EnOcean Alliance and IBM have partnered to standardize intelligent building solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT). IBM is now supporting the EnOcean Alliance as a Promoter Member.

The EnOcean Alliance is a consortium of more than 400 companies that standardize and develop intelligent building solutions integrating energy harvesting wireless technology. Together, IBM and the EnOcean Alliance will bring sensors to the cloud and develop self-powered solutions as a standard for IoT.

The alliance says EnOcean-based sensors and devices operate large numbers of IoT devices efficiently and supply reliable data to IoT systems. Furthermore, the EnOcean Alliance offers the benefit of a broad ecosystem of interoperable energy harvesting wireless sensor solutions, which are available for intelligent buildings worldwide. These solutions aim to help optimize the utilization of buildings, create new service models, and make buildings more flexible and more energy-efficient.

"IBM is excited to join the EnOcean Alliance as a promoter member,” said Nigel Milton, Waston IOT European Ecosystem executive. “The EnOcean Alliance is specialized in self-powered wireless sensor solutions and will continue to progress as a key partner in the IBM Watson IoT ecosystem. For the past 12 months, IBM has been working with EnOcean and look forward to strengthening our relationship with them, as well as all members of the EnOcean Alliance."

IBM says its Watson IoT Platform is a fully managed, cloud-hosted service that makes it easy to build and deploy apps for IoT devices, sensors, and gateways. When combined with the IBM Bluemix® environment, and the secure Watson APIs, the platform allows integration and analyzes predictive, cognitive, and contextual analytics for stronger decision-making. Organizations are able to securely connect devices, ranging from chips and intelligent appliances to applications and industry solutions.

In close collaboration, the EnOcean Alliance and IBM define and expand standards for self-powered solutions for the IoT. Together, both partners standardize the EnOcean to IP interface and simplify the usage of applications in the IoT. This, for example, allows the integration of energy-harvesting wireless technology into the IBM Watson IoT Platform to conduct predictive and real-time analysis of facilities. These solutions can be used in various cases from asset management, ambient assisted living projects, insurance or hotel and campus projects, giving maintenance-free wireless switches and sensors based on EnOcean technology.

 “We are very excited to welcome IBM as a new promoter member in the EnOcean Alliance,” said Graham Martin, chairman of the EnOcean Alliance. “With IBM’s long-standing expertise in cloud-based services and IoT, we have gained a very strong partner in the ecosystem. We are looking forward to a successful cooperation to build the future of IoT.”