Category Archives: IBM Cloud

IBM launches 26 new cloud services for data scientists

IBM2IBM is launching 26 services new services on its IBM Cloud which it describes as a ‘sweeping portfolio for data scientists and app developers’. Its new offering includes 150 publicly available datasets.

The new initiative aims to help developers build and manage applications and help data scientists to read events in the cloud more intuitively. The hybrid cloud service scans multiple cloud providers and uses open systems which, IBM says, will create a ready flow of data across different services.

The new cloud offerings will create a self-service for data preparation, migration and integration, IBM claims, with users being provided with tools for advanced data exploration and modelling. The four main pillars of the new service offering come under the headings of Compose Enterprise, Graph, Predictive Analytics and Analytics Exchange.

The IBM Compose Enterprise is a managed platform that aims to help developers build web-scale apps faster by giving them access to resources such as open source databases and their own their own dedicated cloud servers. Graph is a managed graph database service built on Apache TinkerPop with a stack of business-ready apps with real-time recommendations, fraud detection, IoT and network analysis uses. Predictive Analytics promises developers easy self-build machine learning models from a library of predictive apps generally used by data scientists. Analytics Exchange contains the catalogue of 150 publicly available datasets.

The Apache TinkerPop and the Gremlin graph traversal language will be the primary interface to IBM’s Graph service. IBM has previously pushed TinkerPop to join the Apache Software Foundation. In September BCN reported that IBM is to open a San Francisco facility with resources dedicated to IBM’s new Spark processing technology as the vendor seeks to get Spark users interested in IBM’s Watson developer cloud.

Data handlers are currently handicapped by having to use disparate systems for data needs, IBM claims. “Our goal is to move data into a one-stop shop,” said Derek Schoettle, General Manager, Analytics Platform and Cloud Data Services.

NZ Ministry of Health taps IBM gov cloud

NZ's Ministry of Health is moving some of its core services onto IBM cloud

NZ’s Ministry of Health is moving some of its core services onto IBM cloud

New Zealand’s Ministry of Health has enlisted IBM to help the department set up a cloud-based system to support the country’s national healthcare IT infrastructure.

The Ministry manages a set of technical services that support both internal IT systems and national health systems including the National Health Payment System, which processes transactions for pharmacies and healthcare providers, and a National Health Index, which supports planning and coordination in health service delivery.

The deal will see the Ministry deploy all of its internal systems on IBM’s managed cloud infrastructure (hosted in-country) for a minimum of five years.

“The agreement is a key element in improving the Ministry of Health’s ability to deliver shared services for the sector, which enables secure access to personal health records for patients and their health care providers,” said Graeme Osborne, Director of the National Health IT Board. “Our aim is to improve productivity and patient safety, and enable new models of care through strategic technology investments.”

The move follows an pledge made by Health Benefits Limited, the crown company set up in 2010 to support health service provision, to consolidate the infrastructure of all twenty District Health Boards onto IBM’s cloud platform.

“We continue to invest in advanced technology infrastructure vital for New Zealand’s long-term economic growth. IBM’s cloud services offer customers like the Ministry of Health the most comprehensive enterprise-grade cloud environment in New Zealand and will support new, enhanced services for the public, suppliers and staff,” says Andrew Buchanan, cloud business leader, IBM New Zealand.

“This agreement further demonstrates our leadership and commitment to health care innovation,” Buchanan added.