IBM Impact 2013: Making Business Mobile

By Mike Anderson

IBM held its Impact 2013 event in Las Vegas this week. More than 9,000 people attended, and the interest as well as energy levels were high. Behind the multitude of sessions that addressed all areas of IBM systems from application development to new hardware, mobile was the centerpiece. The focus was not on mobile as a technology, but what IBM sought to articulate was mobile as a business state of mind aimed at “business in motion”.

IBM Impact – Mobile First

“Mobile First” became IBM’s new message since earlier this year when IBM MobileFirst became the branding to tie together its mix of mobile offerings and products. The mobile theme was front and center throughout the main Impact presentations.

Ford’s Director of Application Development joined IBM’s Robert LeBlanc for the opening Keynote, along with a Ford Fusion on stage.  Ford’s vision is obviously mobile first. The car will intelligently connect with services with the car also being able to intelligently connect with services and to be a connectivity device for people. With 16,000,000 lines of code in the Fusion, it’s become a rolling datacenter as well.

IBM Aims For Better Mobility through Open Standards

Bringing mobility into the core of business process and infrastructure is a fundamental change. The impact of the mobile transformation hits everywhere from design to development tools to testing. Performance has a new meaning, and the amount of data that can be collected and used to make decisions is massive. Enterprises need to take on this change while recognizing that mobility is still in its very early stages, and the tools and systems to deliver the retooling are immature and also changing. IBM is betting on open standards to smooth the path forward, and is putting more energy and dedication into its existing open systems efforts.

Going Mobile Means Reinventing

Mobility is an imperative, and every business needs to get on board. Mobile strategy is not just about putting a mobile front-end on existing systems. It is about rethinking your core business processes from the perspective of mobile everything. The path forward promises new and much more personal and engaging mobile connectivity between businesses and customers. Enabling a new business in motion will take new mobile tools and reinventing of business from its processes outward.