Tongliao City Turns to IBM PureSystems to Spur Economic Development

LAS VEGAS, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Edge 2013 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Tongliao City in Inner Mongolia is embracing IBM software and services to fuel the transformation and modernization of the city and its traditional industries. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO)

Tongliao City will take advantage of IBM's cloud computing, networking and other advanced information technologies to enable local industries to move to cloud computing. As a result, the city will be able to innovate and transform its industries, helping to stimulate economic growth in the region. Tongliao City will use IBM PureSystems as the core platform for cloud computing as part of this project.

Tongliao City is located northwest of Beijing in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and has historically been known for its vast grasslands and livestock herds; however the discovery of abundant natural resources has led to rapid growth and industrial development. Faced with the challenge of creating a technology infrastructure that can help transform its traditional agrarian industrial base while also providing the logistics required to deliver the modern eGovernment services demanded by its citizens, the Tongliao Municipal People's Government turned to IBM.

"We are very pleased to collaborate with the leading IT companies such as IBM and Xi'an Future International Information Co. Ltd. not only to promote the innovation of the region's industries but also the development of emerging technologies such as mobile communications, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and high-performance computing. Through the Smarter Cities project in Tongliao City, we are confident that the livelihood of our citizens can be improved as well," said Mr. XU Yalin, vice mayor, Tongliao Municipal People's Government.

Tongliao City's multi-faceted Smarter Cities project is in line with the country's twelfth five-year plan, which includes the promotion of the next-generation Information Technology to drive the city's economic transformation and industrial upgrading. 

To meet Tongliao City's needs, IBM and business partner Xi'an Future International Information Co. Ltd. developed the 'Smarter Tongliao City on the Cloud' solution. This cloud computing-based, Smarter Cities project is designed to advance Tongliao City's ongoing economic development and meet the following goals:

• Streamline the information resource structure and construct a city-level cloud computing center;
• Develop and promote an eGovernment system managed and maintained by the cloud computing center;
• Make full use of the latest cloud computing resources to advance 'Smarter Tongliao City on the Cloud';
• Promote the commercial application of cloud computing resources, the development of peripheral industries of cloud computing and the advancement of regional expansion.

The cloud computing solution is built upon the IBM PureSystems family of expert integrated systems, which includes IBM PureFlex System, IBM PureApplication System and IBM PureData System. IBM PureSystems takes the complexity out of designing, configuring and deploying the advanced technology infrastructure behind Tongliao City's municipal services, public utilities and online access government services. 

Specifically, Xi'an Future International helped Tongliao City select IBM PureApplication System to provide the city with a professional, out-of-the-box, pre-integrated cloud environment that will enable it to streamline services and avoid duplicate efforts to manage and maintain applications and databases focused on reporting of population, law governance, logistics, economics and corporate data.

Cloud computing is recognized as a key element for strategic growth, improving social management capacity and access public services. It is also the driving force behind the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, the development of emerging industries, and the emergence of new business models. Tongliao City will also use IBM WebSphere MQ, IBM WebSphere Message Broker and IBM WebSphere Portal Server Hypervisor as PaaS middleware.

"With built-in expertise and highly integrated hardware and software capabilities, IBM PureApplication System was selected to be the core of Tongliao City's Smart Cloud infrastructure," said Mr. XU Gang, general manager, WebSphere Software, Software Group, IBM Greater China Region. "With a wealth of practical experiences and leading cloud computing technology, IBM is in the position to work with Xi'an Future International to support Tongliao City to improve the lives of its citizens through this Smarter Cities project."

In addition, IBM Global Financing provided a 15-month installment payment plan with a three-month deferred payment for the Tongliao Smarter Cities project, enabling the city to purchase the PureApplication System a year earlier than anticipated. The financing arrangement allows the city to move forward with implementing the cutting-edge cloud computing technology, helping the city meet its IT goals more quickly.

In Tongliao City and around the globe, IBM is working with city leaders of all sizes to create intelligent, instrumented and interconnected city systems. Built on decades of experience managing the computing environments for thousands of enterprise clients across more than 170 countries, IBM brings city managers the confidence, expertise and innovative solutions to take on the toughest challenges. IBM is helping city leaders by making it easier and faster to integrate new technologies, enabling them focus their efforts on citizen well-being and economic development.

IBM PureSystems offers clients an alternative to current enterprise computing models, where multiple and disparate systems require significant resources to set up and maintain. The family includes PureFlex System, which enables organizations to more efficiently create and manage an infrastructure; PureApplication System to help organizations reduce the cost and complexity of rapidly deploying and managing applications; and PureData System, which is tuned for cloud computing and can consolidate more than 100 databases on a single system. In addition to the common web application patterns supported by PureApplication System, the combination of both PureData and PureApplication Systems can be used for end to end transaction workloads.

For more information on IBM PureSystems visit: www.ibm.com/ibm/puresystems

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Contact(s) Information

Chris Rubsamen
IBM External Relations          
IBM Systems and Technology Group
+1 914-766-4280

Liping Zhu
Communications, IBM China
Office: +86-10-63612323   
E-mail: [email protected]

Harriet Ip
External Relations, IBM Growth Markets Unit
Office: +65-6418-1521 
Mobile: +65-8161-8505   
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE IBM