Armonk-based IBM Corp. on Tuesday announced it will invest $3 billion over the next four years to create a business unit focused on the “Internet of things.”
The Internet of things is the concept of making everyday objects “intelligent” by connecting them to the Internet and to each other. Sensors in objects collect data and share it with other devices and the cloud.
IBM is building a cloud-based open platform to help clients and partners utilize the Internet of the things. The company will provide tools to aid in the design of devices that are optimized for the Internet of the things, as well as services to help businesses use data to inform decision-making.
“Our knowledge of the world grows with every connected sensor and device, but too often we are not acting on it, even when we know we can ensure a better result,” said Bob Picciano, senior vice president, IBM Analytics, in a statement. “This is a major focus of investment for IBM because it”™s a rich and broad-based opportunity where innovation matters.”
IBM estimated that 90 percent of data generated by devices such as smartphones, tablets, connected vehicles and appliances is never analyzed or acted on. As much as 60 percent of this data begins to lose value within milliseconds of being generated, the company said.
Among the highlights of the company”™s plans was a cloud-based service that will help insurance companies gather insight from Internet-connected vehicles and implement more dynamic pricing models.
The Armonk company also announced a partnership with The Weather Co., which has a forecasting system that processes data from thousands of sources, according to IBM. The aim of the partnership is to help businesses improve results with the use of weather data.
