Smarter Planet is a
corporate
A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...
initiative of the
information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
company
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
. The initiative was formed to encourage the ideas of business, government, and civil society leaders worldwide towards their path of achieving
economic growth
In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...
, near-term efficiency,
sustainable development
Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...
, and societal progress. Examples of smarter systems include
smart grid
The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is main ...
s,
water management systems, solutions to
traffic congestion problems, greener buildings, IBM's goal and strategy is to use the capacity of these technology and process management capabilities and, outside the realm of technology, to advocate for policy decisions that, according to the IBM's management, could "make the planet smarter.
History
Smarter Planet was officially formed in November 2008, when IBM's Chairman, CEO, and President
Sam Palmisano at the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
presented a new agenda for building a "smarter planet". In his speech, he emphasized how the world's systems and industries are becoming more interconnected and intelligent, and that
leader
Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations.
"Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
s and citizens can take advantage of this state of affairs to improve these systems and industries. In January 2010, Sam Palmisano gave a follow-up speech to the
Chatham House
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...
called the "Decade of Smart". He highlighted dozens of initiatives in which leaders created smarter systems to solve the planet's most pressing problems. The speech aimed to inspire others to follow the leads of these innovators by helping to create a smarter planet.
Smarter Planet's goal is to use the technology and intelligent systems in order to create smarter power grids, food systems, water, healthcare, and traffic systems.
Advertising campaign
In 2008 and 2009, IBM ran a series of marketing campaigns in newspapers such as ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''. Each of these "op-ads" featured an essay about a system or industry that IBM claims can be made "smarter" through the application of technology.
In January 2010, a display at
Epcot's
Innoventions was installed. Its goal is to showcase how using technology can solve world problems "from reducing road traffic and city crime to improving food safety and local water supplies." A video that plays on a 12-foot globe in the exhibit was created by Christian Matts and edited by Ben Suenaga. Smarter Planet's advertising campaign is also supporting
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talks.
Smarter cities
In 2009, IBM launched the Smarter Cities Challenge. Its goal is to aid major cities worldwide to run more efficiently, save money and resources, and improve the quality of life for their citizens.
[
To date, Smarter Cities Challenge serves thousands of cities around the world in all areas of management including public safety, health and human services, education, infrastructure, energy, water, and environmental. IBM Smarter cities also include citizen participation through People4SmarterCities.com, so they can be part of the technological advances transforming their cities.
Examples of major cities around the world using IBM Smarter Cities technology:
#In 2015, Surat, India implemented an emergency response solution using IBM Technology to be an advanced technological city.
#In 2010, ]Peterborough
Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
, UK, visualised the city systems using data to accelerate collaboration and better decision making.
#In 2013, New Taipei
New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...
City Police, implemented an IBM solution to enhance police productivity and ensuring public safety.
#In 2013, Tucson, Arizona
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, implemented a water conservation solution with IBM focused on smart metering and water leak detection.
#In 2013, Digital Delta transformed Dutch water management system using Big Data
Big data primarily refers to data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data processing, data-processing application software, software. Data with many entries (rows) offer greater statistical power, while data with ...
.
See also
* CeNSE (similar project by HP)
References
{{Ambient intelligence
IBM
Internet of things