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Smarter Computing is an IT computing infrastructure framework created by IBM. The framework is defined by a set of principles, which, the company says, form a foundation for modern computing systems. The company asserts that these systems are needed to support the demands of today's businesses – and in particular to enable "Smarter Planet" IT and business solutions.

Overview
On March 1, 2011, IBM announced the Smarter Computing framework to support Smarter Planet. One key result of the Smarter Planet business model—–particularly the idea of "intelligent, instrumented, interconnected" systems——is data growth and the related needs to store and analyze that data.

Traditional computing models can meet some of the demands of Smarter Planet. But, IBM suggested that a new model was needed to balance four competing pressures:


 * The need for high-capacity systems that can handle large data sets
 * The need for high-performance systems that can analyze this data in real time
 * The need to quickly change computing systems to adapt to evolving demands for capacity and performance
 * The need to reduce computing costs, especially in the developing world

IBM believes these competing demands created the need for a different computing model that the company dubbed Smarter Computing. The Smarter Computing model is based on three key principles: designing systems for data, optimizing systems for specific workloads and managing systems in using a cloud computing architecture.


 * Designed for data:
 * Modern businesses create and gather enormous amounts of data and the data is changing. More and more data is unstructured——audio, video, images, streams of text——instead of structured data. IBM has asserted that businesses need better tools to store and analyze all of this information to improve decision making. This is often referred to today as big data.


 * Workload optimization
 * According to IBM, the changing data landscape and the changing business environment have made computing workloads place more and more specialized demands on computer systems. IBM has asserted that systems need to be optimized for those demands.
 * According to IBM, the changing data landscape and the changing business environment have made computing workloads place more and more specialized demands on computer systems. IBM has asserted that systems need to be optimized for those demands.


 * Managed using cloud computing technologies
 * According to IBM, cloud server technologies can help improve service delivery and overall business efficiency. The company believes that cloud computing systems can significant reducing management costs and support the IT flexibility businesses need to meet constantly changing business demands.
 * According to IBM, cloud server technologies can help improve service delivery and overall business efficiency. The company believes that cloud computing systems can significant reducing management costs and support the IT flexibility businesses need to meet constantly changing business demands.

History
IBM has owned and managed a wide range of information-related businesses, including typewriters, vacuum tube calculators, magnetic tape drives, disk drives, memory chips, relational databases, ATMs, mainframes, personal computers, supercomputers, consulting, IT services, software and analytics. According to the company, IBM moved into (and sometime out of) these markets based on a set of core values. These values have driven the company to create innovative business technology in order to help IBM's clients succeed. Beginning in the early 20th century, IBM began focusing on business computing. As the business and the world have changed, the company has brought a number of innovative business computing technologies and models to market:


 * The IBM 305 RAMAC was the first computer to use a random-access hard disk drive and changed the way data was stored and used.


 * The IBM 1401—–launched in 1959 as the first "mainframe"—–was one of the initial computers to run entirely on transistors and became the first truly affordable, general purpose business computer.


 * The IBM System/360 offered new compatibility across the product line and even with other company's computers; System/360 changed computing from task-orientation to process-orientation.


 * IBM launched "e-Business" in the late 1990s. The e-Business model described a networked computing and business model that was intended to help customers do business in the new Internet economy.

The Smarter Planet Initiative
In November 2008, IBM Chairman, CEO and President Sam Palmisano outlined a new agenda for building a "Smarter Planet," explaining how the world's systems and industries are becoming more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent. IBM illustrates the impact of this model by highlighting initiatives in which leaders created smarter systems to achieve economic growth, near-term efficiency, sustainable development and societal progress. Examples include smart grids, water management systems, solutions to traffic congestion problems, greener buildings, and many others. These systems have historically been difficult to manage because of their size and complexity.

Notable projects
Since the announcement of Smarter Computing, IBM has announced a range of new or refreshed products under the Smarter Computing umbrella, including:


 * zEnterprise
 * iDataPlex
 * IBM Watson - Ginni Rometty, IBM's current President and CEO, spearheaded the company's cloud computing and analytics businesses. She is credited with readying IBM Watson for commercial use.
 * PureSystems
 * Smarter storage for Smarter Computing

Industry and competition
According to a survey conducted by IBM and IDC, the most efficient companies have been able to spend more than 50% in new projects to transform their businesses. Implementing techniques such as virtualization, de-duplication, compression and automatic classification, IT managers can reduce the amount of time they use their storage architects to provide up to 50%, while reducing the cost by 20%. Given the nature of these offerings, many companies provide competing solutions in virtualization, cloud computing, analytics and storage -- including SAP, HP, VMware, EMC, Cisco, Equinix and others -- focusing on various industry segments in the marketplace.