Business View Oceania

39 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 “I think that makes us really quite powerful. One of the dangers in industry associations that have a big management structure is that they start thinking they know what they are doing.” IoTAA membership comes in two tiers. The first is Executive Council, which allow for greater direct engagement. Then there are individual Workstream Memberships, which operate on an annual fee. Start-ups and students are offered membership at reduced rates as a way to help support those emerging onto the scene, as well as to encourage new ideas. “That’s where the brains are coming from; that’s where the innovation is,” Zeichner says. “It’s not surprising, but old practices would be pretty close to the reason why we’re not advancing – with people just not wanting to change their business processes. But good application of IoT actually changes workflow. Getting more efficient, being more data-driven takes more than technology takes real work. It’s hard, you have to rethink your business.” The Alliance works closely with various levels of government, as well as a variety of sectoral groups like Waterworks Services Alliance Australia, the Smart Cities Council, Standards Australia, and Communications Alliance to help encourage connections and the adoption of IoT. “We, by definition, have to be a collaborator of collaborators because that’s the only way we can bridge that technical/sectoral bridge,” Zeichner says. Aside from being good for business, Zeichner believes IoT has the power to do good in the world. He emphasises, “We absolutely must not look, or be like, or act like Facebook, that just introduces something and says whatever happens, happens. We want to make sure that it’s inclusive, that we design with and not for people. That’s the transformation I’m looking for.” SAPHI Engineering developed a compact, custom edge-computing system that integrates into Diffuse Energy’s turbine systems. The system runs off the green energy. A custom web app displays captured data in real-time in conjunction with the physical Hardware and cloud-based system. Image courtesy of Diffuse Energy & SAPHI Engingeering INTERNET OF THINGS ALL I ANCE AUSTRAL I A ( IOTAA)