Configured Things

Configured Things, established in 2018, specializes in providing cross-domain configuration management solutions. The company was founded by a team of alumni from HP Labs, leveraging their extensive backgrounds in large-scale distributed systems management and security to address the complexities of shared systems, particularly within Smart Cities and Smart Venues. Founder and CEO, Simon Arnell, previously served as the Security Chief Technologist at DXC Technology and HP, where he patented innovations in systems modeling and network security. Co-founder and CTO, Patrick Goldsack, is a 28-year veteran of HP's Research Laboratories and a Distinguished Technologist with deep expertise in distributed systems, security, and data privacy.

The company's core business revolves around enabling the secure and policy-bound sharing of systems and streaming data between different organizations. This approach tackles the challenge of 'federated systems' where multiple, potentially competing, entities need to cooperate and share infrastructure without a single overarching owner. Configured Things operates in a market where interconnected environments like cities, transportation hubs, and large venues require technology solutions that can manage systems across these organizational boundaries. The business model centers on its proprietary platform that allows clients to build and manage systems that span these trust boundaries, turning traditionally complex integrations into a matter of configuration. This enables clients to leverage each other's investments in IoT sensors and actuators, creating a common operational view and unlocking new revenue opportunities.

The firm's main offering is a platform that uses declarative configuration management to control and monitor systems, ensuring they operate as intended and automatically correcting any deviations. A key feature is its policy-based framework, which governs all system changes and data sharing, ensuring that interactions between different organizations are audited and controlled. This model-based approach provides a stronger definition of a system's state compared to traditional API-based integrations, enhancing security and confidence for digital transformation initiatives. The company's credibility in this space was reinforced by its selection for the National Cyber Security Centre's accelerator program.

Keywords: cross-domain configuration management, federated systems, smart cities, smart venues, IoT data sharing, policy-based access control, distributed systems management, situational awareness, system modeling, declarative configuration, shared infrastructure, IoT security, trust boundary management, multi-organization cooperation, systems integration, HP Labs alumni, Simon Arnell, Patrick Goldsack, data federation, operational technology