Eunju Lee, President of IBM Korea, "Automation is Fundamental for AI Acceleration... Providing Perfect Solutions"

IBM Automation Solutions Consider Integrated Visibility and Network
Generative AI-Based Tool IBM Concert Also Unveiled

Lee Eun-joo, President of IBM Korea, is making a presentation at the press conference held on the 13th.
[Photo by IBM Korea]

Lee Eun-joo, President of IBM Korea, emphasized the importance of automation in corporate operations to accelerate hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI), and announced a business strategy based on this.

At a press conference held on the 13th at IBM Korea headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Lee said, "Within the next five years, generative AI will create one billion new applications, but there will be a shortage of personnel to handle the upcoming changes," adding, "Automation must be a fundamental aspect of corporate technology operations, not a choice."

She continued, "IBM provides the most comprehensive automation solutions in the industry," and said, "We consider all aspects including integrated visibility, networks, technology-related costs for clients, and methods for gaining insights."

Regarding automation, IBM integrates and provides various information across multiple environments such as public and private clouds and edge devices through Instana. Using Aptio, companies can understand the costs and value of technology investments based on data, while Turbonomic helps optimize resource management. These technologies can also be applied to optimize graphics processing unit (GPU) resources, which are a challenge when building large language models (LLMs).

Lee evaluated that hybrid cloud and AI technologies have reached a mature stage where they can provide practical help for business growth. Hybrid cloud has been identified as the necessary infrastructure to run AI anywhere. Hybrid cloud is a system that combines 'public cloud' using external infrastructure, 'private cloud' utilizing internal infrastructure, and 'on-premises' where servers or data centers are located within the company.

Earlier, IBM announced the acquisition of HashiCorp, a company that automates multi-cloud and hybrid environments through infrastructure and security lifecycle management, for $6.4 billion (approximately 8.79 trillion KRW). IBM plans to support customers in easily transitioning to and operating multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments through HashiCorp.

Lee said, "We felt the need for automation and the underlying operational systems, so we believe we have a complementary relationship with HashiCorp," adding, "From IBM’s perspective, there is value in expanding automation solutions that allow customers using AI to more easily connect and manage infrastructure and applications."

She also added, "For customers who want to use IBM’s cloud, we provide data centers, and we are expanding in countries with greater demand while enabling multi-vision use in places with less demand."

Regarding the domestic strategy, Lee said, "Since AI has just started, our strategy for the Korean market is primarily focused on consulting."

Additionally, Lee unveiled IBM Concert, a generative AI-based tool scheduled for release. IBM Concert is based on WatsonX, an AI model trained on data from various fields such as finance, law, and IT, and identifies problems across the client’s app portfolio while providing predictions and solutions.

Meanwhile, Kate Soul, Director of the Generative AI Research Program at IBM Research, introduced InstructLab, developed in collaboration with global open-source solution company Red Hat. InstructLab aims to enhance the performance of LLMs and supports enterprise developers in building industry-specific models.