Company of the Month IoT.nxt | Bridging the edge
30 July 2018
Almost a year ago, South African company IoT.nxt expanded its operations to The Hague to shape its international ambitions. We spoke to Joe Bester, Marketing Director at IoT.nxt in The Netherlands, about IoT.nxt and his experience of doing business in The Hague in the past year.
What is IoT.nxt?
“IoT.nxt was established in South Africa late in 2015 by a small group of tech entrepreneurs who discovered an opportunity to innovate in Internet of Things technology and strategy. From start-up beginnings, the company experienced explosive growth and demand for its solutions. The demand and interest from Europe following participation at various expos and conferences on the continent led to the establishment of IoT.nxt’s first international office in The Hague in September 2017.
The company has taken a different view to that of many other companies and has developed various sets of innovative technology. IoT.nxt has taken a bottom-up approach as opposed to the bulk of other companies taking a down from the cloud approach. The company has now identified a convergence of the cloud and the edge, which is fundamentally changing what is taking place in the industry. IoT.nxt is therefore perfectly positioned to take advantage of IoT technology becoming real across several industries. IoT.nxt is now at point where companies are implementing its strategies and technology and seeing value. For example, we recently launched a so-called ‘IoT in a box’ solution with global tech giant Dell, combining the company’s intelligent edge IoT gateway – the Raptor™ – with Dell Gateway technology and through this enabling rapid digital transformation.”
Choosing for The Hague
“Dutch legislation is very business-friendly and especially favourable towards technology start-ups. The Netherlands has an established global reputation for its support of innovation in technology, which made it the logical choice for IoT.nxt. The Hague has been a fantastic base to co-ordinate all of our activities in Europe. The city has a business friendly environment and we had an excellent experience in all dealings with all of the Dutch authorities.”
First year of doing business in The Hague
“We have been here for ¾ of the year and it has been most encouraging. Our commercial model is to distribute our solution through value adding partners like System Integrators and consultancy firms that are active in setting up strategies and implementations for enterprises to digitise. We have formalised partnership agreements with a number of significant players in the Netherlands and other Benelux countries and are actively engaging with clients. Globally we are currently involved in 30 different projects and projects in Europe are an exciting part of this.
Eyes on the horizon
‘We see our pipeline in Europe getting stronger and stronger, and for the year ahead we expect to add a number of projects to an exciting pipeline. The US is offering many exciting opportunities and we believe, due to the attitude of early adoption that prevails, that this will be a significant revenue generator for us”, says Bester.
SA startups IoT.nxt, NuvaLaw open offices in The Hague
By Tom Jackson, 4 December 2017
South African startups IoT.nxt and NuvaLaw have opened offices in The Hague region of the Netherlands as they look to expand in Europe.
The two startups, along with South African shopping centre fund Hystead Limited, took part in an official signing ceremony last week at the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Cape Town.
The Pretoria-based IoT.nxt has developed a framework that moves business beyond islands of automation and towards a seamless horizontally and vertically integrated digital enterprise, and is expanding in Europe after securing ZAR100 million (US$7.7 million) in funding earlier this year.
NuvaLaw is a legal-tech startup that designs and implements digital platforms that transform the way the legal information exchange is managed and how disputes are settled. The company is an alumnus of the Startupbootcamp accelerator in London and is also engaging with The Hague Institute for Innovation in Law.
“We are looking forward to Hystead, IoT.nxt, and NuvaLaw joining professional and creative forces with other Dutch and international businesses in The Hague, and nearby cities such as Leiden. They are a great addition to our innovative and fast-growing ecosystem in this region”, said The Hague’s deputy mayor Karsten Klein.
Read more: http://bit.ly/2kmDLbh
www.disrupt-africa.com
Three SA companies open offices in The Hague
Cape Town legaltech startup NuvaLaw yesterday signed an agreement with The Hague Business Agency and other Dutch authorities to set up in Leiden, The Netherlands to initially partner with large insurance companies in the European country, especially in The Hague and Leiden.
The startup is one of three South African companies that will open offices in The Hague region, the Hague Business Agency said in a press release.
It follows an agreement signed yesterday by the three companies — Hystead Limited, IoT.nxt, and NuvaLaw — with the City of The Hague, The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), The Hague Business Agency, and InnovationQuarter in Cape Town.
Founded in Cape Town in 2016, NuvaLaw creates inter-party negotiation and adjudication platforms that bring together smart technology, processes, and services to reduce the time and cost of legal information exchange and dispute settlement. The startup is currently focused on reducing inter-party costs between insurers.
Read more: http://bit.ly/2nrh7Qp
www.ventureburn.com