IBM INTERCONNECT 2016, LAS VEGAS - 23 Feb 2016: IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today that Gigster, an online marketplace that rapidly curates and matches top software developers with projects that companies need built, plans to use IBM Cloud as its preferred cloud platform for building cognitive apps. Gigster intends to train its “shared economy” of technology talent—including 1,400 skilled developers and project managers—on IBM Cloud so that they can build the next generation of apps fueled by top services and APIs in cognitive, IoT, mobile and more.

In a recent report, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide IT Industry 2016 Predictions—Leading Digital Transformation to Scale,* IDC estimates that, by 2018, more than 50 percent of developer teams will embed cognitive capabilities in their applications—up from less than 1 percent today. Cognitive capabilities are becoming an important building block in applications that rely heavily on real-time personalization, which includes ratings and suggestions on purchases from similar users. When available with IBM Cloud APIs, developers using Gigster can easily build this personalization directly into their projects.

Gigster is also evaluating moving its project management system onto IBM Cloud, where it would use cognitive intelligence to help project managers allocate resources and make smarter decisions. Using IBM Watson and Watson Analytics services, Gigster would infuse predictive intelligence capabilities into its project management tool to help teams complete projects more efficiently. When available, Gigster developers and project managers expect to be able to predict the best approach to complete a project in three weeks or less—75 percent faster than the average time of 12 weeks. They would gain insight into potential risks, receive recommendations on which tasks to tackle immediately, view code modules that are most likely to be reused and monitor which teams are on track to meet release dates.

Gigster offers corporations, entrepreneurs and small companies as-needed access to a shared pool of the world’s most highly skilled developers, including leaders in academia, entrepreneurs and those employed at top technology firms such as Facebook, Google and Zynga. Gigster allows organizations to tap into this shared economy of skilled, in-demand developers and project managers to scale their own workforce based on business needs, helping companies who may not have the time or resources to recruit full-time talent.

“Although there are several cloud platform options on which to run Gigster, IBM Cloud offers the cognitive technologies our developers need when we build intelligence-driven apps,” said Roger Dickey, CEO of Gigster. “IBM’s design-centric platform, paired with its deep set of Watson APIs and tools in IoT, analytics and more, enables us to bring companies of all sizes the right resources they need to turn ideas into reality—fast.”

Westfield Corporation, operator of iconic retail shopping centers in major cities around the world, was the first to host Gigster’s cognitive application on IBM Cloud at its Westfield San Francisco Centre during the 2015 holiday season. Together, Gigster and IBM built a cognitive-fueled application for holiday shoppers at this highly trafficked San Francisco mall. Built with Watson APIs, notably Personality Insights API, the app provided personalized real-time gift recommendations for each shopper that participated, along with the best offers and choices available, across their shopping experience.

When the applications was sized and scoped, Gigster and IBM projected 12 weeks to delivery with a goal of 3,000 users.  Those metrics were exceeded by 259 percent of target, the app was designed and deployed in 15 days, and 7,759 consumers used the app over a 20-day period during December.

•                      Watch the Westfield San Francisco Centre customer video here: https://h-ony.wiredrive.com/present-project-detail/assetId/24916481/token/4565d2587300e200cdff5b420723d87b

•                      Watch a demo of the application here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xq8l0csxm6mf95j/Main_480.mp4?dl=0

“Making quality design a priority—along with infusing cognitive technology and tapping into valuable volumes of both structured and unstructured data—is deeply embedded into everything we do for clients,” said Damion Heredia, vice president of cloud platform services at IBM. “Through the power of our cloud platform, we’re able to work with Gigster to bring this mindset to a vast network of companies that are looking to both rapidly find top talent and build the most progressive apps in their industries.”

* Source IDC

IDC FutureScape: Worldwide IT Industry 2016 Predictions —Leading Digital Transformation to Scale

Nov 2015 Doc # 259850

For more information on IBM Cloud, visit http://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/.

For more information on Gigster, visit https://gigster.com/.