Building a Smarter Planet. A Smarter Planet Blog.

Gerry Mooney, General Manager, IBM Global Smarter Cities
Smarter Cities 2.0: The Next Wave.

Much of the growth in new markets comes from the entrepreneurial companies who are building the new applications.

IBM is an integrator. In the Smarter Planet sphere, the integrator can take new technologies and services to market more quickly than the startups can. So IBM has a strategy of forming partnerships with innovative startups, and, in some cases, buying them.

To get the most value out of new sources of data, interconnectivity and analytics, cities have to integrate their data and their operations–breaking down the barriers between individual departments. Technology is one of the key tools for integrating this information and these operations.

So IBM has built a platform for integration called the Intelligent Operations Center. “Think of this an analytics hub were we can do high volume real time data analysis, including predictive analytics,” he says.

The idea is to pre-integrate a lot of the pieces of technology in the intelligent operations center. Now IBM is partnering with companies or buying them. One example is i2, a leader in public safety.

We want startups to see this as a development platform they can build upon. Together, we can build a total solution.

We’re also working on integration platforms for other industries, including the financial sector, health care sector, etc.

Here’s a quote he uses frequently when he talks to city leaders about making their cities smarter: “Gentlemen, we have run out of money. Now we must think!” Sir Winston Churchill.