IBM Think conference

IBM held a conference named World of Watson, centered around its AI products and Watson, a QA computer AI system in Las Vegas, on October 29 – November 2.{{cite web | url=https://www.thekurzweillibrary.com/world-of-watson-2017 | title=World of Watson – 2017 « the Kurzweil Library + collections }} IBM delivered several speeches related to Watson's capabilities and its possible integration to health and business sectors, which were criticized 2 years later by IEEE Spectrum to be exaggerated.{{Cite web|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/how-ibm-watson-overpromised-and-underdelivered-on-ai-health-care|title=How IBM Watson Overpromised and Underdelivered on AI Health Care – IEEE Spectrum|website=IEEE Spectrum}}

IBM rebranded its World of Watson convention as IBM Think to be the company's flagship business conference that includes all major IBM products along with Watson. It was held in Las Vegas, on March 19–22. The topics of the conference were mainly about blockchain, AI, data science, quantum computing and cloud.{{Cite news |last=Kofroth |first=Melissa |date=April 18, 2018 |title=Riding the AI Wave for the Next 25 Years – A chat with two clever fellows who attended IBM Think 2018 |url=https://www.dnb.com/perspectives/master-data/ibm-think-2018-recap-interview.html |work=Dun & Bradstreet}} IBM announced the creation of an AI assistant tool called Watson Assistant,{{Cite web |title=IBM offers up Watson Assistant, its answer to Amazon's Alexa |author-first1=Ben Fox|author-last1=Rubin|date=March 20, 2018|url=https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/ibm-offers-up-watson-assistant-its-answer-to-amazons-alexa/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=CNET |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Baig |first=Edward C. |title=IBM Watson unveils the AI-infused Watson Assistant. It's no Alexa or Siri |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2018/03/20/ibm-watson-ibm-watson-seeking-join-exclusive-club-occupied-siri-alexa-and-gunveils-watson-assistant/439020002/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}} and that they AI-enhanced some of their products such as IBM Cloud with the help of Watson, which was criticized by outsiders to not be practical despite years of development.{{Cite web |title=IBM roadmap of cloud, AI-enabled IT drives Think conference {{!}} TechTarget |url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/conference/IBM-roadmap-of-cloud-AI-enabled-IT-drives-Think-conference |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=IT Operations |language=en}} A partnership between IBM and Apple to enhance apps with Watson's AI was revealed as well.{{Cite web |date=2018-03-21 |title=IBM and Apple announce new partnership to create smarter mobile apps {{!}} IT World Canada News |url=https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/ibm-and-apple-announce-new-partnership-to-create-smartest-ever-mobile-apps/403074 |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=www.itworldcanada.com |language=en-US}} IBM unveiled a 1x1mm chip reportedly compatible with Blockchain and as powerful as microprocessors of 1990s that they dubbed "world's smallest computer".{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Paul |date=2018-03-19 |title=IBM just unveiled the 'world's smallest computer' |url=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/3/19/17140116/ibm-worlds-smallest-computer-grain-of-salt-solar-powered |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=The Verge |language=en}} IBM also revealed IBM Q, a family of quantum computers that can be accessed via cloud.{{Cite web |last=Bloomberg |first=Jason |title=IBM Bets Company On Exponential Innovation In AI, Blockchain, And Quantum Computing |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/03/22/ibm-bets-company-on-exponential-innovation-in-ai-blockchain-and-quantum-computing/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Think Campuses, a trade exposition area were also introduced for the first time.{{cite web | url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101232748/https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-date=2018-01-01 | title=Think 2018 | IBM | website=IBM }}{{Cite news |last=Mathews |first=Kayla |title=The Most Exceptional Parts of Think 2018 |url=https://irishtechnews.ie/the-most-exceptional-parts-of-think-2018-ibm-in-vegas-reviewed-by-kayla-mathews/}}

The conference was held in Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA, on February 12–15.{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=Melia |title=IBM conference with registration of 30,000 makes move to Moscone Center |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/IBM-conference-with-registration-of-30-000-makes-13608462.php |access-date=2024-02-18 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}} Topics included cloud, AI, data, analytics, infrastructure and more, a lot similar to previous year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/conference/IBM-Think-2019-coverage-Spotlight-on-data-and-AI-analytics|title=IBM Think 2019 coverage: Spotlight on data and AI analytics | TechTarget|first=Craig|last=Stedman|website=Enterprise AI}}{{Cite web |last=Soni |first=Virendra |date=2019-02-18 |title=IBM CEO reveals three core areas for moving to Chapter 2 of digital transformation |url=https://wire19.com/chapter-2-of-digital-transformation/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Wire19 |language=en-US}} IBM announced Watson Anywhere, allowing Watson AI tools to be used outside of IBM's own cloud services.{{Cite web |date=2019-02-15 |title=Why IBM Is Untethering Watson AI Software from Its Cloud |url=https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/ibm/why-ibm-untethering-watson-ai-software-its-cloud |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Data Center Knowledge {{!}} News and analysis for the data center industry |language=en}} Harish Natarajan, a grand finalist in 2016's World Debating Championships, had a debate challenge with IBM's Project Debater and won against it while the debate showed state of AI's advancement.{{Cite web |last=Metz |first=Rachel |date=2019-02-12 |title=IBM's fast-talking AI machine just lost to a human champion in a live debate {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/11/tech/ai-versus-human-ibm-debate/index.html |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=IBM's Project Debater loses debate but shows off AI prowess {{!}} TechTarget |url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/news/252457450/IBMs-Project-Debater-fails-to-win-debate-with-human |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Enterprise AI |language=en}} Several big customers of IBM had speeches in the conference as well, talking about the impact of IBM's AI/ML products and Power Systems had on their businesses.{{Cite web |last=Moorhead |first=Patrick |title=IBM Rolls Out Big Customers At Think 2019 Using AI, ML, DL On Power Systems |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2019/03/01/ibm-rolls-out-big-customers-at-think-2019-using-ai-ml-dl-on-power-systems/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Forbes |language=en}} This year also included a 4-day training program titled Think Academy that provided certification and hand-on lab experience to participants.{{cite web | url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108021858/https://www.ibm.com/events/think | archive-date=2019-01-08 | title=Think 2019 | IBM | website=IBM }}

The conference was planned to be held in San Francisco again, on May 4–7. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was made online along with several locally hosted events and interactive sessions. IBM also put a ban on employees to not attend face-to-face conferences with more than 1000 people.{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Rosalie |title=IBM cancels its biggest event of the year over coronavirus fears, as it makes a new rule that employees can't go to a conference with over 1,000 attendees |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-think-canceled-employees-large-events-coronavirus-fears-2020-3 |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} This time topics were heavily centered around AI, data, cloud, 5G and various open technologies that were developed under IBM and its subsidiaries.{{cite web | url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227153237/https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-date=2020-02-27 | title=Think 2020 | IBM | website=IBM }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/conference/IBM-Think-2020-AI-security-trends-and-analysis|title=IBM Think 2020: AI, security, COVID-19 news, trends and analysis | TechTarget|first=Kassidy|last=Kelley|website=Enterprise AI}}{{Cite web |last=Conklin |first=Audrey |date=2020-05-05 |title=IBM hosts Think 2020 conference with focus on AI, 5G coronavirus solutions |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/ibm-hosts-think-2020-conference |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=FOXBusiness |language=en-US}} IBM announced several changes to Red Hat, an open-source software and Linux company that IBM bought for 34 billion dollars a year ago,{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/09/ibm-closes-red-hat-acquisition-for-34-billion/|title=IBM closes Red Hat acquisition for $34 billion|first=Greg|last=Kumparak|date=July 9, 2019}} Changes include shifting company's focus to hybrid cloud and 5G compatibility.{{Cite web|url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchcloudcomputing/news/252482688/IBM-Red-Hat-move-users-toward-edge-computing-5G-networks|title=IBM, Red Hat move users toward edge computing, 5G networks | TechTarget|website=Cloud Computing}} IBM revealed Watson AIOps, an AI tool to manage IBM built on Red Hat's OpenShift cloud computing software.{{Cite web |last=Bajarin |first=Tim |title=IBM's Watson AIOps – A Killer App For CIOs |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/timbajarin/2020/05/12/ibms-watson-aiopsa-killer-app-for-cios/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=IBM's Watson AIOps aims to help networks run smoothly {{!}} TechTarget |url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/news/252482679/IBMs-Watson-AIOps-aims-to-help-networks-run-smoothly |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Enterprise AI |language=en}} Along with other topics, IBM Research unveiled its ambitious roadmap for quantum computing.{{cite web | url=https://www.codemotion.com/magazine/data-science/ibm-think-digital-2020-quantum-computing-is-a-game-changer-for-enterprise/ | title=IBM Think Digital 2020: Quantum Computing is a Game Changer for Enterprise | date=15 May 2020 }}{{Cite news |last=Snyder |first=Alison |date=September 15, 2020 |title=IBM releases roadmap to quantum computing "inflection point" |url=https://www.axios.com/2020/09/15/ibm-quantum-computing-roadmap}}

Two online conferences were held for different regions, on May 11 for Americas and May 12 for APAC, Japan and EMEA. Topics of this year, albeit similar to the previous ones, were centered around hybrid cloud and AI.{{cite web | url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331152247/https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-date=2021-03-31 | title=Think 2021 | IBM | website=IBM }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252500930/Think-2021-AI-and-Automation-dominate-IBMs-growth-strategy|title=Think 2021: AI and automation dominate IBM's growth strategy | Computer Weekly|website=ComputerWeekly.com}}{{Cite web |last=Moorhead |first=Patrick |title=IBM Think 2021– All In On Hybrid Cloud And AI |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2021/05/14/ibm-think-2021all-in-on-hybrid-cloud-and-ai/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Forbes |language=en}} During the conference, IBM has announced several new projects such as IBM WebSphere Hybrid Edition, a commercialized version of IBM Mono2Micro and Watson Orchestrate, an AI assistant tool that is later renamed Watsonx Orchestrate and became a subfeature of Watsonx in 2023.{{Cite web |title=IBM Introduces Watson Orchestrate for Task Automation |url=https://www.infoq.com/news/2021/05/ibm-ai-watson-orchestrate/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=InfoQ |language=en}}{{cite web | url=https://www.ibm.com/blog/ibm-think-2021-key-announcements/ | title=IBM Think 2021: Key Announcements | website=IBM | date=11 May 2021 }} IBM reported 120x increase in quantum processing speed of Qiskit, an open source quantum computing SDK maintained by the company, and revealed Qiskit runtime to enable traditional computer processing when its desired within the SDK.{{Cite web |last=Greene |first=Tristan |date=2021-05-11 |title=IBM Think 2021 kicks off with AI innovations and some interesting quantum news |url=https://thenextweb.com/news/ibm-think-2021-kicks-off-with-ai-innovations-and-some-interesting-quantum-news |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=TNW {{!}} Deep-Tech |language=en}} IBM announced a 1 billion dollars worth of investment to its partnership programs as well.{{Cite web|url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchitchannel/news/252500611/Big-Blue-talks-1B-partner-investment-at-IBM-Think-2021|title=Big Blue talks $1B partner investment at IBM Think 2021 | TechTarget|website=IT Channel}}{{Cite news |last=Horton |first=Christine |date=May 12, 2021 |title=IBM Explains How It's Spending $1 Billion on Partners |url=https://www.channelfutures.com/channel-business/ibm-explains-how-it-s-spending-1-billion-on-partners}}

File:IBM Think 2022 Toronto june 2 2022.jpg.]]

The conference was held digital and face-to-face in Boston, on May 10–11. Several other conferences in attendance were held in various cities around the world. This time the conference was centered around quantum computing, a field IBM started to be prevalent about along with other usual topics like AI and cloud. In the conference IBM announced its goal to achieve a 4,000+ qubit processor built with multiple clusters of modularly scaled processors.{{Cite web|url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/news/252518017/IBM-pledges-to-push-boundaries-in-quantum-computer-roadmap|title=IBM pledges to push boundaries in quantum computer roadmap | TechTarget|website=Data Center}}{{Cite web |title=IBM promises a 4,000 qubit quantum computer by 2025: Here's what it means |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-promises-a-4000-qubit-quantum-computer-by-2025-heres-what-it-means/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=ZDNET |language=en}} IBM also announced updates regarding Qiskit and company's growth in AI sector.{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=John |date=2023-12-04 |title=IBM Quantum Summit: Two New QPUs, Upgraded Qiskit, 10-year Roadmap and More |url=https://www.hpcwire.com/2023/12/04/ibm-quantum-summit-two-new-qpus-upgraded-qiskit-10-year-roadmap-and-more/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=HPCwire |language=en-US}}{{cite web | url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302084202/https://www.ibm.com/events/think/ | archive-date=2022-03-02 | title=Think 2022 | IBM | website=IBM }}{{cite web | url=https://newsroom.ibm.com/2022-05-10-IBM-Kicks-Off-Think-2022-Conference,-Convening-a-Worldwide-Community-of-Clients-and-Partners | title=IBM Kicks off Think 2022 Conference, Convening a Worldwide Community of Clients and Partners }} IBM also announced multiple partnerships with other companies including providing SaaS and Red Hat software to AWS, a rival cloud service provider.{{Cite web|url=https://techchannel.com/Trends/06/2022/ibm-think-2022|title=IBM Think 2022 Showcases Powerful Product Lineup, Partnerships, Sustainability and Skills Initiatives | TechChannel|date=June 2022 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchcloudcomputing/news/252518198/IBM-steps-up-its-cloud-partnership-strategy-with-AWS-deal|title=IBM steps up its cloud partnership strategy with AWS deal | TechTarget|website=Cloud Computing}}

The conference was held in Orlando, FL, on May 9–11.{{cite web | url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131023258/https://www.ibm.com/events/think | archive-date=2023-01-31 | title=Think 2023 | IBM | website=IBM }} The conference was expanded to other regions via one day local events titled Think on Tour. For the main conference, Think Forum was revealed as a platform for atendees to talk with tech business leaders, which shifted Think's definition as an expo to that of a forum.{{Cite web |last=Boucher |first=Rachel |date=2023-05-24 |title=IBM Think Starts Anew with a Personalized Flagship Experience |url=https://www.eventmarketer.com/article/ibm-think-new-chapter-personalized-flagship/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Event Marketer |language=en-US}} The program of the conference included similar topics to previous years such as hybrid cloud, AI and automation and futuristic quantum computing talks.{{Cite web |last=Kissling |first=Reynold |date=2023-05-17 |title=A Recap of IBM Think 2023 |url=https://techchannel.com/conferences-and-events/a-recap-of-ibm-think-2023/ |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=TechChannel |language=en-US}} IBM unveiled many new projects and products such as Watsonx, a generative AI tool and IBM Quantum System Two, a quantum computer.{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Jeffrey |date=May 10, 2023 |title=IBM Reveals Plans to Offer IBM WatsonX Generative AI Platform |url=https://www.channelfutures.com/artificial-intelligence/ibm-reveals-plans-to-offer-ibm-watsonx-generative-ai-platform |work=Channel Futures}}{{cite web | url=https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-12-04-IBM-Debuts-Next-Generation-Quantum-Processor-IBM-Quantum-System-Two,-Extends-Roadmap-to-Advance-Era-of-Quantum-Utility | title=IBM Debuts Next-Generation Quantum Processor & IBM Quantum System Two, Extends Roadmap to Advance Era of Quantum Utility }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.wwt.com/blog/ibm-think-2023-recap-and-highlights|title=IBM Think 2023 – Recap and Highlights|date=May 26, 2023|website=www.wwt.com}}

The conference took place from May 20–23 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. May 20th was the IBM Partner Plus Day dedicated to IBM's partner community, featuring an opening keynote, networking sessions, and geography panels.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-08 |title=Think 2024 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108215907/https://www.ibm.com/events/think |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=web.archive.org}} The subsequent days offered a variety of keynotes, sessions, and demonstrations. Key topics included scaling businesses with AI and hybrid cloud, the transformative power of AI and automation, and building architectures to support scaled AI. Attendees had access to a special Blue Block Party at Harpoon Brewery.

The conference is scheduled for May 5–8 in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center. The themes are planned to be AI Productivity, AI Trusted Data, Scalable AI Architectures, and Cost Optimization.{{Cite web |title=IBM Think 2025 |url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=www.ibm.com |language=en}} Examples of implementation will be shown from Ferrari, UFC, the US Open, and The Masters. In addition to the main event in Boston, the conference will extend its reach through the "Think on Tour" series, visiting 12 cities worldwide.{{Cite web |title=IBM Think 2025 {{!}} On Tour |url=https://www.ibm.com/events/think/on-tour |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=www.ibm.com |language=en}}

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Category:Recurring events established in 2018