Over the last 20 years, huge investments have been made in metropolitan areas to understand the immense volume of data collected about the citizens inhabiting these cities. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent combining data with emerging mobile, sensor and machine learning technologies. This is all done with the goal to improve infrastructure and the well-being of citizens. But twenty years later, we find ourselves worse off than when we started.

The price of poor infrastructure

The American Society of Civil Engineers rates America’s infrastructure condition a D+ , in which infrastructure condition and capacity are of serious concern with strong risk of failure. The funding gap over the next decade is estimated to be as high as $2 trillion. Major infrastructure managers around the world struggle with aging structures and systems. The cost of constant physical inspections and continued maintenance continues to increase. They need to be able to improve how they manage their current infrastructure. They also need to make needed repairs and replacements quickly — in a more efficient and strategic manner.

The price of poor infrastructure is massive.

Infrastructure encompasses the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities we require as a society.  It is critical and relies on developments in science, technology, engineering and math to help further economic growth. Developments in these areas will help reduce the risks that the current infrastructure condition poses. And infrastructure continues to be a big investment area. IDC estimates annual spending on “smarter city” technologies to reach $135 billion by 2021. It feels like the right time to make it a priority.

Announcing IBM Maximo for Civil Infrastructure

That is why IBM® continues to work to provide leadership to infrastructure management professionals in the energy, utilities, transportation and civil infrastructure domains. IBM Maximo® is deployed by almost half of the leaders in these domains. And we continue to invest in this arena, leveraging the knowledge of partners to build an ecosystem of solutions. This includes the new Maximo for Civil Infrastructuresolution. This enterprise asset  management solution will help organizations monitor the structural health of bridges, tunnels, highways, dams, grids, railways and more, extending the lifespan of assets by optimizing maintenance and providing early warnings of deterioration and damage . The information it provides helps enable a quick, preemptive response.

Partnering with industry leaders to put citizens at the center

For this next phase of solutions for infrastructure professionals, we are partnering with leaders like Sund and Baelt, who are in the midst of their own digital transformation. They will combine their operational know-how with IBM’s Maximo and Watson® IoT software.

With these new solutions, including IoT, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, engineers, operators and users can receive data in near real-time to perform risk assessments and make rapid decisions to prioritize and target critical repairs. This solution will  instrument and interconnect  these assets, using open and extensible approaches to bring together data from sensors and many other sources to ensure the infrastructure critical to our societies allow citizens and businesses to manage their daily activities in a safe and efficient manner.

Learn more

To learn more about IBM Maximo’s legacy of leadership in the areas of intelligent infrastructure, check out our infrastructure page, and learn more about IBM Maximo asset management solutions.

Read the press release here.

If you are attending IoT Exchange this week, be sure to check out these sessions:

Smarter Infrastructure for the Digital Inhabitant

Speaker: Harriet Wright, Atkins Global

2:15-3pm, Wednesday, Orange Ballroom E

Using EAM, AI and IoT to Solve the Rural Connectivity Challenge

Speakers: Jim Stritzinger, Revolution D Inc. & Murtuza Cholawala, IBM

1:15-2pm, Wednesday, Florida Ballroom 1