[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":2081,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"IBM has laid off a number of employees in its Watson Health unit, but says initial reports that as much as 50 percent to 70 percent of the unit\u2019s workforce was furloughed are not accurate and that the reductions will not hurt its core cognitive computing business.

A company representative, however, would not provide additional details or give the specific number of employees being let go. The company also refused to say how many people are employed in the Watson Health unit.

\u201cIBM is continuing to reposition our team to focus on the high-value segments of the IT market, and we continue to hire aggressively in critical new areas that deliver value for our clients and IBM,\u201d said the vendor in a written statement. \u201cThis activity affects a small percentage of our Watson Health workforce, as we move to more technology-intensive offerings, simplified processes and automation to drive speed.\u201d

\u201cWe continue to invest in high value segments of the healthcare industry like data management, analytics and AI,\u201d added an IBM spokesperson.

Investment firm Morgan Stanley issued a research update communication regarding the alleged \u201cmass layoffs\u201d at IBM Watson Health, concluding that the press reports were misleading\u2014in their view. \u201cFirst, any layoffs come on the back of IBM\u2019s reported $613 million restructuring announced on the April 17 earnings call\u2014of which, about $100 million related to the Cognitive business division,\u201d stated Morgan Stanley. \u201cTo put this in perspective, the total annual Cognitive cost and expense base ($3.95B COGS + $7.7B OpEx) is $11.7 billion, meaning the total restructuring cost is less than 1 percent of the business.\u201d

Morgan Stanley noted that IBM has a long history of allowing recently acquired businesses to run independently for a short period\u2014one to two years\u2014before fully integrating them with its core operations. In recent years, Big Blue has been on a buying spree for healthcare technology companies, including 2015\u2019s acquisitions of population health management vendor Phytel and medical imaging software vendor Merge Healthcare. This was followed by 2016\u2019s acquisition of healthcare data and analytics company Truven Health Analytics. All three companies were folded into the IBM Watson Health unit.

Matt Guldin, senior analyst at Chilmark Research, says he is not surprised by the restructuring at IBM and believes it was just a matter of time before it affected Watson Health based on the company\u2019s acquisitions over the past few years.

\u201cMost of the layoffs seem focused on companies that they acquired\u2014which they had managed to avoid until now,\u201d observed Guldin. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the natural M&A process and is typical of IBM\u2019s track record.\u201d He adds that \u201cany organization would have struggled, given what they were acquiring.\u201d

As an IBM business unit, Watson Health was launched in April 2015 to help physicians, researchers, insurers and patients leverage big data, analytics and mobile technology to achieve better healthcare outcomes. In particular, the unit was created to leverage the cognitive computing capabilities of IBM\u2019s Watson supercomputer to quickly identify patterns and insights from the tsunami of data being generated in healthcare in order to find the proverbial needle in a haystack that will lead to medical breakthroughs and better patient care.

Watson Health offers cloud-based access to its Watson supercomputer for analyzing enormous amounts of data in order to make it easier for healthcare organizations to store and analyze patient data. Watson also utilizes data mining, pattern recognition and natural language processing to mimic the way the human brain works in an effort to rapidly and intelligently parse through the disparate data.

Also See<\/b>: IBM CEO: Watson Health is \u2018Our Moonshot\u2019 in Healthcare<\/a>

Morgan Stanley analysts made the case in their report that \u201cIBM management, as recently as the March 8th, 2018 investor day, discussed aggressive hiring in strategic areas including Oncology within Watson Health suggesting any lay-offs in the Watson unit are gross headcount reductions while net headcount is likely still expanding.\u201d

\u201cWatson is the only AI technology tackling a wide range of the world\u2019s biggest healthcare challenges,\u201d said IBM in its written statement.

The company has actively targeted its Watson Health cognitive computing system to the area of cancer research and treatment. Delivered through the cloud, the system is meant to help clinicians quickly sift through big data providing them with insights.

Three years ago, soon after the launch of Watson Health, IBM announced that 14 major cancer centers were using its cognitive capabilities to quickly analyze patients\u2019 DNA, identify cancer-causing mutations and speed identification of personalized treatment options. It\u2019s an area of focus in healthcare that continues for Watson Health.

In fact, IBM claims that Watson Health is \u201cat work supporting cancer care in more than 200 hospitals in 11 countries,\u201d adding that \u201cjust last week, Watson Health announced a prominent new client in India with Apollo Hospitals, India\u2019s largest specialty healthcare systems, which is adopting two products, Watson for Oncology and Watson for Genomic.\u201d","saveContent":"IBM has laid off a number of employees in its Watson Health unit, but says initial reports that as much as 50 percent to 70 percent of the unit\u2019s workforce was furloughed are not accurate and that the reductions will not hurt its core cognitive computing business.

A company representative, however, would not provide additional details or give the specific number of employees being let go. The company also refused to say how many people are employed in the Watson Health unit.

\u201cIBM is continuing to reposition our team to focus on the high-value segments of the IT market, and we continue to hire aggressively in critical new areas that deliver value for our clients and IBM,\u201d said the vendor in a written statement. \u201cThis activity affects a small percentage of our Watson Health workforce, as we move to more technology-intensive offerings, simplified processes and automation to drive speed.\u201d

\u201cWe continue to invest in high value segments of the healthcare industry like data management, analytics and AI,\u201d added an IBM spokesperson.

Investment firm Morgan Stanley issued a research update communication regarding the alleged \u201cmass layoffs\u201d at IBM Watson Health, concluding that the press reports were misleading\u2014in their view. \u201cFirst, any layoffs come on the back of IBM\u2019s reported $613 million restructuring announced on the April 17 earnings call\u2014of which, about $100 million related to the Cognitive business division,\u201d stated Morgan Stanley. \u201cTo put this in perspective, the total annual Cognitive cost and expense base ($3.95B COGS + $7.7B OpEx) is $11.7 billion, meaning the total restructuring cost is less than 1 percent of the business.\u201d

Morgan Stanley noted that IBM has a long history of allowing recently acquired businesses to run independently for a short period\u2014one to two years\u2014before fully integrating them with its core operations. In recent years, Big Blue has been on a buying spree for healthcare technology companies, including 2015\u2019s acquisitions of population health management vendor Phytel and medical imaging software vendor Merge Healthcare. This was followed by 2016\u2019s acquisition of healthcare data and analytics company Truven Health Analytics. All three companies were folded into the IBM Watson Health unit.

Matt Guldin, senior analyst at Chilmark Research, says he is not surprised by the restructuring at IBM and believes it was just a matter of time before it affected Watson Health based on the company\u2019s acquisitions over the past few years.

\u201cMost of the layoffs seem focused on companies that they acquired\u2014which they had managed to avoid until now,\u201d observed Guldin. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the natural M&A process and is typical of IBM\u2019s track record.\u201d He adds that \u201cany organization would have struggled, given what they were acquiring.\u201d

As an IBM business unit, Watson Health was launched in April 2015 to help physicians, researchers, insurers and patients leverage big data, analytics and mobile technology to achieve better healthcare outcomes. In particular, the unit was created to leverage the cognitive computing capabilities of IBM\u2019s Watson supercomputer to quickly identify patterns and insights from the tsunami of data being generated in healthcare in order to find the proverbial needle in a haystack that will lead to medical breakthroughs and better patient care.

Watson Health offers cloud-based access to its Watson supercomputer for analyzing enormous amounts of data in order to make it easier for healthcare organizations to store and analyze patient data. Watson also utilizes data mining, pattern recognition and natural language processing to mimic the way the human brain works in an effort to rapidly and intelligently parse through the disparate data.

Also See<\/b>: IBM CEO: Watson Health is \u2018Our Moonshot\u2019 in Healthcare<\/a>

Morgan Stanley analysts made the case in their report that \u201cIBM management, as recently as the March 8th, 2018 investor day, discussed aggressive hiring in strategic areas including Oncology within Watson Health suggesting any lay-offs in the Watson unit are gross headcount reductions while net headcount is likely still expanding.\u201d

\u201cWatson is the only AI technology tackling a wide range of the world\u2019s biggest healthcare challenges,\u201d said IBM in its written statement.

The company has actively targeted its Watson Health cognitive computing system to the area of cancer research and treatment. Delivered through the cloud, the system is meant to help clinicians quickly sift through big data providing them with insights.

Three years ago, soon after the launch of Watson Health, IBM announced that 14 major cancer centers were using its cognitive capabilities to quickly analyze patients\u2019 DNA, identify cancer-causing mutations and speed identification of personalized treatment options. It\u2019s an area of focus in healthcare that continues for Watson Health.

In fact, IBM claims that Watson Health is \u201cat work supporting cancer care in more than 200 hospitals in 11 countries,\u201d adding that \u201cjust last week, Watson Health announced a prominent new client in India with Apollo Hospitals, India\u2019s largest specialty healthcare systems, which is adopting two products, Watson for Oncology and Watson for Genomic.\u201d","order":0,"get_parent":{},"attributes":[],"attributesType":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"dynamicContent":""}]

What’s going on at IBM’s Watson Health?

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