Dive Brief:
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IBM opened its new global headquarters for Watson Internet of Things (IoT) in Munich yesterday.
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The company also launched several new offerings, capabilities and ecosystem partners geared to combining the power of cognitive computing with connected devices, sensors and systems.
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IBM intends the Watson IoT headquarters to serve as an innovation lab for data scientists, engineers and programmers building connected solutions that combine cognitive computing and IoT.
Dive Insight:
Neil Postlethwaite, director, IBM IoT Foundation platform and Device Ecosystem, said Germany was the ideal location for the new headquarters.
"Germany — and Bavaria in particular — is widely recognized globally for being on the front edge of adoption and development of Internet of Things technologies," said Postlethwaite. "This is in part due to the German government's Industry 4.0 initiative. As a result, Germany is home to some of the most innovative automotive, manufacturing and industrial companies — all who need strategies to deal with the massive amounts of data their products are creating."
IBM also opened eight new Watson IoT Client Experience Centers across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Locations include Beijing, China; Boeblingen, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, Korea; Tokyo, Japan; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Littleton, Massachusetts.
"These cross-industry centers are established to engage with key clients to innovate on their IoT projects to bring cognition to the billions of connected devices in our world today," Postlethwaite said. "The centers bring together IBM Development, Lab Services, IBM Research, Global Business Services and IBM Business Partners."
