IBM launches AI and Advanced Analytics integrated IoT solutions

IBM launched a portfolio of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics integrated IoT Internet of Things solutions to improve asset maintenance strategies.

Companies in the field of energy & utilities, chemicals, oil and gas, manufacturing, and transportation, have thousands of assets that need to be monitored and analyzed constantly for maintenance, repair, and replacement decisions. These assets include vehicles, manufacturing robots, turbines, mining equipment, elevators, and electrical transformers, are essential for operations for these organizations and generate huge amounts of data on their operating conditions.

The announcement noted that unplanned downtime can cost a company as much as $260,000 an hour according to analyst firm Aberdeen Research.

IBM Maximo Asset Performance Management (APM) solution help build predictive maintenance strategies by collecting data from these physical assets in near real-time. The solution further provides insights on current operating conditions, predict potential issues, identify problems and offer repair recommendations. The integration of advanced analytics and AI can further help business leaders to predict consequences and identify problems before even failure takes place.

Executive Opinion

"It's critical for companies to think about how effective their maintenance practices are. With the launch of its new Asset Performance Management solutions, IBM is helping organizations make insight-driven decisions with an integrated portfolio of advanced analytics and AI capabilities to help them improve operational effectiveness and efficiency," said Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D., general manager, IBM Watson IoT. "Maximo APM is designed to enhance an organization's existing Enterprise Asset Management system by addressing all aspects of asset performance including health, predictive maintenance, and repair optimization."

Customer Insight

Director of facilities at MARTA, Remy Saintil, said, "MARTA is on track to become the first North American public transit agency to achieve ISO 55000 certification. Collaborating with IBM provides MARTA with the innovation from a technology icon, which fortifies us as an industry leader in Transit Asset Management."

The announcement noted that, with the help of data mining, machine learning and AI, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) can access and analyze data to better understand the condition of equipment classified in the categories of life safety, operation critical and operation support to identify potential concerns of a "system" with multiple stakeholders.

Recent Acquisition

In 2018, IBM has acquired Denver, the U.S. based Oniqua Holdings to strengthen its capabilities to help businesses proactively maintain vital assets.