tech, Mitch brings deep technical knowledge and insight to The Futurum Group’s research by highlighting the latest in data center and information management solutions. Mitch’s coverage has spanned topics including primary and secondary storage, private and public clouds, networking fabrics, and more. With ever changing data technologies and rapidly emerging trends in today’s digital world, Mitch provides valuable insights into the IT landscape for enterprises, IT professionals, and technology enthusiasts alike.
