Quick and easy digitalisation
Shoestring’s simple, inexpensive approach helps companies satisfy real business needs.
Why Shoestring?
- Work out what you need
- Find suitable options that fit in your business
- Justify the benefits and return on investment
Why Shoestring?
- Work out what you need,
- Find suitable options that fit in your business
- Justify the benefits and return on investment
What is Shoestring?
Shoestring is building a global community focussed on practical digitalisation for small and medium sized businesses.
At Shoestring, we believe that the best way to learn is by doing, so we use low-cost, off-the-shelf technologies to build digital solutions that solve common problems.
We offer starter solutions which are small-scale solutions that provide immediate benefits without disrupting core operations, help build digital confidence and skills, and prepare employees to embrace further digital technologies.
What is Shoestring?
Shoestring is building a global community focussed on practical digitalisation for small and medium sized businesses.
At Shoestring, we believe that the best way to learn is by doing, so we use low-cost, off-the-shelf technologies to build digital solutions that solve common problems.
We offer starter solutions which are small-scale solutions that provide immediate benefits without disrupting core operations, help build digital confidence and skills, and prepare employees to embrace further digital technologies.
Simple solutions to meet real business needs
Job
location tracking
Power
monitoring
Scrap
monitoring
Downtime
monitoring
Air quality
monitoring
Temperature
monitoring
Be part of Shoestring
Many different people use Shoestring to improve productivity, meet sustainability goals, build digital and technology skills. They range directors to managers and operators, from production and business development teams, and include apprentices, tutors and researchers. Discover how you and your organisation would benefit from joining us:
Businesses
Education institutes
Regional organisations
Programmes and activities
Regional programmes
Develop a funded regional or sectoral programme to enable businesses to get started with digitalisation.
Hackathons
Bring together members, employees, apprentices to solve industry challenges using low cost technologies.
Workshops
Host a workshop to help your members identify which digital solutions address their top needs.
Self-start programmes
Manufacturers can join 6-8 week training programmes to help them deploy their own low-cost digital solutions.
Applicable across multiple sectors
Many companies face similar business challenges, from expensive energy bills or time wasted trying to locate jobs on the shop floor to high scrap waste and machinery downtime.
We talked to over 450 small and medium sized companies across a wide variety of sectors, and found that many of their needs were very similar, just described differently. The digital solutions required were often the same whether they worked in construction, logistics, manufacturing, or healthcare.
News
Shoestring pilots low-cost digitalisation with T-Level students
17/07/2025 The Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring program is tackling a critical challenge faced by smaller manufacturers: how to embrace digital technologies to boost productivity, resilience, and sustainability, even with limited resources. Barriers for...
Smart Manufacturing Data Hub (SMDH) project
16/07/2025 Empowering SMEs through digital transformation: the success of the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub (SMDH) project The Distributed Information and Automation Laboratory (DIAL) was one of 11 partners to take part in the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub...
Academic workshop on Low-Cost Digital Solutions for Industrial Automation 2025
15/05/2025 A global audience discuss Low-cost Automation Driving Sustainability at the Institute for Manufacturing. We are pleased announce the 3rd academic workshop on Low-Cost Digital Solutions for Industrial Automation 2025 (LoDiSA 2025) to be held at the...
Events
Case studies
Shoestring introduces starter solutions
Shoestring takes its first steps into commercialisation to help companies tackle digital transformation.
