The UK Ministry of Defence Uses IBM Technology to Create Smarter,
Greener Buildings
ARMONK, N.Y., Nov.
28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Kingdom's Defence
Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has awarded IBM (NYSE: IBM) with
a contract that will help it gain greater insight and intelligence
in relation to its entire property portfolio. DIO, an operational
arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is responsible for the
management of some 4,000 separate sites and includes military
barracks; land, air and naval bases; and military training grounds.
Using IBM's smarter buildings software and services, DIO expects to
reduce building operating costs and find ways to better utilize its
existing real estate.
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The MoD is one of the United
Kingdom's largest landowners, covering some 900 square miles
and around 45,000 buildings, 55,000 houses and 135,000 Single
Living bedspaces. It has real estate in Germany, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands, along with facilities in
Norway, Poland, Kenya, Canada, Belize, Nepal
and Oman. Charged with managing
all of these physical assets and infrastructure, DIO's goal is to
drive greater efficiency and operations of these buildings to
support an estates rationalization program that will deliver
significant efficiencies over the next decade and beyond.
Defence in the United Kingdom
is undergoing a major period of transformation as the government is
requiring its agencies to better utilize resources, including real
estate assets. With buildings accounting for 45 percent of all
carbon emissions in the UK, this is a natural area to start. DIO
will use IBM technology to meet these Defence needs by replacing
its outdated legacy IT environment and create a new centralized
information management system, allowing faster analysis and more
informed decision-making to better manage its vast network of real
estate.
"The award of this contract to IBM represents a major milestone
in transforming the Defence Infrastructure Organisation since it
will allow us to work smarter in providing a Defence estate, which
meets military needs and supports our Armed Forces," said
Andrew Manley, DIO Chief Executive.
"IBM analytics technology helps us continue our work in creating a
world-class infrastructure to put DIO at the leading edge of the
technology transformation process happening right now across the
MoD."
The IBM TRIRIGA solution will provide an integrated property
management solution comprising of software and consultancy
services. This will give DIO central visibility of its extensive
global property holdings and data on how efficiently they are being
used. Geospatial mapping capability, created by business partner
Esri UK limited, provides the real-time visualization map that
gives a complete scope of their infrastructure and assets.
For instance, with these new capabilities DIO can assess if
buildings or bases are not being used at full capacity. They can
then decide to consolidate resources to either free up space for
other uses or eliminate the cost from their balance sheets.
The IBM solution will also enable processes to be streamlined
across the MoD's diverse organization by linking with the systems
used by DIO's Next Generation Estate Contracts team. This will
reduce reliance on multiple outdated systems, and greatly speed up
and improve the flow of information between the organization and
its industrial partners. Overall, this will help to support an
improved, more agile and strategic management of its
estate.
"Having the right data at the right time is essential for DIO,"
said Dave Bartlett, vice president,
Smarter Physical Infrastructure, IBM. "IBM's analytics and smarter
buildings software will help provide a new level of intelligence to
how the MoD is managing its global real estate portfolio."
The upgraded system will be launched in a number of capability
releases through April 2014. These
are based on analysis of future business needs, the current DIO
technology landscape and engagement with industry through
procurement.
IBM's strategy is to seamlessly integrate technology into the
world around us to drive greater intelligence on this Smarter
Planet. The world around us is changing, and technology is no
longer a siloed area, but a fundamental element to the growth and
success of every business. Everything from buildings, to
transportation systems, manufacturing, healthcare and to cities
themselves are becoming smarter. Launched in 2008, IBM has been
focused on driving this next era of information technology and its
impact on business and society.
For additional information on DIO, visit: www.mod.uk/dio.
For more information on IBM Smarter Buildings and TRIRIGA,
visit:
www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/buildings.
Contact(s) Information
Kara Yi
IBM Media Relations
415-871-6321
kyi@us.ibm.com
John Galvez
IBM UK Media Relations
07734-104275
john.galvez@uk.ibm.com
SOURCE IBM