As the U.S. deploys $787 billion in stimulus funding, building a smarter infrastructure is the best way to create jobs, stimulate growth and drive innovation for the 21st century.

Global connectivity is increasing the complexity of supply chains and making issues such as governance and compliance, managing risk, and fending off security threats more difficult and complicated. Businesses, governments and private citizens alike need to be prepared to respond.

We're feeling the growing pains of global integration. The world continues to get "flatter," meaning it continues to grow smaller and more interconnected. In response, the infrastructure of the 21st century must get "smarter.”

Today, our physical infrastructure is becoming intelligent as computing power is being added to almost anything. Medicine, roads, appliances, cameras and livestock are becoming networked and more intelligent as they're embedded with sensors and interconnected.

In fact, by next year there will be 1 billion transistors per human and 30 billion RFID tags produced globally, according to In-Stat. Nearly half of all sensors used for critical measurements across transportation, facilities and production equipment are now smart sensors that feed data back into IT systems. Clearly, a new, dynamic infrastructure is evolving -- one that converges physical and digital assets.

A study by IBM and the Informational Technology Innovation Foundation estimates that $30 billion in US stimulus funds invested in three areas -- health-care information technology, "smart" electrical grids, and broadband technology -- would create more than 900,000 jobs in the United States and deliver long-term benefits to our economy. These three areas are examples of the kind of “smart” infrastructure we need to compete in today’s globally integrated society.

Chances are you’ve taken some steps to converge the physical and digital infrastructures in your business, even if you haven’t thought about it in those terms. For example, a food provider may today track its shipments to keep a careful record of where its product is distributed. In a dynamic infrastructure, that same food provider would use smart devices to monitor the condition, quality and location of shipped items while they’re en route. If a perishable item sits for too long or gets too hot, the provider can take action before it hits the shelves. Adding this type of intelligence to our food systems could help reduce the 17,883 food-borne infections the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) says were reported in 2007 in the U.S. alone.

Here are steps you can take to more deliberately build a dynamic infrastructure:

Connect Physical and Digital Infrastructures
Today’s emerging dynamic infrastructure requires powerful back-end systems to process all the new data and information it will generate.

To prepare, you should invest in IT systems that will centrally manage and monitor your entire infrastructure, from traditional assets like manufacturing equipment to emerging technologies like "smart meters" and RFID. A centralized management system will allow you to get maximum return from both your physical and digital assets.

Tackle the Information Challenge
Every day the world is generating 15 new petabytes of information -- eight times more information than in all US libraries combined. It’s little wonder that IDC finds that the average company with about 1000 employees spends some $5 million a year just to find information.

The problem will only increase as connected people, places and things generate dramatically more data. Businesses must find a way to manage and mine the staggering amount of data that will be produced and use it to their advantage.

By investing in information management technology, you can harness information to better meet

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