IBM launched the IOD strategy, which pulls together a wide range of data management, storage and analysis technologies, a few years ago. Since then, IBM has made a string of acquisitions to support IOD, including the large BI (business intelligence) vendor Cognos.

Announcements at this year's conference are expected to include:

-- "Foundation Services," which consist of a one-day workshop followed by 12 weeks of follow-up consulting, that are meant to help customers create an "Information Agenda." IBM hatched the phrase in September when it announced a set of tools, services and industry-specific data models for helping companies use information "as a strategic asset across their businesses."

-- The C3000 and C4000 editions of the InfoSphere Balanced Warehouse, which are data-warehousing appliances aimed at small and medium-size businesses, now include Cognos 8 BI.

-- Seven new performance management and financial offerings based on Cognos technology. Among them are Clinical Resource Planning, for pharmaceuticals to perform modeling and forecasting, and Earned Value Management, which federal agencies can use to monitor capital spending.