What do will.i.am and IBM have in common? As it turns out, quite a lot.  

Like IBM, the entrepreneur, musician, and philanthropist has made a significant mark on the technology industry. In his role as a futurist, will.i.am helped companies like Apple and Deutsche Telekom. He also shares IBM’s commitment to empowering the next generation of tech leaders, via his i.am/Angel Foundation, funding STEAM education and robotics programs for 12,000 students from disadvantaged backgrounds.  

What on the surface may seem an unlikely combination, will.i.am and IBM teamed up on Focus Your Ideas (FYI) to empower the next generation of creators. Running on IBM Cloud, the application is engineered to inspire and empower artists, creators, and innovators to collaborate seamlessly, with everything from messaging to high resolution file sharing and calendaring all in one place. 

FYI breaks the mold of collaboration platforms with its focus on creator protection. Enabled by IBM technology, FYI harnesses cryptography methods like ECDHE and ECDSA to secured messages and projects from end to end. It also provides detailed traceability of contributions—every file added, every chat sent — making it clear where credit is due throughout the creative exchange.  

“IBM supported FYI from the beginning, combining their experience in trusted computing with FYI’s creativity and collaboration tools. IBM is the ideal partner to team with FYI to represent the vision we have to provide trusted and secured collaboration tools for creatives everywhere,” commented will.i.am. 

FYI will also begin working with IBM iX, the experience design partner within IBM Consulting, to empower the creation of exceptional experiences for FYI’s users. 

Today at THINK, will.i.am and IBM SVP of Marketing and Chief Communications Officer Jonathan Adashek will discuss the philosophical synergies that brought them together and how the FYI platform is evolving with new IBM enhancements to help creators maximize the productivity of their collaborative efforts. 

For more information, visit www.ibm.com/consulting and www.fyi.ai.  

Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only.