AI Tech
PR Newswire | October 26, 2023
Today IBM (NYSE: IBM) launched watsonx Code Assistant, a generative AI-powered assistant that helps enterprise developers and IT operators code more quickly and more accurately using natural language prompts. The product currently delivers on two specific enterprise use cases. First, IT Automation with watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed, for tasks such as network configuration and code deployment. Second, mainframe application modernization with watsonx Code Assistant for Z, for translation of COBOL to Java on IBM Z.
Designed to accelerate development while maintaining the principles of trust, security, and compliance, the product leverages generative AI based on IBM's Granite foundation models for code running on IBM's watsonx platform. Granite uses the decoder architecture, which underpins large language model capabilities to predict what is next in a sequence to support natural language processing tasks. IBM is exploring opportunities to tune watsonx Code Assistant with additional domain-specific generative AI capabilities to assist in code generation, code explanation, and the full end-to-end software development lifecycle to continue to drive enterprise application modernization.
According to a recent IDC report, "Because it relies on a model trained on curated data, watsonx Code Assistant can help enterprises improve code quality by propagating best practices through code recommendations, instead of polluting enterprise code bases with code generated by models trained on unvetted repositories."2
With this launch, watsonx Code Assistant joins watsonx Orchestrate and watsonx Assistant in IBM's growing line of watsonx assistants that provide enterprises with tangible ways to implement generative AI, said Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Growth, IBM Software. Watsonx Code Assistant puts AI-assisted code development and application modernization tools directly into the hands of developers – in a naturally integrated way that is designed to be non-disruptive – to help address skills gaps and increase productivity.
Additionally, IBM Consulting brings deep domain expertise across these use cases working closely with clients across industries such as banking, insurance, healthcare and government, to build strategies to allow them to take advantage of the potential of generative AI and code generation to accelerate modernization.
IT Automation - IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed
The Ansible Automation Platform helps enterprise developers and IT operators implement automation, using Ansible Playbooks, for IT tasks including infrastructure management, hybrid cloud deployment, network configuration, application deployment and more. With IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed, platform users can input plain English prompts to automatically generate task recommendations for Ansible Playbooks that adhere to best practices in task creation and maintenance. This way, a greater number of team members can create Ansible Playbooks more efficiently and implement automation engineered to be more resilient and easier to support without in-depth training.
Technical Preview Key Data:
Approximately 4,000 developers participated in the technical preview.
85% overall average acceptance rate of the AI-generated content recommendations. (from July 27 – Oct 23, 2023, based on over 41,000 recommendations)
Productivity improvements in the range of 20-45%.
"Red Hat has already shown what domain-specific AI can do for IT automation at the community level," said Ashesh Badani, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Red Hat. "The release of watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed has the potential to close skills gaps, create greater organizational efficiencies and free enterprise IT to deliver even more business value."
The Hybrid Cloud Platforms team within the IBM CIO Office uses Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform to support a wide range of tasks within their IT environment whether it's patching, resolving vulnerabilities, or running regular health checks of their systems. Bob Epstein, Leader of IBM CIO Hybrid Cloud Platforms, expects that the number of developers able to produce Ansible Playbooks with the full release version could increase as much as 10x as watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed empowers other team members such as Site Reliability Engineers who can use natural language to generate Ansible-specific automation tasks.
"I like to look at our modernization journey in these stages: In the past we were crawling, doing a lot of things manually. Then, when we started automating, we were walking. Once we implemented Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, we were running. And as we look ahead, with watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed, I think we will be able to fly," said Robert Barron, Architect, Hybrid Cloud Platforms, IBM CIO Office.
Mainframe Application Modernization – IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z
IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z helps enable faster translation of COBOL to Java on IBM Z and enhances developer productivity on the platform. It is being designed to assist businesses in leveraging generative AI and automated tooling to accelerate their mainframe application modernization – while allowing clients to take advantage of the performance, security and resiliency capabilities of IBM Z.
Today, the product follows the application modernization lifecycle, starting with an application discovery capability, which maps out a technical understanding of the application and its dependencies. Then, an automated refactoring capability leverages the information captured in application discovery to identify selected elements to decompose the monolithic application into modular COBOL business services. Finally, watsonx Code Assistant for Z leverages generative AI to transform individual COBOL business services into object-oriented Java code. The next step in the lifecycle is validation testing. Anticipated in a future release, the product will support automated test case generation to validate the new COBOL or Java services.
TCS and IBM hold a long-term partnership that fosters a collaborative ecosystem to develop joint successes for their customers and stakeholders. Leveraging this partnership and the deep contextual knowledge, TCS has grown a purpose-led, dedicated, full-service practice for in-place application modernization.
"There is a significant need for the developer productivity gains that generative AI can bring to transform applications on the mainframe," said Keshav Varma, ISU Head, Technology, Software and Services Business Unit, TCS. "While watsonx Code Assistant for Z has only just become available, we have several clients that have already requested that we create proofs of concept for them. With decades of enterprise experience from both our companies, we look forward to building on our deep partnership with IBM using watsonx."
IBM Consulting Brings Expertise to Help Clients with IT Automation and Modernization
Early IBM Consulting engagements for both watsonx Code Assistant for Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed and watsonx Code Assistant for Z aim to provide clients with the ability to deliver continuous automation, Ansible Playbook productivity, quality improvements, and transformation of IT operations – in addition to helping them identify the right application areas to modernize with Z.
For those looking for more personalized use cases with watsonx Code Assistant, IBM Consulting and IBM Client Engineering can work side-by-side with clients to identify specific pain points and solve critical business and technical challenges from the users' perspective. IBM Consulting brings deep industry expertise in application modernization, IT automation and generative AI via dedicated Red Hat and watsonx practices that work closely with IBM Research, IBM Technology and Red Hat.
Statements regarding IBM's future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only.
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AI Tech
Silobreaker | November 07, 2023
Silobreaker, a leading security and threat intelligence technology company, has announced the launch of its new AI tool, Silobreaker AI. This tool is designed to assist threat intelligence teams in collecting, analyzing, and reporting on intelligence requirements, thereby enabling faster, intelligence-led decision-making within organizations.
The AI tool, which will be integrated into the Silobreaker intelligence platform, can summarize and extract key information from Silobreaker’s own analyst content and generate topical threat reports. These reports can then be used by stakeholders to make informed decisions.
Per Lindh, CTO of Silobreaker, described the tool as a 'cheat code' for threat intelligence teams, providing faster insights into threats and enabling decisive action to reduce risks. The tool also augments Silobreaker’s range of threat intelligence capabilities, adding computer-aided learning and automation techniques to streamline the collection, analysis, and dissemination of open-source intelligence data.
While the introduction of Silobreaker AI promises to revolutionize threat intelligence, it's important to consider potential drawbacks. The reliance on AI could potentially lead to overdependence, reducing human oversight and possibly missing nuanced threats that require human judgement. Additionally, the effectiveness of the tool is dependent on the quality of the data it's trained on, which could limit its accuracy if not properly managed.
On the other hand, the benefits are substantial. Silobreaker AI can accelerate the production of high-quality intelligence reports, enabling faster, more informed decision-making. It provides threat intelligence teams with faster insights into threats, allowing for more decisive action to reduce risks. The tool also augments Silobreaker’s range of threat intelligence capabilities, adding computer-aided learning and automation techniques to streamline the collection, analysis, and dissemination of open-source intelligence data. This could significantly improve efficiency and productivity in threat intelligence teams.
About Silobreaker
Silobreaker is a software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that specializes in threat intelligence. It streamlines the intelligence cycle, from managing cyber, physical, and geopolitical PIRs to collecting, processing, analyzing, and disseminating structured and unstructured data from various web sources. The platform aids intelligence teams in identifying and prioritizing threats, enabling decision-makers to mitigate risk, protect revenue, and drive business results swiftly. Silobreaker caters to a diverse clientele, including corporate, government, military, and financial services sectors, addressing various use-cases across cyber and corporate security, competitive intelligence, incident management, market intelligence, risk analysis, asset management, and general OSINT.
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General AI
VMware | November 08, 2023
VMware updates Spring framework and Tanzu platform with AI and machine learning.
Enhancements include DORA metrics, Spring Boot 3.2, Spring Framework 6.1, and new machine learning and AI capabilities in Tanzu Data Services.
These updates aim to streamline application development, reduce costs, and enhance security for modern operating models in the generative AI economy.
On November 7, 2023, VMware introduced the latest updates to its Spring framework and Tanzu platform, aiming to empower software development teams to build higher-performing applications that leverage cutting-edge technology like AI and machine learning more efficiently and securely. The enhancements are designed to streamline application development, reduce costs, and improve security while accommodating modern operating models such as cloud containers and serverless environments.
Purnima Padmanabhan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Modern Apps and Management Business Group at VMware remarked that the velocity of innovation is what differentiates companies from the competition. The next-generation apps’ value will be elevated through new capabilities like ML and AI and scalability across any cloud. She added that they have been focusing on providing developers with exceptional tools and experiences for decades. As they mark the 20th anniversary of Spring, their latest enhancements and deep integration to the Tanzu Platform give application teams the ability to leverage more cutting-edge technologies like AI in new apps and take these apps to production safely, quickly, and more securely.
The Tanzu platform now incorporates DORA metrics to track software delivery performance and greater transparency in the developer portal. The integration of VMware Tanzu Spring Runtime into Tanzu Application Platform enhances the Java application development experience. Tanzu Application Service 5.0 offers new features, such as a Postgres tile for DBaaS and AI support.
Spring-related updates include Spring Boot 3.2 and Spring Framework 6.1, which enable GraalVM native images for better app runtime scalability, energy efficiency, and RAM consumption. Spring AI simplifies AI application development using the familiar Spring Framework, and Tanzu Spring Health Assessment helps organizations identify security issues in their Spring application portfolio.
Tanzu Data Services enhancements add machine learning and AI capabilities to data services. Tanzu Intelligence Services now include VMware Tanzu CloudHealth for achieving cloud sustainability goals, VMware Tanzu Guardrails for continuous compliance, and VMware Tanzu Application Catalog for open-source content security.
The Tanzu platform will continue to integrate into a common control plane, VMware Tanzu Hub, offering a refreshed user experience, integrated observability, migration planning and assessments, cost reports, and enhanced Intelligent Assist capabilities. These updates aim to help organizations develop, operate, and optimize modern applications more effectively in the generative AI economy.
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