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SA gets IBM's second research lab in Africa

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 25 Aug 2016
Dr Solomon Assefa, director, IBM SA lab (left) and professor Zeblon Vilakazi, deputy vice-chancellor, Wits University.
Dr Solomon Assefa, director, IBM SA lab (left) and professor Zeblon Vilakazi, deputy vice-chancellor, Wits University.

Computing giant IBM today opened a research lab in SA at the University of the Witwatersrand's Tshimologong Precinct in Braamfontein.

This is IBM's second research location on the African continent following a similar facility it opened in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013. These labs are part of the company's global research organisation of 12 labs comprised of 3 000 scientists. Both labs in Africa will work very closely.

During the official opening of the lab, Solomon Assefa, director for IBM Research in Africa, said the new facility will focus on three core areas - data-driven healthcare, digital transformation and exploring the universe - while working with organisations like the Square Kilometre Array.

He noted the Johannesburg lab is part of IBM's broader 10-year investment programme through the Department of Trade and Industry and working closely with the Department of Science and Technology.

IBM is not disclosing the specific financial details of the lab.

Also speaking during the official opening of the facility, professor Zebion Vilakazi, deputy vice-chancellor at Wits, said he was excited about the partnership with IBM to enhance innovations that will change lives in SA.

According to Assefa, projects at the lab span many partners, including the University of Witwatersrand, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, City of Johannesburg, City of Cape Town and SKA South Africa. "We are also collaborating with local start-ups in Johannesburg, including SiGNL and Altreality."

IBM Research Africa will conduct basic and applied research focused on exploring the use of cognitive computing, the Internet of things and big data to support SA's national priorities, drive skills development and foster innovation-based economic growth, said Assefa.

"The lab's team of scientists is already collaborating extensively with local universities, research institutions, innovation centres, start-ups and government agencies. This will help foster South Africa's emerging tech ecosystem and develop and scale new innovations."

He added the South African research facility supports IBM's Equity Equivalent Investment Programme.

"South Africa is a tremendous growth and transformation story, yet its increasing population and healthcare delivery shortfalls continue to pose challenges in the country," noted Assefa. "With the ability to detect patterns and discover new correlations, cognitive and cloud computing and the Internet of things can provide potential solutions."

The new lab features an infrastructure-as-a-service platform based on OpenStack connected to IBM Storwize.
The new lab features an infrastructure-as-a-service platform based on OpenStack connected to IBM Storwize.

"The launch of the IBM Research laboratory is an exciting milestone in the move towards a new era of globally competitive research, innovation and entrepreneurship that will be emerging out of the Tshimologong Precinct in Braamfontein," said professor Adam Habib, vice-chancellor and principal of the University of the Witwatersrand.

"Wits is delighted to be collaborating with IBM. We look forward to seeing top talent congregate to address the continent's most intractable problems and work on the world's next game-changing technologies."

The new lab features an infrastructure-as-a-service platform based on OpenStack connected to IBM Storwize for provisioning 80TB of storage for research projects.

The lab is located in the Tshimologong Precinct in Braamfontein - an inner-city area which is today re-emerging as a vibrant Johannesburg district. The two-level, 900-square metre lab has a DIY maker space with electronic design equipment and a 3D printer.

Agile work spaces provide a collaborative environment for IBM scientists to train and mentor Wits students and local start-ups. Developer communities across Africa will also have access, at no charge, to a LinuxONE Community Cloud located in Johannesburg, which acts as a virtual R&D engine for creating, testing and piloting emerging applications via the cloud.

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