M2M Cloud has secured a three-year contact to supply its Internet of Things (IoT) water-monitoring technology to more than 100 Highland Council buildings.
The three-year agreement to supply pipe sensors is the Dundee firm's first public sector contract. Its Neptune technology takes temperature readings every 10 seconds, warning building management if the water supply is at risk of developing harmful bacteria such as legionella.
Data captured by the devices is transferred over the LoRa (long range) based network to a central point for analysis every 15 minutes, which can be viewed on mobile devices.
Neptune was tested in an initial proof of concept project developed by CENSIS – the Innovation Centre for sensor and imaging systems and IoT - at two Highland Council buildings last year. M2M Cloud has partnered with Dart Valley Systems – part of Franke Group UK – to market and install the system.
Scott Edgar, operations director at M2M Cloud, said: “We’ve been almost overwhelmed by the demand for what Neptune can offer. Neptune helps ensure a water system is compliant and also helps with planned preventative maintenance schemes. The technology can also help organisations react quicker to problems and target resources to the right place saving time and money, while lowering carbon emissions. The market is potentially vast.
“The product has helped us win our first public sector tender, which has given us huge encouragement. It has also given us a brand new revenue stream and will be a key part of our business in the months and years ahead.
"Our partnership with Dart Valley Systems will help us make the most of Neptune’s potential value to the business. We’re already looking at added functionality, incorporating data analytics and machine learning. If it goes as well as we believe it can, 2020 will be a big year for M2M Cloud.”
CENSIS worked with Highland Council, the Scottish Government’s Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) Innovation Fund, and Capita IT Enterprise Services to trial a remote monitoring system using IoT networks, in a project that was the first of its kind in Scotland.
Stephen Milne, business development manager at CENSIS, added: “M2M Cloud has developed a piece of technology that shows how IoT could transform the way many businesses work and how services are delivered.
"The potential for its Neptune devices is massive and it marks the beginning of a very exciting period for the business. It is very encouraging to see a Scottish SME take our proof of concept project to the next level and turn it into a commercially viable product that could help grow its business.”
