News & Events

EMC and Vodafone Ireland to launch Industrial ‘Internet of Things’ innovation platform, “INFINITE”

EMC, the tech multinational that employs over 3,000 people in Ireland, in partnership with Ireland’s leading total communications provider, Vodafone, has developed a state-of-the-art innovation platform, specifically designed for industrial Internet of Things (IoT) development, from its Cork-based Centre of Excellence.

  • INFINITE: a strategic initiative led by EMC and supported by Vodafone Ireland specifically for advanced industrial IoT (Internet of Things) development and testing;
  • First large-scale IIC-approved industrial IoT innovation platform in Europe
  • An initial investment of €2 million, INFINITE was launched today by Minister Richard Bruton TD, along with senior international executives from EMC and Vodafone.

 

Dublin, Ireland, 16 June 2015:

EMC, the tech multinational that employs over 3,000 people in Ireland, in partnership with Ireland’s leading total communications provider, Vodafone, has developed a state-of-the-art innovation platform, specifically designed for industrial Internet of Things (IoT) development, from its Cork-based Centre of Excellence.


This is the first large-scale Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC)-approved industrial IoT innovation platform in Europe. It has been supported by the Department of Jobs through IDA Ireland.


Launched by Minister Richard Bruton TD at an event in Dublin today, the IoT Innovation platform, known as INFINITE is spread across three data centres – EMC, Vodafone and data centre and cloud provider, Cork Internet eXchange (CIX), in Cork – and will provide users with the ability to leverage and benefit from the emerging field of Internet of Things whereby everyday processes such as manufacturing or fleet management to everyday objects, like machinery, household appliances and even clothing, contain sensors that are connected to the internet and generating data for analysis.


INFINITE encompasses all the significant technologies, domains and platforms to support businesses to introduce major advancements in cloud, networks, mobile, wireless, edge gateways, sensors and analytics that are defining IoT globally. This is made available to organisations that wish to create products capitalising upon IoT and will considerably reduce the cost and time of development.


The project, a partnership between leading IT multinational EMC and global leader in IoT, Vodafone, represents an initial investment of €2 million in Ireland. 
The scale and scope of the project means the platform can be used simultaneously by companies in multiple fields including healthcare, transport, and financial services, to support applications with a need for mobile communication and dynamic configuration.


For example, INFINITE could be used to develop solutions in the global healthcare sector. A company could develop and supply IoT solutions to be used in a hospital's emergency department where sensors in ambulances could provide real-time data, like precise location and patient vitals, providing the medical team adequate time to prepare and drive efficiencies to further improve the service.


Speaking at the launch of INFINITE today, Minister Bruton welcomed the announcement, saying: 
“The Internet of Things is a fast-growing emerging sector which we have identified as part of our Action Plan for Jobs. This is an area which has the capacity not only to transform lives, but also support large numbers of jobs in Ireland. Today’s announcement that EMC and Vodafone have chosen Ireland as the location of this platform is a very exciting development and a great example of what is possible in this area. This will make a major difference to our efforts in this area and I look forward to working closely with these two companies as we seek to develop innovative Internet of Things services in Ireland.”


EXECUTIVE QUOTES
Dr Orna Berry, Corporate Vice President Innovation, EMC Centres of Excellences (CoE) and R&D Centres and General Manager Israel COE, said: “EMC Federation is leading an industrial partnership encompassing Rich Data and Internet of Things. The digital age’s IT transformation - cloud, big data, social, mobile and Internet of Things, is continuously and increasingly changing the way we live and work. EMC Federation and Ireland's CoE are excited to take a dynamic and influential part in this important eventuation, with the creation of the INFINITE innovative IoT platform.”


Donagh Buckley, Head of EMC Research Europe, said: “INFINITE will play a key national and international role enabling innovation, insights and business opportunities for Industrial IoT developments across a wide range of industries. We have created a state-of-the-art cloud and analytics platform for IoT services which will provide the technologies, processes and best practices that will enable reliable and trustworthy solutions for hyper-connected industries. This is a unique and exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of international collaborations driving the transformational change that is going to redraw industry boundaries.”


Anne O’Leary, CEO, Vodafone Ireland, said:“We are delighted to work with EMC in this exciting development. Vodafone is at the forefront of Internet of Things technology at a global level and I am proud to see Ireland also taking a lead in pioneering the development of these new disruptive technologies. IoT has the potential to transform business in Ireland and we are excited to be in a position to provide companies with access to start developing their own IoT services.”


Dr Richard Soley, Executive Director, Industrial Internet Consortium, said: “INFINITE will prove to be a valuable Industrial Internet testbed for a countless number of industries including Smart Cities and healthcare. As the need for more dynamic systems continues to grow, organisations will turn to utilising mobile networks to connect to virtual systems. This testbed is going to prove the viability of doing all this with systems that require the utmost security – such as those used by hospitals and emergency medical services.”


Martin Shanahan, CEO at IDA Ireland, said: “The internet of things will change the way we engage with everyday products, making them more intelligent. IDA Ireland has identified this industry as a growth opportunity for Ireland – it is also an area where a number of IDA Ireland’s clients can work together, as we’re seeing here with EMC and Vodafone.”
ENDS
For information
Sarah Regan PR360 01 637 1777 / 086 896 3312 sarah@pr360.ie
About INFINITE
INFINITE uses Big Data to not only create completely virtual domains with Software-Defined Networking, but also makes it possible for multiple virtual domains to securely run via one physical network – thus making it ideal for use in mission critical systems. Even more interesting, INFINITE makes it possible to connect to these virtual domains through mobile networks. The testbed was approved earlier this year by the world-renowned Industrial Internet Consortium and will demonstrate Industrial IoT use cases. 
INFINITE will support Irish businesses with IOT innovation by enabling organisations to understand the key technical requirements for building products and services, understanding emerging business models and establishing close working relationships with key participants in the IoT sector. IoT refers to advanced connectivity of devices systems and services that collect useful data and then autonomously flow the data between other devices.
About EMC
EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyse their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com
About Vodafone Ireland
Vodafone is Ireland’s leading total communications provider with 2.3 million customers. At 31st March 2015, the company had 2 million mobile customers and 282,300 customers of its fixed portfolio. Vodafone provides a total range of communications solutions including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications to consumers and to small, medium and large businesses. Since 2011, Vodafone has expanded its enterprise division, offering integrated next-generation fixed and mobile solutions in addition to cloud-based platforms, machine to machine services and professional ICT support. Vodafone Group is one of the world's leading international mobile communications groups with mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 55 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.ie
 About Industrial Internet Consortium
The Industrial Internet Consortium® is an open membership organization with over 160 members to date, formed to accelerate the development, adoption and wide-spread use of interconnected machines and devices, intelligent analytics, and people at work. Founded by AT&T, Cisco, General Electric, IBM and Intel in March 2014, the Industrial Internet Consortium catalyses and coordinates the priorities and enabling technologies of the Industrial Internet. Visit http://www.iiconsortium.org/