The Role of IBM C2090-619 Certification in a Cloud-based World

As the technology industry grows, certifications have become a crucial aspect of career development for IT professionals. The IBM C2090-619 certification exam is one such certification that focuses on IBM Informix 12.10 System Administrator. This article offers all the information about the IBM C2090-619 certification exam, including its benefits, exam format, and study resources.

IBM C2090-619 Certification Exam Format

The IBM C2090-619 certification exam evaluates the candidate's proficiency in IBM Informix 12.10 System Administration. The IBM C2090-619 certification exam is also known as the IBM Certified System Administrator - Informix 12.10 exam. The exam code for this certification is C2090-619. The cost to take this exam is $200 (USD). The exam lasts 90 minutes, and candidates will be presented with 70 multiple-choice questions. To pass the exam, candidates must obtain a minimum score of 68%. Here is a breakdown of the IBM C2090-619 certification exam content.

• Installation and Configuration 17%

• Space Management 11%

• System Activity Monitoring and Troubleshooting 13%

• Performance Tuning 16%

• OAT and Database Scheduler 4%

• Backup and Restore 10%

• Replication and High Availability 16%

• Warehousing 4%

• Security 9%

Prerequisites for the Exam

To take the IBM C2090-619 Certification Exam, candidates must meet the following prerequisites.

1. Knowledge of SQL

Candidates should have a solid understanding of SQL (Structured Query Language) and be able to write basic SQL statements.

2. Knowledge of IBM DB2

Candidates should have experience working with IBM DB2 database software and be familiar with its features and functionality.

3. Basic knowledge of Linux

Candidates should have a basic understanding of Linux operating system commands and functionality.

4. Experience with IBM Data Studio

Candidates should be familiar with IBM Data Studio, which is a tool used to manage IBM databases.

5. Familiarity with data warehousing concepts

Candidates should have a basic understanding of data warehousing concepts such as data modeling, data integration, and ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes.

It is important to note that meeting these prerequisites does not guarantee success in passing the exam. Candidates should also have hands-on experience working with IBM DB2 database software and other related technologies. Additionally, it is suggested that candidates have experience working on real-world projects involving IBM DB2 and data warehousing to ensure they have a practical understanding of the exam topics.

Benefits of IBM C2090-619 Certification

The IBM C2090-619 certification is designed for professionals who work with IBM Informix 12.10 System Administrator. This certification exam helps professionals validate their expertise and knowledge in the field, enhancing their chances of career advancement. Here are some of the benefits of obtaining the IBM C2090-619 certification.

1. Validation of Expertise in IBM Informix 12.10 System Administration

The IBM Informix System Administrator Exam validates a candidate's proficiency and knowledge in IBM Informix 12.10 System Administration. This certification demonstrates that the candidate has the necessary skills and expertise to manage and maintain an IBM Informix 12.10 database system.

2. Increased Career Opportunities and Salary

Obtaining the IBM C2090-619 certification can increase a candidate's career opportunities and earning potential. Employers value certified experts and are more likely to offer promotions, salary increases, and better job opportunities to accredited candidates.

3. Enhancement of Professional Credibility

The IBM C2090-619 certification enhances a candidate's professional credibility in the IT industry. This certification demonstrates that the candidate is committed to their professional development and has invested time and effort in acquiring new skills and knowledge.

4. Access to a Community of Certified Professionals

Certified IBM Informix 12.10 System Administrators can access a community of certified professionals. This community provides a platform for networking, sharing knowledge, and collaborating on projects.

5. Opportunity to Work on Challenging Projects

The IBM C2090-619 certification can allow candidates to work on challenging projects. Certified professionals are often assigned to high-profile projects that require advanced skills and expertise in IBM Informix 12.10 System Administration.

Study Resources for IBM C2090-619 Certification Exam

The IBM Informix System Administrator Exam requires thorough preparation to achieve success. IBM offers various study resources to help candidates prepare for the exam, including.

1. IBM C2090-619 Exam Objectives

The IBM C2090-619 exam objectives outline the exam content and the skills required to pass the exam. Candidates should use this resource as the basis for their study plan.

2. IBM Knowledge Center

The IBM Knowledge Center is an online resource that provides comprehensive documentation on IBM products and solutions. It offers valuable information on IBM Informix 12.10 System Administration, which is the focus of the IBM Informix System Administrator Exam.

3. IBM Training Courses

IBM offers various training courses to help candidates prepare for the IBM Informix System Administrator Exam. These courses cover different topics related to IBM Informix 12.10 System Administration and are delivered online or in person.

4. Practice Tests

IBM provides practice tests that simulate the IBM Informix System Administrator Exam. These practice tests help candidates evaluate their readiness for the exam and identify areas that need improvement.

Conclusion

The IBM Informix System Administrator Exam is an excellent opportunity for professionals working with IBM Informix 12.10 System Administration to validate their skills and enhance their career prospects. With the proper preparation, candidates can pass the exam and gain the benefits of certification. This article overviews the IBM C2090-619 certification exam, including its uses, exam format, and study resources.

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How IBM and Oracle help businesses embrace the future of sustainable supply chains

Sustainability may be an overused and sometimes vague buzzword, but it’s an essential requirement for every part of a business, across customer relations and the regulatory environment, as well as for society. Oracle and IBM are two global leaders in sustainability, helping companies eliminate waste, make their supply chains more efficient and monitor equipment to make sure it’s performing at an optimal level.

Where sustainable supply chain operations are headed in 2023 (and beyond)

At Oracle CloudWorld in November 2022, Anna Visneski, an Oracle TV correspondent, talked to supply chain and sustainability experts from IBM and Oracle to get a read on the future of supply chain operations.

“Working in supply chain, and especially in logistics, you get exposed to a lot of the key areas where sustainability will make a difference,” says Joan Lim, Senior Manager of Product Marketing at Oracle. “We’re not talking about it enough. We’re not raising enough awareness. And it’s just so crucial now in everyday life to know about sustainability and better yet, to practice it.”

Rob Cushman, Global Leader in Sustainability and Supply Chain at IBM, agrees. “Sustainability is really the thread connecting everything that we’re doing in supply chain these days,” he says. “When we’re working with our clients, we are always asking how we can drive business change that incorporates sustainability and how to enable those changes with a new technology platform in the cloud.”

It’s no surprise that sustainability and logistics have become hot topics in the last two years amid massive economic disruptions that have spurred a re-evaluation of traditional supply chain models. So, what is IBM doing today that’s different from four or five years ago?

“There are some really exciting things that are changing in supply chain,” Cushman says. “We are focused on getting our clients to think about their transformation to a new supply chain model that’s much more sustainable as part of the journey that they’re going on to the cloud.”

Cushman sees more companies using data and investing in machine learning and artificial intelligence to drive “really radical changes” in business outcomes. “What we’ve learned is that we just can’t afford to think not about sustainability,” he says. “The pandemic proved that.”

Oracle and IBM: Harnessing synergies

For both Cushman and Lim, sustainability goes beyond a “passion project,” and they share the goal of shaping a better future. Oracle’s Lim says that listening to customers is the key to understanding where their business models are headed. We then “drive that change through the partnership with IBM and Oracle.” For IBM’s Cushman, 2022 was the year when a “big pivot happened” and most business leaders finally came to the realization that sustainability was imperative.

Companies today need to start thinking differently about their supply chains, and sustainable practices need to be designed into products right from the start, Cushman says. The design process is where 80% of the costs are committed and where 80% of the long-term sustainability impacts lie.

Sustainability also requires businesses to consider the entire lifecycle of a product, including how to bring products back into the business supply chain—or partner’s supply chain—in an end-to-end circular way. “We’ve got to go back to basics,” Cushman says. “We need to challenge all the assumptions in our product and supply chains and bake that into how we move things forward.”

Oracle’s Lim adds that one of the best ways to move ahead is to harness existing data to optimize the supply chain to drive sustainability. Companies can “start by just looking at their data, analyzing it and focusing on the various functional areas of the business where they can work towards achieving a business goal,” she says.

Beyond planning for sustainability, it is crucial to “execute on it,” Lim says. For most companies, that will mean making sure every person is held accountable for each part of the initiative. “It’s not something one person can do alone,” she adds. “It’s really a company effort.”

Learn how to embed sustainability across your supply chain »»

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What is IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation?

In today's fast-paced business environment, it is imperative to automate business processes to increase efficiency and productivity. IBM has introduced its Cloud Pak for Business Automation, which is a comprehensive and integrated platform that helps organizations automate their business processes. This article aims to provide an in-depth understanding of IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation.

Overview of IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation is an integrated platform that provides businesses with tools to automate their processes, manage their workflows, and gain insights into their operations. It offers a set of pre-built and customizable automation capabilities that can be deployed in a hybrid cloud environment. The platform leverages artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) technologies to automate complex business processes.

Benefits of IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation offers several benefits to businesses, including:

Increased Efficiency

The platform helps businesses automate their processes, reducing manual intervention and increasing efficiency. It allows businesses to streamline their workflows, reduce errors, and improve accuracy.

Improved Visibility

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation provides businesses with real-time visibility into their operations. The platform offers analytics and reporting capabilities that help businesses gain insights into their processes and identify areas for improvement.

Increased Agility

The platform enables businesses to quickly adapt to changes in the market. It offers flexibility and scalability, allowing businesses to easily add or remove capabilities as needed.

Features of IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation offers several features that help businesses automate their processes. Some of the key features of the platform include:

Process Automation

The platform offers tools to automate end-to-end business processes. It enables businesses to model, monitor, and optimize their workflows, reducing manual intervention and increasing efficiency.

Decision Automation

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation offers tools to automate decision-making processes. The platform leverages AI and ML technologies to automate complex decision-making processes, improving accuracy and reducing errors.

Document Processing

The platform provides tools to automate document processing. It leverages NLP technologies to extract data from unstructured documents, reducing manual intervention and improving accuracy.

Robotic Process Automation

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation offers tools to automate repetitive tasks. The platform leverages robotic process automation (RPA) technologies to automate tasks such as data entry, reducing errors and increasing efficiency.

Deployment Options for IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation can be deployed in a hybrid cloud environment, offering businesses flexibility and scalability. The platform can be deployed on-premises, in a public cloud, or in a private cloud, depending on the business's requirements.

Conclusion

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation is a comprehensive and integrated platform that helps businesses automate their processes, manage their workflows, and gain insights into their operations. The platform offers several benefits, including increased efficiency, improved visibility, and increased agility. It provides businesses with a set of pre-built and customizable automation capabilities that can be deployed in a hybrid cloud environment.

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Leadership during challenging times: Creating an employee-centric culture

Enterprises have been radically changing how they operate for the past two years as they replaced face-to-face interactions, adopted a hybrid model, and delivered a new experience for employees, customers, and partners. Leaders jumped from digital transformation awareness, and reluctance, to implementation to ensure they weren’t left behind. But a new trend has emerged—digital reinvention.

According to the latest McKinsey Global Survey, business leaders predict that by 2026, half of their revenues will come from products, services, or businesses that haven’t yet been created. This urgency for building new businesses reflects the belief that today’s products and services will be insufficient for addressing disruptions and meeting a sustainable future.

But this innovative trend surpasses external products and services. Many enterprises recognize that some of the innovative technologies that have taken hold in the last few years, like hybrid cloud and AI, could be used to digitally reinvent their own internal processes and empower them to become more resilient and user-focused. Not only does technology improve customer experiences by delivering strategic and innovative capabilities – it allows leadership to become employee-centric, which Paul Cormier, President and CEO at Red Hat and I discussed at the recent Chief Data and Technology Officer Summit, “Leadership During Challenging Times.

Employee centricity

Employees, at all levels, started rethinking their purpose, their values, and what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Trust and empowerment became vital. To succeed, leaders must create a culture where employees are enabled, trusted, and empowered to make decisions and not be afraid to make mistakes.

Remote working, well known by the open-source community, enabled leaders to change the culture of entire organizations – from hiring the best talent with no regard to location, to giving people a voice who used to miss out due to not being in the same physical space as the rest of their teams.

What does the future of enterprises look like?

Enterprises are becoming more intelligently automated, data-driven, and predictive; risk-aware and secure. Leaders are designing organizations for agility and speed by infusing AI across the foundational businesses functions: customer care, business operations, the employee experience, financial operations and, of course, IT operations.

As enterprises reinvent their business and re-architect their entire environment, having a flexible architecture is crucial. Working in a hybrid multicloud environment brings new complexity to this task. But new concepts that provide greater agility without sacrificing integration or governance, such as a data fabric architecture, are beginning to take hold. That will be the new trust as we move forward with these technologies.

To hear more from peers and learn tangible actions that you can customize and implement into your organization, watch the replay of CDO/CTO Summit “Leadership During Challenging Times.” I invite you to register for our CDO/CTO Summit series here. We will discuss AI in April and Data Fabric in June.

Source: ibm.com

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Climate change: IBM boosts materials discovery to improve carbon capture, separation and storage

Capturing it at the point of origin is thought to be one of the most effective ways to limit its release into the environment. Once captured, the gas could then be sequestered and stored for centuries.

But capturing and separating CO2 from exhaust gases in energy production and transportation is tricky. Moving it to a storage site so that it doesn’t enter the atmosphere again is also far from trivial. Researchers have been trying to improve these techniques for decades.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could help.

Our IBM Research team has turned to AI to accelerate the design and discovery of better polymer membranes to efficiently separate carbon dioxide from flue gases — the results that we will present at the upcoming 2021 Meeting of the American Physical Society.

Using molecular generative AI modeling, we have identified several hundred molecular structures that could enable more efficient and cheaper alternatives to existing separation membranes for capturing CO2 emitted in industrial processes. We are now evaluating these candidate molecules with the help of automated molecular dynamics simulation on high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.

We will also present the initial results of two other essential material discovery projects – dealing with carbon sequestration and storage.

Simulating carbon separation and conversion

Safely and effectively storing CO2 after it’s been captured is still a challenge. One promising approach is injecting the gas into geological formations. Indeed, experts confirm that “…pore space in sedimentary rocks around the globe is more than enough to sequester all the CO2 that humanity could ever want to remove from the air”. But the physics and chemistry of the process at a reservoir rock’s pore scale is not well understood. And the efficiency of CO2 conversion and storage also depends on the type of rock and the reservoir conditions.

To tackle the issue, we have created a cloud-based tool that simulates fluid flow of carbon dioxide in specific types of rock, allowing scientists to evaluate CO2 trapping and, eventually, conversion scenarios at pore scale. Ultimately, the technology could enable researchers and engineers to perform rapid analysis and optimization of the rock-specific requirements for mineralizing and storing CO2 efficiently, safely and long-term.

Also, we’ll have to accelerate the discovery of CO2-absorbing materials. It can take years, even decades, to discover a new material, or to determine which existing material is best suited to a particular carbon capture application. With our changing climate, there is no time to lose.

In a bid to speed up the process, we have created a cloud-based screening platform to rapidly sift through millions of potential CO2 adsorbents at the nanoparticle level. The tool should enable materials engineers to select the best materials for enhancing the absorption of carbon dioxide in a particular application.

The platform allows fast searches through large quantities of known structures, enabling faster discovery. For example, it could be used by a chemist to identify the most promising nanomaterials for an industrial process. Once the most viable candidates are identified, the computational framework could then inform chemical synthesis and material optimization for accelerating the discovery in the lab.

In all of our projects, we have combined AI, HPC and cloud technologies to greatly accelerate the discovery of new materials. Our efforts stem from the recently launched Future of Climate global initiative at IBM Research, which pools materials discovery technology and scientific know-how across IBM’s worldwide network of research labs. The broader portfolio also includes the research and development of strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of cloud computing and within the supply chain, as well as techniques to model the impact of climate change.

Of course, climate change is a global challenge, requiring the collaboration of academia and industry — a joint effort of the global research community. This is why IBM has recently become an inaugural member the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, along with other enterprises including Apple, Boeing, Cargill, Dow, PepsiCo and Verizon.

Only together we can advance and adopt our research outcomes at global scale, use our new solutions to formulate a long-term, sustainable climate strategy — and limit climate change.

Source: ibm.com

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IBM Certification Is For You?

The IBM Professional Certification Program is a way to obtain credentials and show your knowledge of IBM technology. IBM Certification programs vary from entry-level to advanced and include many various job roles for IT professionals. The program consists of reading or study material and a test. Once you pass the test, you will take a shiny new professional certification badge.

There are numerous benefits to obtaining IBM certification. Certification shows your capability and expertise in a particular subject - which in turn enables colleagues to recognize potential opportunities to utilize your skillset.

IBM hesitated to grant the client certain access rights and permission in their environment. They did not require the client to accidentally break the background and then be called to fix things. IBM undoubtedly would have been less suspicious had the client had an IBM certified employee to act as admin.

What Is the Meaning of the IBM Certification?

This IBM Certification enables you to demonstrate your proficiency in the latest IBM technology and solutions. We want to help establish that you can perform role-related tasks and activities at a specified competence level. Your support is beneficial if you wish to validate your skills and companies that want to ensure their employees' performance levels.

Who Is the Target Audience for IBM Certification?

IBM Professional Certifications are connected with an individual, not a company or organization. The target audience for certification includes Business Partner Firms, Customers, IBM internal employees, Independent Consultants who sell support, or service IBM products.

The Show is for any IT professional who recommends, sells, supports, and uses IBM products and solutions. You can work with IBM Analytics, IBM Cloud, IBM Security, or IBM Watson, to name a few.

The exams cost US$200 each, but IBM runs regular promotions. When you visit the IBM Information Management training and certification Web page, you will see any current advertising prominently displayed. You can also verify for free while visiting IBM’s Information on Demand conference or the International DB2 Users Group conference.

Each IBM Certification exam includes about 60 to 70 multiple-choice questions. You get credit for every question you answer correctly and must answer approximately 60 percent correctly to pass. You have 90 minutes to finish the exam. These numbers differ slightly by exam.

When you complete all of the program courses, you will earn a Certificate to share with your professional network and unlock access to career support resources to aid you to kickstart your new career. Many Professional Certificates have hiring partners that recognize the Professional Certificate credential, and others can better prepare you for a certification exam.

Key Takeaways from IBM Certification

The IBM Certification was an action-packed few weeks during which a lot of topics were covered, but here are the key takeaways:

• Data science is a highly flexible, diverse field that attracts people from a wide range of disciplines - learning data science is understanding how to use a set of tools and, more importantly, become comfortable using those tools to answer various questions thinking like a data scientist. Since IBM created the program, it relies heavily on IBM products like Watson and Cloud Services. This program built confidence in my programming abilities as well.
• When working on real-world projects, you are not going to have your handheld. Often, if you are beginning a project, you are starting with an empty document, and you are responsible for coming up with every line of code required to get to the results you are looking for. The final project in this program was a great primer to what that feels like.
• With IBM's comprehensive program, you only need the necessary computer skills and a passion for self-learning to succeed. Once you obtain the certifications, you will be armed with skills, experience, and a portfolio of data science projects that will help you begin an exciting career in data science and machine learning. In addition to earning a IBM Professional certificate, you will also have special access to join IBM's Talent Network, and as a member, you will receive all the tools you need to land a job at IBM.

What Is the IBM Certification Retake Policy?

The IBM exam retakes policy states the same certification test can only be taken two times within 30 days. However, if a certification exam is not made on the first attempt, then there is no obligation to wait before retaking the test. And, the candidates should not take the same test more than twice within any 30 days. If candidates pass the exam then, retakes are not permitted.

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IBM Certification: Your Key to Success

What Is the IBM Professional Certification?

The IBM Professional Certification is a way to earn credentials and demonstrate your knowledge of IBM technology. IBM Certification programs vary from entry-level to advanced and include many different job roles for IBM professionals. The plan consists of reading/study material and a test. Once you pass the test, you will receive a sparkling new professional certification badge.

Why Pursue IBM Certifications?

There are numerous benefits to earning certification. Certification shows your capability and expertise in a particular subject, which allows partners to recognize potential opportunities to utilize your skill-set.

In the scenario I mentioned above, IBM stopped to grant the client certain access rights and permission in their environment. They did not require the client to accidentally break the situation and then be called to fix things. IBM surely would have been less wary had the client had an IBM-certified employee to act as admin.

Who Can Obtain IBM Certifications?

The Program is for any IBM professional who recommends, sells, supports, and uses IBM products and solutions. You can go with IBM Analytics, IBM Cloud, IBM Security, or IBM Watson, to name a few.

How to Ace Your IBM Exam?

To help guarantee your success at exam time, IBM gives several test preparation options:

• Sample tests can help familiarize you with the test form and the types of questions. Answer keys are included. Sample tests are offered at no charge.
• Assessment tests assume the certification exams. They are an excellent gauge of whether you could benefit from additional study.

Be careful where you locate these tests, as usual, found on the Internet are questionable legality or currency. IBM gives the tests at the IBM Professional Certification website.

Value of IBM Certification

The Prometric and Edge Research survey also shows that IT decision-makers believe that certification benefits an organization in these critical areas:

• Skills and knowledge
• Retain employees’ skills current
• Show staff to new products
• Troubleshoot problems without the help of outside support
• Productivity
• Help staff do their jobs better
• Lead to more active implementation of IT solutions
• Increase the reliability and efficiency of the IT environment
• Reduce network downtime
• Staff value and productivity
• Benefit from robust return-on-investment
• Show competency to clients
• Make staff more valuable to the organization
• Increase staff retention

Document the Value of IBM Certification

IBM and Prometric have created the Why IT Certify website to find solutions to common questions about the value of IBM certification, including:

• Does certification aid you make more money and move up the career ladder faster?
• Does having certified employees help your business?
• Does certification help make faster quality solutions to the market?

The site includes salary surveys, industry reports, white papers, recommendations, and links to other certification resources.

Once you are certified, you are welcome to join the IBM Professional Certification Community. This members-only conference is an excellent way to continue to improve your skills, learn about new certifications, and make a lifetime of contacts critical to your professional success.

The Benefits of IBM Certification

1. Employability and Job Security

Certifications do more than validate professional expertise. They affirm a professional's responsibility to career-long learning. For employers, this matters. According to a study, 91 percent of hiring managers consider certifications when assessing potential candidates. Another 86 percent said they believed IBM certifications of high or ordinary importance.

It would improve if you also kept in mind that some certifications may be more in demand than others. Publications occasionally publish lists knowing some of that year's highest-demand IBM certifications.

2. Bigger Paychecks

IBM certifications do not inevitably carry automatic salary increases, but they can still quite literally pay off. According to a report from IBM, professionals who had earned an IT or project management certification within the last five years gained $5,242 more than their uncertified counterparts. Keep in mind that earnings tend to change from one certification and location to the next. Many resources can give more insight into the value of specific certifications within certain geographic markets.

3. Networking

Certified IBM professionals are a club all their own, and the company has its benefits. IBM reports that some networking communities and events are sold through particular vendors; others are established by motivated professionals online or through discussion networks. Certified professionals may also have more support on social networking sites, notes IBM. These networks can hold power for those looking for new employment opportunities or help on specific projects.

4. Career Flexibility

IBM certification, which offers certification training tools and materials, many IBM professionals have multiple certifications. These credentials do not just focus and certify their current skills, but also serve to diversify them. This can open up new professional doors for those who might need to switch gears.

Conclusion

The IBM certifications will keep your IT staff up to date on the latest techniques and security best practices or elevate your income and marketability. But being security-aware is not only for IBM professionals. All business staff should have a foundational knowledge of big data, and the risks technology poses.

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IBM Research Progresses Field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is the premier venue for publishing research work in human-computer interaction (HCI). This year, CHI was cancelled due to COVID-19, although some workshops will be held virtually. We plan to make recorded video presentations from IBM authors available in this post when available. SIGCHI will also make recorded presentations for full papers available in the ACM Digital Library. IBM Research had a strong body of work accepted to CHI 2020, including 9 full papers, 6 late-breaking work papers, 3 courses, 1 demo, 6 co-organized workshops, a panel, and a Special Interest Groups (SIG) meeting. Among them, one paper received the prestigious CHI Best Paper award, and another paper received an Honorable Mention award. These awards represent the HCI community’s recognition for top-quality research work.

IBM Research’s contributions to CHI 2020 focus on creating and designing AI technologies that center on user needs and societal values, spanning the topics of novel human-AI partnerships, AI UX and design, trusted AI, and AI for accessibility. In this post, we highlight a selection of our work on these topics, and provide a full list of accepted IBM work at the end.

Novel Human-AI Partnerships

As AI technologies become ever more prevalent and capable, researchers at IBM are envisioning novel forms of human-AI partnerships and investigating the human needs around them.

In a paper that received a Best Paper award, IBM researchers created a human-AI cooperative word guessing game and studied how people form mental models of their AI game partner. Through two studies — a think-aloud study and a large-scale online study — researchers investigated how people come to understand how the AI agent operates.

In the game, the agent gives clues about a target word and participants must guess the target word based on those clues. The paper investigates what conceptual models of AI agents should include and describes three components vital for people to form an accurate mental model of an AI system: local behavior, which includes conceptions of what kinds of hints the AI agent is likely to give or respond best to, global behavior, which includes conceptions of how the AI agent tends to play the game, and knowledge distribution, which includes conceptions such as whether or not the AI agent knows about specific people or attributes. The paper offers these categories as a guide for conceptual model development of all kinds of AI systems. In a large-scale study, the researchers found that people who have better estimates of the AI agent’s abilities are more likely to win the game, and people who lose more often tend to over-estimate the AI agent’s abilities.

Figure 1. Screenshot of the human-AI cooperative word guessing game

IBM Researchers, along with our academic partners in the IBM AI Horizons Network, have created a human-multi-agent negotiation platform in which people haggle with life-sized humanoid avatars in a simulated street market. These avatars can sense when they are being addressed by observing the buyer’s head orientation, and they are able to undercut one another’s offers. This work breaks new ground in several respects, including direct negotiation between humans and AI agents via natural language, the use of non-verbal human-agent communication via head orientation, and multi-lateral negotiation situated in an immersive environment. A late-breaking work paper describes this platform and associated research challenges, and early experiments indicate that human participants enjoyed the experience.

This negotiation platform provides a basis for a new international AI competition called HUMAINE 2020 (Human Multi-agent Immersive Negotiation), which is slated to be held in conjunction with IJCAI 2020. All are welcome to join the competition! View the web site for details and to sign up, and watch a sneak preview of the immersive environment in which the competition will be held.

Figure 2. Prototype of human-multi-agent negotiation platform

AI User Experience (AIUX) and Design 

HCI research often strives to produce design guidelines and practical approaches that help practitioners make technology more user-friendly. The era of AI requires innovation in design methods and processes that target the unique challenges inherent to user interactions with AI.

One of these challenges is in explainability. Understanding AI is a universal need for people who develop, use, manage, regulate, or are affected by AI systems. However, AI technologies are complex and often difficult to comprehend, such as the high-performing, yet opaque, ML models built with deep neural networks. To tackle this problem, ML researchers have developed a plethora of techniques to generate human-consumable explanations for ML models. At IBM, our open-source toolkit AI Fairness 360 makes these techniques easily accessible to ML developers.

In a paper that received an Honorable Mention award, IBM researchers studied the practices of twenty design professionals working on sixteen different AI products to understand the design space of explainable AI and pain points in current design practices. This research produced a set of actionable knowledge that bridges user needs with explainable AI (XAI) techniques, including the XAI Question Bank, a list of prototypical questions users have when asking for explanations in AI systems, and design guidelines to address these user questions.

Researchers at IBM also actively practice innovative, user-centered design approaches in their work developing new AI systems. In a case study paper, IBM researchers applied storytelling methods to design and validate the UX of an AI assistant for the oil & gas industry. Inspired by their findings from extensive user research, the researchers created a sketch-based video detailing the user experience of the AI assistant and how it would reshape and empower knowledge workers’ everyday tasks. This work shows the benefits of this sketch-based approach compared to traditional methods for validating UX design, such as wireframes, mock-ups, and storyboards.

In a late-breaking-work paper, IBM researchers documented how humanitarian aid workers could work together with an AI system to gain insights from different data sources to support decision-making practices around the allocation of resources to aid forcibly displaced peoples. In this collaboration between IBM Research and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), the team combined empirical data with a scenario-based design approach to derive current and future scenarios describing collaboration between humanitarian aid experts and AI systems.

Trusted AI

IBM Research is actively building and enabling AI solutions people can trust. HCI researchers play an important role in such efforts, as reflected in two late-breaking-work papers.

The number of AI models being used in high-stakes areas such as financial risk assessment, medical diagnosis, and hiring continues to grow. Correspondingly, the need for increased transparency and trust in such models becomes even more relevant. Although the specifics of these models differ across domains, all of these models face the same challenge: how to collect and disseminate the most important information about a model — it’s facts — in a way that is accessible to developers, data scientists, and other business stakeholders who make decisions about that model’s use. To address this need for transparency in how machine learning models are created, IBM researchers have promoted the concept of a FactSheet, a collection of information about an AI model or service that is captured throughout the machine learning lifecycle. Through user research with data scientists and AI developers, IBM researchers developed a set of recommendations that help guide the development of FactSheets, such as providing user guidance for authoring facts , and how to report the facts to the various involved stakeholders. These recommendations also provide AI system builders with a greater understanding of the underlying HCI challenges related to documentation AI systems.

Figure 3. Prototype of FactSheet

Data is the foundation of derived knowledge and intelligent technologies. However, biases in data, such as gender and racial stereotypes, can be propagated through intelligent systems and amplified in end-user applications. IBM researchers developed a general methodology to quantify the level of biases in a dataset by measuring the difference of its data distribution with a reference dataset using a metric called Maximum Mean Discrepancy. Evaluation results show that this methodology can help domain experts to uncover different types of data biases in practice.

AI for Accessibility

IBM Research is committed to creating inclusive and accessible technologies, and our efforts continue in the AI era. Accessibility researchers at IBM, together with our academic partners in US and Japan, published two full papers and two late-breaking papers at CHI 2020. The team has been exploring ways to help visually impaired people to recognize real-world and enhance the quality of life. Their work leverages rapidly-maturing AI technologies that are capable of understanding the surrounding environment of a visually-impaired person, such as friends’ facial expressions, products in a shop, and empty seats on a train. The team developed multiple systems that enable visually-impaired people to be more independent on a trip, at an office, or at home: a face recognition system using wearable cameras, a smartphone-based personal object recognition system called ReCog, which can be trained by blind users, a robot navigation system for dynamic targets that helps people find and navigate to objects in a room, such as an empty chair, and a smartphone-based navigation system that helps blind people stand in lines.

Figure 4. Interfaces of ReCog

Source: ibm.com

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Learning during Lockdown: An IBM Digital Credential Case Study

On the frontlines of IBM’s training and education programs, we have seen and experienced many milestones influenced directly by our organization’s digital credentialing strategy. Learner engagement has improved by a significant margin, digital course completion rates have increased exponentially, and skills coverage insights are dramatically improved.

These outcomes are achieved in large part by the implementation of a comprehensive credentialing framework to extend the application of digital credentials across the entire learning journey and not limiting them to only the highest stakes achievements. While high stakes credentials like formal certification may be the ultimate goal, we also recognize the importance of providing the learner with credentials reflecting achievement of important skill progression milestones and essential discreet level expertise acquired incrementally throughout the learning journey. Providing our learners with a more comprehensive and verifiable digital record of their investment in educational activities is a cornerstone of IBM’s credentialing strategy, and it also serves as an excellent way to gain improved visibility into talent development pipelines and trends.

So how does this credentialing strategy hold up during a global pandemic when our targeted audiences are restricted to working and learning in isolation and having to contend with a whole new set of distractions? Will skill development take a back seat to other priorities as individuals are trying to adjust to new ways of working, or will we see an increase in learning engagement and credentialing trends? Will our digital credential strategy serve as a catalyst for learner motivation and engagement during such unprecedented times? These were key questions we set out to find answers for, and we believe the results clearly reinforce the value and importance of investing in a thoughtful digital credential program framework to add value to our education and training initiatives.

What a difference a year and one global pandemic makes

We began our analysis by performing a simple side-by-side calculation of the total number of IBM digital credentials earned worldwide between January 1st and April 15th for both 2019 and 2020. The same analysis was also performed for the periods between Mar 1st and April 15th and again between Apr 1 – Apr 15. The last two measurements provided a more direct contrast between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and learner engagement in credentialed IBM training activities. The results imply a correlation between regional and country lockdown mandates and earned digital credentials: Note: COVID-19 was a well-established worldwide health concern by Mar 1, with a global pandemic formally declared on Mar 11.

◉ Jan 1 – Apr 15: 40% year over year increase in earned IBM digital credentials
◉ Mar 1 – Apr 15: 74% year over year increase in earned IBM digital credentials
◉ Apr 1 – Apr 15: 120% year over year increase in earned IBM digital credentials

These trends are further illustrated in the chart shown in figure 1:

As the severity of the global pandemic escalated and shelter-at-home mandates grew, the consumption of IBM credentialed learning activities rose almost proportionately. Figure 2 further reinforces this trend by illustrating the almost immediate increase in earned digital credentials in India within 24 hours of the country being placed on lockdown.

We have seen similar trends occurring across many other countries and regions around the globe and expect those trends to continue for some time to come.

What have we learned?

Two important lessons can be taken from this experience:

1. The resiliency of human nature is nothing short of amazing, and IBM’s eco-system of learners serves as a great reminder of this truth.

2. Never underestimate the impact of a thoughtful and well managed digital credential program as a means to motivate individuals to take ownership of their own skill development and to take advantage of every available opportunity to grow professionally – even during times of adversity.

Make no mistake – the work required to attract and engage learners is never complete. The lifecycle of measuring, analyzing, and adjusting training and credentialing programs is critical for realizing continuous success in capturing, keeping, and growing talent both within and outside the organization. Digital credentials are essential to this mission and should be an integral part of every organization’s training strategy.

Source: ibm.com

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The COVID-19 crisis reinforces the need for these supply chain methods

Anyone who has worked in supply chain management for a while knows that disruptions are inevitable. Unlike previous disruptions, the COVID-19 pandemic is less localized and the long-term impact on individual companies and entire industries is still unknown. It does, though, serve as the latest reminder of the importance of making supply chains more resilient to stresses.

IBM has been involved with more than 7,000 successful supply chain deployments around the globe spanning every major industry. Based on what we have learned, here are some suggestions for making your supply chains resilient.

1. Manage the ABCs: Many of us use ABC analysis to classify inventory items so we can work out ways to manage “A” items more aggressively to drive down overall inventory. “A” items account for the highest value over a period of time to your organization, with “B” and “C” items stepping down in relative value. Typically, organizations maintain low inventory and low risk of stockout by closely managing A items, while carrying higher amounts of B and C items to keep workloads down and provide high customer service.

A properly implemented strategy for B and C items will make it easier to respond when events disrupt the supply chain. If you can count on having plenty of B and C items, which aren’t as costly and represent typically 80% to 95% of your overall part numbers, then staff that is stretched thin during times of crisis can focus on solving supply problems for A items – a much smaller number of items. This allows you to keep your overall inventory under good control and deliver on more customer promises, even when the supply chain is impacted by an event.

2. Leverage analytics for shortage analysis: Most of us have seen a supply-versus-demand stockout. But many organizations have never built this simple analysis into a full report for real-time shortage visibility. Supply chain analytics can quickly help you identify precisely which items require the most urgent attention, which items are expected to run out one or two weeks from now, and so on. When you move into crisis mode, it’s critical that you’re able to identify items at risk of stockout so you can take early action.

Adding two relatively simple analytics to the standard supply-demand analysis can create a report that provides the insights you need. Those analytics include the ability to set up the report so that you can sort by first shortage date and, also, so you can either include or exclude inbound materials on order. This allows you to do two things:

◉ Identify the first instance of shortage. That way, the earliest problem items—where demand will exceed supply—rise to the top of the report.

◉ By including or excluding items with purchase orders, you can identify what action is needed. Items with planned deliveries may need to be expedited, or have deliveries confirmed so you can be confident that supplies will really arrive as scheduled. You’ll need to place new orders for other items as needed.

3. Use AI to manage supply chain disruptions: We all talk about being “less reactive and more proactive.” But, in fact, the best tools for managing supply chain disruptions are a combination of (i) tools that detect events faster and allow us to react faster for better outcomes; and (ii) tools that help us anticipate where and when supply chain disruptions are more likely so we can proactively get ahead of them. Both require the assistance of AI.

Let me provide an example. A big electronics manufacturer was hampered by limited visibility into supply planning and time-consuming manual processes. And so, the company was often missing opportunities to make timely decisions and mitigate disruptions. Deliveries would already be late or the options available would be limited and more expensive.

Using IBM Sterling Supply Chain through the Fast Start program, in just six weeks the manufacturer discovered how to automatically correlate supply and carrier data. This includes Advanced Ship Notifications and shipment status updates for greater and faster visibility into inbound logistics. The company also began to use AI to proactively search for and use information about external events that could impact their supply chain, tapping into weather updates, social media, news reports, and customs and border reports.

Empowering its people with real-time insights to make more informed decisions faster, that manufacturer can now deliver better outcomes when delays happen. They can even anticipate where and when disruptions may occur to turn them into opportunities.

Disruptions are inevitable, but good supply-chain practices help ensure that businesses are better prepared. That way, they’re able to navigate disruptions today and adapt to changing markets and business dynamics in the future.

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Are we running to the cloud hills too quickly?

From time to time, we invite industry thought leaders to share their opinions and insights on current technology trends to the IBM Systems IT Infrastructure blog. The opinions in these posts are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM.

With billions gained by cloud technology providers hailing multicloud and hybrid public cloud services as well as native cloud initiatives, are we overlooking some crucial points when discussing technology migrations? Mid to large-cap enterprises have substantial technology that exists either at their on-premises tech estate or housed within any given data center. Infrastructure-wise, there’s a lot to change when talking cloud specifics for said infrastructure, let alone a cloud-first program!

I’m a big advocate of reusing and repurposing data from the outset as this will bring down the multitude of layered services you will be told to purchase to get the most out of your data. But do we need to layer these services around our estate? The answer that will probably be on the tip of your tongue is “It depends.”

A recent Forrester study, in conjunction with IBM, highlights what is on the minds of CTO/CIO’s when making these cloud decisions. Enterprise technology environments have undergone many refreshes over the last few decades and bursting out to hybrid cloud services for the specific line of business applications/services. Our on-premises technology is seen as a management burden, a cost of ownership problem and more often as old technology! Although some of these statements can be viewed as accurate (depending on your standpoint), I would argue the following points:

Digitalization doesn’t necessarily need an external cloud approach; it requires planning and focuses on providing the right solution. If this method is taken, I bet some of you will agree with me when I say “on-premises technology is your first option” before outsourcing some of your critical IT Infrastructure. Most heterogeneous, on-premises technology has evolved to meet the new digital demands with burst out to hybrid services. Static site-based technology has gone through the pain of multiple API services and controls years back now, and we have gotten over the cloud buzz.

The Forrester report findings also sum up current cloud buying trends, highlighting IT enterprise estates not being a “one-size-fits-all solution” and with hybrid cloud adoption being on everyone’s tip of the tongue but not executing… yet.

Platforms such as the IBM Z Systems z Series has had more R&D dollars pumped into them than most tech platforms (billions) and the latest z15 generation reflects those advancements, which is just phenomenal!

The IBM Z series, LinuxONE, or even the now-overused term for this technology–mainframe–are all fantastic pieces of tech and are pretty much a cloud in a box (if you wish to use it that way). I have followed this technology for many years and say unprompted that if I had a choice of multiple vendors delivering services (hybrid cloud models), together with having to wade through endless contracts to ensure all liabilities are covered = I wouldn’t! (who would?). If I can have enterprise technology on premises with some of the best security, speed and resiliency built-in through one provider; I would!

However, it is often the case today that we demand limitless API’s for anything we may need to utilize in the future, and so we opt for the public hybrid cloud highway. But there are so many points to weigh up when considering this option–security, management, agility and scale, speed, access, the list goes on. Why not opt for localized technology that suits your needs with overspill to hybrid cloud vendors?

The IBM Systems platforms not only provide an absolute powerhouse of technology but also have encryption everywhere with speeds that can’t be matched by most conventional mainstream tech. They have built-in hybrid cloud connectors, they encrypt at hardware, software and in transit with the new passport data security options and are fast, very fast!

Supporting 2.4 million Docker containers on a single system and handling 19 billion encrypted web transactions per day without breaking a sweat are two examples that come to mind.

This technology may not apply to some of you, but my point is this. Don’t automatically jump to grab off-premises services using cloud initiatives. Take a look around and take what works for you. Cloud technology will only get more evolved as we progress with more interconnectivity for bespoke services, but they will also become more diverse and complicated to maintain/support.

I have always said that technical revolutions come around every ten years or so, which is also valid in the business world. We see this explosion of services and IT buzzwords that provides too many vendors for each new trend, and then we see a consolidation of them over 5-6 years. We are going through this right now, and if you don’t believe me check out some of the new options that the other prominent tech vendors are offering–on-premises replication from a hybrid cloud service!

Source: ibm.com

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Stay true to customer promises during times of uncertainty

Disruptions are nothing new, but today, supply chains are being stressed in multiple ways at the same time. Supply pressures, logistics limitations, dramatic demand mix changes, and overnight shifts from physical to online retail are just some of the challenges companies are facing. As a supply chain professional, how do you manage concurrent supply- and demand-side pressures, handle seismic shifts in fulfillment, adjust for the broader organization’s ability to execute, and still deliver on customer promises?

Managing through disruption will remain an important topic among supply chain leaders for years to come. Already we are seeing valuable lessons emerge as supply chains are tested to their limits and businesses innovate to push beyond. Here are some early observations and takeaways to help manage disruption today and get ahead of events in the future:

Intelligent, end-to-end visibility is the foundation. Companies are acting quickly. For example, pivoting supply out of affected areas into other lines of supply. However, if raw materials are still being produced in the impacted area, the ability to make enough finished goods is hampered. Intelligent, end-to-end visibility across the supply chain – into each source of supply and demand, including details on customers, orders and inventory – helps you identify potential pain points and develop effective contingency plans. With a deep understanding of how your business runs on a daily basis, you can take advantage of a range of approaches to address multi-layered challenges.

Manufacturing giant Parker Hannifin Corporation rolled out a global order orchestration framework, enabling it to receive, ship and accept returned orders from anywhere. Tight integration with the company’s warehouse management environment ensures a seamless, end-to-end ordering process—from purchase to picking and fulfillment.

Overlay transparency and authenticity in communication with partners. As organizations navigate this digital disruption journey, they are looking for new ways to drive efficiencies and increase resilience, while maintaining trust and transparency with suppliers. Technologies like AI and blockchain can help deliver deeper levels of insight to further understand and mitigate points of impact and contention. For example, these insights can be applied to multiple process optimization and transparency across ecosystems, to discover and quickly connect with alternative sources they trust. In turn, companies are able to continue to meet customer expectations despite unprecedented obstacles, and more effectively balance costs and risks. Introducing flexibility in their trading approach with partners – adjusting payment dates, shipping terms, sales and returns policies, and more – fuels collaboration and keeps supply chains moving forward. Those that have reached far into their supply chain and have a partner-minded business can respond faster to an ever-changing world.

Plan for contingencies so you can still deliver value. Disruptions are inevitable. But getting your customers what they need – when and where they need it – has never been more critical. It is possible to manage through complexity and preserve business continuity, while leaning in to cost optimization. When physical storefronts are no longer a channel to fulfill customer demand, your online presence becomes an integral part of your business – not just for revenue, but meeting customer expectations. Companies that are bold in their business continuity planning are the ones thinking creatively in the face of multi-layered challenges. They adapt to the unimaginable and are prepared to make tradeoffs between costs and risks to maximize responsiveness and keep more customer promises.

Eileen Fisher built a central inventory, order-promising and fulfillment hub — enabling true omnichannel retail capabilities and differentiated customer experiences — allowing them to build a solid foundation to drive growth.

Massive disruption to the supply chain requires a range of approaches. As times of complexity continue, supply chain leaders will keep learning and refining what works to satisfy customer demand. Strong leadership – recognizing the severity and impact of disruption on people’s lives, making bold moves and standing up for your values as a brand – is what customers expect in whatever market you serve. And this, perhaps, is the most important commitment you can make right now.

Source: ibm.com

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