IBM Honors Global Customers for Outstanding Achievement in Information Management

IBM Honors Global Customers for Outstanding Achievement in Information
Management

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced
the winners of its annual IBM Information On Demand Client Innovation Awards,
recognizing IBM customers that have taken advantage of trusted information
and analytics to deliver smarter business decisions.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

Chosen from an extensive list of nominations worldwide, winners were selected
in multiple categories by a panel of industry thought leaders and IBM
executives. Award recipients were honored during a special client luncheon at
the IBM Global Information On Demand Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday,
October 28, 2009.

"To survive in a world in which margins for error have never been smaller,
businesses must find a way to turn their information into a strategic driver
for innovation and competitive differentiation," said Ambuj Goyal, general
manager, Business Analytics and Process Optimization, IBM Software Group. "IBM
applauds all award recipients who have clearly demonstrated how to best
capitalize on technology to deliver exceptional solutions that solve real
business problems."

The City ofNew York was granted the Top IOD Solution, for its Health and Human
Services-Connect initiative. HHS-Connect will link more than a dozen New York
City agencies so that caseworkers are able to securely share client
information, thus dedicating more face-to-face time with their clients instead
of chasing or managing paperwork. HHS-Connect promises to fundamentally change
how the City provides health and human services by ensuring holistic and
integrated services that wrap around a family, delivering a more complete
understanding of the clients' needs that will ultimately lead to better client
care.

Alameda County (California) Social Services Agency and Hrafn were honored in
the Outstanding Smarter Planet Solutions category. Alameda Social Services
Agency is using IBM analytics to provide caseworkers a consolidated picture of
all the benefits a client is receiving across six different social services
programs. Fraud detection and validation work that previously took four to six
months is now happening in a matter of minutes, helping the County direct
funding and resources to where they are needed the most. In total, this
initiative has saved over $11 million in taxpayer dollars.
Working with IBM, Hrafn designed and built a smart sensor infrastructure for
the Nordics' first track-and-trace service, which - by enabling manufacturers
and grocery retailers to view the complete history of a food product - has
helped significantly speed response-times to potential food contamination
recalls. The system also helps manufacturers and supermarkets improve the
responsiveness of the supply chain and quickly adapt to changing consumer
buying patterns.

In the category of Outstanding Information Agenda Solution, IBM acknowledged
Rooms To Go, the largest independent furniture company in the United States.
Rooms To Go collaborated with IBM in developing an Information Agenda strategy
that would help maximize sales and profitability. Tapping IBM business
analytics technology, Rooms To Go management can now access comprehensive
reports that more readily and easily identify shopper buying patterns,
enabling staff to optimize floor planning. It also reduced advertising costs
by helping marketing staff better target promotions to most likely buyers.

IBM also presented a series of Best IOD Awards, recognizing customers that
have exhibited extreme innovation in using IBM Information Management
technology to gain significant business or organizational benefits. Winners
included:

-- Best Solution for Business Intelligence - Martin's Point, a
not-for-profit regional health care provider based in northern New
England. In addition to improving information access and expediting
reporting, Martin's Point use of IBM Cognos BI has helped support
improved care. Today, managers can produce clinical profiles of
patients
and alert member physicians about potential gaps in care.

-- Best Solution for Performance Management - Qualcomm Inc., the world's
largest provider of wireless chipset technology. By implementing IBM
Cognos performance management solutions, the company now benefits from
fully integrated planning and forecasting that enables management to
more efficiently plan and oversee cross-departmental strategies.

-- Best Overall Data Management Solution - Faurecia, a world-leading
provider of engineering solutions and automotive parts. With up to 800
distinct users per day connected on a database, Faurecia required a
powerful and reliable data management solution for its Matrix One
Product Data Management and SAP applications. Working with IBM,
Faurecia
successfully migrated to an IBM DB2 environment, where today the
company
benefits from increased response times and strong performance,
particularly when the system is encountering peak usage.

-- Best Enterprise Content Management Solution - Moody's Investors
Service,
for its Moody's Banking Financial Metrics (Banking FM) application.
Tapping into IBM enterprise content management technology, Banking FM
offers this leading provider of credit ratings, research, and risk
analysis a system that best facilitates banking peer comparisons,
enhances portfolio monitoring capabilities with significantly reduced
manual input, and delivers more transparent and consistent
interactions
with issuers and investors.

-- InfoSphere Award of Excellence - LG Electronics (LGE), a global leader
and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile
communications
and home appliances. Working with IBM Global Business Services and
leveraging Infosphere technology, LGE designed and implemented a new
data warehouse system that enabled stronger decision making based on
trusted information; reduced global financial consolidation efforts
from
14 days to 7 days; and delivered more effective inventory control with
one single global model/parts/master concept.

-- InfoSphere Innovation Award - University of Ontario Institute of
Technology (UOIT). Using IBM InfoSphere Streams, UOIT is conducting a
first-of-a-kind research project designed to help doctors detect
subtle
changes in the condition of critically ill premature babies. IBM
software analyzes a constant stream of biomedical data, such as heart
rate and respiration, along with environmental data gathered from
advanced sensors and more traditional monitoring equipment on and
around
the babies. In near-real-time, data analysis insights will be fed back
to health-care professionals so they can predict potential changes in
an
infant's condition with greater accuracy and intervene more quickly.

For information on the IBM IOD Global Conference visit:
http://www.ibm.com/informationondemand

For more information on IBM Information Management offerings, please visit:
http/www-01.ibm.com/software/data/

For more information: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/25581.wss

Twitter: #IOD2009

IBM Analytics: IBM Business Analytics & Optimization Press Kit, and You Tube:
"Analytics: How it Works"

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Contact:
Kaveri Camire
IBM Software Group
+1-914-625-6395
kcamire@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

Kaveri Camire, IBM Software Group, +1-914-625-6395, kcamire@us.ibm.com