Press kits

Smarter Commerce Global Summit 2012 - Madrid

The emergence of new smarter systems which are interconnected and streaming real time information are presenting business and governments with a unique opportunity to transform decision making. New opportunities to use this data to predict business outcomes, optimize old systems and spot trends before they happen are actually a reality. IBM new service line, IBM Business Analytics and Optimization Services will draw on the company’s deep expertise in vertical industries, research, mathematics and information management to help clients both improve the speed and quality of business decisions while better understanding the consequences and business outcomes of those decisions.

At the IMPACT 2012 conference, IBM will host more than 8,500 attendees - including clients, business partners and industry experts representing more than 60 countries. During the show IBM will unveil new products and services while highlighting hundreds of client success stories. In addition to the materials below, the press conference and a number of breakout sessions for press will be streamed live over the web, and available as replays both accessible via the links shown.

IBM is helping utilities add a layer of digital intelligence to their grids. These smart grids use sensors, meters, digital controls and analytic tools to automate, monitor and control the two-way flow of energy across operations—from power plant to plug. A power company can optimize grid performance, prevent outages, restore outages faster and allow consumers to manage energy usage right down to the individual networked appliance.

IBM brings business insight, advanced research and powerful technologies to the media and entertainment industry – adding intelligence and innovation to an industry undergoing a digital transformation. Serving all segments including film, music, publishing, advertising, broadcast, and media networks, IBM is helping media companies transform the customer experience

Unimaginable complexity, combined with a lack of resources has created a situation in corporate IT globally where $2.5 Trillion – 70% of the global IT budget – is spent just making sure the status quo works. As a result, 1 in 5 projects never see the light of day and there is a backlog in IT of more than 18 months.

IBM's Research and Development labs, comprised of some of the world’s leading minds, are pushing the boundaries of science, technology and business to make the world work better. As the world gets smarter and IBM clients need to innovate rapidly, IBM’s technologists and scientists are advancing existing IBM products and services, while simultaneously pursuing the future. IBM's technical talent and resources are massive: * More than 3,000 scientists and engineers in eight Research labs in six countries. * More than 25,000 technology developers in more than 60 70 major development labs around the world. * IBM invested $5.8 billion in R&D in 2009 and has increased its R&D investment by 21% since 2002 * As a result of the company's investment in R&D, IBM has earned the most US patents of any company for 17 consecutive years. In 2009, IBM received 4,914 U.S. * IBM has one of the most recognized Research labs in the world, with five Nobel Laureates, nine US National Medals of Technology, five US National Medals of Science, six Turing Awards and 10 inductees into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame and 37 members of the US National Academy of Engineering.

Smarter Cities Challenge Grant

2011 IBM Annual Report

To accelerate the shift from experimentation, development and assessment to full scale enterprise deployment of cloud, IBM is building out our existing cloud portfolio with the IBM SmartCloud, a series of next-generation, enterprise cloud technologies and services offerings for private, public and hybrid clouds. We are bringing to bear IBM services, software, hardware, research and best practices from decades of experience of enabling IT as a key driver for enterprises to achieve new business value. For the first time, enterprise clients will be able to select key characteristics of a public, private and hybrid cloud to match workload requirements from simple Web infrastructure to complex business processes.

As physical and digital assets converge, the planet is getting smarter. Food and retail products are tracked with RFID tags. Traffic and energy systems are now managed with sensors. Cities are more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent. This convergence challenges today’s infrastructures, but also offers the opportunity to integrate operational assets with hardware, software and services for improved service management that drives greater business value. At PULSE 2012--IBM will highlight how its expertise in analytics, systems management, sensors and security is coming together to bridge the physical and digital worlds and create new Smarter Planet infrastructures.

Complex real-world industry issues are creating a whole new level of client expectations, requiring sophisticating technologies with a simplified approach. Clients are also increasingly moving their core business applications to the cloud to further simplify their IT infrastructure in secure environment, while reducing cost. This shift is creating opportunities to capture new markets for IBM and and its business partners demonstrating a new level of leadership with industry-specific innovation. To help address these changing market dynamics, IBM is announcing a series of new initiatives to help business partners take advantage of cloud as new markets such as Smarter Commerce, analytics and social businesses gain client momentum

More than half of the people on Earth live in cities, and urban populations are projected to double by mid-century. IBM is helping cities around the world tackle serious urban issues and improve the quality of life of their citizens.

The growing prevalence of chronic diseases and aging populations around the globe are placing a heavy burden on health systems. It’s no wonder that healthcare costs continue to rise rapidly and relentlessly worldwide. Increasingly healthcare is turning to digital information and electronic resources to enable greater access to care, to improve quality and reduce costs.

IBM is bringing together some best and brightest entrepreneurs from around the world, together with venture capitalists and other industry leaders, at the SmartCamp Global Finals, January 31-February 2, 2012. These startup companies are working with IBM to address some of the greatest challenges facing cities and citizens today, such as traffic, healthcare, water, and retail, bringing analytics-based solutions to market. The winner will be named the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year. Follow the conversation on our social media links below, and vote for the SmartCamp People's Vote award at http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2012/01/ibmscf_main.html.

Savvy consumers around the world are increasingly connected to each other through a number of mobile devices, tablets and applications. There are over two billion internet users globally, with 800 million on Facebook and 100 million on Twitter, not to mention the scores of people using location-based services like Foursquare or media sharing apps like Instagram and YouTube. With this explosion in communications technology, we know that the way people shop has fundamentally changed. This week at NRF, the largest annual tradeshow for the retail industry, IBM unveiled the results of its annual survey of more than 28,000 global consumers to find out just how much.

IBM is actively expanding its operations across Africa as part of the company's continued geographic expansion initiative of an increase its presence in key growth markets and support its global growth strategy.

Social Business is a smarter approach to the “people-centric” processes of business. Social Business means connecting networks of customers, partners, and employees, using analytics to derive insights from those connections, and using those insights to improve business functions. It's an organization that uses social networking tools fluently to communicate with people inside and outside the company. It's a strategic approach to shaping a business culture, highly dependent upon executive leadership and corporate strategy, including business process design, risk management, leadership development, financial controls and use of business analytics. Becoming a Social Business can help an organization deepen customer relationships, generate new ideas faster, identify expertise and enable a more effective workforce.

Today IBM unveils the sixth annual "IBM 5 in 5" (#ibm5in5) - a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and interact during the next five years. This year's five in five are: People power will come to life; you will never need a password again; mind reading is no longer science fiction; the digital divide will cease to exist; and junk mail will become priority mail. The IBM 5 in 5 is based on market and societal trends as well as emerging technologies from IBM's research labs around the world that can make these transformations possible.

IBM is working with thousands of universities around the globe to develop students with business and technology skills for a Smarter Planet. Our many University Programs include Ph.D. fellowships, faculty and university awards, as well as impressive Research collaborations. In addition, IBM's Academic Initiative provides schools with access to course materials, training, books and more.</p>