BlackBerry announced Project Ion, a series of initiatives to boost the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and help businesses generate value from increased connections.

The struggling vendor, which recently renewed its focus on the enterprise segment, aims to connect businesses to people, devices and machines through Project Ion.

BlackBerry CEO John Chen said the internet of things market is emerging “as connectivity costs continue to fall and connected technologies become pervasive” with the huge amount of associated connections, transactions and data requiring “platforms that can operator securely on a global scale”.

“No other company is in a better position than BlackBerry to provide the technological building blocks, applications and services needed to enhance productivity, improve real-time decision making and deliver on the vision of the Internet of Things,” Chen added.

Project Ion will offer a secure public application platform powered by its QNX operating system, to provide access to large amounts of data from multiple sources and “distil it into meaningful, actionable information using open source and third party analytic tools”.

Among other things, the platform could provide real-time diagnosis information for doctors and caregivers; new ways for consumer product companies to better understand and engage with customers; more accurate risk profile information for insurance companies; and improved logistics capabilities for manufacturers.

Interested companies can sign up for early access to a beta version of the platform via the Project Ion website.

BlackBerry will also look to create an ecosystem around IoT and pursue strategic partnerships, such as membership of the Industrial Internet Consortium, which is looking to create standards-based technologies for the IoT space.

The internet of things appears to be gaining momentum, with UK electronics retailers Dixons and Carphone Warehouse last week announcing plans to merge in what is pitched as a tie-up focusing on connectivity.