CeBIT 2011

Sam Palmisano discusses the path to the smarter future of IT in his keynote address at CeBIT 2011

       Download videos      1   Sam Palmisano's opening speech @ CeBIT

                                           2   Sam Palmisano and German chancellor Angela Merkel visit the IBM CeBIT booth

                                                

The 25th annual CeBIT trade fair opened its doors to visitors this week, featuring over 4,000 exhibitors from more than 60 countries. CeBIT, the world’s largest IT event, is held in Hannover, Germany, and is a barometer for innovation in information technology. With an exhibition area of roughly five million square feet, CeBIT 2011 promises to showcase and celebrate the best of the IT industry.

IBM Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano delivered the keynote speech to kick off CeBIT 2011, calling on the audience to look to the future. Technology, he said, more than any other industry, creates the tools and know-how to literally change how the world works. Below are highlights of Sam’s keynote and IBM’s presence at CeBIT 2011:

Keynote: The Smarter Future of IT

Joining speakers such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Sam discussed how, over the course of our 100-year history, a central realization has ingrained itself into the DNA of IBM: we must constantly move toward the future. This forward movement, however, is not an easy thing. It has required us to demonstrate patience, constant innovation and steady investment in R&D through both good and bad times. This is why IBM has invested more than $150 billion in R&D over the past 30 years, which has enabled us to receive more than 75,000 U.S. patents.

Sam made the point, however, that IBM is not alone -- the IT industry as a whole must also move forward. We must advocate a new understanding of joint responsibility in the increasingly globalized economy. The industry will need to face three key challenges in the century ahead. First, it will require open standards, and particularly standardized interfaces. This is the only way to forge smart links between systems, such as transportation and energy, that depend on one another. Second, we must acknowledge and step up to the policy implications of our work, particularly, tackling head-on the issue of data security. Finally, we should embrace a new model of leadership in the 21st century. This new type of leader must listen to and serve constituents, and must be a vital part of the growing and globally integrated ecosystem.

Watson demonstration

As the day came to a close, Sam wrapped up the program with a demonstration of the Watson deep question-answer technology, alongside Watson chief architect, David Ferrucci. As Sam pointed out, the significance of the computer’s capabilities go far beyond the Jeopardy! game show. Watson holds enormous potential for making the world’s systems smarter as we move toward the future that he laid out in his keynote speech. An intelligent question and answer system like this could, for example, answer physicians’ queries in real time, thereby improving medical diagnostics.

IBM on the world stage

Sam closed his keynote address by sharing his view that, "a period of discontinuity is, for those with courage and vision, a period of opportunity.  There will be winners, and there will be losers.  Some companies, some industries and some countries and cities will shine more brightly than others. And the new leaders who emerge on this global stage will win not by surviving the storm, but by changing the game." By spending time at CeBit and with IBM, Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Erdoğan showed that they are leaders who understand the important role that IT plays in helping to change the game for the world.