Firstly, congratulations to Voyage Control & PolySolar on winning Cohort One of the Cognicity Challenge.     The thing is, even though KnowNow has not won the competition I can safely say we are already a Cognicity winner.  How come?  Simply having been part of this challenge KnowNow has already won so much.   Has the challenge been worthwhile then?  Hell Yeah!

KnowNow is a winner too!

Why?  By entering the challenge KnowNow was given an opportunity to stop talking about the kn-i app.  KnowNow went and created it!   Check out the  beta version of our kn-i app here

kn-i Home Screen

kn-i Home Screen

Two reminders:

 i) This is browser only still (runs best on Chrome);  

 ii) new releases & builds occur occasionally so if not available the first time please try again later. 

My thanks to the KnowNow development team, Kevin, Tom & Connor for creating the app and platform.  KnowNow would appreciate any feedback on the app tweet us @knownowinfo

Successful Cognicity because….

Other factors that make our time on Cognicity a success are:

  • The networking – not just getting to connect with some great entrepreneurs and their businesses but also having been able to introduce our network to Cognicity too.
  • The learning – some fantastic workshops where we have learned some useful new skills and
  • The mentors – Thank you to Nicole and Bill.   I am gutted however we never got to put half our discussions into action during the challenge, but these are still to-do’s on the plan.
  • IBM Global Entrepreneur – our participation unleashed some big blue love from the IBM Global Entrepreneur program
IBM BluemIx

IBM BluemIx

What to do next time?

The one aspect of our time at Cognicity that was not 100% was the lack of proper client engagement.  KnowNow did not have the inside mentor that we really needed to succeed.  Partly, this was due to Canary Wharf Group not having in-role a business leader that could take advantage of the kn-i capabilities.  Fundamentally, no matter how well-enlightened and engineered an app is, if it does not give value to someone who will invest in it, (be that time, energy, or cash) then it is a fruitless exercise.  To address this for the next customer conversation we now know who KnowNow has to target job roles that care about the economic return of an overall place and not just a specific asset or service in that place.

What is next for kn-i?

The plan is to run two activities in parallel.  Firstly,  actively engage with places in the UK, EU & beyond where they are looking to have a hyperlocal information marketplace.   KnowNow is part of the EU Smart Cities commitment which we will continue to exploit.   We already have a number of discussions underway.   Watch this space!

OCDP

Open City Data Platform

Secondly, we will be developing further capabilities in the app to ensure that it is a more rounded MVP.   In particular, we need to bring the dashboard views more functionality and look to plug into the UbiApps platform so we can seamlessly access the Open City Data Platform from our partner  NQuiringMInds.

The OCDP capability will also enable kn-i to push digital screen content.  The delivery and content management enablement for this function is from another partner BCI Digital.

We aim as well to use the HERE  mapping SDK to provide mobile mapping services.  Plus,  we will launch an early version on the relevant app stores and make our kn-i access token and API toolbox available, ready for the first live kn-i place.

Here

Here from Nokia

This activity will keep us busy iteratively developing kn-i from version 0.4 today to version 1.0 in the near future.    KnowNow’s plans are driven by a mix of user feedback, client demand, and where the market will take this concept.  Watch this space!

kn-i Hybrids

A potential spin-out from our time on the challenge is a collaboration with Solar Cloth.   If you run an outdoor event where you need connectivity and want to offer internet-based services to your event attendees then give us a call!   KnowNow will run a low-energy wifi mesh network powered by solar cloth.   Attendees then access digital content via the kn-i app.   KnowNow can offer a white label service so the app can be branded by event too.

That’s a Wrap

It is from a Cognicity Challenge perspective but not from a KnowNow and kn-i perspective.   We had a great time.  Learnt loads and despite never quite meeting the client the effort has been very worthwhile.     My thanks to the Cognicity Challenge team, Canary Wharf Group, Level39, and our fellow Cognicters for all the support we have had over the last 12 weeks.    My thanks as well to our partners and supporters who have been busy in the background making sure David & I met our deadlines and kept our energy levels up.

Thank you all.

Thanks for reading, Chris

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf