29
Fri, Nov
0 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. News
  4. Industry News
  5. Trends
  6. IBM Social Business Software Helps Canadian County Go Green

IBM Social Business Software Helps Canadian County Go Green

Trends
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Creation of an "information utility" in one county makes region more attractive to business.

The region of Windsor-Essex, Ontario, Canada, today announced that it is using social business technology from IBM to significantly improve the quality of life for its citizens.

Through the region's innovative use of IBM software and services, asthma attacks have been alleviated, a local automobile manufacturing plant diversified into the aerospace industry and 250 tons of waste materials from a road construction project was made into new housing for those who needed it the most.

The Windsor-Essex region of Canada is comprised of 393,000 citizens who live in the city of Windsor and the seven lower municipalities of the County of Essex. The region is 1,850 square kilometers, has temperate weather, a robust tourist industry and is in the middle of a significant economic diversification. Additionally, the region is transforming into a much greener city with the ongoing additions of new wind and solar energy sources around the region regularly.

In 2001, the region recognized a need to reduce duplication among the public sector organizations and improve the efficiency for the delivery of services.  As part of the broader smart community initiatives, the region sought to create an information utility. This utility, much like the electric, water and road infrastructure systems already in place, was seen as essential to providing a competitive environment for Windsor-Essex to thrive in the knowledge-based economy.  The region's strategic investment in IBM products and services helped to make the area a more attractive place to do business.

Windsor-Essex region officials credit its use of IBM software and services for helping create the Windsor-Essex Smart Community Portal.  The Windsor-Essex Smart Community Web infrastructure provides the region's government and related organizations with the tools to help citizens with emergency and community services, transportation, health, utilities and life events such as getting married, having a baby or retiring. The technology behind this site is streamlining processes and enhancing services for its citizens and business owners.

"Windsor-Essex region has used IBM software and services to truly transform this area into a more intelligent, healthier, environmentally friendly and more prosperous community," said Kristina Verner, research and development officer, Centre for Smart Community Innovation, University of Windsor.

For example, the Asthma Research Group of the city of Windsor and Essex County created a technology-based program for its asthma sufferers to help quickly link them with respiratory therapists. Parts of this region have a higher prevalence of asthma and higher rates of hospitalization from the disease than the national average. Attacks are more frequent than in other areas of Canada, and emergency health care can be costly. The program helped asthmatics find respiratory therapists in a few short weeks instead of the typical six months and also resulted in sick days at a large local automobile manufacturing plant being reduced by 55 percent. The IBM software was used to develop the asthma program quickly to meet the demand of its citizens and now serves as a model for other areas.

Windsor-Essex region created a program that led to the reuse and recycling of 250 tons of what would typically be viewed as construction waste, for use in new housing projects for those who need it the most. The initiative also created 30 new jobs. This ongoing project is happening during the largest road construction and border crossing project in the region's history.  Using IBM's social software portfolio, Windsor-Essex is facilitating communication among members of local non-profit organizations, the road demolition and construction teams and government ministers.

The Windsor-Essex Smart Community Portal also helps drive visibility for the region with tourists. The more than 400 local businesses can now publicize and socialize their goods and services in more interactive ways leading to more business and unique diversification opportunities. For example, an automotive manufacturer was able to gain its first client in the aerospace industry as a result of this "business socialization."

Windsor-Essex region uses IBM software to collaborate with key stakeholders including government leaders and employees, hospital, K-12 school and university boards of directors, as well as the citizens. The offerings used are WebSphere Portal and IBM Lotus Web Content Management software, IBM Lotus Quickr for file sharing and team room collaboration, IBM Lotus Sametime for instant messaging and unified communications, and IBM Lotus Domino for the fast development of applications that have a direct benefit on the citizens, such as the asthma program.  The region also benefits from IBM Software Services for Lotus.

Windsor-Essex has been working with IBM to make its region a better place to live and work since 2004, and was named one of the "Smart 21 Communities" in the world by the Intelligent Community Forum in both 2010 and 2011. In January 2011, Windsor-Essex was further honoured as one of the Top seven Most Intelligent Communities in the world by the ICF.  The award program salutes the accomplishments of communities in developing local prosperity.

For more information visit, http://www.windsor-essex.info/wps/portal and www.ibm.com/software/lotus

For a YouTube video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOzmcnra-I

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.

For more information, visit: www.ibm.com.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: