Cisco Showcases How the UK Is Harnessing the Internet of Everything in 2014

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Apr 10, 2014) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today revealed how the Internet of Everything (IoE) is actively taking a role in solving some of the UK's biggest infrastructure and economic challenges. Bringing together a panel of industry experts and IoE "watchers", Cisco presented a combination of visionary thinking and practical applications at the launch of its new report at the CiscoCREATE Internet of Everything innovation centre in Greenwich.

The report, titled "The Internet of Everything: Bringing the Future to Life", examines the current realisation of the IoE in the UK today and how this vision will play a key role in fuelling the British economy for years to come. As uptake gathers pace, the IoE will radically transform and shape lives by connecting the unconnected, creating unprecedented value for organisations, individuals, communities, and countries.

From retailers to utility companies, manufacturing firms to healthcare, the IoE represents a huge opportunity for organisations, educators and people across the country. In an era when it's possible for everything to be given an Internet address and connected to the network, 50 billion "things" will be connected globally by 2020, creating $19 trillion worth of value at stake.

Speaking today at the event, Phil Smith, chief executive, Cisco UK & Ireland, said: "The Internet of Everything provides the platform from which an ever-increasing number of connections will 'wake-up' the world around us. With just 1% of the physical world connected at this time, this is just the beginning of an amazing future. As connections become smarter, faster and more insightful, we will only see more imaginative and ambitious applications of the IoE which will quite literally change the world. That is exciting for Cisco because there is no required roadmap, no single path -- just a platform that offers abundant opportunity and endless possibilities for everyone."

From better, more sophisticated ways of selling to and engaging with customers, to increasingly efficient and slick supply chains and manufacturing processes, the Internet of Everything is being brought to life in a number of ways in the UK. In the report, Cisco identifies five areas that will see the biggest benefits first: healthcare, retail, transport, energy and manufacturing.

Healthcare:

The challenges facing healthcare are plentiful, but in an ever more connected age, so too are the options for tackling them. Different thinking and new operational models are needed to empower medical staff, carers and the patients, no matter who or where they are.