<p>International Business MachinesCorp. (IBM) Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty sees "big data"services, which let customers mine vast troves of information tomake better decisions, as the company's biggest focus this year.</p><p>"It's certainly everything around big data andanalytics," Rometty said in a brief interview last night whenasked about IBM's priority in 2013. She had just given a speechin front of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, whereshe emphasized that data will give companies and governments acompetitive advantage.</p><p>"I want you to think about data as the next naturalresource," she told the audience of business and politicalleaders. Data-based insight helped reduce crime by 30 percent inMemphis, Tennessee, and correctly predicted the outcome of swingstates for President Barack Obama's campaign, she said.</p><p>For IBM, the capabilities are helping it break into newoverseas markets and sell services covering a wider range oftasks -- from traffic management to weather monitoring topayroll. About 80 percent of growth is coming from outside theU.S., she said.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-08/ibm-ceo-says-big-data-will-be-company-s-top-priority-this-year.html">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/information-management/ibm-ceo-rometty-shares-vision-of-big-dat/240150326">IBM CEO Rometty Shares Vision Of Big Data Era</a> (InformationWeek)</p><p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2013/03/07/ibm-ceo-ginni-rometty-crowns-data-as-the-globes-new-natural-resource/">IBM CEO Ginni Rometty Crowns Data As The Globe's Next Natural Resource</a> (Forbes)</p><p><a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/i-b-m-s-rometty-on-the-data-challenge-to-the-culture-of-management/">IBM's Rometty on the Data Challenge to the Culture of Management</a> (New York Times (blog))</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dbiKQAIno3TWqfMq_p8xNS0mCObKM&ned=us">9 additional articles.</a></p>
