IBM Cloud to Deliver New Home Entertainment Services for Philips Smart TVs

  IBM Cloud to Deliver New Home Entertainment Services for Philips Smart TVs

IBM Launches Cloud Platform for the Consumer Electronics Industry

PR Newswire

BERLIN, Aug. 31, 2012

BERLIN, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled a new
cloud platform for consumer electronics firms and announced it will power the
Philips Smart TV platform for Internet services, which will deliver greater
interactive services to millions of TV viewers in more than 30 countries in
Europe, as well as Brazil and Argentina.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO)

Through their broadband connections, smart TVs provide consumers with
innovative, on-demand access to an unlimited array of entertainment options
throughout the Internet. In addition to standard, linear TV, they provide
two-way interaction and personalized content, enabling new "intelligent"
consumer services. 

Today's announcement at the IFA consumer electronics event in Berlin provides
IBM cloud services on a pay-per-use basis to TP Vision, an Amsterdam-based
joint venture between Philips and TV manufacturer TPV responsible for the
development of Philips Smart TV.

TP Vision needed a cloud computing environment resilient enough to support
unexpected service demands at any given time when millions of TV units access
a variety of services on its network. 

"IBM's cloud platform allows us to place the service and application
intelligence into the cloud, and reduces the complexity of managing software
in the TVs for our consumers," said Albert Mombarg, head of Philips Smart TV
at TP Vision. "This provides an economic, more flexible way to create new
services for our viewers. By engaging with IBM on a cost-per-device basis, we
obtain a new business model with predictable costs, and great flexibility to
expand our services and grow our user base. We expect it to transform the way
we offer new services and drive ongoing business innovation."

The new IBM cloud platform opens up paths to new revenue. The data stored
within the cloud can provide new insights about consumer needs and behavior
for the media and entertainment industry, such as recommending TV shows based
on past selections. Service providers, chief marketing officers and
advertisers can use Big Data analytics to deliver more personalized
entertainment options and targeted advertisements. Marketers can generate
collective consumer knowledge derived from the aggregation of data from a
population of homes, in addition to an individual TV.

"As the Internet and smart devices continue to infiltrate home entertainment,
today's consumer electronics manufacturers are looking to deliver new
interactive entertainment services," said Bruce Anderson, general manager of
IBM's global electronics industry. "Televisions are about to become the next
open application platform, similar to the application platforms on mobile
devices.  Organizations are turning to the IBM cloud as the channel for their
innovation."

IBM Launches IBM SmartCloud Service Delivery
Today IBM unveils a cloud-based platform managed by IBM global cloud data
centers, for subscriber and device management, service life-cycle management
and more.  IBM's new service delivery platform, called the IBM SmartCloud
Service Delivery for Electronics, provides consistent management of millions
of different connected consumer devices, provisions services, interfaces with
third parties, and acts as a collector of customer intelligence. It bundles
services, software, hardware, network and third-party services in a single
integrated service, for an all-in price, with per active user pricing, making
smarter TV services more cost effective for manufacturers and consumers.

Examples of live solutions demonstrated at IFA include the Philips Smart TV
and service portal, and a smart home proof-of-concept, with home management
and monitoring, as well as home energy management.

For more information about IBM's global electronics industry, visit
http://www.ibm.com/electronics

To read more about IBM's news at IFA, visit this Smarter Planet blog post.

About IBM Cloud Computing
IBM has helped thousands of clients adopt cloud models and manages millions of
cloud based transactions every day. IBM assists clients in areas as diverse as
banking, communications, healthcare and government to build their own clouds
or securely tap into IBM cloud-based business and infrastructure services. IBM
is unique in bringing together key cloud technologies, deep process knowledge,
a broad portfolio of cloud solutions, and a network of global delivery
centers. For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit
http://www.ibm.com/smartcloud. Follow us on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/ibmcloud and on our blog at
http://www.thoughtsoncloud.com

Contact Information:

Colleen Haikes
IBM Media Relations
chaikes@us.ibm.com
415-545-4003    

Jelmer Letterie
IBM Media Relations
jelmer.letterie@nl.ibm.com
31-20-513-3241

SOURCE IBM

Website: http://www.ibm.com