IBM and Bosch today announced a collaboration for industrial Internet of Things (IoT), making available Bosch IoT Suite services on open standards-based IBM Bluemix and IBM Watson IoT Platform for clients to efficiently update millions of IoT devices.

With an estimated 20.8 billion connected things in use by 2020, customers expect their devices to always have the latest features and performance improvements. Bosch is making available its "Bosch IoT Rollouts" service for advanced device management and cloud-based software updates on Bluemix and integrated with the IBM Watson IoT Platform. Clients of both companies will be able to access “Bosch IoT Rollouts” via the IBM Cloud, backed by the scale, flexibility, privacy and security that is critical for updating connected devices and driving continued innovation in industrial IoT.

“IoT is changing and transforming everything from business to life. Only those companies will succeed that are able to collaborate in ecosystems,” said Dr. Rainer Kallenbach, CEO of Bosch Software Innovations. “Only new ecosystems provide the strategic basis for open platforms and interoperability. Together we will make IoT solution development easier and faster for our customers.”

Bosch will extend its powerful Bosch IoT Suite services on IBM Bluemix and Watson IoT Platform for custom application development and runtime purposes. IoT solution developers will also benefit from the seamless integration with IBM’s Watson IoT capabilities.

“Over the next few years, the Internet of Things will become the biggest source of data on the planet, with billions of connected devices streaming information about their status, their location and their health,” said Harriet Green, general manager, IBM Watson IoT, cognitive engagement and education. “We are excited to work with Bosch to offer clients innovative capabilities for delivering personalised services and experiences to connected devices.”

Auto manufacturers can now schedule and organise software updates to millions of vehicles in a managed fashion securely and efficiently, without requiring the vehicle to come into a workshop. A white goods manufacturer can remotely send updates to batches of thousands of washing machines and dryers, providing consumers access to the latest updates, services and offerings, including automatic reordering of detergent, for example. IBM and Bosch share the vision that IoT will succeed through open standards and open source, and as such, the two companies will continue to work actively in the Eclipse Foundation and the Industrial Internet Consortium to further adoption in key areas.