This week, IBM announced their interest in smart connected products with a two-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. The campaign was officially launched on November 6^th by Sam Palmisano, Chairman and CEO of IBM, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. You can read the full transcript here. 

This is good news for the remote service market, both for product manufacturers and their customers. IBM has been dabbling in this space for years, but it has now reached the CEO level. When IBM puts marketing dollars into a new market, all boats rise. IBM coined the terms e-business and on-demand, so let's hope the idea of a "smart planet" gets similar traction.