BENTON HARBOR, Mich.,
Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of
major home appliances, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new
collaboration to connect Whirlpool connected home appliances with
IBM Watson services, including cognitive analytics, to provide more
personalized services to consumers.
"IBM's cognitive analytics is a strong fit for Whirlpool
Corporation," said Laurent Borne,
General Manager, Connected Appliances, Whirlpool Corporation.
"Saving energy and water, caring for their families through mobile
efficiencies – these are the benefits we're hoping to bring to
consumers. IBM's expertise in data storage, and cloud computing
ensures we'll continue to bring our consumers relevant technologies
in the future, as well as deliver new, innovative, and distinctive
experiences for the consumer."
In step with its position as an industry leader, Whirlpool is
gearing up for a market on the cusp of increased demand for
intuitive, connected home appliances. Through IBM Watson services,
including cognitive analytics, data management and protection,
Whirlpool Corporation can better serve the consumer as connected
home appliances continue to evolve. The collaboration will also
focus, in part, on the importance and intricacies of big data;
Whirlpool Corporation is using IBM Cloud Business Solutions to
harness real-time data and insights from appliances to drive
product optimization or enhance and introduce new benefits
customized/tailored to consumers' unique needs.
"Working with IBM, Whirlpool Corporation can now further improve
performance, optimize supply chain and enhance service delivery,"
said Bruce Anderson, General
Manager, Global Electronics Industry, IBM. "Cognitive computing
systems sense, reason and learn to provide enterprises the ability
to access and analyze most data quickly and efficiently to create
meaningful insights that benefit business and society alike."
Whirlpool brand has taken its connected appliance offering to
CES in Las Vegas. The brand
introduced the Whirlpool® Smart Kitchen Suite with CareSync™
system—a three-piece suite of connected appliances that blends
consumers' home cooking with sleek design. The suite is one
of the latest innovations from Whirlpool that Works with Nest and
allows families to control select features of their kitchen
appliances remotely—refrigerator, oven and dishwasher using the
Whirlpool(R) Smart App.[1]
The brand also brought the new Whirlpool® Smart Top Load Washer
and Dryer enabled with Connect to CareTM program, an option that,
when enabled, allows consumers to make a small donation to Habitat
for Humanity every time a load of laundry is
washed.[2]
For more information, to join the conversation and see the
company's care-centric product innovations and conceptual
inspirations come to life, visit Whirlpool brand's booth #74352 in
the Family & Technology Marketplace, located at the Sands Expo
Center, or ces.whirlpool.com.
About Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation
(NYSE: WHR) is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the
world, with approximately $20 billion
in annual sales, 100,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and
technology research centers throughout the world in 2014. The
company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag,
Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht,
Jenn-Air, Indesit and other major brand names in more
than 170 countries. Additional information about the company can be
found at WhirlpoolCorp.com, or find us on Twitter at
@WhirlpoolCorp.
About IBM Corporation
There are more than 9 billion
connected devices operating in the world today, generating 2.5
quintillion bytes of new data daily. Cognitive systems help
overcome this challenge –learning at scale, reasoning with purpose,
and interacting with humans naturally. In March 2015, IBM announced that it intended to
invest more than $3 billion to
address the needs of organizations that are looking to capitalize
on the increasing instrumentation and interconnectedness of the
world driven by the Internet of Things (IoT).
In December 2015, IBM announced
that Munich, Germany will serve as
the global headquarters for its new IBM Watson IoT unit, as well as
its first European Watson innovation center. The center will bring
together developers, consultants, researchers and designers to
drive deeper engagement with clients and partners, and build a new
class of connected solutions at the intersection of cognitive
computing and the IoT.
IBM Watson IoT Cloud is designed to meet the broad needs of
enterprises, their connected devices and their connected customers,
offering secure connectivity of devices around the globe, enabled
by advanced cognitive analytics and mitigated risk with
pay-per-device pricing.
[1] Requires Wifi and account creation. App
features and functionality subject to change. Subject to
Terms of Service available at: www.whirlpool.com/connect.
Data rates may apply.
[2] The Connect to Care Program will give Whirlpool
Smart Top Load Washer customers the option to make per-washer load
charitable donations of $.15,
$.25 or $.50 to Habitat for Humanity through the
Whirlpool app. The total amount of customer donations during
the Program will depend on the number of participants and eligible
loads through December 31, 2016.
In addition to the charitable donations made by participating
customers, Whirlpool will directly donate a minimum of $95,000 and up to $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity in 2016. Visit
whirlpool.com/smart-appliances/smart-top-load-washer-dryer for more
information.
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SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation