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IT Innovation: Robots, Supercomputers, AI and More

By Meridith Levinson

PAGE 2

Why: When its signature weed-killer Round-up went off patent, the St. Louis company invested in growing its seeds and genetic traits business, which comprises more than half of its $6.3 billion revenue and $255 million profits in 2005. Monsanto believes it can sell more corn, soybean and cotton seeds if farmers know its seeds will produce heartier crops and require fewer sprays of insecticide and herbicide, thus reducing costs.

Technology: The software is written in Java and .Net. The Java components run on networked Linux and Unix servers; the .Net components run on Windows XP in machines at the breeding stations.

Cool quotient: Monsanto’s scientists use the software to effectively engineer seeds to resist drought and pests and to produce plants that are healthier for humans and animals to eat. They do it by implanting those seeds with the genetic material that makes a plant resist insects or produce more protein. What would Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, think of this? "This is really different from the way breeders bred their crops," says Monsanto CIO Mark Showers. "They didn’t have this level of molecular detail to determine and select plants they wanted to move forward from year to year."

ROI: Monsanto reaps the benefit of its software but wouldn’t reveal development costs. Earnings per share on an ongoing basis grew from $1.59 to $2.08, or 30 percent, from 2004 to 2005. Its EPS is expected to grow by 20 percent more in 2006. "In the last four or five years, we’ve had a marked improvement in taking market share from our competition. We’ve grown our share at a couple of points per year," says Showers.

The School of Hard NOX

What: Public utility JEA used neural network technology to create an artificial intelligence system it implemented last fall. The system automatically determines the optimal combinations of oil and natural gas the utility’s boilers need to cost-effectively produce electricity given fuel prices and the amount of electricity required. It also ensures that the amount of nitrous oxide (NOx) emitted during the generation process does not exceed government regulations.

Why: JEA needed to decrease operating expenses, in particular fuel costs, as oil and gas prices began their precipitous ascent in 2002. Forty percent of JEA’s $1.3 billion budget goes to the purchase of oil and gas to power its boilers, so a small change in the way electricity is produced could send millions of dollars to the bottom line.

 

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