AIIA Navigating the Internet of Things Summit Communique On 26 th March 2015 the AIIA hosted the fourth event of the annual Navigating Summit series the Internet of Things. The Summit was attended by government, subject matter experts and industry leaders to discuss key trends, challenges and opportunities related to the Internet of Things (IoT) having particular regard to its relevance to government operation, service delivery and policy. There were over 260 attendees from both business and government, demonstrating the strong interest in the opportunities that IoT can deliver and contribute more broadly to Australia s competiveness. An additional 163 participants engaged via live streaming. The summit inspired a significant commentary on social media with over 2 million twitter impressions reaching more than 500,000 unique twitter user accounts. There was also a wide range of media coverage from a variety of news outlets. AIIA Board Director and CEO of Informed Solutions, Elizabeth Vega and the Minister for Communications the Honourable Malcolm Turnbull MP, opened the summit with an enthusiastic endorsement of the value of the IoT arguing its potential is limited only by our collective imagination. Throughout the day, Summit attendees heard keynote presentations from international speakers including Lutz Heuser, CTO of the Urban Software Institute, Germany; Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), Singapore; and Brian McCarson, Chief IoT Systems Architect from Intel USA. Presentations from Australian industry leaders included: - Kee Wong: Managing Director e-centric Innovations; - Shaji Sethu: Executive General Manager, Oakton Applications; - Ros Harvey: Chief Strategy Advisor, SIRCA; - Lee Hickin: Commercial Lead for Internet of Things, Microsoft; - Dan Paull: CEO, PSMA and AIIA Founder of Geo-Spatial Special Interest Group; - Pia Waugh: Department of Finance; - Simon Rossi: General Manager, Uber Melbourne; - Jason McClure: Chief Executive Officer, SlicedTech; - Dr James Freeman: CEO of GP2U; - Jake MacMullin: Managing Director, Stripy Sock; - Glenn Archer: VP Public Sector, Gartner There were also Spotlight IoT case studies from: - Susan Harris: CEO, Intelligent Transport Systems Australia - David Gambrill: NICTA, Sydney Harbour Bridge Project - Suvendu Mukherjee: Product Manager, Broadcast Australia - Matthew Pryor: CEO, Observant - Raja Jurdak: Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO 1 of 5 1 April 2015
The theme of AIIA s 2015 Summit was transformation the profound transformative impact of ubiquitous and intelligent connectivity on the economy, society, business and government. The day was organised into three key segments: 1. Transforming the Physical Economy and Built Environment 2. Transforming the Delivery of Services 3. Transforming the Economy The day concluded with the 2015 IoT Summit Dinner, which included industry and government experts in a hypothetical panel discussion exploring the possibilities, risks and challenges in the world of IoT. Facilitated by Andrew Johnstone-Burt, Partner and National Public Sector Leader at Deloitte, the hypothetical included panellists Kate Lundy, Director of Technology Innovation Partners; Paul Fletcher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications; Bob Williamson, Leader of the Machine Learning Group at NICTA, and Professor at ANU; and Nick Abrahams, APAC Technology Practice Leader of Norton Rose Fulbright. Summary of key insights Key insights emerging from the Summit include the following. The breadth of applications of IoT is vast from transport and logistics, to health management and service efficiency, utility and resource management, urban density and traffic congestion control, smart manufacturing and precision farming to list only a few. The IoT offers substantial positive social, economic and environmental benefits. Open standards, open data and internationally consistent interoperability frameworks will propel the IoT forward. Single vendor approaches need to be resisted and multi-level architectures adopted to enable interoperability. Collaboration between industry, government and research institutions to drive IoT innovation and its practical application is required to ensure the highest-level outcomes. Significant opportunities exist for public/private partnerships to drive both the scale in IoT applications and their rollouts. Sensitivity to privacy and security concerns of the citizen must be shown and citizens should not be required to trade privacy to access the benefits of smart IoT developments. New skill sets, principally in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills are and will continue to be in increasing demand. Current regulatory frameworks are sufficient to manage the IoT, and light touch oversight should be applied if the need for regulation emerges. The proliferation of sensors and IoT networks Citing the increasing sophistication and affordability of sensor technology, speakers emphasised the already widespread application of IoT across a range of sectors. This year alone some 1 billion wireless devices will be shipped around the world and over 10 billion IoT software applications sold, generating services valued at some $70 billion. By 2020, it is predicted that at least 25 billion sensors with unique IP addresses, will contribute an estimated $6.2 trillion to the world economy (by 2025). Page 2 of 5
While the dynamic capability of sensor technology, including geo-tracking, will drive further application and data analysis opportunities, Dan Paull (PSMA) noted the challenge of curating real time location data. In highlighting the potential of IoT Steve Leonard (IDA Singapore) confirmed Singapore s ambitious IoT program - connecting Everything, everywhere, everyone, all the time. Building a smarter environment Speaking with experience from Asia and Europe, Steve Leonard (IDA) and Lutz Heuser (Urban Software Institute) highlighted how IoT technology is being applied to addressing issues such as urban density, managing the impact of an ageing population and reducing energy consumption. From managing chronic traffic congestion and supporting patients at home as the alternative to hospital admission in Singapore, to managing energy consumption and reducing greenhouse emissions in Germany, the insights created by the data generated by IoT technology is contributing to a range of improved citizen, social, economic and environmental outcomes. Leveraging existing infrastructure assets, starting small and building scale were consistent themes throughout the day. The concept of a digital skin - overlaying smart technology on existing infrastructure - highlighted the opportunity to use IoT technology to drive smart cities, transport, utility services, traffic management, civil safety, parking and asset management applications, to name a few. Presentations from David Gambrill (NICTA), which showed how IoT sensors are used to maintain and coordinate repairs of Australia s iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Suvendu Mukherjee s (BAI) overview of the connected and smart New York subway system illustrated the extent to which IoT is already being applied. Raja Jurdak s (CSIRO) presentation on nomadic flying foxes demonstrated the versatility of IoT technology in situations where there is not a controlled environment. Driving service transformation and opportunity Several Summit speakers discussed the theme of seamless and smart service delivery. The extent to which the IoT is transforming business models, driving efficiencies and improving outcomes for citizens was emphasised by several speakers including Lutz Heuser (Urban Institute), Simon Rossi (Uber), Brian McCarson (Intel), Lee Hicken (Microsoft), Matthew Pryor (Observant) and Jasin McClure (SlicedTech) and Dr James Freeman (GP2U). Presenters from both industry and government emphasised the importance of government service delivery shifting from government as a service to government as a platform encouraging the use of smart technology to access integrated customer information and deliver integrated service offerings. The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull and Pia Waugh (Department of Finance) noted the role of the recently announced Digital Transformation Office in using data and applications more effectively to deliver more focussed, citizen driven services and, in the context of government as a platform, opportunities for industry to leverage government data to build new service capability. Making the point that in an analog world, policy dictates delivery, while in the digital world delivery informs policy, Ros Harvey (SIRCA) highlighted the rapid pace of technological advancement, which has left many governments scrambling to keep pace from a policy perspective. Glenn Archer (Gartner) expressed the view that IoT applications must be included in a whole of government strategy; from federal through to state and local government levels. He specifically emphasised the need for industry, academia, vendors, and jurisdictions to work Page 3 of 5
together to identify the role of government in enabling IoT applications and innovations that derive end user and broader economic benefits. The need for collaboration between industry, governments and researchers - the triple helix according to Ros Harvey (SIRCA), to drive innovation of IoT application and use of data was emphasised by the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, Steve Leonard (IDA), Pia Waugh (Dept. of Finance), Brian McCarson (Intel) and Glenn Archer (Gartner). The extent to which IoT can drive improved efficiency was also a recurrent theme. Speakers emphasised the ability of IoT to transform inefficient, expensive, and time consuming processes in areas such as utility management, transportation, manufacturing and agriculture. Steve Leonard (IDA) and Dr James Freeman (GP2U) spoke to the opportunity to transform health delivery models. With a rapidly ageing population, Steve Leonard explained how IoT capability in Singapore delivers services more efficiently, improves patient management and maintains the overall sustainability of Singapore s health system. Dr James Freeman provided examples of smart technology assisting healthcare delivery in remote communities. Susan Harris (Intelligent Transport Systems Australia) advised that mandated IoT connected vehicles could reduce collisions by more than 50% and increase trans-urban road capacity by some 270%. With a global population approaching 9 billion people, speakers identified the application of IoT to improve the efficient and effective use of utilities and resources. Citing the US, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull advised that a 5% improvement in the efficiency of the US power grid would save greenhouse emissions equivalent to 53 million cars. Jake MacMullin (Stripy Sock) illustrated the versatility of IoT technology in his examples of how low energy beacon transmitters, interoperating with mobile phones can deliver in context information to improve customer/user experience. Transforming the economy If harnessed correctly, IoT has the capacity to increase Australia s economic potential. According to Brian McCarson (Intel), this requires three fundamental things: first, identification and leveraging of comparative advantage; second, strong government and industry partnerships; and third, skills and innovation. These themes were reiterated by Ros Harvey (SIRCA) and Glenn Archer (Gartner) who also identified the need for an effective, collaborative and innovative ecosystem to drive social and economic benefits from the application of IoT and associated data analytics. Challenges The need for international frameworks Several speakers emphasised the importance of open standards. Shaji Sethu (Oakton) drew the analogy between the lack of IoT standards and hosting a summit in which participants tried to communicate using 15 different languages. Ultimately, interoperability between devices and IoT platforms is critical to optimising capability. Glenn Archer (Gartner) made the point that Australia cannot play the waiting game; the Government must work with industry and international development groups to develop an IoT architecture and policy. Security and privacy Security and privacy concerns were identified particularly given the ubiquity of IoT and the extent to which citizens will interact with sensors and IoT networks seamlessly across all aspects of their working and personal lives. Steve Leonard emphasised the need to balance Page 4 of 5
keeping people safe and servicing citizen needs smarter noting here should be no requirement to compromise personal privacy. Skills shortage Brian McCarson (Intel) and Ros Harvey (SIRCA) noted the needs for investment in skills. Brian in particular expressed the view that the workforce of the future will require basic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills as a necessity. These skills are essential in a competitive global economy where smart technology will continue to evolve. Taking the Internet of Things agenda forward A key aim of the AIIA Navigating series is to surface the opportunities and challenges of a specific technology capability and generate debate regarding how that capability can facilitate Australia s continued economic prosperity and competitiveness. Reflecting on the outcomes of the Internet of Things Summit, AIIA believes that IoT technology combined with cloud computing and data analytics has clear potential to drive deep social, economic and environmental benefits of value to individuals, business, industry, and governments. In taking the IoT agenda forward AIIA intends to: Work with industry and government to support the development of globally consistent standards and interoperability frameworks that enable the development and implementation of effective IoT solutions; Encourage the Federal Government to consider how smart IoT capability can be used to achieve the business, social and economic objectives of government supported industry Growth Centres; Include the privacy and security implications of IoT in our current consideration and forward work plan relating to cyber security and digital identity; Promote the development of multi-leveled and interoperable IoT solutions; Promote partnerships between government, industry and academia to drive innovation of IoT solution development and where required, the scaling of IoT applications; Build awareness of IoT capability across Government (federal and state) and encourage incorporation of IoT architectures and solutions in business and customer centric service solution planning; and Advocate the social, economic and environmental benefits of IoT based solutions. For further information contact: Suzanne Roche at s.roche@aiia.com.au Page 5 of 5