2011: Volume 1, Article 3 - IBM Kazakhstan - Open road to the future
IBM Center of Innovation helps Kazakhstan embrace Linux and open standards
Astride the ancient Silk Road across Central Asia, the Republic of Kazakhstan's 16 million people are seeking 21st century routes to more fully integrate their country with the global economy. One important post along that path is the new IBM Linux innovation center in the national capital city of Astana.
As an emerging market, Kazakhstan faces the ambitious task of growing and enhancing its IT infrastructure to match the demands of a new economy. "By establishing centers providing support for Linux and open source, such as the one in Kazakhstan, IBM intends to speed up the development and adoption of Linux-based applications in growth markets and help local developers join in the worldwide community," said Inna Kuznetsova, vice president, marketing and sales enablement, IBM Systems Software.
Partnership for growth
IBM's investment in the center stems from a memorandum of understanding signed in September 2009 by members of the IBM Global Enablement team (or GET) [pdf] and the Kazakhstan government's Ministry of Information & Communication.
With their national economy today dominated by oil, gas and other national resources, Kazakhs are eager to accelerate technology adoption to help the country achieve sustainable development through economic diversification.
For more information, read IBM's 2009 announcement of the partnership.
IBM leaders (left to right) Michail Seregin, Adam Dossymov, Inna Kuznetsova
and Ross Mauri cut the ribbon, opening the IBM Center of Innovation
for Linux and Open Standards in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2011: Volume 1, Article 3 - IBM Brazil
Local government and IBM partner to make Rio de Janeiro a safer city
Just ahead of the World Cup competition in 2014, and the Summer Olympics in 2016, IBM and the city of Rio de Janeiro have partnered to complete a new City Operations Center for the sprawling megalopolis.
The new center features an impressive high-tech centerpiece - a weather forecasting system built atop IBM Research's "Deep Thunder" software and tailored to Rio's climate and topography.
Located in Cidade Nova, the center will be a central command point, integrating data from multiple government departments and public agencies. In turn, the information collected will enable responders to improve city safety overall, as well as responsiveness to weather-related emergencies such as flash floods and landslides.
