IBM has announced that it will spend $3 billion over the next four years on a new Internet of Things (IoT) initiative. The company is creating a new business unit that will offer three cloud-based services for IoT: IoT Cloud Open Platform for Industries, which will offer analytics and industry IoT solutions; IBM Bluemix IoT Zone, a cloud development platform for IoT app developers; and IBM IoT Ecosystem, which will offer “seamless and secure” integration with products and services from IBM partners.
According to IBM, 90 percent of all data is currently being wasted because companies are not acting on that data. “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 IBM Analytics senior vice president Bob Picciano. “This is a major focus of investment for IBM because it’s a rich and broad-based opportunity where innovation matters. Over the next decade, integration of IoT in business operations and decision-making will transform business.”