Technology Reseller v41

01732 759725 36 Q&A TR: What’s next for IoT Solutions Group as a business? EM: Last year, after the first Covid lockdown, we received seed funding for the business which changed things dramatically. It meant we could grow the team and had far more capacity. At that stage, we operated in stealth mode and were starting to raise our heads above the parapet. Now, we are in the position where we are getting client recommendations, which is great. We have got proven products, are growing recognition in this sector and have got some big names that we are working with, all of which helps to validate us as a business. To date, we have always worked in B2B, but with our adult social care product, we are being pushed quite rapidly down the B2C route. The ability to monitor an elderly parent and see that they are up and about and being active at an affordable price point is attractive to individuals, not just care providers. We are getting a lot of interest from people saying this is just what I need for my Mum or Dad, but shifting from a B2B model to a B2C one is a whole other story. https://www.iotsg.co.uk/ over the last four years. They have gone through all the testing and the compliance so we know that it works; why would we try to replicate what they are doing. We should work in partnership with them and have solutions that are proven to work. When we started the business, we probably thought we could do tens and tens of different verticals, but when you drill down into it, you realise you are better off having a smaller range, doing them really, really well, and working with key partners to bring in additional capabilities. found working in collaboration with people helps deliver the optimum solution for your customer; your customer will then be happy and will stay with you. Don’t profess to be able to do everything if you can’t. The system integration work is going well for us, and while we own the IP on our products, which is a nice place to be, we recognise that we will sometimes need a product that is not within our portfolio. For example, the emergency lighting solution that we offer is not ours, having been developed by a Dublin-based company ...continued Early warning IoT Solutions Group is increasingly well known for remote monitoring car park spaces, rubbish bins, lighting, water pipes and other physical objects. Its technology can also be used to monitor human activity and therefore enable older or vulnerable people to live independently for longer. It has developed an ‘in-home sensor’, code-named Doris, that discreetly monitors the physical wellbeing of older or vulnerable people by detecting activity in the kitchen (i.e. when they are making a cup of tea or preparing a meal). Should behaviour patterns change, it will send automated alerts to an Independent Living Officer or a family member. “The beauty of the solution is that it doesn’t need any power, it doesn’t need the internet, it doesn’t need to collect any personal information,” explains IoT Solutions Group Chief Executive Emma Mahy. “It arrives through the letterbox, you take it out of its jiffy bag and put it in the kitchen, and it just works. The system maps that person’s routine within the first 48 hours – it knows that they have a cup of tea at 8 a.m., lunch at 1 p.m. and go to bed at 10 p.m., for example. If they deviate from that, it sends an alert: ‘Your Mum’s not up yet; maybe give her a call’.” In this way, the sensor acts as an early intervention system, providing peace of mind for carers of elderly relatives and the possibility of significant efficiency savings for the public sector and commercial care providers, for example by reducing the requirement for scheduled appointments. It can also save lives as Sutton Council discovered when it deployed 100 of the sensors in Sutton Housing Partnership properties. In one case, within five days of the sensor being installed in the home of a lady in her 90s, Independent Living Officers (ILOs) were alerted of a dramatic decrease in activity levels. A family member was contacted and found their relative lying on the sofa, unwell and unable to move. Even though she wore a pendant alarm around her neck, she had not used it and it was only because of ‘Doris’ that her carers knew anything was wrong. In another case, within a week of the solution being installed, ILOs received an alert of a drop in activity levels for a resident who was not due to receive a visit for another six days. This alert prompted an emergency visit to the property, where the elderly resident was found lying on the floor with a broken hip, unable to reach her emergency alarm. IoT Solutions Group recently completed a trial with Biffa along Bournemouth seafront