Lister Unified Communications has promoted a long-serving member of its team to head of IoT (Internet of Things).

Rob Lister, managing director of the Stonehouse-based company, said he was "thrilled" to promote 47-year-old Tom Blumsom, who has been with Lister for 20 years.

Tom said: "The industry is changing, there are more and more new technologies coming on stream and it's really about trying to help our customers with their digital transformation, trying to give them the information and resources that they need so they can find out what products and services are available because you don't know what you don't know.

Tom said the Internet of Things was essentially the label given to the network of internet connected devices.

"It includes anything from smart fridges to air conditioning units to wind turbines, anything with a SIM card in it, even cars. What we do is provide connectivity solutions to allow businesses to connect their staff and their devices to the internet so that they are all working together in a connected way."

One example of the work Lister does is providing connectivity with digital display signs at prominent national coffee shops.

"When a coffee chain decides to change, for example, their pumpkin spiced latte to the new Christmas version frappuccino, the image that's on the screen changes. It's all centrally managed by them using our SIMs to connect those screens."

Tom said his new role was fundamentally still a sales role which is promoting and selling IoT products and services to Lister's client base.

"Basically I will be leading the sales team so there will be a team of us working within IoT and we're really looking at things like improved connectivity and data collection, enhanced efficiency and automation, new revenue streams, customer insights, engagement and really to drive value for our customers and letting them make the most of the new technologies that are out there."

He added: "I've been with Lister for 20 years and it's really exciting to see the company still has a passion for innovation and growth and are always looking for the next thing that can really transform how businesses operate."

Rob Lister said: "We are obviously thrilled to promote Tom into this role to develop a new part of our business. We have been providing data connectivity for a while and Tom has been a leader with us in making that market. But in simple terms there are 50 million people and 50 million mobile phone connections in Britain as we speak but there are hundreds of millions of devices and equipment that need 4G/5G internet connections in and that's what we are looking to develop our business into.

"We already have a good foothold which has been largely driven by Tom and it's a natural position for him to push this further and develop the rest of the sales team and the rest of the company further down in this direction."

Lister has seen a huge rise in business for their IT Services in the past year with revenues growing by 15% and a 27% increase in managed support contracts.

For more information on Lister Unified Communications, call 01453 829200, email hello@lister-communications.co.uk  or visit lister-communications.co.uk