IBM试图重新定义资产管理

http://www.managingautomation.com/maonline/news/read/IBM_Tries_to_Redefine_Asset_Management_33363

 

IBM’s integrated service management strategy takes traditional asset management up a notch — or two, or three — by combining industry frameworks, management software, and best practices required to holistically manage infrastructure, people, and processes across the service delivery chain.

In IBM’s “Smarter World” concept, integrated service management (ISM) plays an important role, said Al Zollar, general manager of IBM’s Tivoli Software division during his keynote presentation at the IBM Pulse conference in Las Vegas in February.

ISM serves as the glue linking the business, IT, and physical assets. “You can see all of the assets and processes from a single dashboard,” Zollar said.

End-to-end unified management is something IBM has been developing over the past few years, starting with its acquisition of MRO Software in 2006. Since then, IBM has integrated technologies from some of its more recent acquisitions, including ILOG’s business rules management system and Cognos’ business intelligence.

“IBM has $6 billion invested in building out and acquiring integrated service capabilities,” Zollar said. “We are really serious.”

So serious, in fact, that the company is now focusing on industry-specific technology frameworks that leverage its stable of applications to create end-to-end visibility of IT, equipment, and even buildings, in a federated asset management model.

Currently, IBM has about two dozen industry-specific, SOA-based frameworks that create a set of rules to orchestrate processes. In aerospace, for example, a product development integration framework addresses design and engineering management, including mechanical, electrical, and software development. For a chemical customer, on the other hand, the framework focuses on blending ingredients and managing batches, IBM officials said.

The manufacturing frameworks also leverage key industry standards from ISA, ISO, Open O&M, and MIMOSA, which allows a view into KPIs and alarms and events associated with assets.

Now, even building assets are addressed in the integrated service model as a result of a new agreement between IBM and Johnson Controls, announced at Pulse.

The companies will team up to provide a “smart building” solution comprising IBM Tivoli Monitoring for Energy Management software, Maximo asset management, and Johnson Controls’ Metasys building management solution.

Through a common dashboard and the use of analytics and sensors, manufacturers can manage energy usage by monitoring heat, air conditioning, and power consumption. They can also identify security breaches, predict equipment maintenance, and locate assets across the facility, the companies said.

For many companies, ISM represents more than just asset management, but new revenue opportunities.

“ISM is providing overall visibility into the infrastructure and how it supports specific business services,” said Jim Crosskey, manager of strategy and operations at IBM Tivoli Industry Solutions. “In manufacturing, one scenario is service after sales.” Using a combination of IBM Maximo asset management, IT, and intelligent sensors embedded within a product, manufacturers can deliver aftermarket services for monitoring, maintaining, and updating equipment, he said.

IBM will continue to build out its ISM-enabled frameworks, officials said, which will ultimately change the way companies do business in the future.

“From the standpoint of a smarter planet, I think we are on the cusp of something really big,” Crosskey said.