Monsanto earns 2015 CIO Award for excellence in information technology

Monsanto Co. said yesterday that it is has been honored with one of CIO magazine's 100 awards for operational and strategic excellence in information technology.

The CIO 100 awards program annually recognizes organizations that have distinguished themselves by creating business value through the innovative use of technology. Monsanto was honored for its Internet of Things (IoT) initiative, which enables real-time data stream and decisions for its research and development and supply chain organizations. IoT is an emerging technology in multiple industries that promises to tie together billions of smart devices.

Monsanto information technology team brought IoT to the company’s research and development pipeline, putting sensors in combines and collecting real-time data on yields, soil quality and moisture to improve data quality and increased volume. The team also worked with a logistics vendor to use sensors to track real-time location and temperature in the routing of seed shipments, ensuring that problem such as overly hot conditions could be mitigated, reducing loss and optimizing operations.

Monsanto Chief Information Officer Jim Swanson said the world is looking for sustainable solutions to nourish a growing population, and information technology teams have the opportunity to help farmers meet the challenge through technology innovation, digitization and decision science.

“This is an exciting time to be in IT at Monsanto, and it’s an honor to have our work recognized by CIO magazine,” Swanson said.

Monsanto and other 2015 CIO 100 Award winners will be recognized during a gala awards dinner and ceremony at the CIO 100 Symposium, which will be held August 9-11 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.