IBM to set up Smarter Cities technology centre in Ireland

The centre has funding of €66 million from the IDA, the country’s inward investment agency, to create 200 jobs over the next three years. The researchers will work with city authorities, universities, small and large businesses, IBM Research and IBM’s Software Development Lab in Ireland to research, develop and commercialise new ways of making city systems more connected, sustainable and intelligent.  

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe, said, “The decision by IBM underscores the Irish Government’s commitment to providing an environment where industry and academia can collaborate to create economic growth through innovation and research”   

Due in large part to the enormous modelling complexity and intensive computing resources required to build truly integrated systems, urban planners and local governments have traditionally evolved separate solutions for areas such as water, traffic and emergency response.  By integrating these core systems and applying advanced analytic capabilities, cities will be able to take a holistic view, enhancing decision-making, improving urban planning, and providing better and more cost-effective services.

“Researchers at the new centre will investigate how advanced analytics and visualisation techniques, coupled with solutions such as cloud, stream, and high performance computing, can help city authorities make optimal use of resources and so meet the challenges of our increasingly urbanised world,” said Katherine Frase, Vice President, Industry Solutions and Emerging Business at IBM Research.

IBM also welcomed the recent announcement by Dublin City of its intent to collaborate with IBM as a test bed, positioning Dublin as a smarter city.