Istanbul:
IT major IBM has decided to enter the growing global water solutions and technology market. The company said it would offer strategic water management solutions as well as the membrane technology targeted at individual users as well as institutions, including government and public utilities.
The company formally announced the launch of the new areas at the ongoing 5th World Water Forum at Istanbul, saying that its solutions would help governments, water utilities, and companies monitor and manage water more effectively.
The fact that a major IT company has not only entered into a hitherto unrelated area but announced the launch of its services at a global water platform signifies how important the issue of water has become, particularly for the business community.
IBM's director (corporate innovation projects) Kristopher Lichter said that the launch of the new services and the membrane technology was a result of ongoing work on certain technologies as part of the company's global innovation outlook (GIO) over the past three years.
The global water solutions market is estimated to be over $20 billion and comprises largely solutions for IT implementation in public water utilities, cloud computation and data analyses, work flow consulting and water usage in supply chains. IBM believes its competitive advantage would come from integration of technology in solutions and work on real-time data analysis.
Lichter said the company has already been working with several governments, including The Netherlands and Singapore, on various projects that required IT solutions to certain water-related problems like flood water management.
The company had decided to enter into a completely different area like water as part of its efforts to be more environment and resources conscious. Water usage by companies has come under the scanner in recent years as the precious resource becomes scarce. Global companies are being urged to adopt best practices in water usage and management.
A recent study conducted by IBM's Institute for Business Value had indicated that water issues are increasing for businesses and governments. According to the study, which surveyed more than 100 public and private sector executives, 77 per cent of the respondents considered water management ",extremely important", to their organisations while 71 per cent expected water to create more cost and complexity over the next five years.
IBM hopes to use advanced analytics, developed by mathematicians at its labs, as well as the company's information management, technology services, and business consulting capabilities, in the water management solutions area. ",The world is getting smarter in water usage as the resource would remain a key element in the next few years. We hope to make a difference in water",, said Lichter.
The company intends to offer to prospective customers solution in the following major areas: natural water resources, water utilities, infrastructure, metering and Green Sigma for water.
Its services in natural water resources would include providing sensor data integration, analysis and visualization to enable the measurement, modelling and management of water levels, usage and quality in natural water resources.
For utilities, its services would include enabling water providers to make rapid decisions regarding business processes and operational efficiency to maximize their return on investments, besides foreseeing and quickly responding to contamination issues and emergencies.
For water metering, the solutions would help improve management of water supply and demand by integrating data between the dozens of stakeholders involved. At the same time, they would also provide all stakeholders with consistent, real-time information to help them work together to make critical decisions about water supply in a geographic region.
IBM expects to make a dent in the water membrane technology market with its new offering based on the cost advantage. Though company officials did not make a comment on how cost effective the new offering would be as against more established players, Lichter said the cost savings would be ",significant",.
The new membrane technology uses a unique chemistry to create a ",water super-highway", that is far more efficient than other approaches to filtration, the company claimed. The rate at which the water super-highway removes arsenic from contaminated water doubles as the pH increases.
When contaminated water is forced through the membrane, salts and a number of toxins are filtered out and only pure drinking water flows through to the other side. Additionally, the membrane is also resistant to chlorine damage.
The membrane technology was developed by scientists at IBM Research, in collaboration with Central Glass of Japan, the King Abdul-aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia, and the University of Texas, Austin.
Disclaimer: Girish Chadha is a freelance journalist and NDTV.com takes no responsibility for the views expressed in the article. The article published does not in anyway reflect the opinion of NDTV.com.)
The company formally announced the launch of the new areas at the ongoing 5th World Water Forum at Istanbul, saying that its solutions would help governments, water utilities, and companies monitor and manage water more effectively.
The fact that a major IT company has not only entered into a hitherto unrelated area but announced the launch of its services at a global water platform signifies how important the issue of water has become, particularly for the business community.
IBM's director (corporate innovation projects) Kristopher Lichter said that the launch of the new services and the membrane technology was a result of ongoing work on certain technologies as part of the company's global innovation outlook (GIO) over the past three years.
The global water solutions market is estimated to be over $20 billion and comprises largely solutions for IT implementation in public water utilities, cloud computation and data analyses, work flow consulting and water usage in supply chains. IBM believes its competitive advantage would come from integration of technology in solutions and work on real-time data analysis.
Lichter said the company has already been working with several governments, including The Netherlands and Singapore, on various projects that required IT solutions to certain water-related problems like flood water management.
The company had decided to enter into a completely different area like water as part of its efforts to be more environment and resources conscious. Water usage by companies has come under the scanner in recent years as the precious resource becomes scarce. Global companies are being urged to adopt best practices in water usage and management.
A recent study conducted by IBM's Institute for Business Value had indicated that water issues are increasing for businesses and governments. According to the study, which surveyed more than 100 public and private sector executives, 77 per cent of the respondents considered water management ",extremely important", to their organisations while 71 per cent expected water to create more cost and complexity over the next five years.
IBM hopes to use advanced analytics, developed by mathematicians at its labs, as well as the company's information management, technology services, and business consulting capabilities, in the water management solutions area. ",The world is getting smarter in water usage as the resource would remain a key element in the next few years. We hope to make a difference in water",, said Lichter.
The company intends to offer to prospective customers solution in the following major areas: natural water resources, water utilities, infrastructure, metering and Green Sigma for water.
Its services in natural water resources would include providing sensor data integration, analysis and visualization to enable the measurement, modelling and management of water levels, usage and quality in natural water resources.
For utilities, its services would include enabling water providers to make rapid decisions regarding business processes and operational efficiency to maximize their return on investments, besides foreseeing and quickly responding to contamination issues and emergencies.
For water metering, the solutions would help improve management of water supply and demand by integrating data between the dozens of stakeholders involved. At the same time, they would also provide all stakeholders with consistent, real-time information to help them work together to make critical decisions about water supply in a geographic region.
IBM expects to make a dent in the water membrane technology market with its new offering based on the cost advantage. Though company officials did not make a comment on how cost effective the new offering would be as against more established players, Lichter said the cost savings would be ",significant",.
The new membrane technology uses a unique chemistry to create a ",water super-highway", that is far more efficient than other approaches to filtration, the company claimed. The rate at which the water super-highway removes arsenic from contaminated water doubles as the pH increases.
When contaminated water is forced through the membrane, salts and a number of toxins are filtered out and only pure drinking water flows through to the other side. Additionally, the membrane is also resistant to chlorine damage.
The membrane technology was developed by scientists at IBM Research, in collaboration with Central Glass of Japan, the King Abdul-aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia, and the University of Texas, Austin.
Disclaimer: Girish Chadha is a freelance journalist and NDTV.com takes no responsibility for the views expressed in the article. The article published does not in anyway reflect the opinion of NDTV.com.)
