Samsung and IBM Plan to Help Businesses Embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Together, the companies intend to explore new 5G, edge and hybrid cloud solutions to improve operational efficiency, safety, and flexibility for the enterprise.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd today announced a new plan to collaborate with IBM to develop edge computing, 5G, and hybrid cloud solutions to help businesses across all industries modernize their operations and realize the promise of Industry 4.0*. Samsung and IBM intend to work together to provide enterprises with new solutions for mobile edge computing and end-to-end private 5G networks that run on open architecture and empower workers through 5G-enabled Samsung Galaxy devices.

This planned collaboration will combine Samsung’s industry-leading Galaxy 5G mobile devices and advanced end-to-end enterprise network solutions with IBM’s network management, hybrid cloud, and edge computing offerings and network expertise, as well as its industry solutions driven by artificial intelligence, and Red Hat’s open architecture. The goal is to develop open, hybrid cloud solutions that enable enterprises to draw greater insights from data at the edge – from the factory floor to an oil rig or a regular office space – to improve operational performance, increase worker safety, and minimize downtime. Both companies also plan to explore how manufacturers can use private 5G or 4G networks and 5G mobile devices with Industrial IoT (IIoT) solutions.

“The move to standalone 5G has accelerated the adoption of IIoT solutions and will require businesses to adopt an edge computing strategy that allows them to manage their IT environments from anywhere,” said KC Choi, EVP and Head of Global Mobile B2B Team, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to work with IBM to discover how our unique devices, mobile IoT and network solutions can provide frontline workers with access to better data and more actionable insights to take their business to the next level.” 

Samsung and IBM also intend to help enterprises harness the power of 5G into public and private networks through cross collaborations with global mobile operators. Earlier this year, Samsung announced a project with IBM, the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority, and telecom provider M1 to showcase Smart Factory advancements, including 5G-enabled AI analytics and AR capabilities. The two companies aim to continue enriching mobile experiences for users and create new business opportunities for enterprises.

Private 5G Networks help ensure maximum performance

Samsung and IBM also intend to help enterprises harness the power of 5G to increase their productivity and unlock new business opportunities. To do so, they plan to bring together Samsung’s latest 5G end-to-end solutions, which include a wide array of indoor and outdoor products covering mid-band (C-Band, CBRS and local 5G spectrum) and mmWave, and its cloud and on-premise server-based solutions, with IBM’s open hybrid cloud technologies, including its edge platform and network management capabilities, its integration and consulting services, and its AI solutions. This builds on Red Hat’s recent announcement with Samsung to deliver 5G network solutions built on Red Hat OpenShift, and can help enable enterprises to swiftly customize and deploy their networks and flexibly manage them across any cloud, on-premises or private environment of their choosing.

Additionally, Samsung and IBM’s collaboration in private 5G networks will be aimed at enabling enterprises to adopt emerging technologies crucial to Industry 4.0, such as IoT, AI, cloud, edge computing, and augmented reality (AR), and introduce new innovations across their business that can enable employees to identify faults in manufacturing lines using AI-powered image recognition, use thousands of sensors to build smart agriculture solutions, or facilitate employee training and productivity using AR.

“The transition of communication networks from proprietary architecture to intelligent, software-defined hybrid cloud platforms enables the creation of enormous new value in the 5G and edge era,” said Steve Canepa, Global GM and Managing Director, Communications Sector, IBM.  “5G devices and network solutions from Samsung, along with IBM and Red Hat’s open, hybrid cloud capabilities, can help organizations across all industries accelerate their transformation and solve real business problems, while unlocking the true power of 5G and edge.”

Driving Innovation for Industry 4.0

As part of this collaboration, Samsung, IBM, and Red Hat plan to deliver AI-powered solutions for Industry 4.0 and beyond by leveraging the power of 5G devices, cloud-native 5G networks, and advanced edge computing platforms. Specifically, the companies intend to explore the interoperability and integration of Samsung hardware and software with IBM Edge Application Manager, which runs on Red Hat OpenShift, and AI to enable computing workloads to be managed and deployed to Samsung’s portfolio of mobile devices at an industrial scale.

IBM also plans to provide hybrid cloud and industry-specific services to help with the design and implementation of the solutions, and Samsung will give developers access to high-quality features leveraging IBM and Red Hat’s ecosystems and the broader open source community.

This intended outcome would not only give businesses enhanced flexibility to manage their IT/OT environments anywhere, but it will also allow them to simultaneously manage and compute data on Samsung mobile devices with tens of thousands of other endpoints to streamline workloads and increase efficiencies. The objective is to also enable them to draw deep insights and predictive analysis in real-time to uncover new business opportunities, increase operational efficiencies, empower employees, and offer a better experience to their customers. 

Joining Forces to Drive Change

Today’s announcement is the latest milestone in Samsung and IBM’s long-term global strategic partnership to help businesses around the world transform their operations through mobile, AI, and 5G solutions. For decades, the two companies have worked together on many projects that have helped governments and enterprises successfully transform their operations, including partnering on AI and mobile solutions. Recently, they joined forces to collaborate next generation 5G and edge offerings through IBM Cloud for Telecommunications.

Additionally, in the U.S., the two companies have joined forces to create an IBM and Samsung Growth Factory to accelerate the co-creation of new enterprise mobility innovations and help companies navigate the new normal. This approach has been critical in launching new solutions, such as mobile banking and safe communication in hospitals, as well as helping people return to work safely with social distancing and AR solutions for frontline workers.

About IBM

To learn more about IBM’s telecommunications solutions, visit https://www.ibm.com/industries/telecommunications.

*Statements mentioned above regarding Samsung and IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.