Techaisle Blog

The Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 4, launched at CES 2024, is a highly anticipated device that lives up to the hype. This ultra-portable notebook is a testament to the advancements in AI PC technology and showcases Intel's new Meteor Lake Ultra 9H processor and an AI-specific NPU. It offers a compelling package for SMBs, with its unique selling points being its sophisticated design, dual-toned top cover, ultralight portability, the world’s first 13-inch laptop with a 74-WHr battery, and a nice balance between power and style.

My first encounter with the Thinkbook brand was with a Thinkbook Plus Gen 1 in November 2019. The notebook's 'Think' pedigree, focus on the SMB segment, and the unexpected E-Ink screen on the lid piqued my interest. It was an intriguing design. Fast forward to September 2022, and the innovation difference between the Gen 1 and Gen 3 was nothing short of exponential. The ultrawide display on a laptop made multitasking more accessible and allowed users to see more content with fewer distractions. The massive and roomy display is a visual treat, a productivity enhancer, and ideal for Windows 11 snap layout. Straddling the line between business, work, and life, ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 boasted Dolby Vision for lifelike images, blue light reduction, and 2 X 2W Harman Kardon audio for superior sound.

My latest experience with a Thinkbook incarnation, the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4, is a testament to the brand's commitment to mobility. The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 notebook model I am using features a 13.5-inch, 2.8K HDR400 display with Dolby Vision, making for smooth and vibrant visuals, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 500 nits. It also has EyeSafe low blue light certification, ensuring a comfortable and productive user experience. On the audio side, it includes four Harman Kardon speakers with built-in smart amplifiers and Dolby Atmos certification for immersive sound.

Weighing just 2.56 lbs and measuring a mere 0.5 inches thick, the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is designed for easy portability. Its thin profile is not a compromise on durability - the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is built to endure the bumps and knocks of everyday travel, instilling a sense of reliability and trust. Its aluminum finish and tastefully designed logo give it a look of sophistication that belies its price. The laptop's design ensures it sits comfortably on the lap without feeling top-heavy, making it an ideal companion for flights, daily commutes, or working on a couch in a work-at-home setting. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is great for mobile professionals seeking a sleek and portable laptop and users who appreciate a high-quality build. Its combination of performance, portability, and premium design make it a top choice for a wide range of users. It has a Copilot key, which provides the ability to quickly and easily access Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant directly from the laptop's keyboard.

Enterprises are grappling with AI's transformative power, a technology poised to automate and elevate both creative and analytical tasks. Despite its early stages, AI adoption holds immense growth potential. Recognizing this, IBM took center stage at Think 2024, showcasing its unwavering commitment to AI innovation.

IBM's leadership in driving enterprise AI is evident through its three key pillars: open-source initiatives, which democratize AI and make it more accessible; leveraging the combined expertise of its consulting arm and ecosystem partners, which ensures the highest quality of AI solutions; and significant updates to the watsonx platform, which enhance the performance and capabilities of AI. These updates are about technological advancements and making AI more accessible and impactful for businesses worldwide. By prioritizing openness, affordability, and flexibility, IBM is breaking down barriers and paving the way for widespread AI adoption.

Open-Source Innovations and InstructLab

AI, a field deeply rooted in open collaboration, has been shaped by a tradition that dates back to its inception. Consider Alan Turing's groundbreaking 1950s paper, 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence,' which introduced the world to AI. This vision turned into reality thanks to the open sharing of work by countless researchers worldwide, laying the foundation for the AI we know today. IBM, a torchbearer of this tradition, continues to place open-source innovation at the core of its latest AI initiatives, inviting users and businesses to be part of this rich and impactful tradition.

IBM has unveiled a family of Granite models, a significant addition to the open-source AI ecosystem. These models, with parameter counts ranging from 3 billion to 34 billion, have been trained in 116 programming languages. They are available in base and instruction-following variants, offering a wide range of applications from complex modernization to bug fixing. These models represent some of IBM's most advanced language and code capabilities and are available under Apache 2.0 licenses on collaborative platforms such as HuggingFace and GitHub. This exciting development opens up a world of possibilities.

IBM's approach to AI development sets it apart from other major companies. While many have chosen to release pre-trained models, withholding the datasets used for training, IBM has taken a different path. It has offered open-source models, democratizing AI development and inviting clients, developers, and experts worldwide to explore new AI advancements in enterprise settings. This unique strategy, coupled with IBM's commitment to quality and efficiency, ensures that these models consistently generate high-quality code superior to many alternative large language models (LLMs) and excel at various code-related tasks, surpassing larger open-source counterparts.

“We firmly believe in bringing open innovation to AI. We want to use the power of open source to do with AI what was successfully done with Linux and OpenShift,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna at IBM’s Annual Think Conference.

To further its commitment to open-source AI, IBM has announced InstructLab, an open-source project designed to address challenges in fine-tuning LLMs for specialized tasks. This project focuses on scalability by efficiently handling large volumes of data for model training and specialization by tailoring models to specific industry needs.

The cybersecurity landscape is undergoing a significant shift, driven by a surge in spending across all business segments. According to Techaisle SMB and Midmarket Security Adoption Trends research, the combined IT security spending (excluding managed security services) for global SMBs and Midmarket companies is projected to reach a staggering US$90 billion in 2024, reflecting a healthy 9.4% increase from 2023. This data paints a clear picture: businesses of all sizes are prioritizing cybersecurity and investing heavily in defense mechanisms.

Interestingly, the growth in spending is not uniform across the board. The most significant increases are anticipated from high-growth, highly innovative companies. A striking 21% of high-growth SMBs and 26% of high-growth midmarket firms are expected to bolster their IT security budgets by at least 15% in 2024. These figures underscore these companies' unique challenges and the need for tailored cybersecurity strategies. Very innovative businesses are also demonstrating a strong commitment to security, with 18% of SMBs and 21% of midmarket companies in this category planning to increase their spending by 12% compared to the previous year.

At the core of an SMB's resilience lies cyber resilience, the nexus that links cybersecurity, business continuity, and overall preparedness. It's not just about defense; it's about bouncing back from any crisis, whether a cyberattack, natural disaster, or economic downturn. Cyber resilience ensures operations continue smoothly even in turbulent times by encompassing prevention, response, and recovery. This comprehensive approach not only ensures business continuity and protects sensitive data but also plays a pivotal role in fostering customer trust. Techaisle survey data reveals that 35% of SMBs and 46% of upper midmarket firms view the shift from cybersecurity to cyber resiliency as not just important but crucial.

Over the past four years, the IBM-AWS partnership has evolved into a unique success story. Unlike many other collaborations, this partnership is a complete 360-degree relationship, encompassing a wide range of collaborations. These two tech giants have achieved remarkable milestones in a relatively short timeframe. IBM Consulting, for instance, boasts an impressive number of AWS certifications (over 23,000) and competencies (19). They are also working together on the cutting-edge field of Generative AI (Gen AI). The partnership has fueled significant growth in adopting Red Hat Open Shift on AWS (ROSA), a native service within the AWS console, proving instrumental in IBM's hybrid cloud strategy. This strategy prioritizes co-existence between cloud and mainframe environments. The focus on collaboration extends to mainframe application modernization, where IBM and AWS have developed valuable patterns that showcase the combined power of these technologies. Additionally, a clear roadmap has been established for watsonx on AWS, with integrations underway with SageMaker, Bedrock, and other AWS products to accelerate Gen AI development and generate a wealth of practical use cases.

The partnership extends beyond just collaboration on specific technologies. IBM software is experiencing a surge in popularity on the AWS platform, with 29 products now available as-a-service offerings. This is part of a larger picture that includes 29 IBM software products and 44 transactable marketplace listings on AWS. The resell model for these offerings has also seen expansion, now encompassing five countries: the US, France, Germany, Denmark, and the UK. Furthermore, a two-tiered distribution model has been established in these countries with industry leaders like Ingram Micro, TD Synnex, and Arrow, further strengthening the reach of these combined solutions. Notably, a significant portion of IBM's partners are already established AWS partners. These partners recognize the value proposition of adding IBM solutions to their offerings, creating a win-win situation for all parties involved – IBM, AWS, and their partners, who can now deliver even more comprehensive solutions to their customers.

In the latest move, IBM and AWS have announced a strategic partnership that promises to reshape the landscape of AI and data technology. This alliance will provide partners and clients unprecedented access to advanced technologies, opening up new avenues for growth and innovation. The collaboration between these two tech giants means clients will now have enhanced access to IBM's robust AI and data platforms through AWS's expansive marketplace. This integration allows for the seamless adoption of sophisticated tools to drive business transformation. With IBM's technology becoming available on AWS, the marketplace is poised to expand significantly. Partners can leverage this opportunity to offer a broader range of services and solutions, catering to the diverse needs of businesses across various industries. The synergy between IBM's AI and data expertise and AWS's cloud infrastructure is expected to deliver enhanced business value. Clients can expect more efficient operations, improved customer experiences, and the ability to tap into new markets, thanks to the comprehensive solutions provided by this partnership.

The IBM-AWS partnership is more than just a collaboration; it's a fusion of strengths that will empower partners and clients. As the partnership evolves, we can anticipate a wave of innovation that will lead the way in AI and data technology, ultimately benefiting businesses around the globe.