Have you been looking for a compliant route to market to access it? If so, then Spark: The Technology Innovation Marketplace could be the answer.
Published 16 September 2019
Last updated 31 March 2020
Do you have a need for new and emerging innovative technology products?
Spark was launched in April 2019 to provide a smarter way for public sector customers to access the very latest and proven technologies. It is a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) enabling suppliers to join Spark and add new service offerings at any point during its lifetime. This includes a filter system to help customers search for products and shortlist relevant suppliers for their bespoke further competitions. As our current appointed suppliers will testify, it’s a simple and quick application process, helping SMEs and startups to remove barriers to doing business with the public sector; enabling true exploitation of innovation.
The number of appointed suppliers has been steadily growing since April and there are now 21, 15 of whom are SMEs, offering a wide range of proven technologies, which are predicted to have the largest impact over the next 2 to 5 years.
The suppliers’ innovation offerings are not just new and exciting but improving and simplifying everyday life. They cover: the Internet of Things (IoT), AI and automation, simulated and enhanced environments, engineering and materials science, data, wearables, transport, and security. Below are some of the examples;
- among the SMEs, Connexin specialises in delivering smart city and internet of things (IoT) technology services to local authorities
- Intechnology also provides smart city products designed to add social value, increase sustainability and protect the environment.
- it has rolled out one of the UK’s first city-wide networks for the IoT in Coventry to pilot high-tech public services to improve air quality, pest control, waste management and street lighting
- some of the other types of innovation on offer from SMEs include GDS Digital Services’ provision of a platform to support IP-based telecare, telemedicine and IoT devices within a social care context
- Ocasta provides a ‘gamified’ learning system called ‘Albert’ to improve knowledge among public-facing staff which uses ‘spaced learning’ to counteract the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve effect, where knowledge is lost over time
- Codebase8 provides software development capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) technology, automating the low value, mundane and repetitive administrative tasks within businesses
- Placecube develops integrated digital services, turning them into reusable products that government can more easily consume
- co-designed with government, Placecube has already created quick-to-deploy, reusable solutions for local public services, community collaboration and place-based service directories
- all their solutions are based on leading open source technologies and an open ecosystem of reusable digital components
- Becrypt provides Paradox, an operating system developed in collaboration with the UK government that reduces cyber security risks
- and ensures that endpoint devices (desktops, laptops, thin clients, kiosks) always boot into a ‘known good state’ free of any malware or compromise
- updates to the operating system and full application stack are also provided by Becrypt
- among the larger suppliers, Fujitsu focuses on fast IT technologies such as IoT, analytics, AI, blockchain and quantum inspired computing
- Kainos’ experience spans across emerging technologies including AI, machine learning, security, IoT and data
- helping to transform citizen experiences and meet user needs by securely embedding intelligence into software to assist human decision making
- Pinacl Solutions focuses on IoT and Smart Places, whose expertise extends to smart street lighting, environmental monitoring, waste management, smart traffic, smart housing and smart parking
The appointed suppliers are based all around the UK from Brighton, Bristol, Reading, Oxford, Belfast, Manchester, Harrogate, Hull and London. All offer both levels of security classification.