Innovation UK > News > Innovation UK Vol5-2 > Doing business in the digital age

As part of the Technology Strategy Board rationalisation and refocusing of the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) portfolio, a new KTN has been formed from the Grid Computing Now! Cyber-Security and Location & Timing KTNs. The Digital Business KTN (name to be confirmed) will carry forward the programmes and activities of the Cyber-Security and Location & Timing communities into a new age of digital business, where the ability to operate securely across cyber-space and assure the quality of data used in building up patterns of activity are critical. Grid Computing Now! will evolve into a new programme focused on Scalable Computing. Challenges of meeting huge peaks of demand for services discussed in this publication previously have been highlighted as priorities in the new programme, namely delivering IT as a service; sustainability and the design of distributed services/applications.

The ability to utilise IT as a service in the organisation; ie the ability to utilise on-demand resources to extend a computing infrastructure; or to adopt a platform for business activities such as delivering an e-commerce package for online business or to deliver functionality directly to end users through software as a service. These capabilities for on-demand computing are at the leading edge of company requirements as the new wave of innovation and enthusiasm related to the Cloud and the use of the Internet is unleashed.

The new Scalable Computing programme will also feature further work in the area of sustainability. How will datacentres evolve to meet the challenge of cap and trade on carbon emissions? Where is the trade-off between owned and rented capacity? How will business and government services be best delivered in this new age of controls (and shortages) of energy? What are the trade-offs for knowledge workers in terms of facilities on the desktop, at home or travelling? The programme will seek to expand its understanding and publish up-to-date information to guide the activities of network members building on the work already done by Grid Computing Now!

Finally, the evolution of large computing infrastructures and the widespread adoption of multi-core computing represent new opportunities to design distributed applications and services to enable highly flexible and capable deployments to meet the peaks and demands of customers in this age of the ?always on? user. Building upon lessons carefully captured in the parallel computing world over the past few generations, the need to structure programmes and data more carefully to allow multiple accessors; the need to design algorithms such that they can operate in parallel and the need to design deliverable functionality in parallel to many different end users will all be highlighted here.

As ICT increasingly moves to mobile devices, location and timing technology has a vital role in the explosion of location-aware services for professional and massmarket applications. Location technology underpins a wide range of services including logistics, intelligent transport, location-aware gaming, autonomous vehicle control, dynamic traffic routing, assisted living, provision of location-sensitive information and virtual or augmented reality.

A vast range of new location aware applications are becoming available for mobile devices via the iPhone Apps Store, Google Android, Microsoft Marketplace and Symbian Horizon. Location is a vital part of new social networking applications, set to revolutionise personal interactions in business and leisure. Timing is a vital, underpinning technology for next-generation networks, as, unlike previous infrastructure, time and synchronisation must be brought to the edges of the network rather than be provided once at the centre. New products such as TV over the Internet impose new requirements to provide a satisfactory user experience. Timing and synchronisation are vital components for new mobile connectivity technologies such as WiMAX and femtocells, and in upgrading existing networks where the demand for bandwidth (for example, for the iPhone) is driving operators to provide much more capacity. Timing is also an important product in its own right, for example for time stamping financial transactions wherever they occur in the world.

The combination of location and mobile connectivity looks set to revolutionise the way we live, as the phone becomes your wallet and travel-billing mechanism (it knows where and when you travelled), and personal information and entertainment provider. There are barriers to overcome addressing satellite navigation and timing vulnerability, providing reliable location within buildings and in ensuring privacy, and co-ordinated action will be needed to unlock the potential of this technology in transport automation and traveller assistance.

The Location and Timing Programme within the Digital Business KTN is the only organisation representing the location and timing community in the UK, at this critical time as we enter a mobile world with ubiquitous communication and location (?anything, anywhere, anytime?). To deliver this ambitious new programme and for the new KTN as a whole, we anticipate drawing upon the skills and new products and services being introduced by the leading industry suppliers around the world, capitalising upon innovation taking place at the coal face of the industry in small and medium-sized organisations with a track record of innovation and, of course, our colleagues from the distributed computing communities in the standards and academic worlds. There is much potentially usable knowledge already available. We will work hard to identify the leading lights to bring this information to members of the new KTN through our proven tools of thought leadership, background information, case studies, online events and face-to-face specialinterest group meetings.

The new KTN is launching at Innovate ?09, where there will be a special series of displays on the Digital Zone in the conference area. We will be featuring examples of innovation in many of our key activities, and offering updates on the means of joining and accessing this treasure trove of innovation for the Digital Economy. We will be working with colleagues in the TSB and Digital Communications KTN to feature activities that will lead to innovation as part of the flagship Digital Britain programme. Come join us at Innovate ?09 or online and be an active member of the new community.

For more information, contact:
Ian Osborne
Director, Digital Business KTN
E-mail: