Spark New Zealand laid out plans to acquire a significant share in local environmental IoT provider Adroit, as the operator looks to the sector as a growth driver for its enterprise business.

The size of the investment was not disclosed, but New Zealand Reseller News reported Spark plans to take a 37.6 per cent interest in Adroit. In its statement, the operator explained it will nominate two directors who will join the IoT company’s five-person board.

Spark technology director Mark Beder explained its “three-year strategy identifies IoT as a key future market” and in the last financial year connections increased 83 per cent year-on-year.

“By further strengthening our partnership with Adroit we hope to accelerate this growth even further.”

Adroit CEO Blair Stewart noted it is seeing significant demand for IoT environmental monitoring as businesses recognise the technology’s capabilities and benefits.

Spark’s investment and their close partnership “enables us to meet this demand while continuing to operate as a specialist player”, Stewart stated.

Adroit develops systems for sectors including aquaculture, agriculture, construction, manufacturing and environmental compliance.

Tony Agar, Spark IoT lead, stated it has worked with Adroit to implement IoT services for “a range of customers”, including “a real-time water quality monitoring” system for Mercury NZ’s Waikato River catchment.

Spark also used Adroit’s IoT set-up “for air and water quality, and soil and weather monitoring features” for its Innovation Studio, which opened in 2021.

Agar added the investment strengthens the partnership and will “help us accelerate the adoption of sustainable monitoring solutions to enable healthier, more environmentally-friendly communities through the power of IoT”.