Many SMBs have struggled to adopt big data and private cloud solutions due to lack of in-house skills and expertise to design and maintain commodity hardware-based systems, IBM said in its announcement.

FORBES: IBM's New Power Systems Challenge HP, Oracle and Dell For SMB Apps

Squeezed in the TV and smart phone market by Samsung, LG, Apple and others, Panasonic, Sharp, Toyota and others are trying to adapt their expertise in precision engineering and industrial design to everyday objects.

FORBES: Toyota's Single-Seater Electric Car You Can Park In Your Kitchen

As the leading provider of power management ICs, including battery management and power supply technology, TI relies on power design expertise to drive innovations in wireless charging.

ENGADGET: TI details the wireless power chip in the Lumia 920, offers four times the charging area

In addition to providing software, which is where Google's expertise lies, the technology giant is looking to design connected hardware and appliances for the home.

CNN: Motorola deal boosts Google's move into home automation

With the social enterprise mPedigree Network, HP leveraged its technology expertise in cloud-based services to design and build an anti-drug counterfeiting service in Africa.

FORBES: How The Private Sector Can Drive Social Innovation

Today, the urgency is how to bring all of the expertise of the company (strategy, design, technology, and production) together to solve problems and create great work.

FORBES: Google Says It's Time For Agencies To Get Agile

It assumes the existence of sufficient within-country expertise and experience to identify challenges as well as to design and implement responsive interventions.

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