HCL Technologies and global tech giant IBM are teaming up to develop Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to help customers. The strategic initiative, announced last month, reports the companies will initially focus on specific verticals including Industrial and Manufacturing, and Smart Facilities to co-develop solutions around “Connected Products and Operations” such as remote monitoring, smart Inventory Management, smart building and facilities management.
Also, the partners will open an Incubation Center this month in Noida, India, where they will collaborate on developing IoT solutions.
"IBM and HCL see a huge market transformation in process," says Chris O'Connor, General Manager of Offerings, Internet of Things, IBM. Connor, as reported by Thor Olavsrud, says, "It's not a single industry or a single space. The notion that sensors and the interconnectivity of sensors is widely available is changing everything. The real problem today is making the business adjustments necessary to take advantage of these capabilities."
The collaboration combines HCL Technologies’ rich heritage in Engineering R&D Services, global systems integration expertise supported with strong infrastructure services, along with IBM’s strength in enterprise asset management, cloud and analytics. Through their joint efforts, the two companies will enable seamless integration of device, connectivity, data platform and analytics for organizations across the world to address some of the most complex enterprise and industrial IoT challenges.
BCC Research notes that the IoT market is booming, but lacks clear direction and many companies are trying to identify their own solutions. The increasing deployment of IPv6, which will enable an unlimited number of addresses and thus allow countless connections of IoT devices possible, is driving industry initiatives such as HCL and IBM’s.
“Building an extensive ecosystem around the Internet of Things is imperative to the success of all complex Internet of Things client solutions,” says O’Connor. “Combining HCL's IoT design capabilities in hardware and platforms with IBM IoT Foundation platform will result in a capability that generates new value across every segment we are targeting.”
According to HCL’s Sukamal Banerjee, who heads the company’s IoT business technology, “The intersection of employees, data and technology enabled intelligent machines is creating fundamental shifts in enterprise business models, leading to not only increased productivity and efficiency but also opening a plethora of new revenue opportunities for companies.”
Banerjee hopes the partnership between IBM and HCL, India’s fourth-largest software services company, will facilitate accelerated adoption of IoT within and across industries. The partnership plans to expand the Incubation Center concept to both the U.S. and Europe. Banerjee notes that the center will offer a hands-on lab where clients can partner with solution architects and technical experts to address their IoT challenges.
The global market for IoT devices and chipsets reached nearly $4.2 billion in 2014. BCC Research expects this market to reach $6.6 billion by 2015 and nearly $49.2 billion by 2020, registering a five-year (2015-2020) compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49.3%.
Related BCC Research reports:
The Internet of Things (IFT118A)
Global Markets and Technologies for Sensors (IAS006F)
Commercial Building Automation Products: Technologies and Global Markets (IFT010D)
