What Makes You Special? A unique product? Or service? A location? Scale? Can you protect it? Can it be commoditised? Can it keep you special forever? The demands of an on demand world continue to grow. The power of the internet continues to astound. The result is globalisation and collaboration on a scale that has in fact flattened the world. You want to be special. The world wants to be flat. Welcome to the next era of business. The innovation era - where staying special is paramount to growth.
IBM has always delivered innovation to clients, but our business today goes further - to help clients innovate, to partner with them in getting special.
We are an innovator's innovator.
All around you, companies are cultivating an ecosystem of innovation. Learn how they've infused it into their thinking, products, processes and people.
How IBM has helped companies do special things.
 Home smart home
IBM is working on a prototype for the smart home. One with home fixtures, furnishings and appliances that can do everything from monitor your heart rate to alert you online that you left the garage door open. The robot maid and automatic dog walker are still a few years off, but the smart home should soon be ready for you to move in.
 Meters that read themselves
ASM Brescia, an Italian utility, powered up customer service and streamlined processes with automated meter reading. IBM is integrating over 200,000 meters in an end-to-end solution that links the meters directly to ASM Brescia's billing and customer service systems. The result? More efficiency, increased market share, and warmer customer feelings toward their utility company.
 Revolutions that go unnoticed
In the innovation ecosystem, you don't have to do everything yourself. India's telecom giant, Bharti, has created a whole new business model. They outsourced I.T. to IBM, and their telecom network to other partners, to focus on managing customer satisfaction and growth. At 100% growth a year, it's nothing short of a revolution. Just not the kind you hear about on the news.
 Tellers that know your fortune
At most banks, tellers don't speak fluent ATM, and financial advisers and phone reps don't compare notes. Wachovia wanted to be different. IBM helped them implement a Service Oriented Architecture to get all their financial processes speaking the same language. Now Wachovia's ATMs, tellers, financial experts and phone reps share a consistent view of all your financial information, so they can better assist you.
 Checkouts that know apples from oranges
A revolutionary new checkout system was developed by IBM that identifies fruit and vegetable types by sight. It then feeds the information to the register, which weighs them and calculates total cost. So now, every line can be an express line.
 Ending traffic and lung congestion
IBM worked with the Swedish Road Administration on a traffic system that automatically charges drivers who come into Stockholm during peak hours. Since the system launched, the city has seen a reduction in traffic of 25%, which means decreased gridlock and increased lung capacity.
 Superpowered students
Bringing together universities and communities, the Latin American (LA)Grid was designed to uniquely build the next generation of technology leadership. Now students, researchers and business leaders from Barcelona to Miami to Monterrey can collaborate on solving complex challenges, such as health care and life sciences issues, through the power of grid computing — inspiring societal change while stimulating local economies.
 A DNA study of historical proportions
The National Geographic Society is conducting the Genographic Project - a groundbreaking study that charts human population migration throughout history through human DNA. They're using newly available resources and partnering with IBM for advanced analytical techniques and data-sorting technologies. It's being brought to the current population at nationalgeographic.com/genographic
 The digital dynasty
One of the first Chinese television stations, LiaoNing TV owned a vast archive of content stored on analog tape. Using the Open Digital Media Framework, IBM converted the analog content into reusable digital assets, transforming LiaoNing into China's first digital broadcaster-and an enviable market leader.
 Letting the genes out of the bottle
TGen, a non-profit biomedical research institute, helps partners create earlier diagnostics and smarter treatments from genomic discoveries. Tapping into an IBM supercomputer at Arizona State University, IBM worked with TGen to design and implement a powerful computing platform to handle the enormous processing demands of advanced genomic analysis. In the time it takes to read this sentence, over 10 trillion calculations can now be processed.
 Insurance by the mile
Insurance companies are working with IBM to create a revolutionary kind of insurance model. One where customers control their own premiums. GPS and telematic technologies in cars feed information on driving habits back to the company. Safer drivers pay less.
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