In this interview from Fortune Magazine, IBM’s Ginni Rometty reveals what’s next for the company’s talking supercomputer Watson, including its future service.
In addition, she discusses what it means for IBM to be an innovation company at a scale of more than 400,000 employees, the five key pieces of continuous transformation, and more.
Fortune senior writer Jessi Hempel interviewed the IBM CEO last week at the National Venture Capital Association’s 40th anniversary conference, VentureScape.
Watson, IBM’s Jeopardy!-winning supercomputer, is about to become an advisor to research-oriented industries, says IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty.
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty
Speaking in San Francisco this week to the annual meeting of the National Venture Capital Association, she said that Watson is part of a third era of technology, in which computers learn.
In fact, given today’s confluence of cloud, mobile, social and big data technologies, future historians may regard this era as “a golden era of technology,” she said, because the vast amount of information being generated will change how individuals make decisions and how companies work. Read what else she had to say, in this article by Deborah Gage at The Wall Street Journal.
——————————————————————————-
What did you think of this article and what’s next for Watson? Let us know in the Leave a Reply field below.
IBM today announced first-quarter 2013 diluted earnings of $2.70 per share, a year-to-year increase of 3 percent. Operating (non-GAAP) diluted earnings were $3.00 per share, compared with operating diluted earnings of $2.78 per share in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 8 percent.
First-quarter net income was $3.0 billion, down 1 percent year-to-year. Operating (non-GAAP) net income was $3.4 billion compared with $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 3 percent.
Total revenues for the first quarter of 2013 of $23.4 billion were down 5 percent (down 3 percent, adjusting for currency) from the first quarter of 2012.
“In the first quarter, we grew operating net income, earnings per share and expanded operating margins but we did not achieve all of our goals in the period. Despite a solid start and good client demand we did not close a number of software and mainframe transactions that have moved into the second quarter. The services business performed as expected with strong profit growth and significant new business in the quarter,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Virginia Rometty, IBM President & CEO
“Looking ahead, in addition to closing those transactions, we expect to benefit from investments we are making in our growth initiatives and from the actions we are taking to improve under-performing parts of the business. We remain confident in this model of continuous transformation and in our ability to deliver our full-year 2013 operating earnings per share expectation of at least $16.70.”
Program celebrates its 50th anniversary as eight new fellows join a distinguished tradition of excellence and innovation
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty today marked the 50th anniversary of the IBM Fellows program by honoring eight new IBMers with the company’s highest technical distinction. Only 246 individuals have earned this designation in the company’s history, 85 of whom are active employees.
“As we have for half a century, IBM is today honoring its most outstanding technologists and their contributions to computing and society,” said Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
“Like all IBM Fellows, members of the class of 2013 are recognized leaders in the global technical community. In 2013, this leadership will be focused on IBM growth markets, where each of this year’s fellows will serve as an ambassador and resource to a different country.” These countries include Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria and South Africa.
In the past, IBM Fellows, a group that includes five Nobel Prize winners, fostered some of the company’s most stunning technical breakthroughs – from the Fortran computing language to the systems that helped put the first man on the moon to the Scanning Tunneling Microscope, the first instrument to image atoms.
– Dinesh Verma, IBM Research
In announcing the program 50 years ago, Thomas Watson Jr. said, “We want to recognize outstanding scientific, engineering, programming and systems people who have made a record over a long period of time for sustained achievement. ” The class of 2013 reflects Watson’s vision. Together, they are adding to IBM’s legacy of innovation leadership and laying the foundation for a smarter planet.
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”-–Paul J. Meyer.
Do you need to procrastinate less and accomplish more? Here are 11 productivity tips from the pros – the CEOs and other high-performing types that are covered in FastCompany.com.
IBM has announced its fourth-quarter 2012 diluted earnings of $5.13 per share, compared with diluted earnings of $4.62 per share in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 11 percent. Operating (non-GAAP) diluted earnings were $5.39 per share, compared with operating diluted earnings of $4.71 per share in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 14 percent.
Fourth-quarter net income was $5.8 billion compared with $5.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 6 percent. Operating (non-GAAP) net income was $6.1 billion compared with $5.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 10 percent.
Virginia Rometty
Total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 of $29.3 billion decreased 1 percent (flat adjusting for currency) from the fourth quarter of 2011. Without the impact of the divested Retail Store Solutions (RSS) business, revenue increased 1 percent, adjusting for currency.
“We achieved record profit, earnings per share and free cash flow in 2012. Our performance in the fourth quarter and for the full year was driven by our strategic growth initiatives — growth markets, analytics, cloud computing, Smarter Planet solutions — which support our continued shift to higher-value businesses,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
“Looking ahead, we continue to invest to deliver innovations for the enterprise in key areas such as big data, mobile solutions, social business and security, while expanding into new markets and reaching new clients. We are well on track toward our long-term roadmap for operating EPS of at least $20 in 2015.”
Tune in anytime to watch the replay of Mark Loughridge, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Enterprise Transformation, discussing IBM’s fourth quarter earnings.
With lots of recent year-end wrap-up articles investigating what went wrong in 2012, it’s good to see this one that takes the opposite approach: pointing out the people who deserve big kudos for doing things RIGHT last year.
Per the IBM 2012 CEO Study, 1700 CEOs in 64 countries predict a 256% increase in use of social media as a customer interaction method – are you ready? Learn more about how to create an exceptional customer experience, socially, at IBM Connect 2013.
IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty leaves the White House following a meeting of CEOs with President Obama.
Although superstar women today are leading IT at some of the Fortune 500 biggest global corporations – including superstar Ginni Rometty at IBM – the path to the top isn’t at all clear for the next generation.
In this essay, Computerworld.com’s Tracy Mayor examines the progress that’s been made and answers the question: Are we there yet? Her insights, here.
12 company leaders, including CEO and chairman of the board of IBM Virginia Rometty, met Wednesday with President Obama at the White House to discuss a range of topics.
Chevron CEO John Watson (left) and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty depart after a Wednesday meeting with President Barack Obama and other business leaders to discuss the economy at the White House.
