Distributor Avnet (NYSE:AVT) is partnering with IBM (NYSE:IBM) to increase the development Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
The two companies’ will team up to help channel partners develop IoT solutions built on the IBM Watson IoT Platform.
“Developing an IoT solution is incredibly complex and requires deep technical knowledge from a semiconductor level to advanced data analytics running in a datacentre,” comments Patrick Zammit, president of Avnet Technology Solutions, Global. “Avnet and IBM joined together to simplify the development cycle at every stage and give our customers the power to unlock the potential of IoT.”
Avnet cites an IDC report that estimates that the IoT market will account for more than $921bn in technology spending in 2016. [1]
Avnet and IBM says they will provide customers with a range of resources including: IBM Watson IoT Platform, IBM Watson and IBM Cloud; IoT development platforms and kits that accelerate the prototyping of IBM Bluemix-enabled IoT solutions; proof-of-concept solutions, and Avnet datacentre and cloud solutions based on IBM Watson IoT Platform that provide analytics engines, asset management, data management tools, IoT Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) capabilities and security.
They will also provide access to the Avnet Cloud Marketplace, which features IBM Cloud infrastructure; IBM Software-as-a Service (SaaS) solutions related to cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security applications; and branded storefronts, as well as solutions design, integration and assembly support services at its solutions centers in the Americas and EMEA and technical education and training through Avnet Academy on IBM Bluemix and IBM Watson IoT Platform.
Additionally, customers will be able to leverage the Avnet Visible Things evaluation and development reference platform. Driven by Avnet in EMEA, the platform is built on IBM Watson IoT Platform, designed for edge-to-enterprise IoT projects. It delivers hardware and embedded software to connect smart sensors to the Avnet Devicepoint service, which adds context to sensor information and loads it to an enterprise-strength core system. It then presents a set of business and integration services focused on analytics, cloud and mobile.
[1] Source: IDC, Worldwide Internet of Things Forecast, 2015–2020, Doc#256397, May 2015
