IBM & State of Illinois reveal plans for National Quantum Algorithm Center

Pegasystems releases new edition of Pega Smart Investigate and Infocap partners with Digital Business Institute to unleash “new wave” of digital transformation

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Michael Hill
12/18/2024

PEX Network’s weekly bulletin rounds up the latest industry vendor news including product releases/updates, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and leadership changes.

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IBM to build National Quantum Algorithm Center in Chicago

Tech giant and process mining provider IBM is collaborating with the State of Illinois to establish the new National Quantum Algorithm Center in the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) in Chicago. Anchored by IBM and other quantum computing pioneers including the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the center will be fueled by IBM’s next-generation quantum computer, IBM Quantum System Two, which the company plans to deploy in Chicago in the coming year, according to a press release.

Quantum computing is a multidisciplinary field of computing that uses quantum mechanics to solve complex problems far quicker than classical computers. Within the National Quantum Algorithm Center, quantum information experts, experimentalists and domain experts across industries will share a unified objective to uncover yet unknown algorithms that leverage quantum-centric computing, including those which combine quantum and classical supercomputing resources across workflows. These teams will explore rigorous experimentation to determine how to execute workloads for complex, industry challenges and within future hybrid supercomputing architectures.

“We are proud of the progress we have made to bring useful quantum technology to the world, and this new partnership with the State of Illinois and its thriving innovation ecosystem brings us one step closer to defining the future of computing,” said Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of IBM.

The news comes in the wake of Google’s recent quantum computing breakthrough with its new “Willow” chip. According to Google, Willow succeeded in solving a computational problem so com-plex it would have taken today’s best super-computers an estimated 10 septillion years to solve it — vastly longer than the history of the universe.

Watch Lisa Williams, global operations talent strategy and employee experience director, manufacturing and engineering operations at Dow, discuss embracing new technology

Accenture launches generative AI learning program powered by Stanford Online

Global professional services company Accenture is launching an on-demand generative AI learning program powered by content from Stanford Online to equip business/technology leaders with knowledge and skills and drive greater business value for their organizations while balancing societal considerations. The Generative AI Scholars Program offers more than 40 hours of self-paced, best-in-class online learning taught by leading Stanford faculty and lecturers through Stanford Online course material, combined with industry insight from Accenture experts, according to Accenture.

”As an educator at heart, I hold a profound sense of pride in creating ways for individuals not only to grasp the transformative potential of AI but also to empower leaders to prepare their organizations for new ways of working in today’s digital economy and develop an understanding of the profound impact AI will have on our society in the coming years,” said Lan Guan, Accenture’s chief AI officer and head of its Center for Advanced AI.

Watch Jon Atienza, senior manager, intelligent automation at The Coca-Cola Company, reflect on AI's positive impact on customer experience

Pegasystems releases new edition of Pega Smart Investigate

Enterprise transformation vendor Pegasystems announced a new edition of Pega Smart Investigate featuring expanded automation and generative AI capabilities to help banks process payment exceptions and investigations faster and more efficiently. With a dramatically improved user interface, the new Pega Smart Investigate Enterprise Edition enables end-to-end process automation and supports the latest ISO 20022 standards to help financial institutions tackle the growing volume of payment exceptions while reducing operational costs and improving client satisfaction, according to a press release.

Pega Smart Investigate Enterprise Edition includes several new innovations including:

Expanded automation and improved workflows
Advanced AI agents for guidance and summaries
Improved architecture and user interface

“This new version of Pega Smart Investigate represents a significant leap forward in payment exception handling,” commented said Ryan White, director, product management at Pegasystems. “By combining advanced automation with generative AI capabilities, we’re helping banks transform what has traditionally been a complex, manual process into a streamlined, intelligent workflow that can dramatically reduce resolution times and improve the client experience.”

Infocap and Digital Business Institute unleash “new wave” of digital transformation

Intelligent automation (IA) vendor Infocap AI Corp is partnering with the Digital Business Institute (DBI) at Boston University Questrom School of Business to encourage a “new wave” of digital transformation. The joint project is designed to empower future-facing leaders across credit unions who are focused on accelerating growth and delivering even greater value to their members through digital transformation, according to a press release.

“We’re thrilled to embark on this initiative with the DBI,” said Nathaniel Palmer, president and CEO of Infocap. “Our mission is to serve as a co-innovation partner supporting clients who put their own members at the center of their gravity.”

Infocap will draw on the institute’s data-driven research and hands-on learning with a partnership focused on driving real innovation in digital strategy and customer engagement, demonstrating the value of collaborative research between academia and real-world industry, added Professor Peter Howard, executive director of the DIB.

Watch Nao Anthony, senior manager in OPEX at Commonwealth Bank, and Tariq Munir, APAC financial planning transformation lead at PepsiCo, discuss the complexities and challenges of digital transformation

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