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Deutsche Telekom and IBM announced today a collaboration to provide an integrated solutions portfolio that enables cities to make smarter use of their services through intelligent data capture and analysis.
The smarter cities solutions will build on IBM's expertise from thousands of smarter city engagements combined with Deutsche Telekom's global Machine-to-Machine (M2M) capabilities, which include M2M solutions integration and advanced network connectivity.
The M2M communication technology facilitates the automated exchange of information between terminal equipment such as machines, vehicles andcontainers or with a central control center - creating an inter connectivity often referred to as the "Internet of Things".
By using sensors embedded in a wide array of systems serving the public - such as a traffic lights, public transport vehicles or parking spaces - M2M technology can report on the status of the system being monitored via the Internet in real-time. Combining this technology with IBM's Smarter Cities expertise will enable intelligent, real-time decision-making allowing for services such as intelligent traffic management, route optimization, bus or train arrival prediction, and parking space management.
The Smarter Cities solutions from Deutsche Telekom and IBM will notably benefit municipalities as they deliver significant cost efficiencies through better use of their existing infrastructure and improved planning of resources. This will help cities more quickly design and deploy next-generation intelligence systems that improve sustainability.
It will also improve the quality of life for citizens, who will be able to anticipate traffic delays and bus or train arrivals when traveling, find public parking spots more easily, and gain improved access to a wide array of relevant city information and services.
"M2M is a technology with enormous growth potential as it adds real value to our daily lives, both in business and privately," said Thomas Kiessling, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Deutsche Telekom.
Our joint Smarter Cities initiative gives us the opportunity to work with cities across the globe and offer them valuable end-to-end solutions that help support public welfare as well as their economic growth in the future added Kiessling.
"Cities are asking their trusted providers to deliver new ways to help them become more innovative. This initiative demonstrates how IBM is working with clients and partners to find new and sustainable ways to solve pressing client challenges," said Dr. Michael J Dixon, general manager, IBM Global Smarter Cities.
The alliance is based on the two firms' strong common interest and complementary capabilities in growing the M2M end-to-end solutions market. As part of the collaboration, IBM will contribute its global smarter cities expertise, as well as deliver technology systems that gather real time data from various services, applications and device end points, enabling massive amounts of big data to be transformed into insight to help cities make the right operational decisions and drive long term plans.