Cisco Investments, Cisco's venture capital arm is investing in Japanese IoT firm smart-FOA. The company is the first in Japan to receive funding based on Cisco's Global IoT Fund - the company's USD $100 million initiative for Internet of Everything (IoE) start-ups and early-stage companies.
FOA (Flow Oriented Approach) provides an innovative information sharing platform that is useful for resolving problems and making decisions in real time by creating pieces of data (information strips) that combine raw data collected by sensors in the manufacturing workplace with workplace know-how, and letting these flow on the network. The software allows valuable information to be accessed from anywhere and creates next-generation workplace IT that matches the concept of Fog Computing, the distributed processes at the network edge.
Together, Cisco and smart-FOA plan to expand this software from Japanese manufacturing workplaces to similar manufacturing environments around the world through the joint development of solutions for the manufacturing industry based on Cisco's IOx.
The utilization of data from manufacturing workplaces is Japan's strong suit, and the concept of FOA was born out of consideration for the mission of further refining this utilization. We would like to promote the Internet of Everything (IoE) concept advocated by Cisco, as well as management innovation combining a people-focused FOA workplace with management in the manufacturing sector, and through these things we would like to provide the world's first FOA from Japan.
- Masaharu Oku, CEO, smart-FOA Co
Cisco believes that investing in smart-FOA will contribute to increasing the capabilities of manufacturing workplaces that constitute Japan's greatest strength with the aim of realizing the Internet of Everything and generate new value by bringing together goods, people, processes and data. We expect IoT solutions from Japan to expand onto the global market.
- Yasufumi Hirai, President and General Manager, Cisco Systems G.K
