IBM and Vodafone have announced a collaboration that combines mobile communications and cloud computing to enable the remote management of ‘smart home’ appliances. The two companies have demonstrated the technology at the IFA consumer electronics event, showing how a washing machine and other domestic systems can be controlled via a smartphone.
IBM’s SmartCloud Service Delivery Platform provides a cloud-based platform that lets appliance manufacturers manage appliances and introduce new consumer services, while Vodafone’s Global M2M (Machine-to-Machine) Platform enables the manufacturers to introduce wireless connectivity.
Marc Tastayre, Vodafone M2M Global Business Development Manager, said “The smart home market is now a reality and Vodafone is committed to delivering to it. Security is the first important step for connecting devices to the internet and the collaboration between IBM and Vodafone is putting in place an open, efficient and scalable solution for the consumer electronics industry that will enable it to successfully progress the creation of the ‘Internet of Things’.”