Verizon and IBM are combining their capabilities in 5G connectivity, edge and cloud computing, and data analytics to service the industrial market’s pursuit of digital change, as part of the so-called Industry 4.0 movement.
The collaboration will see the pair collaborate on these various technologies to produce new Industry 4.0 solutions for mobile asset tracking and management to help enterprises improve operations, optimise production quality, and enhance worker safety.
Verizon is offering 5G connectivity, mobile edge compute (MEC) infrastructure, and IoT devices into the Industry 4.0 bargain; IBM is offering hybrid edge-and-cloud computing and analytics (artificial intelligence), plus “asset management and connected operations”, they said.
In terms of commercial offers, Verizon is pitching its ‘5G Ultra Wideband (UWB) network’ – not to be confused with the emerging UWB low-power ‘fine-ranging’ technology in the IoT market – and ThingSpace IoT platform and Critical Asset Sensor (CAS) solution. These will be offered with IBM’s Maximo Monitor with IBM Watson and advanced analytics.
The pair said their combined Industry 4.0 solutions will help clients detect, locate, diagnose, and respond to system anomalies, monitor asset health, and predict failures in near real-time. They are working on combined solutions for 5G and MEC-enabled use cases such as “near real-time cognitive automation” for the industrial environment.
They make reference to remote control robotics, near real-time cognitive video analysis, and plant automation, as well as on joint Industry 4.0 solutions for worker safety, predictive maintenance, product quality, and production automation.
Tami Erwin, chief executive at Verizon Business, said: “This is about enabling the future of industry in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Combining Verizon’s 5G UWB Network and MEC capabilities with IBM’s AI and production automation can provide industrial innovation on a massive scale and help companies increase automation, minimise waste, lower costs, and offer their own clients a better response time and customer experience.”
Bob Lord, senior vice president of cognitive applications, blockchain and ecosystems at IBM, said: “The industrial sector is undergoing unprecedented transformation as companies begin to return to full-scale operations, aided by new technology to help reduce costs and increase productivity.
“Through this collaboration, we plan to build upon our longstanding relationship with Verizon to help industrial enterprises capitalize on joint solutions that are designed to be multi-cloud ready, secured and scalable, from the data center all the way out to the enterprise edge.”
