February 28, 2019 – At MWC in Barcelona this week, IBM joined with Vodafone, Mitsufuji, VW’s SEAT, and KONE to highlight ways that the convergence of 5G, cloud computing and artificial intelligence are beginning to transform businesses and lives around the world.
Cloud and high-speed connectivity are already helping companies tap into a range of powerful IT services such as AI, augmented reality and blockchain, and advances in cloud and 5G services are anticipated to greatly increase what is capable for businesses in the coming years.
IBM and Vodafone last month signed a USD $550 million partnership to address the challenges faced by companies that use multiple cloud and AI services. The partnership aims to do this by bringing together connectivity, cloud and AI technologies in order to reduce complexity.
“IBM’s partnerships with global telco companies like Vodafone will help speed up the deployment of 5G and provide easier access to new technologies such as AI, blockchain, edge computing and IoT,” said Michael Valocchi, IBM General Manager of the new venture with Vodafone. “This is because the promise of 5G doesn’t just depend on fiber, spectrum and gadgets, but on advanced levels of integration, automation, optimization and security across the ever more complex IT systems that companies are building in a bid to transform.”
Greg Hyttenrauch, Co-leader of the new venture for Vodafone Business, explained that “by providing the open cloud, connectivity and portable AI technologies that companies need to manage data, workloads and processes across the breadth of their IT systems, Vodafone and IBM are helping to drive innovation and transform user experiences across multiple industries – from retail to agriculture.”
Earlier this month, IBM announced a partnership with Mitsufuji, a Japanese company that provides worker safety solutions that include connected garments, IoT technology and AI to alert workers to high-risk situations. Mitsufuji uses IBM Maximo Worker Insights and IBM’s IoT Platform to help organizations monitor worker safety, spot trends and potential problems, and react to changing environmental conditions.
“Using IBM’s advanced analytics and cloud capabilities, we can create an almost complete picture of a worker’s safety,” said Ayumu Mitera, CEO of Mitsufuji. “Wearables, smart devices and environmental sensors all produce vast amounts of data which are analysed in real-time, helping our clients to create safer working environments and us to get our innovations to market three times faster than previously.”
Video credit: IBM/Vodafone Business/YouTube
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.