ARMONK, NY - 12 Jul 2017: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide IoT Platforms 2017 Vendor Assessment (Doc # US42033517, July 2017). The report highlights IBM’s Watson IoT Platform on IBM Cloud, which today is being used by thousands of clients and partners across six continents including BMW, KONE, HARMAN and more.

 

Right now, everyday objects, from toasters and contact lenses, to hospital beds, factory floors, elevators and cars, are not only becoming connected and digitized, they are creating data. IBM has invested $3 billion to bring cognitive computing to IoT and create a portfolio that helps clients make sense of this data to create a safer world, better consumer experiences and levels of service excellence that have never been achieved before.

 

The new IDC MarketScape report evaluated 12 IoT platform software providers, examining specific attributes such as product functionality breadth, protocol/device support, integration capabilities, edge support, breadth of complementary portfolio offerings and more. The report named IBM Watson IoT a Leader stating that “IoT is one of the lynchpins of IBM's strategy and is critical in helping its customers on their journeys to becoming cognitive businesses.”

“As the world becomes more digitalized and connected, the opportunity for businesses to transform has never been more real. At IBM, we not only saw these signs early on, we committed ourselves to leading this next industry revolution,” said Harriet Green, General Manager, IBM Watson Internet of Things, Customer Engagement and Education. “To be named a leader by the IDC MarketScape is an amazing honor that validates our efforts to helping companies achieve their goals whether its connecting devices, building IoT apps, solving industry specific business problems or transforming their companies and industries.”

The new IDC MarketScape report cites key areas of strength including IBM’s muti-layered security strategy, demonstrable cognitive analytics capabilities from Watson and its public, private and on-premise deployment options and global reach which together meet the needs of local companies and multinational companies that face strict regulatory compliance regarding data privacy. The report also notes that “IBM has made investments into innovative technologies that will provide value above and beyond what a standard IoT platform may provide (Node-RED for rapidly building IoT applications, Blockchain for supply chain management, and payments processing).”

IBM commitment to IoT innovation continues in its Global Watson IoT Headquarters Center in Munich, Germany. Opened in 2016, the facility features the industry's first-ever cognitive collaboratory. This fast-growing ecosystem includes key clients from all over the world - BMW, CAP Gemini, BNP Parnibas, Avnet and Tech Mahindra, Fortiss – who work hand in hand with 1,000 IBM researches, designers and developers to tackle industry specific IoT challenges.

To download an excerpt of the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide IoT Platforms 2017 Vendor Assessment, click here.

To view the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide IoT Platforms 2017 Vendor Assessment infographic, click here.

About IDC MarketScape

IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor's position within a given market.  IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared.  The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors. 

About IBM Watson IoT

IBM is an established leader in the Internet of Things with more than 6,000 client engagements in 170 countries, a growing ecosystem of over 1,400 partners and more 750 IoT patents which together help to draw actionable insight from billions of connected devices, sensors and systems around the world. For more information on IBM Watson IoT, please visit www.ibm.com/iot.