IBM has announced a new major ecosystem drive for its Watson Internet of Things (IoT) platform, which includes a $200 million innovation center in Munich, Germany for startups to develop and trial IoT devices in a controlled environment.
The American computing giant will make the innovation center its global headquarters for the Watson IoT platform. Over 6,000 clients already use the platform, and the firm has just announced a host of new integrations with Visa, Bosch, and SNCF.
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Avnet, BNP Paribas, CapGemini, and Tech Mahindra will start to work on new IoT developments inside the IBM center. Major telecoms provider Vodafone will work on IoT devices and platforms in the building and it will be a central location for EEBus, a European standards organization.
“The Internet of Things is all about connections –not only between things, but also between people and crucially, companies,” said Harriet Green, General Manager, IBM Watson IoT, Cognitive Engagement and Education.
Collaboration with IBM teams
“One of the central pieces of IBM’s strategy is to invite our clients and partners to join us in our Watson IoT center by collocating their research, design and development teams alongside our IBM teams.
Together we are building a new global IoT innovation ecosystem that will explore how cognitive and IoT technologies will transform industries and our daily lives,” she added.
The company already has BMW on its list of Watson IoT clients and expects to have more big names “collocate” with them in the near future.
