New Zealand’s Communications Minister Simon Bridges (above photo) welcomed the launch of a digital sector and government alliance to explore the economic and social benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT) on March 31 2017.
IoT is a concept that involves connecting devices to the internet, enabling them to ‘talk’ to each other and to people. For example, smartphones might prompt people to take a specific route to an event because it has access to their current location and calendar.
Speaking at The Grid, an innovation precinct in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, Minister Bridges said the Alliance would help harness the potential of IoT.
“IoT is a transformative technology, one that promises to boost productivity across all major sectors of the economy, assist in monitoring our health, make transport and logistics more efficient, help reduce energy consumption and tackle environmental issues,” Mr. Bridges says.
“The Government has a key role to play in ensuring that New Zealand can take advantage of what IoT has to offer. The Alliance will provide a forum for enabling us to better understand the benefits and potential issues of IoT, such as privacy and cyber security.”
“Initial research by the Alliance, which will provide an evidence base for future work, already suggests potential economic benefits to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars for the New Zealand economy through the deployment of IoT across a variety of sectors.”
The Alliance is one of several new initiatives included in the new Building a Digital Nation report, which Minister Bridges released at the Alliance launch event.
The report outlines the 8 areas of the Digital Economy Work Programme:
-Digital sector
-Digital business
-Digital New Zealanders
-Digital government
-Digital skills
-Connectivity
-Privacy and security
-Regulation
“The digital economy is a key focus of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda. This report sets out how the Government is partnering with New Zealand’s digital sector, with other sectors of the economy and the wider digital community, to enable New Zealand to become a leading digital nation.”
“This is the first time the full programme of activity has been pulled together in one place, serving as a focal point for ongoing engagement with the digital community and for shaping and driving New Zealand’s digital transformation,” Mr. Bridges says.
Read the media release here.
Featured image via Simon Bridges MP Facebook page.
