As Washington policymakers brainstorm on how to invest billions of dollars to stimulate America's economy, IBM has launched a "Smart Planet" ad campaign.
The sleek productions feature Big Blue employees touting smart traffic, smart food, smart health care, smart energy, smart water management.
"Think smart," urges IBM, which last week also introduced a new consulting service to help governments.
Since Day One, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has been urging the president to invest in "smart infrastructure" projects, from utility grids to food distribution systems. At the request of Obama's transition team, IBM produced a study showing those smart projects could put almost a million Americans to work.
That study was conducted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a self-described non-partisan think tank that has Christopher Caine, IBM vice president of governmental programs, serving on its board of directors.
The ITIF, which is funded by tech giants like IBM and the big phone and cable companies, lobbied Congress for tax credits on investments in broadband and other technologies, including smart-grid — brimming with Big Blue expertise.
The broadband tax breaks were cut from the stimulus bill, but the smart-grid incentives remained.
That means if IBM is awarded these projects, it will not only get stimulus money, but tax breaks on the stimulus money.
For Big Blue, that's smart thinking.
Christine Young covers IBM. She can be reached at 346-3140 or cyoung@th-record.com. IBM Notebook appears Mondays.
The sleek productions feature Big Blue employees touting smart traffic, smart food, smart health care, smart energy, smart water management.
"Think smart," urges IBM, which last week also introduced a new consulting service to help governments.
Since Day One, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has been urging the president to invest in "smart infrastructure" projects, from utility grids to food distribution systems. At the request of Obama's transition team, IBM produced a study showing those smart projects could put almost a million Americans to work.
That study was conducted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a self-described non-partisan think tank that has Christopher Caine, IBM vice president of governmental programs, serving on its board of directors.
The ITIF, which is funded by tech giants like IBM and the big phone and cable companies, lobbied Congress for tax credits on investments in broadband and other technologies, including smart-grid — brimming with Big Blue expertise.
The broadband tax breaks were cut from the stimulus bill, but the smart-grid incentives remained.
That means if IBM is awarded these projects, it will not only get stimulus money, but tax breaks on the stimulus money.
For Big Blue, that's smart thinking.
Christine Young covers IBM. She can be reached at 346-3140 or cyoung@th-record.com. IBM Notebook appears Mondays.
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