IBM to Apply Analytics to War on Terror - 1 views

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  #1 Weiye Loh on 14 Oct 09

   

  Big Blue will supply its analytics know-how to a key U.S. military force in the battle against terrorism
  
  October 13, 2009
  By Stephen Baker
  
  TECHNOLOGY
  
  Can the analytic science that powers operations at Wal-Mart (WMT) and Federal Express (FDX) make inroads against terrorists? IBM (IBM) is going to give it a shot. Big Blue's Global Services Div. just landed a five-year, $20 million contract to apply its analytical know-how to the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the key military force in the battle against terrorism.
  
  For years, industry has been using analytics to make so-called supply chains run well, ensuring companies are able to pull together all the pieces they need, at the right time, to build everything from airliners to chip fabs. But according to Kevin P. Green, a retired Navy vice-admiral who heads up defense consulting for IBM Global Business Services, the military has lagged behind. "In the past, they've had to depend on heroic administration, people responding on very short notice and putting together disparate systems," Green says. An operation in Afghanistan, for example, requires pulling up data on manpower, repair parts, weapons, food, and is often carried out piece by piece on different computers in place.
  
  The new approach, which will take years to fully implement, would start with a model of the operation, and then suggest the most efficient and effective deployment of all the parts.
  
  Ooo. Interesting. Businesses nowadays already hold so much economical power, sometimes larger than countries. In fact, more than half of the world's largest economies are business (source: http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/221/47211.html). With the possibility of businesses converting their technologies for warfare, I wonder how the future will be like? Perhaps war will be waged between companies, companies and countries, etc? I wonder if such a time is to come, should I fight for the company that pays me my salary? Or the country that conscripted me into national service?

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Big Blue will supply its analytics know-how to a key U.S. military force in the battle against terrorism <br /> <br /> October 13, 2009 <br /> By Stephen Baker <br /> <br /> TECHNOLOGY <br /> <br /> Can the analytic science that powers operations at Wal-Mart (WMT) and Federal Express (FDX) make inroads against terrorists? IBM (IBM) is going to give it a shot. Big Blue's Global Services Div. just landed a five-year, $20 million contract to apply its analytical know-how to the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the key military force in the battle against terrorism. <br /> <br /> For years, industry has been using analytics to make so-called supply chains run well, ensuring companies are able to pull together all the pieces they need, at the right time, to build everything from airliners to chip fabs. But according to Kevin P. Green, a retired Navy vice-admiral who heads up defense consulting for IBM Global Business Services, the military has lagged behind. "In the past, they've had to depend on heroic administration, people responding on very short notice and putting together disparate systems," Green says. An operation in Afghanistan, for example, requires pulling up data on manpower, repair parts, weapons, food, and is often carried out piece by piece on different computers in place. <br /> <br /> The new approach, which will take years to fully implement, would start with a model of the operation, and then suggest the most efficient and effective deployment of all the parts. <br /> <br /> Ooo. Interesting. Businesses nowadays already hold so much economical power, sometimes larger than countries. In fact, more than half of the world's largest economies are business (source: <a href="http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/221/47211.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/221/47211.html</a>). With the possibility of businesses converting their technologies for warfare, I wonder how the future will be like? Perhaps war will be waged between companies, companies and countries, etc? I wonder if such a time is to come, should I fight for the company that pays me my salary? Or the country that conscripted me into national service?</div>

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