During IBM InterConnect 2016 event in Las Vegas, John Furrier and Dave Vellante, cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, were there from the start to analyze the output and unstated implications from those attending the conference.

While there was a lot to cover, some of the major points standing out included IBM’s cognitive processing technology Watson, its recent acquisitions and the opportunities resulting from linking together its various services.

Networking and integration

Looking at the atmosphere of the event, Furrier noted a general excitement surrounding “across the board digital transformation.” With IBM’s acquisitions including a content distribution network, an FTP company, an object storage company and CleverSafe for global object distribution, the support and integration of these services with each other is turning out so many new possibilities that it’s difficult to keep up.

However, a big point of enthusiasm was the uniting of Watson’s analytics with various other services and handling the resulting data from those unions. As Furrier put it, “This is the new way, using intelligent, using the data to create this cognitive environment. It’s digitize everything, and use intelligence and analytics.”

Cognitive power

The cognitive power of Watson and similar utilities was a key focus, as Furrier explored. “The notion of cognitive is about using machines to create insights around things and interactions and relationships,” he said. “When you get into this cognitive thing, you’ve got to think differently about the data … In data, you need to have those seeds, you have to have an understanding of the context of things before you actually run a cognitive algorithm, or run machine learning, or whatever the tools are.”

He also noted, “Pre-cognitive is a critical area, [and] no one’s really exploring it in my opinion.” But proper deployment of these tools calls for high speeds of data transfer, and as Furrier mentioned, “To move data fast, there’s a lot of underlying things that have to change.”

Getting the right picture

Moving on to other data management discussions, Furrier stated, “ComposeIO, an acquisition IBM did, is really, really an important part that no one’s talking about.” Part of its importance is in rendering data, whether in lakes, oceans or swamps, into easily-read forms. “A lot of cases, you’re looking at the wrong picture, so what companies want to do is have the right picture, that’s getting the right data, at the right time,” Furrier added.

Drawing in data from devices via the Internet of Things (IoT) is another strong source, but theCUBE’s analysis team identified a number of current issues holding that grouping back from full power. Along with the need for new sets of protocols to emerge for IoT, as identified by Vellante, Furrier felt that “the problem with IoT is simply this: If you’re not connected to the network, and you don’t have the power, you’re already hamstrung.”

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM InterConnect 2016. And join in on the conversation by CrowdChatting with theCUBE hosts.

Photo by SiliconANGLE