About NRB tEch
Nick Brook started creating IoT devices and Apps commercially in 2012, and in September 2018 founded NRB Tech to expand the business to a wider audience and grow its capacity to deliver more high quality IoT projects.
Engineering and software development has long been a passion of Nick’s, and IoT is at the intersection of these two worlds, combining software running on high and low power systems with a physical product that can sense and manipulate the real world.
After a few years developing web applications Nick wanted to get back to creating high quality physical products that combined software and hardware into something that people find useful. Nick has worked on many projects over the years, including the AirTurn foot pedals, Craftsman Smart Toolbox, ProGlove barcode scanner, sensors, medical technology devices, beacons and more.
In 2018, Nick started NRB Tech to help cater to a wider audience and grow the capacity of the business. NRB Tech is ideally placed to help companies deliver products in this new market, combining skills and expertise developed across several years and many projects to deliver high quality IoT products on time and on budget.
Nick became a qualified CSSLP in 2021
Our development process
IoT products often create or disrupt product categories, and are inherently unproven, so when developing IoT products we tackle the big challenges first – whether hardware, software, or the market itself – creating a simple functional prototype to prove and test the concept. Once we know the idea works and have developed a product specification, we focus on the core features initially and develop the product in short sprints, getting feedback from the client with hands on prototypes as frequently as possible. This allows clients to change their mind about the features of the product and the way it will work as it is realised. This approach also reduces risk and gives clients the confidence that a product will be viable.
Our Ethos
Not all products need to be smart – we live on a planet with finite resources, and gimmick products with a short lifespan are not sustainable. NRB Tech takes its commitment to being a responsible business seriously, so we will only work on projects that have clear value to consumers, businesses, or the environment.
As part of our commitment to creating sustainable products with a long life all products we create can be updated in the field, reducing the risk at first release, ensuring Apps and devices continue to work as the hardware and software platforms are developed, and delighting customers by gradually enhancing the product over time with feature development.
We nurture long term business relationships by ensuring clients are satisfied and their customers are happy. But we understand that businesses and situations can change, so we make no attempt to tie clients into working with us indefinitely – thorough technical documentation is provided, we use industry standards whenever possible, and we always avoid lock-in with other vendors in developing the product.
Security
As IoT devices are connected, security is paramount. Many IoT products have been found to have severe vulnerabilities which can ruin a product in its early stages. We use strong encryption and appropriate authentication mechanisms whenever necessary, but importantly we also seek external validation through penetration testing when a product demands it, as nobody has a monopoly on security.