The IBM NextGenApps Stack emerges
So let’s dissect the press release in our customary style, it can be found here:
MyPOV – IBM is not losing time on the IoT front, it was only in late March the vendor unveiled its initiative for IoT (see here). ARM announced the mbed IoT platform in October 2014 (see here), so it is early times for IoT partnerships, but good to see that important aspect of analytics services being the core of the partnership. IBM has done a lot of work on the BigData / next generation Database side to store all the IoT information and equally on the Watson front to make sense of data. And then there are SoftLayer (to run it all) and BlueMix to build the next generation Applications. On the ARM side the long tradition of low power devices positions the vendor very well as core infrastructure for IoT Power consumption remains one of the key challenges for IoT devices – as we all know firsthand from our power hungry smartphones (yes I know the ‘things’ are very different to smartphones, but it illustrates the power challenge).
MyPOV – Good to see IBM tackling vertical aspects of IoT use cases in an early phase. IoT best practices are only evolving, and it is clear they will have a vertical flavor early, due to the different nature of things. The connected car will work different than connected TVs than connected cows (a serious use case as I learnt from another player in the IoT / Analytics space recently).
MyPOV – So no surprise – SoftLayer is the foundation on the IBM side, surprised no specific mention of Hadoop / Spark offerings that IBM has – but aren’t mentioned here. I am also surprised that Watson is not mentioned, a product IBM usually errs more on the side of mentioning than not. No surprise on Bluemix which is the core platform for all next generation Applications at IBM. And also no surprise of the security aspect – though that will take a backseat in early IoT deployments – unless we talk about very sensitive or vital infrastructure.
MyPOV – Good quote of Flautner. ‘Chip to cloud’ is a buzzword combo we probably will have to get used to of hearing more often in the future. But it describes the essence of what this partnership is about.
MyPOV – Partnerships are supposed to deliver synergies, and here we learn what this one is about: ARM mbed devices can automatically be managed from the IBM IoT Foundation. This is very powerful as it solves a low level connectivity nightmare for future common customers. Low powered device connectivity can be a tricky affair, and the skills to achieve it are not as abundant as higher level stack skills – so a good synergetic move by both vendors.
MyPOV – And we come to the higher level use cases – which are all attractive for enterprises building IoT applications. I miss the customer / consumer perspective in the example use cases. It will be interesting to see how much out of the box automation IBM can offer for all these use cases. We will have to see if these will be IoT applications in its own right or more code examples and templates that IBM Global Services will implement.
MyPOV – Always good to have customer quotes in press releases, giving reference to the value of the partnership. We will try to check in with the mentioned customers for some more validation and better understanding of their plans.
MyPOV – Nice quote by Toole – big data meets small data for IoT. Ironical that IBM has not been specific on what BigData platforms it will use. There are many available – no question. But it is notable how specific IBM has been in all other aspects of the announcement – and vague to not mention on the BigData side.
On the concern side it is clear that both vendors need to be open to more partnerships (I am sure they are), pricing is not mentioned and there is no roadmap. And IBM needs to be clearer on the BigData storage and analysis options. But it is early days and I am sure both vendors will address these concerns. It is good to see real customer interest from the quotes.
Overall a good move by both vendors, now it comes to execution and deliver the first common live customers. Latching on to the buzz word combo – we should see more chip to cloud partnerships soon. We will be watch and analyzing, stay tuned.
More on IBM :
ARMONK, NY - 03 Sep 2015: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced an expansion of its Internet of Things (IoT) platform – called IBM IoT Foundation - through an integration with ARM (LSE: ARM, NASDAQ: ARMH.US), providing out of the box connectivity with ARM® mbedTM-enabled devices to analytics services. This fusion will allow huge quantities of data from devices such as industrial appliances, weather sensors and wearable monitoring devices to be gathered, analyzed and acted upon.
MyPOV – IBM is not losing time on the IoT front, it was only in late March the vendor unveiled its initiative for IoT (see here). ARM announced the mbed IoT platform in October 2014 (see here), so it is early times for IoT partnerships, but good to see that important aspect of analytics services being the core of the partnership. IBM has done a lot of work on the BigData / next generation Database side to store all the IoT information and equally on the Watson front to make sense of data. And then there are SoftLayer (to run it all) and BlueMix to build the next generation Applications. On the ARM side the long tradition of low power devices positions the vendor very well as core infrastructure for IoT Power consumption remains one of the key challenges for IoT devices – as we all know firsthand from our power hungry smartphones (yes I know the ‘things’ are very different to smartphones, but it illustrates the power challenge).
IBM also announced the first in a series of IBM Cloud-based, industry-specific IoT services with IoT for Electronics. The service will enable electronics manufacturers to gather data from individual sensors that can be combined with other data for real-time analysis.
MyPOV – Good to see IBM tackling vertical aspects of IoT use cases in an early phase. IoT best practices are only evolving, and it is clear they will have a vertical flavor early, due to the different nature of things. The connected car will work different than connected TVs than connected cows (a serious use case as I learnt from another player in the IoT / Analytics space recently).
The IBM IoT Foundation is a platform upon which a family of fully managed, cloud-hosted offerings on the SoftLayer Infrastructure is built. IoT Foundation makes it simple to derive value from Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It includes:
Analytics tools capable of dealing with large quantities of fast-moving data,
Access to IBM Bluemix, IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service, that is capable of handling the immense flow of data and provide anytime access for decision makers; and
Security systems capable of helping organizations protect IoT data as rigorously as they do their own confidential financial, IP and strategy information.
MyPOV – So no surprise – SoftLayer is the foundation on the IBM side, surprised no specific mention of Hadoop / Spark offerings that IBM has – but aren’t mentioned here. I am also surprised that Watson is not mentioned, a product IBM usually errs more on the side of mentioning than not. No surprise on Bluemix which is the core platform for all next generation Applications at IBM. And also no surprise of the security aspect – though that will take a backseat in early IoT deployments – unless we talk about very sensitive or vital infrastructure.
“Deploying IoT technology has to be easy, secure and scalable for it to feel like a natural extension of a company’s business,” said Krisztian Flautner, General Manager, IoT Business, ARM. “By collaborating with IBM, we will deliver the first unified chip-to-cloud, enterprise-class IoT platform. This will empower companies of any size with a productivity tool that can readily transform how they operate, and the services they can offer.”
MyPOV – Good quote of Flautner. ‘Chip to cloud’ is a buzzword combo we probably will have to get used to of hearing more often in the future. But it describes the essence of what this partnership is about.
The integration between IBM and ARM will allow products powered by ARM mbed-enabled chips to automatically register with the IBM IoT Foundation, and connect with IBM analytics services. This unifies the ARM mbed IoT Device Platform and the IBM IoT Foundation at the point where information gathered from deployed sensors in any connected device is delivered to the cloud for analysis. The IoT connection also enables delivery of actionable events to control equipment or provide users with alerts or other information. For example, the triggering of an alarm message on a washing machine to ask the owner to confirm a breakdown engineer appointment if a fault is detected.
MyPOV – Partnerships are supposed to deliver synergies, and here we learn what this one is about: ARM mbed devices can automatically be managed from the IBM IoT Foundation. This is very powerful as it solves a low level connectivity nightmare for future common customers. Low powered device connectivity can be a tricky affair, and the skills to achieve it are not as abundant as higher level stack skills – so a good synergetic move by both vendors.
This integration can help clients improve engagement, accelerate innovation and enhance operations through connected devices and analysis of the data. Custom hardware built around ARM’s flexible and efficient chip technology and IBM’s leading IoT services for predictive maintenance, better asset performance, operational risk management and managed continuous engineering, can help provide organizations with enterprise-grade tools designed to help them build value from their IoT devices. Original design manufacturers and OEMs – such as Ionics – are already seeing value in the IBM and ARM integration as it assimilates the IBM IoT Foundation at the chip architecture level.
MyPOV – And we come to the higher level use cases – which are all attractive for enterprises building IoT applications. I miss the customer / consumer perspective in the example use cases. It will be interesting to see how much out of the box automation IBM can offer for all these use cases. We will have to see if these will be IoT applications in its own right or more code examples and templates that IBM Global Services will implement.
"We're excited to work with IBM because we believe that an effective IoT solution should be built from the ground up – from chipset through services – and is by far the best choice to have a complete end-to-end solution,” said Earl Qua, Vice President of Ionics. “Working with IBM we have tapped into our respective company's expertise to create a platform that is built and customized for the unique nature in which companies are utilizing IoT.”
Electronics manufacturers are already adopting IBM’s cloud services to connect everything from dishwashers to Smart TVs to pro audio equipment:
-- “By using IBM IoT services, we are able to real-time manage and control Smart TV content in over 30 countries. This provides us the opportunity to continuously balance costs with increased customer experience. Lastly, we have eliminated the need to set up hardware within traditional IT infrastructure - allowing a drastic reduction in provisioning time.” - Marc Harmsen - Global Marketing Lead and Product Manager EMEA Philips Television at TP Vision.
-- “At Gibson Innovations, design and quality lead the way. IBM's service capabilities - leveraging cloud, IoT and analytics – allow us to provide unique user experiences for connected devices. Additionally, the advanced analytics enables the development of new applications and services as well as device management and monitoring in a security-rich infrastructure. This is extremely valuable in maintaining and increasing loyalty among our customers,” said Henry Chiarelli, Executive Vice President of Gibson Brands.
MyPOV – Always good to have customer quotes in press releases, giving reference to the value of the partnership. We will try to check in with the mentioned customers for some more validation and better understanding of their plans.
“Since 2008, IBM has helped thousands of customers embrace the Internet of Things -- to help cities become smarter, hospitals to transform patient care and financial institutions to improve risk management," said Pat Toole, General Manager, Internet of Things, IBM. "The IoT is now at an inflection point and it needs the big data expertise of IBM and little data expertise of ARM to ensure it reaches its global potential."
MyPOV – Nice quote by Toole – big data meets small data for IoT. Ironical that IBM has not been specific on what BigData platforms it will use. There are many available – no question. But it is notable how specific IBM has been in all other aspects of the announcement – and vague to not mention on the BigData side.
Overall MyPOV
A good move by both vendors creating tangible value for joint customers. Automatically seeing ARM mbed devices in the IBM IoT platform is very powerful and takes away a substantial headache for both building and operation of IoT applications.On the concern side it is clear that both vendors need to be open to more partnerships (I am sure they are), pricing is not mentioned and there is no roadmap. And IBM needs to be clearer on the BigData storage and analysis options. But it is early days and I am sure both vendors will address these concerns. It is good to see real customer interest from the quotes.
Overall a good move by both vendors, now it comes to execution and deliver the first common live customers. Latching on to the buzz word combo – we should see more chip to cloud partnerships soon. We will be watch and analyzing, stay tuned.
More on IBM :
- Progress Report - IBM Cloud makes good progress - but needs to attract more load - read here
- Market Move - IBM gets into private cloud (services) with Blue Box acqusition - read here
- Event Report - IBM InterConnect - IBM makes bets for the hybrid cloud - read here
- First Take - IBM InterConnect Day #1 Keynote - BlueMix, SoftLayer and Watson - read here
- News Analysis - IBM had a very good year in the cloud - 2015 will be key - read here
- Event Report - IBM Insight 2014 - Is it all coming together for IBM in 2015? Or not?
- First Take - Top 3 Takeaways from IBM Insight Day 1 Keynote - read here
- IBM and SAP partner for cloud - good move - read here
- Event Report - IBM Enterprise - A lot of value for existing customers, but can IBM attract net new customers? Read here
- Progress Report - The Mainframe is alive and kicking - but there is more in IBM STG - read here
- News Analysis - IBM and Intel partner to make the cloud more secure - read here
- Progress Report - IBM BigData an Analytics have a lot of potential - time to show it - read here
- Event Report - What a difference a year makes - and off to a good start - read here
- First Take - 3 Key Takeaways from IBM's Impact Conference - Day 1 Keynote - read here
- Another week and another Billion - this week it's a BlueMix Paas - read here
- First take - IBM makes Connection - introduces the TalentSuite at IBM Connect - read here
- IBM kicks of cloud data center race in 2014 - read here
- First Take - IBM Software Group's Analyst Insights - read here
- Are we witnessing one of the largest cloud moves - so far? Read here
- Why IBM acquired Softlayer - read here
