On the 30 of January, Steve Green (Flo Group Defence Lead) organised the first Support & Information Innovation Community of Interest (SII-COI) of 2018 on ‘Internet of Things (IoT) and Connected Devices for Defense Support’. The SII-COI events consider how disruptive technologies can be used across industries to help foresee business challenges and increase ROI.  The outputs from this and other SII-COI events shape future MOD R&D investment and aims to exploit mature proven technologies and encourage cross sector collaboration.

This successful event opened with the illustration of the potential application of IoT and Connected Devices in the Defence Support Network (DSN) to understand when, where and how this technology could fit into the Digital Transformation journey and was followed by several cross-sector use-cases from Philips, IBM, PA Consulting and SAP highlighting the benefits and challenges of IoT and Connected Devices.

In the afternoon, a very interactive workshop session helped the attendees to identify where and how their organisations can have access to real-time data and insights through low cost and network-enabled COTS sensors and made recommendations on where MOD should focus now, next and in the future.  A summary output of the event findings will be produced and made widely available.  Already the MOD is consolidating its position and determining its next IOT steps.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with SII-COI events. Get in touch with us at [email protected], if you would like to know more about the upcoming events on:

  • “Artificial Intelligence” (April 2018)
  • “AR, VR and Simulation” (July 2018)