IBM Artificial Intelligence (AI) Portfolio Review

IBM’s artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio carries a few of the market’s most widely used AI solutions.

With just over 340,000 employees, Armonk, New York-based IBM is able to provide technical services such as AI to companies in over 171 countries.

IBM reported $303.8 million in AI revenue for 2019, according to a 2020 report by IDC. 

See below to learn about IBM’s artificial intelligence offerings, which are a key part the company’s global portfolio:

IBM AI Portfolio

Watson Explorer

Watson Explorer is a cognitive exploration solution. Its combination of search and content analytics aims to help users find and understand the results of their inquiries.

• Understands the structures of documents
• Mines texts for insights
• Delivers smart passages for answers
• Chatbot integration

Watson Machine Learning

Watson Machine Learning is a full-service cloud offering. It allows data scientists and developers to create applications with predictive capabilities integrated. 

• Machine learning (ML) model training and development
• Advanced data refinery
• Visual tooling integration
• Decision optimization capabilities

OpenPages With Watson

OpenPages is IBM’s governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platform. It empowers companies to manage risks and regulatory compliance across their organization and spanning multiple regulatory requirements.

• Single data repository
• Dynamic and user-friendly dashboard
• Embedded flexible workflow models
• A task-focused user interface

Watson Knowledge Catalog

Watson Knowledge Catalog is a centralized cloud-based data cataloging tool. It’s an intelligent self-serving repository that provides data for AI, machine learning, and deep learning applications.

• End-to-end data catalog
• Automated governance
• Flexible deployment in cloud and as a managed service
• Ability to share self-service insights with peers and analytics tools

Watson Natural Language Understanding

Watson Natural Language Understanding is a natural language processing (NLP) service and text analysis tool. Deep learning algorithms are used to extract meaning and metadata from unstructured blocks of text to provide insights.

• Customizable to understand the precise language of a company 
• Real-time text analysis and actionable insights
• Flexibility to deploy in cloud or behind a local firewall

Watson Works

Watson Works is a data-backed and AI-based solution to help make critical business decisions. It provides insights into areas of workplace safety and contact tracing, workplace re-entry, and facility management.

• Creates employee-centered strategies
• Mitigates risk of harm exposure
• Creates a flexible workplace that prioritizes employee safety

Watson Tone Analyzer

Watson Tone Analyzer uses advanced linguistic analysis to detect and identify emotions and tones in written text. It works both with documents and single sentences.

• Monitors and enhances customer service
• Conducts regular social listening on online conversations
• Built-in chatbot integration

Watson Captioning Live

Watson Captioning Live uses a combination of ML, AI, and cognitive speech-to-text applications to deliver automated real-time captions for audio files.

• Saves time compared to manual captioning
• Trained to understand various accents and local idioms
• Creates more accessible media

Watson Assistant

Watson Assistant is a white-label cloud service that enables software developers to embed AI and virtual assistant (VA) functionality into their company’s software and offer it to clients.

• Easy to deploy with a drag-and-drop interface
• Integrates with multiple channels and existing content
• Enterprise-ready and scalable

Watson Studio

Watson Studio is IBM’s software platform for developers, data scientists, and analysts to develop, run, and manage AI models.

• AutoAI for building model pipelines
• Ability to manipulate, cleanse, and structure data on-site
• Model risk evaluation and management
• Built-in metrics monitoring and insights
• Integrated data visualization tools

See more: Artificial Intelligence: Current and Future Trends

IBM AI Partnerships

IBM offers the companies the chance to become a Watson AI partner to get hands-on support from their AI experts.

Partners are also able to join IBM’s live AI workshops and webinars at select locations.

IBM AI Use Case

IBM’s AI solutions have been used by thousands of clients in a variety of industries from all around the globe.

GM Financial, the financial arm of General Motors, serves millions of customers in the automotive industry. 

One issue they faced was the lack of engagement with their previous customer support chatbot.

“So, our first chatbot was just an FAQ bot. It didn’t leverage artificial intelligence by any means. And it was very unsatisfactory,” says Bob Beatty, EVP of customer experience at GM Financial.

They utilized Watson Assistant to answer customer questions and improve employee workday.

“We’re looking at Watson as another agent,” Beatty says. “And we’re telling our team members you have a new team member, and it’s IBM Watson Assistant.”

User Reviews of IBM AI

Overall, IBM AI Watson solutions have positive reviews regarding efficiency and quality.

A few downsides that some corporate users describe are the lack of compatibility with some systems and apps, slow loading time, and a learning curve.

TrustRadius: 8.8 out of 10

Gartner Peer Insights: 4.4 out of 5

Capterra: 4.3 out of 5

Industry Recognition of IBM AI

IBM has a track record of releasing acclaimed AI products.

Watson won the prestigious Gottlieb Duttweiler prize in 2019 for its outstanding contribution to the well-being of the economic environment.

Additionally, IBM Watson OpenPages recently won the Red Dot design award for the best in design.

IBM in the AI Market

IBM holds the largest share of the AI software market (8.8% in 2019), according to a 2020 report by IDC.

Microsoft holds the second largest share of the AI software market in the report (5.6%), and SAS ranks third (4.4%).

The AI software market was worth an estimated $3.5 billion in 2019, IDC says.

It is the fifth consecutive year IBM ranks as the market share leader in the report.

See more: Top Performing Artificial Intelligence Companies