IBM's Industry Solutions
Laboratories bring together
customers and researchers in
a unique and effective way
By Peter Gwynne
In Brief:
IBM's three Industry Solutions Laboratories are giving companies from a wide variety of industries the opportunity to see how IBM's advanced technologies and solutions could impact their businesses, while IBM researchers obtain a market's-eye view of the ways in which their technology can be applied to real-world problems. The Research Division's involvement in the labs' activities gives customers a vision
of the future that few
competitors can match, and assures customers of IBM's commitment to
creating innovative,
state-of-the-art solutions.
When IBM opened three Industry Solutions Laboratories (ISLs) in January, it did so with the vision of creating synergy between the future needs of its customers and emerging technologies from the Research Division (see Research, Number 1, 1997). The laboratories in Hawthorne, New York; Stuttgart, Germany; and Yamato, Japan, are already proving their worth, with more than 250 customer visits worldwide so far. "We've exceeded our expectations," says Maureen Sorbo, solutions investment executive in IBM's Global Industries. "We didn't expect it to be quite as exciting as this."
The Hawthorne and Yamato ISLs have the advantage of locations next to Research sites. Stuttgart cooperates with both IBM's Zurich and Haifa Research labs and the neighboring Boeblingen Development Laboratory.
Displays and demonstrations at the ISLs indicate the breadth of IBM's technology. They showcase prototypes from the company's First-of-a-Kind research projects developed for specific customers that can be replicated for others and feature more basic Research projects with market potential.
So far, the most popular technologies on display at the labs include data mining, supply-chain management and Internet and voice solutions. European executives, says Walter Hehl, a staff member at the Stuttgart ISL, have expressed great interest in speech-to-text and automatic translation technologies, which can support them in overseas ventures.
Visitors to the Yamato ISL have expressed interest in intelligent forms processing and software logistics. "We want to find those customers with specific problems who are interested in working with us," says Noriaki Watanabe, director of the Yamato ISL, which actually shares quarters with the IBM Yamato Briefing Center. Developing solutions for leading-edge customers is particularly critical in Japan, because such customers often set the pace for their industries.
Sorbo reports that executives from all major industry segments, including the automobile industry, healthcare, education, banking, finance and securities, insurance, and telecommunications and media, have made visits. They have found that specific technologies are often relevant to more than one industry. According to Raymond Anderson, program manager at the Hawthorne ISL, about 70 percent of the demonstrations at the three sites have cross-industry application. "We are probably the only company to have offerings for such a variety of industries," adds Hehl.
Broadcasters have featured prominently among the visitors. A major media and publishing company visited Hawthorne to see how IBM's technology and solutions fit in with its growing business needs. At Stuttgart, German broadcasting company ZDF discussed digital broadcasting technology. "The lab provides a broad spectrum of solutions," says Dagmar Holtmann, who heads the Stuttgart ISL. "Customers often come in with just one subject in mind, but leave with an appreciation of many others. The idea is to expand their horizons." For other customers, a visit has provided the final impetus for a contract. "We already know that some of the visits have helped to close significant business," says Sorbo.
THE BEST OF RESEARCH
"We're bringing together the best of Research and the best of industry - the real leaders," explains Armando Garcia, vice president of services, applications and solutions at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center. "The labs are the vehicle by which we can showcase our technology and demonstrate our leadership in solutions. Overall, we think they are delivering value to customers."
Feedback from customers supports that view. "The opportunity to share our business issues with IBM's best people from research and industry is a great potential asset to us as we reshape our business to meet the needs of our customers," declares Helmut Petri, a deputy member of Mercedes-Benz's board of management, who visited the Stuttgart ISL.
The Research Division provides a major part of the labs' attraction. "Typically one-half to two-thirds of demonstrations come from Research," says Michael Salmony, a scientist from the Zurich Research Laboratory who has
represented the Research Division at Stuttgart. "Other companies don't normally have research people in their briefings," says Salmony. "As researchers, we present two visions: the thinkable and the doable - that is, what is ultimately possible and what is currently practical."
A DAY AT THE LAB
Reassuring visitors that IBM has their corporate interests in mind plays a major role in the whole process. "We state up front that our purpose is to discuss each customer's business problems," says Gregg Hiatt, who heads the Hawthorne ISL, the largest of the three labs.
In a typical day at the labs, the client team from the Global Industries unit that acts as host first gives its visitors the opportunity to address IBMers about their companies and concerns. IBM personnel then discuss their view of the visitors' industry and related industries. That part of the visit includes speakers from Research, who present technology outlooks, talk about key technologies and discuss their First-of-a-Kind programs.
Next comes what Hiatt calls the "proof points" step: demonstrating relevant technology on which IBM is working. After interactive discussions, the meeting adjourns for lunch, followed by working sessions on steps that the visiting company might take to solve specific problems.
Research also benefits from the ISLs' activities. "It's the vehicle for coupling the back end of our research with the front end of the market," says Garcia, comparing the Research presentations to out-of-town try-outs of musicals prior to Broadway performances. "You learn a very great deal by getting real end-users to give you feedback. Our researchers get inspired by seeing how their technology can solve real-world customer problems."
The Research Division has moved up a fast learning curve. "Initially, many researchers were skeptical about working in the real world," says Garcia. "But many of them have come around to see its value and have gained a great deal of insight."
More Information:
Upping the Comfort Level
Visitors to IBM's ISLs can expect to hear from experts on
issues faced by their companies. For example, on hand for a visit to the Hawthorne ISL by executives from a South African paper mill company was a former line manager from IBM's East Fishkill, New York, facility who is an expert on preventive maintenance - an approach to manufacturing that seeks to detect and eliminate the causes of potential problems before they happen.
Also participating in the meeting was Research's Sesh Murthy, who had worked on a First-of-a-Kind project for a Maine paper mill (see "Decision Support Trims Costs for a Paper Company," Research, Number 2, 1996 ). That sparked fast feedback. The company had signed an outsourcing deal with IBM South Africa just before the visit. Afterward, one executive confided that his experience at the Hawthorne ISL made him feel a lot better about the decision to outsource.
