Trade industry group National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Georgia Institute of Technology to advance innovation through an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.

NASSCOM, which is India’s information technology and business process management sector industry association, operates the Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (COE-IoT). The centre plans to work closely with Georgia Tech’s Atlanta-based Centre for the Development and Application of Internet of Things Technologies (CDAIT). The main objective of NASSCOM’s COE-IoT is to create innovative applications and domain capability, which is similar to CDAIT’s mission of expanding and promoting IoT’s potential and transformational capabilities.

“In close cooperation with NASSCOM’s IoT centre, we intend to explore ways to leverage IoT technologies to accelerate and optimise the pace of digital transformation throughout the economy,” said Alain Louchez, managing director of CDAIT.

The agreement between NASSCOM and Georgia Tech will allow both organisations to combine their efforts to raise awareness of IoT and create IoT-related events for the purpose of developing a vibrant global IoT ecosystem facilitating the effective and efficient adoption of IoT technologies. The partnership will also prompt conversations around IoT that will promote interoperability across industry and geographic markets.

“The disruptive nature of IoT will have a major impact in all areas of the consumer’s life–across all industries including industrial, healthcare, agriculture and smart homes,” said Sanjeev Malhotra, chief executive officer of COE-IoT.

Through its COE-IoT located in Bangalore, NASSCOM is focusing on systemically expanding the technology ecosystem, with the centre providing a platform to address challenges such as the lack of understanding that leads to low adoption levels and security issues faced by the industry.