The facility is part of a global investment of $3billion by IBM that is intended to bring the capabilities of its Watson cognitive computing to the IoT.
According to IBM, the investment – one of the largest it has made in Europe –comes in response to a growing number of customers looking to combine and use IoT and Artificial Intelligence technologies.
“We believe IoT innovation has reached a tipping point,” said Harriet Green, general manager, IBM Watson IoT, Cognitive Engagement and Education. “Globally, we now have more than 6000 clients and partners, many of whom are wanting to join us in our new global Watson IoT centre to co-innovate,”
Last year, IBM announced that BMW was co-locating part of its R&D operations to the Watson IoT centre and IBM took the opportunity to announce four additional partners would be joining IBM’s 1000 Munich-based IoT experts.
Avnet will open a new joint IoT Lab at the Watson IoT HQ to develop, build, demonstrate and sell IoT solutions powered by IBM Watson. “We’re already seeing tremendous potential in the new IoT applications that we’re developing with our customers,” said Eric Williams, Avnet’s global vp of IoT. “This collaboration will accelerate our ability to provide customers with the support they need to develop marketable IoT solutions.”
Other new partners include: Consorsbank – part of the BNP Paribas Group in Germany – which will explore how IoT and cognitive technologies can help transform the banking industry, while the global IT consulting and services provider Capgemini will contribute a team of cognitive IoT experts to help customers working with Industry 4.0.
Capgemini said it plans a close link between its Munich Applied Innovation Exchange and IBM’s Customer Experience zones to collaborate with clients in a more interactive environment.
Indian multinational Tech Mahindra, which supplies enterprise and communications IT and networking technology, said it would use the centre to create and showcase solutions for Industry 4.0, as well as for the manufacturing, precision farming, healthcare, insurance and banking sectors. The company will also target automotive.
Meanwhile, IBM has joined EEBus provided it with an Innovation Space at the Watson facility. EEBus, focused on developing solutions for the connected home, has more than 60 members, including Bosch, ABB, SMA, Miele, Schneider and Vaillant.
Crowdfunding partnership IBM and Indiegogo have announced that IBM Watson IoT will be the exclusive cloud and platform partner for IoT startups working with Indiegogo and global distributor Arrow. Entrepreneurs who qualify will have free access to IBM Watson’s IoT Platform for an unlimited amount of time. The agreement sees qualified companies gaining access to 160 cloud services, something IBM says will help them to incorporate features such as artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics and cyber security into IoT devices. Qualified startups will also have access to IBM’s technical and industry expertise, education, mentoring and enterprise customers and business partners. |