The U.S. giant technology innovator IBM said on Tuesday it would send its first teams of IBM executives to HCMC to give advice to city leaders how to improve the living quality.

Ho Chi Minh City.

Under the program, IBM will send six expert teams in early 2010 to collaborate with HCMC’s leaders, school managers, and local scientists to suggest solutions to develop urban transportation system, energy power saving, control of cooking quality, education and clean water supply.

While information technology is the core business of the U.S.-based giant, the new IBM endeavor suggests that technology can do more to living conditions than its traditional domain of information.

The teams will map the entire food supply chain in Vietnam, identify processes and new technologies to reduce food waste due to spoilage, and suggest solutions to use less energy in production and increase revenue.

Furthermore, the program will involve new technologies that analyze, collect and link transportation systems to reduce traffic congestion.

Vo Tan Long, general director of IBM Vietnam, said that HCMC and Poland’s Wroclaw are the only two cities that IBM selected to deploy the cooperation program to help create economic growth at the intersection of economic development and technology.

According to Long, major cities in developing countries currently are facing with traffic congestion, food waste and energy waste. Meanwhile, backward infrastructure and outdated technology can hinder their advancement.

Thus, by playing the role of a technology innovator, IBM will help the city’s authorities how to apply new technologies to address these issues.

On the same day, IBM said that Quang Trung Software Park (QTSC) has chosen IBM to build a new cloud platform to help the city’s authorities to build e-Government.

By collaborating with IBM, QTSC will enable the city’s People’s Committee to provide a system for all State agencies to better support citizens in access to information.

Last year, IBM established two Cloud Labs in Hanoi and HCMC to further strengthen its cloud computing strategy in Vietnam.

VietNamNet/SGT