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 Partners with UNSW Canberra
28/11/2024 Shoestring expands its international reach after UNSW Canberra becomes the latest collaborator to the Digital Shoestring programme. UNSW Canberra has recently become the latest academic collaborator in the Digital Shoestring programme, expanding its...
Shoestring Digital Needs Workshop | NAAME East of England Manufacturing Conference
10 September @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am Sign up for the free Digital Needs Workshop at this year’s annual NAAME conference, 2 July at West Suffolk College. Join your manufacturing peers at the NAAME East of England Annual Conference which explores the diverse topic of...
LoDiSA Workshop 2024
14/10/2024 A global audience discuss Low-cost Automation Driving Sustainability at the Institute for Manufacturing. From Left to Right: Tasnim Ahmed (Politecnico di Milano), Anand Mukerjee, Gokcen Yilmaz (University of Exeter), Giovanna Martinez Arellano (University...
Events
Case studies
Shoestring introduces starter solutions
Shoestring takes its first steps into commercialisation to help
companies tackle digital transformation.
