t cht lk complexity and streamline operations for more innovation and cost-effectiveness .
t cht lk complexity and streamline operations for more innovation and cost-effectiveness .
Since the launch of watsonx , IBM has over 700 client pilots running and managing over 1,200 AI models globally . IBM has also increased the accessibility of watsonx by making it available on AWS Marketplace , reaching 92 countries worldwide , including 18 in Africa . To name a few examples , IBM are leveraging watsonx ’ s geospatial foundation model built from NASA ’ s satellite data to ensure climate resilience with the Government of Kenya .
watsonx is enabling local scientists to track and visualise tree-planting activities to assist the government ’ s goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032 . Working with Neostream Technology , an IBM business partner based in Kenya , IBM successfully deployed and integrated IBM Instana with M-GAS – a premium provider of liquefied petroleum gas in the country .
The deployment of Instana has provided real-time monitoring and visibility . This has empowered M-GAS to track critical business applications with granular application-level insights . This has empowered M-GAS to address issues across all layers of their technology stack that previously could not be delivered by traditional monitoring tools .
Instana ’ s intuitive interfaces and customisable dashboards have offered rapid issue identification and resolution , fostering team collaboration , minimizing downtime , and enabling M-GAS to intervene proactively to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to their customers .
In the Middle East , IBM partnered with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority to launch an open-source Arabic Large Language Model , ALLaM on watsonx . This has enabled the deployment of Arabic gen AI models , which opens the possibility of building AI models for Africa using the continent ’ s rich and diverse languages .
Globally , working with Transport for London , IBM deployed IBM Maximo to assist in managing the
Cleanroom technology for modern African enterprises
In the past , hackers would encrypt an organisation ’ s production data and the organisation would then resort to its backup to restore its data . These days , attackers target the backup data and try to encrypt it first , before going after the production data . This means that since the backup is also compromised , the organisation is forced to pay the ransom .
Considering the enhanced sophistication of cyberattacks , modern African organisations should consider adopting cleanroom technology to effectively protect their most critical data .
Cleanroom technology is essentially designed to be another layer of protection that can be added to an existing backup environment , which seamlessly integrates and communicates with the security systems that are already in place . While the traditional requirements for backup have not changed , enforcing the 3-2-1 backup rule will enhance an organisation ’ s existing data management systems , particularly as backup environments are now required to have additional layers of protection .
LEFT : Hemant Harie , Managing Director , Gabsten Technologies
RIGHT : Aslam Tajbhai , Head of Solutions , Data Management Professionals South Africa
By adopting cleanroom technology , organisations will have to adhere to the 3-2-1 back rule , which calls for three copies of data , two of which are stored in different locations and one that is kept off-site in air-gapped storage . Once a copy of the data is air-gapped and stored off-site , this immutable copy can be used to seamlessly recover data to an isolated , secure and uncontaminated location .
Cleanroom recovery facilitates automated recovery of the control plane , management server or COM server and integration of a tertiary copy of the data that is air gap protected , while an easy-to-use auto recovery wizard does the rest . When cyber attackers strike , cleanroom recovery is designed to orchestrate recovery into a clean , isolated location . This service is available to customers on-demand , so they only need to pay for it when they use it .
The main advantage for organisations using cleanroom technology is that they do not need to maintain a like-for-like costly secondary site or environment for recovery testing . This would typically require having the same amount of systems , storage , CPU and compute power available to do the tests .
By adopting cleanroom technology , organisations essentially do not need a disaster recovery environment if they have an air-gapped copy of their data . The full recovery processes can be evaluated using the service provider ’ s workflows and automation , allowing the organisation to still tick all its compliance boxes .
day-to-day maintenance efforts for more than 10,000 internal technicians within the London Underground . Above ground , the software enables the tracking , support and oversight of numerous contractors – helping extend existing equipment ’ s life and keeping commuters happy . p
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