At a press conference held Tuesday to mark the opening of a new IBM Client Center, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai said that Taiwan welcomes investments from enterprises the world over to establish a local presence and join Taiwan as close partners as the nation transitions into the digital age. The vice premier indicated that the Executive Yuan is extremely confident in Taiwan's digital transformation, citing the promotion of its Digital Nation and Innovative Economic Development Program (also known as "DIGI+"), the AI Taiwan Action Plan, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Global Innovation and R&D Partnership Plan.
IBM has been active in Taiwan for 63 years, said Vice Premier Chen, beginning in the manufacturing industry with hardware production to the company's current focus on creating client solutions and assisting customers undertake digital transformations. These operations not only provide excellent employment opportunities for Taiwan's up-and-coming generation, but also signal the nation's development from Industry 3.0 toward the new landscape of Industry 4.0.
With the establishment in Taiwan of the IBM Client Center and IBM Studio, the global giant will be able to connect with other enterprises to combine all manner of resources for innovative technical applications, providing comprehensive solutions for clients and helping partner firms come out on top in the Industry 4.0 era, said the vice premier. For many companies engaged in information and communications technology, manufacturing, and services, this represents the greatest challenge in transitioning to the digital economy.
Investing in Taiwan is a smart choice on the part of IBM, the vice premier continued. The nation, alongside Germany, the United States and Switzerland, was counted among the world's four "super innovators" in the Global Competitiveness Report 2018 published by the World Economic Forum. More important than having a comprehensive industrial chain, Taiwan is home to an outstanding talent pool of tech specialists and experts from a broad range of disciplines. Taiwan also enjoys a free democracy in which to nurture and build an innovative and digital nation.
According to IBM Taiwan, the IBM Client Center and IBM Studio were officially inaugurated today. The Client Center will showcase innovative solutions in cognitive computing, cognitive internet of things, blockchain technology, big data analytics, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and more for cross-industry clients and partners. Inside the IBM Studio, clients from across Taiwan's industries can collaborate with IBM consultants, researchers, digital marketing and experience design specialists to analyze business challenges and integrate big data, mobile technology, cloud technology and innovative social-platform technologies into interactions with users.