IBM, AT&T in Internet of Everything Collaboration

IBM (IBM) and AT&T (T) agreed to combine analytic platforms, cloud and security technologies to develop machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions to advance the Internet of Everything (IoE) to a broad range of real-world applications and industries.

The vendors are among a growing number getting in on the ground floor of what’s universally expected to be the Next Big Thing, with projections that the IoE installed base will reach more than 200 billion devices by 2020, 15 percent of which will be connected. For the moment, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has pegged the global market opportunity at some $19 trillion, sparked by the proliferation of installed intelligent systems that collect data in consumer and enterprise settings. You can easily expect those figures to continue on an upwardly mobile path.

Accordingly, AT&T and IBM said their initiative’s directive is to gain more insights on data collected from machines in a variety of industries, initially concentrating on crafting new solutions for city governments and midsized utilities—both of which integrate and analyze large volumes of data from mass transit vehicles, utility meters and video cameras and other objects. The effort will enable city planners in connected locations to better allocate resources, improve traffic management, parking, enhance public safety and other similar services, the companies said.

The partners said they jointly will build IoE-related solutions at AT&T’s M2M plant in Plano, Texas, and at select IBM Global Solution Centers.

“This collaboration of two world-class companies will help deliver a more connected planet,” said Chris Hill, AT&T Advanced Solutions senior vice president. “We share a vision that the ‘Internet of Things’ will help companies in a variety of industries rely on their remote assets and connected devices to take their business to the next level.”

AT&T said it will bring to the IoE effort its network, devices and global Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) to help connect assets worldwide to a single global network. AT&T’s M2M platforms manage the technologies to securely collect, organize, store and send the data to applications.

IBM’s contribution spans its Intelligent Operations Center, Maximo Asset Management, advanced analytics capabilities and MessageSight MQTT Appliance for M2M communication. In addition, IBM said its MobileFirst portfolio supplies management, security and analytics tools for organizations to capitalize on the increasing role of mobile devices in a connected world.

Rick Qualman, IBM Telecom Industry Strategy & Business Development vice president, said the AT&T collaboration will provide a magnified look at data from crowdsourcing, mobile applications, sensors and analytics on the cloud, helping organizations to better understand the marketplace.

“Smarter cities, cars, homes, machines and consumer devices will drive the growth of the Internet of Things along with the infrastructure that goes with them, unleashing a wave of new possibilities for data gathering, predictive analytics and automation,” he said.