IBM Insight is an analytics-focused conference that includes more than 1,600 in-depth educational sessions, including technical training, hands-on labs and industry use cases. Day one at the event brought out “thought-provoking use cases” for the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as a new trend with IBM assisting more start-up companies.

theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, interviewed SETI and NASA about IBM software that is being used to look for extraterrestrial life. But, the overarching theme of day one was looking at how data is affecting the future of the industry. Dave Vellante, George Gilbert and Paul Gillin, cohosts of theCUBE, reflected on what they gleaned yesterday.

Building solutions for big business

IBM has built its reputation on “building solutions for big business,” remarked Gilbert. Therefore, the initiatives IBM is putting forth, like opening a center in New York for assisting start-ups, is a new and exciting trend. Gillin observed IBM is offering “cloud credits” for smaller businesses. Gillin commented on “cognitive business,” a phrase he heard used numerous times so far during the conference. He said that he was “not sure that people were going to latch on to that word,” but it can certainly be defining in the marketplace. Either way, “cognitive business” is a “niche carved out for Watson.”

Dave Vellante spoke about a trend of early announcements for new products. This practice essentially “freezes the market” while businesses await the new item. IBM has done this with SoftLayer, Bluemix and Watson, each time “pivoting the market” if not freezing it.

The mission for day two will be to confirm the possibility that IBM will open source its analytic engine, Watson, while maintaining other components as proprietary. Another area of interest is the rest of the open-source strategy.

Watch the full video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM Insight 2015. And join in on the conversation by CrowdChatting with theCUBE hosts.

Photo by SiliconANGLE