Dr. Axel Koester is the Chief Technologist for storage solutions at the IBM EMEA Storage Competence Center. He is a certified Executive IT Specialist, forward-looking strategist, client innovation consultant, and trainer.
Additionally, he serves as the chairman of the IBM TEC Think Tank, the German-speaking branch of the IBM Academy of Technology in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Prior to joining IBM in 2000, Axel was involved in the Large Hadron Collider project at CERN in Geneva and worked for the Fraunhofer research institutes. He earned his PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from RWTH Aachen University.
RAG against the Machine – Rethinking Enterprise Knowledge with AI
Is there a future where employees talk to company archives instead of waiting for custom-built software to meet their needs?
Is there a future where using databases no longer requires personal support from the IT department – even for non-experts?
Is there a technological cure for bureaucracy?
We aim to take a closer look at the underlying technologies – especially Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) – highlight common pitfalls (such as role-based access), showcase successful examples, and evaluate strategic approaches.
And we explain why the time to adopt on-premise AI is now – not later.