In its effort to grow further, IBM, one of the biggest American multinational technology and consulting companies in the world, has created an Internet of Things Unit and has revealed its plan to establish an Education Division. Leading the newly formed unit is the former CEO of Thomas Cook Group in the UK, Harriet Green.
Green, now the vice president as well as the general manager of the newly formed unit, will soon manage a unit which will be composed of over than 2,000 researchers, developers and consultants. These employees will work with IBM analytics as well as cloud services, the company said.
Last March, the company announced its plan to invest $3 billion in IoT over the next four years. Specifically, the company aims to deliver cloud data services, industry-specific cognitive computing technologies, as well as developer tools for use by its partners and clients.
IBM said it is confident in the capacity of Harriet as a transformative head.
"Throughout her career, across multiple geographies and cultures, she has consistently shown a deep understanding of the needs of her customers and clients, and how to help them achieve their goals and aspirations," the senior vice president of solutions portfolio and research, John E. Kelly states. "Her creativity and vision will help organizations transform themselves to take fuller advantage of emerging data and cognitive technologies."
For several years now, Big Blue has already produced a significant number of projects that are IoT-focused.
Its IoT Foundation, a cloud service, for instance, was established last year. This project serves as a data escrow service. With the help of this cloud service, two companies can store and share their data in a very secure environment.
Meanwhile, the Education Divison will officially kick off later this year.
Green, on an interview, says she is honored to be part of the company. She adds that IoT is significant in helping enterprises as well as governments at each and every level.
Apart from being the previous head of the Thomas Cook Group, Green was also the former Premier Farnell's chief executive, a technology products distributor. She was also an Arrow Electronics executive.
Photo: ChrisDag | Flickr
