IBM and Siemens collaborates in cloud building technologies

IBM has announced on 22 Feb 2016 cloud-based solutions that will leverage Siemens’ building expertise and IBM Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities to maximize the potential of connected buildings and the data they create, helping corporate real estate owners across multiple industries drive business results and meet energy efficiency goals. Siemens is integrating software from IBM's Watson IoT Business Unit, including analytics and asset management, into its cloud-based Navigator energy and sustainability management platform.  This combination will help benefit corporate real estate customers in many ways, including: Corporate real estate owners and operators will now be able to leverage internal and external data on Siemens’ Navigator platform to benchmark building performance and forecast operational budgets.   Predictive analytics can be applied for fault detection and diagnosis so potential issues can be addressed before anything happens.   Text recognition and analytics for utility invoice validation can identify billing errors and enhance data quality. Mobile applications can enable energy audits and creation of audit reports from anywhere. Of all the software solutions available to corporate real estate owners today, none leverage facility optimization solutions from a service provider like Siemens,” explained Matthias Rebellius, CEO, Siemens Building Technologies Division.  “By interfacing our Navigator platform with IBM’s software, we can bring Siemens’ proven expertise in energy optimization and building performance together with IBM’s real estate and asset management systems to create an unrivaled combination that will dramatically improve the productivity of buildings.” Source >>

Marine Corps Migrating to Clouds

Members of the Marine Corps information technology, cyber security and communications infrastructure community joined together at the Marine Corps Systems Command’s Cloud Technology Summit to discuss cloud migration Feb. 11 at Alfred M. Gray Marine Corps Research Center aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. Kenneth Bible, C4 deputy director/deputy chief information officer at Marine Corps Headquarters kicked off the summit discussing the vision for Marine Corps cloud implementation.  “It’s not about IT, it’s about command and control,” he said. “It’s about warfighting. We want to provide access to information wherever we need it; even to the tactical edge.” The Marine Corps cloud computing approach aims to provide Marines in the field access to applications and data via a shared pool of configurable resources that can rapidly be provisioned and released with reduced management effort. Doing so will enhance operational effectiveness with a more knowledge-based force, increase efficiencies to reduce costs, and enable seamless secure command and control capabilities for decision makers. Source>>

How PaaS Facilitates Digital Transformation - SAP HANA

"In my current role, I have traveled extensively meeting with customers across the US in various industries all of whom are interested in leveragingPlatform as a Service (PaaS) as a means to facilitate their company’s digital transformation. As we kickoff 2016 I expect the level of customer interest will only increase and scale exponentially as more and more customers seek to benefit from the same benefits and advantages that their early adopter peers are now realizing. The fact that the technology behind the Platform as a Service segment is mature and stable also helps justify and facilitate wider enterprise adoption. With this market trend in mind here is the first part of a two piece blog post that outlines how PaaS can help you accelerate your digital transformation efforts this year...." "Finally with digital transformation you need to have your cyber-security ducks in a row. Again working with a PaaS expert and taking advantage of their ground up security tools and knowledge will help ensure you stay safe and ahead of bad actors in the economy who are looking to take advantage of slow moving or outdated organizations (your competition). Historically security was handled in house by most firms but with almost monthly headlines involving data breaches. A new approach is needed when it comes to digital transformation. By leveraging a PaaS provider for your application development and business initiatives you will be able to take advantage of physical and virtual security expertise from your PaaS partner. You’ll ultimately be minimizing your exposure and freeing up your valuable internal resources to focus on revenue generating initiatives and priorities." Part One: How PaaS Facilitates Digital Transformation - SAP HANA: