IBM software bolsters Chinese spam SMS curb

BEIJING, CHINA: Even as the censorship war is going on in the Chinese soil, International Business Machines Corp (IBM) today said that it has developed a system for a Chinese mobile phone operator that blocks spam text messaging.

However, the company said that the software would not be used as a censorship tool. The system has been developed for a subsidiary of China Mobile, the world's biggest telecom operator and it is not designed to filter content or censor data and it is not technically capable of doing so, a media report quoted IBM spokeswoman Harriet Ip as saying.

“The anti-spam texting system IBM developed for Fujian Mobile is solely designed to improve the performance of telecommunications networks by blocking high network traffic associated with spam SMS activity," he told AFP.

According to Thomas Li, chief technology officer at IBM Greater China and director of IBM Research in China, the software would be controlled and operated by China Mobile only. He also said censorship would be technically challenging as China Mobile would have to add a content filtering component to the tool.

It was earlier reported that China Mobile is working with the public security administrations to crack down on unlawful texting activities, including racketeering and sending lewd content.

IBM opens China Lab

Meanwhile, IBM also announced the launch of a new predictive analytics software lab in Xi'an China. The lab will help IBM's clients see patterns in vast amounts of data and forecast trends before they occur for improved decision making and competitive advantage, it said in a statement.

The new lab will serve as a global hub for analytics development helping clients adopt predictive analytics capabilities tailored for their industry-specific requirements including banking, telecommunications, power grid, railroads, health care and urban management, said IBM.

The lab will include a dedicated team of more than 200 software engineers and IT architects focused on helping clients bring new predictive analytics solutions to market.

IBM said has invested more than $12 billion to build an analytics portfolio which includes organic innovation and acquisitions. In addition, IBM has assembled 4,000 analytics consultants with industry expertise, and opened a network of seven analytics centers of excellence.

IBM is working with more than 250,000 clients worldwide on predictive analytics, including 22 of the top 24 global commercial banks, 18 of the world's top 22 telecommunication carriers and 11 of the top 12 U.S. specialty retailers.

"IBM is focused on helping clients gain faster intelligence on their information to improve their businesses operations and predict trends before they occur," said Steve Mills, senior vice present and group executive of IBM Software Group. "IBM is uniquely positioned with an unmatched portfolio to help organizations not only cope with the data deluge, but gain actionable insight into their most strategic asset - their business information," he added.