IBM has kicked off its very first Edge conference, focused on its storage technology, in Orlando, FL. Of course the Cube is there providing live coverage and insightful commentary. Dave Vellante and John McArthur sat down with Mike Sylvia, a Distinguished Engineer, CIO Office, IBM. Sylvia is an IBM employee, but his role is within the internal IT organization, not delivering services to IBM clients. This makes Sylvia similar to other conference attendees; he is defining strategy and implementing technology – albeit very close to the source.

Dave Vellente began by discussing the increasing trend of IT moving from traditional to service-based delivery. Sylvia said that IBM like many other organizations is undergoing the transition. The company has long managed the allocation of hosting, but two years ago, IBM began a migrating to a formal services catalog. Sylvia admitted that progress toward IT-as-a-Service can be slow.

It is common for technology professionals, including some within IBM, to view the change in IT culture as “a great idea,” but something that should start with someone else’s area of responsibility. Sylvia identified cloud computing as another major initiative within IBM. The company is heavily leveraging the cloud as a mechanism to maximize its flexibility and control costs. In addition, the cloud is an important component for transitioning to IT-as-a-service. Interestingly, Sylvia considers voice one of the most complex areas within IT, saying,

“Voice is one of the last frontiers where we have a chance to change things in a dramatic way that really hasn’t occurred in the past. With the convergence of data and voice, there are all sorts of opportunities.”

However, it’s not just the technology that impressive. Advances  in voice services also has enormous potential to create cost savings.

Sylvia said his team is always looking for opportunities to showcase IBM products and services, like storage technology. He was careful to note, however, that main goal of IBM IT team is deliver a high quality production service – not be lab for new offerings. In spite of this, Sylvia said IBM IT often has an opportunity to preview technology before the general market or, in some cases,  develop something that becomes a marketable offering. According to Sylvia, this is exactly what occurred with the smart-tiering capability just introduced in Tivoli.