Internet of Things gets £40m boost from government

A £40m government programme to invest in, and improve, the UK’s Internet of Things (IoT) capability has launched today – backed by the Digital Catapult and Future Cities Capital.

With a focus on security and trust, data operations, investment justification and design development, the three-year IoTUK programme intends to aid businesses and public sector in improving their IoT capabilities and plans to foster IoT entrepreneurship in a range of fields.

The concept of connecting physical objects to the online world is over 15 years old, but the trend has surged in recent years led by a wave of innovation and technological developments.

The IoTUK programme will seek to capitalise on this trend by increasing adoption of high quality IoT technologies and will coordinate the organisations tasked with delivering public funding for an IoT city demonstrator, a research hub focused on security and trust, and health and care test beds.

Over the next few months, IotUK will be hosting a series of workshops and events nationwide which you can find details on here.

Neil Crockett, CEO at the Digital Catapult, said: “We are at a pivotal point in the evolution of the Internet of Things and the UK is ready to maximise the huge potential of smart technology.

“To stay ahead the UK needs to be at the cusp of driving and gaining a new competitive edge from the fundamental technological changes that will happen in the next five years.”