IBM, Telefónica Tech Tap Blockchain To Bolster Supply Chains

Telefónica Tech, a unit of the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica, and IBM have unveiled novel hybrid cloud products that will tap into blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technology and will help power “enterprise digital transformation,” according to a Monday (June 28) announcement.

For example, the two companies have developed a novel offering that makes use of the IBM Blockchain Platform to enhance the way in which firms monitor their assets across the supply chain. “The solution provides end-to-end supply chain visibility and securely enables traceability of any type of material with an open standard,” according to the announcement.

In addition, the two firms have made a virtual assistant that harnesses AI to simplify customer service for governmental organizations and large firms. That offering harnesses IBM Watson Assistant and is implemented on Telefónica Tech’s Cloud Garden, a hybrid cloud platform that operates on Red Hat OpenShift.

Both Telefónica and IBM “share a vision to bring next gen enterprise solutions to customers that address their unique digital transformation needs,” Steve Canepa, global managing director and general manager, IBM Communications Sector, said in the announcement.  “By harnessing technologies like AI and blockchain via an agile platform that enables flexible deployment — on prem or on any cloud — customers can leverage and tailor these solutions to support their specific innovation strategies.”

The news comes as IBM is launching new innovations in quantum computing, hybrid cloud and AI that will help “its clients and partners accelerate their digital transformations, return to work smarter, and build strategic ecosystems that can drive better business outcomes,”  according to an announcement in May.

“In the same way that we electrified factories and machines in the past century, we will use hybrid cloud to infuse AI into software and systems in the 21st century. And one thing is certain: This is a future that must be built on a foundation of deep industry collaboration,” IBM Chair and CEO Arvind Krishna said in the announcement.