IBM Talk

Smarter Cities Concept

IBM recently announced the implementation of its Smarter Cities concept in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. In the heart of downtown Rio is a control room that resembles a NASA launch center. Employees are dressed in white jumpsuits and work diligently in front of a huge wall of computer screens.

Real-time Information

Several screens display video streams directly from subway stations, highways and major intersections from across the city. Another group of monitors show weather tracking that predicts rainfall in the region. Yet another bunch of screens present a satellite map with the location of power failures or blackouts, car accidents and other common city problems.

The IBM Experiment

Although the systems flowed seamlessly, IBM is using Rio as its guinea pig to implement this cohesive unit of real-time, streaming information into major cities around the world. The building that houses this high-tech equipment is known as the Operations Center of the City of Rio.

Although IBM has developed similar systems in the past, they were always created for single agencies such as police or fire departments. Never before has the world been privy to a system that integrates information from all city agencies. This is the work of a super-intelligent and adaptive unit known as “Smarter Cities”. If this plan is successful, it could become a multi-billion dollar business for IBM.

The Challenges of Running a City

Running any large city is extremely difficult. In addition to balancing budgets, the governing bodies must combine agencies into a single cohesive unit. Unfortunately this never occurs. However, with Smarter Cities, this dream may become a reality.

Security Intelligence Plans for IBM

IBM recently revealed the details of its Q1 Labs acquisition which included the QRadar Security Intelligence platform. These new security tools are based on technology acquired from fall 2011. This newly released information indicates IBM’s plan to aggressively expand in the security field.

QRadar

QRadar is a control center that synchronizes intelligence data and real-time security from over 400 sources. A planned assimilation for the new platform is with IBM’s X-Force Intelligence Threat Feed which monitors (real-time) and average of 13 billion security events each day for approximately 4,000 clients in over 130 countries. This will allow the QRadar system to maintain visibility with regards to the latest security threats and trends.

Bad Guys Moving Faster than the Good Guys

IBM denotes that the greatest challenge it faces is the data protection security software and is unable to keep pace with hackers, phishers and those with malicious intent. The frequency, techniques, volume and variety of attacks continues to grow. It is impossible to keep up by simply plugging the holes in security systems that are occasionally discovered. Instead, threats need to be immediately addressed and almost expected.

IBM’s Approach

IBM is bringing in a specialized approach that the competition does not have: more integration and more automation. Most security suites fulfill a limited role within organizations. With modern threats being multi-faceted, a centralized, complete security suite is required. This is exactly what IBM intends to provide. Their approach is to implement more data to find threats and utilize that information to apply intelligence of future attacks.

Why Choose IBM?

Consumers are looking for deals and discounts and this is one of the reasons why many of them choose to purchase IBM computer systems. The popularity of IBM laptops have grown tremendously in the past decade. You might be wondering why you should purchase from IBM when there are so many other brands available. Even if these brands are offering a cheaper laptop, then here are some reasons to consider IBM computer systems.

IBM is known for quality. It has a long established relationship with consumers in which the quality of the their products speak for themselves. By purchasing an IBM computer system, you will be tapping into the technology that has made the company what it is today. This computer brand is one of the oldest companies and it is also one of the most recognizable computer brands.Another reason to choose IBM computers is the different products available. Many computer companies now offer only one or two different types of systems for purchase. However, IBM and Lenovo has combined their market shares to reach a wider consumer audience. As a result, you will have more products to choose from. Some people might not like the idea of too much to choose from in terms of electronic gadgets, but sometimes it can be worse when there is hardly any choice available. Yet, this is not the case with IBM and you can choose from a wide range of powerful machines.

A third reason to consider IBM computers is the price. Not only does the company offer a wide range of products, but it also offers a wide range of prices. So the businessperson looking for a high end model will be able to find something, just as quickly as the college student buying their first computer.