The key objective of this workshop is to explore ways of making FIRE facilities and services sustainable after EC funding has expired. FIRE has brought Europe several large-scale test beds and platforms addressing a broad range of technologies, applications and services for the Future Internet. These facilities enable research in key Future Internet technologies and have already supported advanced experiments proving that experimentally-driven research and innovation are key mechanisms for the development of the Future Internet. 

From this point of departure, this workshop will discuss the envisaged pathways of FIRE towards sustainability, based on an analysis of its existing capabilities and resources, the current and future demand for FIRE testbed services, and the positioning of FIRE facilities within the Future Internet ecosystem. 

The workshop identifies and discusses opportunities for technical, infrastructural, service-related, business and organizational collaboration towards economic viability within as well as outside of FIRE, in particular addressing FIRE’s role in relation to other large-scale Future Internet initiatives as well as towards the demands of business players. 

The future role of FIRE is explored as regards providing a platform for European SME innovation and business creation. The workshop targets potential providers of testbeds, FIRE projects, developers and operators of facilities from FIRE, the FI-PPP and EIT ICT Labs, Living Labs, national and regional testbeds, and users - or potential users - of such facilities, including SMEs and large enterprises.