In this so-called era of smart, companies, coun-tries and individuals will be judged by how they apply knowledge to create value.

For US-listed IBM, which coined the term era of smart, its own value will be created from amplifying innovation and creating technology and a platform for others to help increase the abilities of individuals and institutions.

The ideas have already helped turn IBM over the past 100 years from a maker of meat slicing equipment to an information technology…