How IBM is using analytics to help companies make better products

IBM has been using the Internet of Things (IoT) in car testing for "a long time," according to Charles Henderson, global head of IBM X-Force Red.

TechRepublic's Dan Patterson met with Henderson to discuss how IBM plans to use its Watson technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to protect the connected car.

"What we noticed was that the industry largely consumed the testing in a nature that wasn't the best for their overall security posture," Henderson said.

SEE: Research: Defenses, response plans, and greatest concerns about cybersecurity in an IoT and mobile world (Tech Pro Research)

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Similarly, in cars and IoT devices, the technologies that make up these products are made by different companies, and therefore are tested separately, which makes it difficult for the companies responsible for putting together the end product.

"It's a bit like herding cats trying to get all the testing on the same page," Henderson said.

As a solution, IBM has structured the testing in a programmatic method, in order to perform discrete testing as products are being built. Once products are put together, IBM performs solution-based testing in a manager portal.

The company organized testing in a fashion that is more up to date, Henderson said. "In many ways I think we just modernized the backend management of testing and made it easier for these companies to consume," he added.

SEE: Infographic: Almost half of companies say cybersecurity readiness has improved in the past year (Tech Pro Research)

IBM believes it can help its customers succeed is through testing analytics, and using Watson and other IBM tech to predict bad outcomes before they are implemented into a product.

"As great as it is to find a vulnerability that's been worked in a product before it chips, and fix it, it's even better if we can prevent the vulnerability in the first place," Henderson said.

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