The overall goal of M-Zones is to:

Undertake fundamental research into novel management infrastructures to enable collaboration and management, between and within Smart Spaces.

Within the overall goal of the programme, M-Zones will:

Take a holistic view of Smart Space Management by representing them as Managed-Zones ('M-Zones'), which encompass one or more smart spaces and the context of these spaces e.g. participants, information resources, time, IT infrastructure etc. M-Zones represent domains of management in which Smart Spaces can be managed and between which participants/devices roam and dynamic service provisioning can be supported. Provide insight into the infrastructures and technologies to provide dynamic, real-time management within and between M-Zones. Adopt a 'policy-based management approach' to support dynamic monitoring, configuration, control and co-ordination of these management zones. The management systems will be particularly sensitive to unique properties of smart spaces including: large-scale numbers of embedded processors/information appliances, mobility, wireless communication, temporal properties and the potential for 're-programming' of the smart spaces. Develop a Smart Space management framework based on standards and best practice from both the Telecommunications and IT standardisation work such as TeleManagement Forum, Object Management Group, ETSI and ITU telecommunications standards. Foster close collaboration among the research groups, which comprise experts in management & control systems, smart spaces, wireless systems and networks. Enable exchange of researchers between sides and foster external collaboration with international centres of excellence.