Smaller, Flatter, Smarter
Bob Sutor
IBM

We are at a new inflection point in
the history of the IT industry, at a
time when the world itself must
undergo significant
transformations.

Our industry needs to put together
the pieces, place some big bets,
get smarter, and take the next big
steps.

With the huge buildup of computing
and communication infrastructure,
instrumentation, connectivity, and
processing power are now a given.

From an estimated 2 billion
RFID tags in 2007, to
possibly 30 billion produced
globally in 2010.

By 2011, 1 trillion connected
devices and 2 billion people
on the Web.

In 2001, there were 60
million transistors for every
human on the planet ...
… by 2010 there will be 1
billion transistors per
human…

This year, IBM’s Roadrunner
supercomputer broke the
“petaflop” barrier – one
thousand trillion calculations
per second.
1,000,000,000,000,000/sec

So what do we with it?
Have we put it all to good use to
solve the world’s problems?

Spreading the risk is not the
same as understanding,
tracking, and managing the
risk.

Inefficient electrical grids
around the world cause an
estimated 381 kilowatt hours
lost per person per year.

Forty-five percent of traffic
on some streets in New York
City is people circling the
block looking for parking.
Congested roadways cost
$78 billion annually in the
form of 4.2 billion lost hours
and 2.9 billion gallons of
wasted gas.

U.S. consumer product
goods companies and
retailers lose $40 billion
annually due to inefficient
supply chains.

We have the instrumentation, the
connectivity, and the processing
power.
We have the convergence of
traditional and now IT
infrastructures.

Do we move from “full of potential”
to “intelligent” or “smart”?
Do we work to improve our lives
and drive business growth, while
protecting the rights and freedoms
of individuals?

Stockholm has deployed a
smarter traffic toll system
that reduced traffic 22%,
dropped emissions 12-40%,
and increased daily users of
public transportation by
40,000.

German retailer Metro AG is
using wireless tags to
measure how long meat sits
in refrigerated cases after it's
cut and scanned. The tags
constantly feed data to the
market’s refrigeration area,
letting workers know when
the meat needs restocking.

The Beacon Institute for
Rivers and Estuaries is
creating a system that will
provide minute-to-minute
deep analysis of New York’s
Hudson River via an
integrated network of
sensors and computational
technology distributed
throughout its 315 miles,
allowing smarter shared use
of this resource.

IBM is working with partners
on several solar cell projects
including solar
magnification; flexible and
thin CIGS technology; and
silicon recycling from waste
integrated circuits.

We can and need to do projects
like these that require big bets and
public-private partnerships around
the world.

The new political administration
coming to Washington is likely
more open to help make ours a
“smarter planet” than any before.

We need new kinds of leaders who
can collaborate and cooperate
globally and across disciplines.

We must deal with privacy and
security concerns at the same time
the smarter technology is built out.

Forget doing huge, integrated,
intelligent systems using strictly
proprietary methods:
open standards will be key.

[This] “is a way of encapsulating
and conveying how IBMers think --
their dedication to progress and
grounding in core values.”
Sam Palmisano
IBM Chairman and CEO
ibm.com