IBM Happenings: December 2006

January 15, 2007

The month of December at IBM was filled with a slew of announcements in hardware, software, services, acquisitions, and corporate initiatives. I was particularly interested to see that IBM and Circuit City Stores, Inc. are exploring how to apply virtual worlds and 3-D environments to retail business models.The result could lead to new growth areas. The announcements made by the company during the month are below, and the complete Index of IBM Happenings (by year and month) is here.

List of Announcements for December 2006

IBM, Yahoo! unveil free enterprise search software

IBM OmniFind Yahoo! Edition, a no-cost, entry level enterprise search product, will help eliminate financial and technology barriers to intranet and Web search.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20767.wss

IBM extends PLM with SOA

IBM’s Product Development Integration Framework will elevate product lifecycle management from an engineering function to a strategic process by linking product design and core business processes.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20768.wss

IBM, universities announce open source program

Under IBM’s new Open Collaborative Research program, results developed between IBM, university faculty and students will be made available as open source software code.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20772.wss

Danish Tax Authority signs services agreement

The Danish Tax Authority (SKAT) and IBM announced a 24-million euro, 3-year services agreement to modernize SKAT’s IT systems.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20749.wss

New memory chip technology demonstrated

Scientists from IBM, Macronix and Qimonda demonstrated a prototype phase-change memory device that switched 500 times faster than flash while using less power to write data into a cell.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20744.wss

Hospital selects IBM outsourcing services

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has signed a five-year, $13 million contract with IBM to manage the hospital’s financial, materials management and grants-tracking systems.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20752.wss

IBM, Siemens win German military contract

The German Federal Armed Forces have commissioned a consortium consisting of Siemens Business Services and IBM to modernize and manage its non-military information technology.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20822.wss

IBM demonstrates optical device

IBM researchers have built a device capable of delaying the flow of light on a silicon chip which may one day allow computers to achieve better performance.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20815.wss

IBM wins design awards

IBM’s Boston Center for Solution Innovation won two prestigious MITX Awards for the design and development of a new feature for its client L.L. Bean.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20812.wss

Dansk Supermarked signs 3-year contract

Denmark’s leading retailer signed a 3-year services contract for IBM to manage existing systems and build up and run infrastructure to support new SAP applications.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20808.wss

Chicago Transit selects IBM for security pilot

IBM is working with the Chicago Transit Authority on a pilot program to test a mobile security network that will improve safety and security on CTA’s bus and rail system.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20804.wss

IBM, Circuit City to explore virtual worlds

IBM and Circuit City Stores, Inc. are exploring how to apply virtual worlds
and 3-D environments to retail business models.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20800.wss

Complete Index of IBM Happenings (by year and month)