Capita plc, in conjunction with the SWAN Innovation Forum, today announces it is proposing to roll out Internet of Things (IoT) capability across the Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN).
Designed to fulfil the Smart Cities and Smart Scotland agenda, support of IoT will enable the public sector to access new and innovative services that will support future transformation across the nation.
The SWAN IoT capability for the public sector in Scotland will underpin key government agendas by providing better and more accurate data on factors including water levels, air quality, footfall analysis and provide additional analytics for future health and social care services. The solution will be enabled by Cisco IoT technology deployed across the network.
A successful pilot in conjunction with two organisations is currently underway and continuing until August 2018, using sensor technology deployed in partnership with CENSIS (Centre for Sensor and Imaging Systems) – one of the eight Scottish Innovation Centres charged with accelerating innovation and Digital in Scotland.
With connectivity already provided to approximately 6,000 sites across Scotland, 52 member organisations including 50% of the local authorities, 250 unbundled exchanges, and over 7000km of fibre circuits, SWAN has the unrivalled ability to deliver an IoT network to a wide geographical area at a pace otherwise unachievable.
Subject to final approval of the SWAN Management Board, phase one of the roll out will comprise of a number of gateways based on Cisco IOT technology, strategically located across Scotland, with the implementation commencing immediately thereafter.
Ron MacDonald, Associate Director, NSS said: “This further emphasises the benefits of SWAN to rural and urban areas, and demonstrates what is possible through public sector collaborative working. We see many of the SWAN members working on IOT projects and this announcement will further accelerate the adoption of IOT technologies to drive change within the Public Sector in Scotland."
Dr Mark Begbie, Business development director, CENSIS, said: "CENSIS is delighted to be a part of this initiative, supporting Capita and SWAN to deliver on the Scottish Government’s commitment to the IoT revolution, inclusive digital transformation and “Outside-In” deployment. We believe this will put Scotland at the forefront of innovation and new wealth creation in our hardest to reach rural areas. We are excited to have the infrastructure to support our work with rural communities, which will now benefit from cutting edge support for social, economic and environmental development."
Tony Gribben, Cisco, Scotland Country Manager, said: “Cisco is thrilled to be the technology partner that will power the upcoming SWAN IoT network in Scotland. The innovation that IoT enables, creates tremendous opportunity for cost saving and efficiency to ensure our public services are able to provide the type of world-leading services that they aspire to. Cisco's LoRaWAN-compliant solution connects IoT endpoints across cities or rural areas, at low cost and with low power consumption. Cisco’s LoRaWAN based technology is well positioned to help enable the Scottish Government to deliver on its Smart Cities and Smart Scotland agenda.”
