IBM launches Watson Internet of things hub in Germany

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IBM said Tuesday that it will create a global headquarters for its Internet of things efforts in Munich as it aims to bridge its Watson unit with industries.

The Watson Internet of things (IoT) unit will be based in Munich, Germany and feature 1,000 developers, consultants and researchers to work. The headquarters will also be a test bed for data scientists, programmers and engineers. Target markets include auto, electronics, healthcare, manufacturers and insurance.

Big Blue added that it will also couple its Watson cognitive computing application programming interfaces (APIs) with its cloud infrastructure focused on IoT. The combination of Watson APIs and IBM's IoT cloud will be dubbed IBM Watson IoT Foundation Analytics, which will have machine learning, natural language processing and analytics for text, video and images.

Watson, cloud and the IoT are three areas IBM is hoping can offset the company's slowing businesses and fuel future growth.

IBM added that it has opened new Watson IoT experience centers in Beijing, China; Boeblingen, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, Korea; Tokyo, Japan; and Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Texas. These centers are designed to highlight IBM's portfolio and show industry-specific applications.