International. Cisco has announced the second annual Innovation Grand Challenge, a global competition aimed at start-ups, entrepreneurs and developers who intend to promote their idea or business project around the Internet of Things (IoT) / Internet of Everything (IoE), the new phase of the Internet in which everything will be connected.
With a prize of $250,000 to be shared among the final three winners and the possibility of obtaining development, testing and testing support in Cisco Innovation Centers, as well as mentoring, partnership and financing through Cisco, its partners or investors, participants can submit their idea until September 7, 2015.
This year's applications should be related to five key areas for the digitization and evolution of IoT/IoE – including infrastructure, middleware, platforms and frameworks, applications and data analytics, security and Fog Computing – in different vertical segments such as manufacturing, smart cities and transport or energy/utilities.
The jury – composed of three panels of experts from Cisco and the industry – will evaluate different factors such as the originality of the proposals, their chance of success in the market or the value for the final customers. The 15 semi-finalists will be unveiled on October 5, the six finalists will be announced on November 23 and the three winners will be announced on December 7 in Dubai as part of the third annual IoT World Forum.
IoT and IoE are complex market transitions that require the collaboration of multiple partners, customers, and the development community. Last year, the first edition of the Cisco Innovation Grand Challenge received more than 1,000 applications from 170 countries.
As Ignasi Errando, director of Internet of Everything at Cisco, points out, "With less than 1 percent of physical objects currently connected to the Internet, there is a great opportunity to connect the unconnected, to reinvent business processes, improve operational efficiency and revolutionize the end customer experience. Cisco is committed to driving innovation, and the Innovation Grand Challenge competition is a way to discover and support the creation of disruptive technologies, products or business models capable of transforming different sectors and the way we live, work, learn and have fun."
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