BEST OF THE WEB

The IBM-Twitter tie-up: Will it produce results?

Last month IBM and Twitter announced a partnership to help enterprises analyze feeds from the network and get more value from the social network.

But will it work? There’s no doubt that Twitter generates mountains of data but how much of it is relevant to decision makers beyond the marketing department? Last week the companies faced industry analysts to answer some questions. As NetworkWorld U.S. reported, some still wonder.

Reporter Matt Kapko wrote that Will McInness, chief marketing officer at the social analytics platform Brandwatch, told him that while most CMOs have already worked through some of their questions and doubts over the past few years about social media, most CIOs are still rather skeptical.

“[CIOs] will have questions about the utility and integrity of the data” and “some valid questions about the ability to derive useful sentiment analysis from this data,” he is quoted as saying.

But Kapko suggests CIOs might find in Twitter unprompted, real-time sentiments and insights from consumers that’s of value to the enterprise. “It could also provide a much-needed boost or reinforcement for CIOs who feel especially threatened by the rise of CMOs,” he writes.

That’s why McInnes argues the IBM-Twitter partnership could be “a really powerful way for [CIOs] to show value beyond backroom IT infrastructure.”

Like all big data projects, CIOs will have to work with business analysts to ensure the useful conclusions comes from all the Twitter data being sorted. But if and when things go right — and they won’t for all projects — everyone will come out a winner.

Howard Solomon
Howard Solomon
Currently a freelance writer, I'm the former editor of ITWorldCanada.com and Computing Canada. An IT journalist since 1997, I've written for several of ITWC's sister publications including ITBusiness.ca and Computer Dealer News. Before that I was a staff reporter at the Calgary Herald and the Brampton (Ont.) Daily Times. I can be reached at hsolomon [@] soloreporter.com

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

ITW in your inbox

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.

More Best of The Web