IBM Marks 23 Years of Inventions, Patent Leadership

IBM, the global technology firm reportedly invests as much as $6bn on technology R&D annually; and it continues to shape the future of computing through cognitive computing and cloud platforms that will help clients drive transformation across multiple industries.

In such mood, IBM said it is committed to Africa\'s technology advancements, while remembering her 23 years of ‎Inventions and patent leadership.

In 2015, IBM topped the list of annual U.S. patent recipients, receiving 7,355 patents.

The company’s inventors have received more than 88,000 U.S. patents during the past 23 years.

As much as 70% of the world’s data is currently managed on IBM systems.

Often hailed as the silent engine behind the world’s ATM networks, 80% of Nigerian banks currently depend on IBM enterprise systems to drive their critical back-end and service delivery operations.

These were disclosed when Dr Uyi Stewart, Chief Scientist of IBM Research Laboratory, team was hosted by Adebayo Shittu, minister for Communication & Technology, in his office.

He welcomed IBM’s initiatives and noted that public – private sector collaboration has been the cardinal focus of the ministry under his watch.

Dr. Stewart’s team which was led by Taiwo Otiti, Country General Manager, IBM West Africa, also met with Engr. Aliyu Aziz, Director-General of the Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC); Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, Chairman, Senate Committee on Information Technology & Cybercrime and Mr. Uzoma Dozie, managing director, Diamond Bank Plc.

Africa is now home to two IBM research labs, located in Kenya and South Africa.

Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa also house IBM Client and Innovation Centers.

These facilities form part of IBM’s global network of technology hubs which support local tech innovators and developers and help to bring commercially viable technology solutions to businesses, governments and society at large.

Last year, IBM generated more than 2,000 patents in areas related to cognitive computing and the company’s cloud computing and services portfolio.

These investments will continue to drive transformation for IBM’s clients and business in years to come.

In one of technologies hottest areas of cognitive computing and artificial intelligence, IBM patented systems to help machines interpret motion-laden words allowing them converse in more natural ways, and to understand language by interacting with humans.

IBM patents in 2015 also created machines that mimic the brain, handle information overload, give machines good judgment, and help machines understand emotion.

More than 8,500 IBM personnel residing in the U.S. and across 46 countries were responsible for IBM's 2015 patent tally. IBM inventors who reside outside the U.S. contributed to more than 36% of the company's 2015 patents.
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