UK public and private organisations need to review their current business model if they want to unlock economic value from the Internet of Everything (IoE), according to Cisco.
A recent Cisco study of 7,500 global business and IT leaders said the IoE made about $28.4bn in profit for UK companies in 2013 as the worldwide market hit $613bn, and at the CiscoCREATE IoE innovation centre in Greenwich, the networking firm said the IoE has the potential to fuel the UK’s retail, healthcare, manufacturing, transport and energy sectors.
It also found that UK organisations are less confident than their emerging market counterparts in realising the value from the IoE.
Ian Foddering, CTO of Cisco UK, said: "UK organisations, in both the public and private sectors, need to take a closer look at their current business models if they want to take advantage of the opportunities generated by the IoE.
"Three factors are key to tapping into these opportunities effectively. Firstly, an ambition and willingness to be open-minded and realise how the IoE applies to the business context.
"Second, to hire and invest in the right skills to manage connections, and thirdly to explore what new partnerships will allow new ground to be broken for everyone involved to benefit."
In healthcare, 4G connectivity and wireless mesh among other new technologies could help medical staff update and keep track of medical records in real-time as patients manage their own healthcare conditions on the go, Cisco believes.
Retailers could also improve their supply chain and consumer experience as they gather more data about customer behaviour, while the wider Internet of Things facilitates the remote monitoring of transport from roads, bins and vehicles across the UK.
Phil Smith, CEO of Cisco UK & Ireland, said: "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."
Gartner predicts 26 billion things and $1.9 trillion of global economic value as a result of the Internet of Things by 2020.
