IBM rolls out asset performance management tools to better target industrial IoT

IBM said it is rolling out a series of analytics and Internet of things tools to better target asset heavy industries such as manufacturers, oil and gas and utilities.

Also: What is the IoT? Everything you need to know about the Internet of Things right now 

The applications, which fall under the IBM Maximo Asset Performance Management (APM) banner, are aimed to make IBM more competitive with the likes of GE's industrial IoT efforts as well as upstarts such as Uptake and C3.

Big Blue's Maximo is a brand typically associated with enterprise asset management. Maximo is a leading suite in that area. IBM's bet is that it can add APM as an extension to track assets such as vehicles, equipment, turbine and elevators.

The industrial IoT space has horizontal vendors like IBM, but also has players like Honeywell and United Technologies. Industrial companies are using analytics and IoT to better maintain equipment and proactively handle issues. The challenge for many vendors are that industrial IoT platforms are blending together. 

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For instance, a developer survey by the Eclipse Foundation found that IoT developers are flocking to AWS and Microsoft Azure as their preferred platforms. 

Specifically, IBM is rolling out the following:

• Asset Health Insights, software that makes assessments based on real-time sensor data, records and external data.
• Predictive Maintenance Insights, an application that models failure dates, degradation curves and anomalies.
• Equipment Management Assistant, which uses artificial intelligence to help technicians make repairs.

IBM said it will customize its APM suite for industries starting with energy and utilities. Big Blue cited The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) as a customer of its APM suite.

Photos: From the first PCs to the ThinkPad – classic IBM machines

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