Cisco to invest in Internet of Everything innovation centre in Australia

Cisco has announced the investment in a Cisco Internet of Everything (IoE) Innovation Centre in Australia. Cisco’s IoE Innovation Centres are aimed at catalysing and showcasing IoE innovation and development, bringing together customers, industry partners, start-ups, application developers, accelerators, government organisations and universities. The new centre in Australia will be one of eight globally including Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Songdo, Berlin, Barcelona, Tokyo and London.

The official opening of the centre is planned for 2015 and will include locations in Sydney at SIRCA and in Perth at Curtin University. Cisco intends to invest US$15 million over five years into the centre, reaffirming its global pledge and commitment to economic growth through technology innovation around IoE.

Cisco experts, together with industry partners and ecosystem start-ups, will develop proofs of concept, features and functionalities, and do rapid prototyping. The centre will include dedicated space to demonstrate IoE in action and open areas where customers, start-ups, open communities, researchers, entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts are invited to work and brainstorm on new ideas and technologies.

The initial ecosystem partners of the Cisco IoE Innovation Centre, Australia, currently include SIRCA (owned by 40 universities across Australia and New Zealand), Curtin University and Woodside Energy.

“Australia is a sophisticated market with a high level of innovation and an early adopter of new technology. Australia is already highly regarded globally for its resources and agriculture sectors and is well placed to serve the rapidly growing Asian markets, and the Australian government has prioritised these sectors accordingly. Cisco has been involved in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project for over five years. The aim now with Cisco IoE Innovation Centre, Australia and its ecosystem of partners is to accelerate innovation and the adoption of the IoE in Australia,” said Irving Tan, senior vice president Asia Pacific and Japan at Cisco.

IoE, which is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data and things to the internet, brings unprecedented economic opportunities to private and public sectors. Utilising 61 real-world use cases, Cisco consultants calculate that IoE-based solutions can deliver US$19 trillion of economic value worldwide over the next decade. According to a recent Cisco study, Australia is one of the countries with the greatest potential to benefit from IoE, thanks to its proximity to Asia, its well-trained engineers and its innovation power. Cisco estimates the potential IoE Value at Stake for the Australian economy to be more than US$74 billion over the next 10 years.

Developing a vibrant ecosystem and vertical solutions creates building blocks essential to capture the full value of IoE. The Cisco IoE Innovation Centre, Australia will be a platform for technology ideas and open innovation which will help develop and test new solutions. The centre will contribute to improve business outcomes and quality of life, as well as spark a new generation of start-ups and jobs in Australia.