Siemens and IBM have announced a collaboration on industrial computing aimed at developing hybrid cloud technology to process operational data. 

Through the initiative, Siemens Digital Industries Software will apply IBM open hybrid cloud approach based on Red Hat OpenShift to its MindSphere IIoT service offering. 

The new solution will allow customers to run MindSphere on-premise for greater speed and agility in factory and plant operations, as well as through the cloud.

To help operationalise the capabilities and reduce IT risk, IBM Global Business Services and Global Technology Services consultants will serve as a provider for managed services and IoT solutions for Siemens’ MindSphere customers.

“Today’s manufacturers require agility and flexibility to meet expectations for higher quality products with shorter production cycles,” said Raymond Kok, senior vice president of Cloud Application Solutions for Siemens Digital Industries Software. “MindSphere already provides customers with data-driven insights to strengthen operations through Industrial IoT. Through our work with IBM and Red Hat, we can now offer customers the flexibility to choose to operate MindSphere on-premise or in the cloud to best meet their distinct operational needs and become more efficient, nimble and responsive to today’s marketplace.”

“We see that most industrial data is generated outside of IT – in manufacturing operations, supply chains or connected products – yet to leverage digital technologies, manufacturers choose to either send data up to their enterprise cloud, or bring the technology down,” said Manish Chawla, Industry General Manager, Energy, Resources, and Manufacturing at IBM. “Our collaboration with Siemens uses hybrid cloud and is being engineered to deliver manufacturers the best of both worlds: autonomy, speed and control over shop floor data processed at the edge, as well as seamless connection to the enterprise.”

“Our collaboration with Siemens helps streamline operations in manufacturing by bringing the leading Kubernetes platform and an open hybrid approach,” said Darrell Jordan-Smith, senior vice president, Industries and Global Accounts, Red Hat. “With Red Hat OpenShift as the underlying platform for MindSphere, we reduce complexity by providing manufacturers one unified method to deploy and operate MindSphere on-site or in the cloud. This allows manufacturing leaders to focus on innovation and drive maximum business results.”