Not to be tiresome in the pattern of my observations nor unduly
cynical, but here's another example of Food System Uberlords meeting
Communications System Uberlords to control and commodify information
in the service of private sector profit and building market share.
Jeez, in the old days the Titans clashed...but I suppose these times
are more suited to the pronouncements of Chief Information Officers
than the songs of bards. Cric!
I wonder what this "alliance" is costing? Imagine what we humble
sustag communicators/networkers could do with that money.
Happy new calendar year, y'all. Read any good Orwell lately?
pax
mish
PS--I left the last paragraph on because it was such a masterful PR
whitewashing of a downsizing. Ministry of Truth Tip #44: Watch for
words like "outsourcing" and "[giving] professionals affected by
this decision...the opportunity to use and expand their skills."
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 08:46:07 -0700
From: "Peter M. Ligotti" <pmligotti@earthlink.net>
Reply-To: BanGenFood@MailingList.net
To: BanGenFood@MailingList.net
Subject: Monsanto and IBM Announce Strategic Technology Alliance
Monsanto and IBM Announce Strategic Technology Alliance
Dec. 29/97
(from a press release)
ST. LOUIS, MO U.S.A.
Monsanto Company and IBM Corporation today
announced a wide-ranging technology alliance that
includes a genomics research collaboration.
Scientists from the two companies will work together
to develop and apply advanced information technologies to
identify and map the genetic structure of major plant
groups and human diseases, building on Monsanto's
existing genomics research. Using Teiresias, a
next-generation pattern discovery algorithm developed
by IBM Research, the scientists expect to significantly
speed discovery of hidden patterns in DNA and protein
databases, leading to faster development of new life
sciences products by Monsanto.
"Monsanto sees genomics as a key enabling technology
for dramatically increasing the speed and precision
with which we can research, develop and bring to market
new products," said Patrick Fortune, chief information
officer for Monsanto. "This collaboration with IBM Research
will add significant new technology tools to our expanding
genomics capabilities. Using Teiresias, for example,
we expect to make discoveries that wouldn't
be possible using existing analytical tools.
"In addition, the other components of this alliance
bring together powerful and complementary information
technology (IT) skills that will allow us to more
efficiently and effectively deliver value to our
respective customers," Fortune said. "By working
with IBM as our provider for certain services, we can
concentrate our internal IT resources on analytical and
software needs specific to Monsanto's life sciences
operations."
The second component of the IBM/Monsanto alliance is
the creation of an IBM/Monsanto Solution Center to
help other companies implement Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) systems. These are business
management software systems that integrate financial
data with other functions in an organization, such as
inventory management and production, giving
executives a comprehensive overview of operations.
The Solution Center will offer workshops, software and
tools that help clients implement ERP systems in a
cost-effective and timely manner. The final component
of the alliance is a 10-year outsourcing agreement
whereby IBM Global Services will provide Monsanto with
data center management, help desk operations, and support
for 8,000 desktop systems including local- and wide-area
network management. IBM has offered employment to the
150 Monsanto IT professionals affected by this decision,
giving them the opportunity to use and expand their
skills with the world's largest IT services provider.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wash your hands after using any pesticide product.
--DowElanco, http://www.dowelanco.com/homepest/
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