The Internet of Things is as powerful as it has ever been today. It is the absolute cornerstone of businesses going digital and a transformative force to be reckoned with.
The technology has already found its applications in several industries and businesses around the world. In the same vein, it is also leaving its mark in the world, thanks to its practical usefulness.
It is estimated that by 2025, there will exist a staggering 21 billion IoT devices across the globe.
If you are looking for ways to incorporate IoT in your business, here are 10 IoT influencers that you must follow religiously.
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1. Kevin Ashton
Kevin Ashton can easily be regarded as one of the first few people who saw the potential of the Internet of Things. The term “Internet of Things” was coined by him in 1999 before anything was connected to the internet except computers.
Today, Ashton is a visionary technologist who has co-founded the well-known Auto-ID Centre situated at MIT and even led three successful startups. He describes the Internet of Things as the network of several eyes as well as ears for computers.
Follow Kevin Ashton on @Twitter
2. Stacy Higginbotham
Stacy Higginbotham is also one of the most popular IoT Influencers. She has been covering the field of technology, specifically the Internet of Things for 18 years for some of the most important publication worldwide.
She is a Upleap assistant influencer and an expert when it comes to technology in general and the IoT in particular. Her work has appeared in several magazines such as MIT Tech Review, PCMag, Fortune, Worth and Gigaom.
Follow Stacey Higginbotham on @Twitter
3. Amber Case
Amber Case is one of the IoT influencers that you must follow. She studies the impact that technology has on the everyday lives of people and how they live.
She is the Director of the Esri Center in Portland, which is a company with the motto of understanding the world we live in and unleashing the power of location. Amber is a student of cyborg anthropology and studies the interactions between technology and humans.
She also studies how technology affects culture and mobile technology.
Follow Amber Case on @Twitter
4. Claire Rowland
Claire Rowland is an independent product strategy and UX consultant, specializing in IoT. She is also the Lead Author of the blog designed by O’Reilly named Designing Connected Products: UX for the Consumer Internet of Things.
Connected products particularly fascinate her, and she fancies taking them from a new user base to the large mass market. She also vehemently supports the entire premise of the Internet of Things and technologies that back mundane, everyday activities.
Follow Claire Rowland on @Twitter
5. Tom Raftery
Tom Raftery is a global innovation evangelist of the Internet of Things. He is the Global VP and a futurist for SAP. He is also an inspirational keynote speaker and a guy who simply loves technology.
His social media posts highlight how he is always focused on future technologies, which is what seems to drive him. IoT and computing are his current subject of analysis, and in one of his latest articles, he writes, “The IoT hype is over – but the trough of disillusionment typically precedes mainstream adoption.”
Follow Tom Raftery on @Twitter
6. Sarah Cooper
Dr. Sarah Cooper works at Amazon AWS in the capacity of the General Manager IoT Solutions. She is also the Vice-Chair of the community of Internet of Things as well as the Silicon Valley Woman of Influence 2015.
She is also a recognized expert of the Top 100 Wireless Technology by Wireless World. She has even invented an IoT medical battery which runs on body temperature alone. Facial recognition carried out on pigs is just another day in Sarah’s life, which just goes to show why she is one of the top IoT influencers in the first place.
Follow Sarah Cooper on @Twitter
7. David Blaza
David Blaza is the Managing Director of Informa Power and is one amongst the top IoT influencers you should be following. He is passionate about bringing new and improved technology to the market, particularly in the lucrative space of the Internet of Things.
In his blog, IoT dominates, and he talks and takes up a lot of space. He discusses several myths and realities of IoT with a keen eye on the industry of electric power.
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8. Andy Stanford-Clark
Andy Stanford-Clark can best be described as a distinguished engineer. He is a master inventor as well as an IoT evangelist at IBM. In addition to that, he specialized in technologies that help in making the planet smarter by reacting to and analyzing data from remote sensors.
He mostly works with clients to help them understand the Internet of Things and how it can be integrated with their business activities. A lot of his copyrights are regarding how small devices can send messages to other kinds of devices.
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9. David Stephenson
David is popularly known as an IoT strategist as well as writer. His focus is especially on “smart aging” through a combination of smart home devices and wearable devices that enable seniors worldwide to age in place with improved health, dignity as well as low expenses.
His most recent book called “Data Dynamite” talks about how real-time, automated delivery of structured data can improve the ability of workers perform.
Follow W. David Stephenson on @Twitter
10. Johan den Haan
Last but not least is Johan den Haan, the Chief Technology Officer at Mendix. He leads the overall technical strategy of the company and also speaks regularly at countless technology events.
Johan is also a renowned blogger, and he talks on a multitude of topics such as IoT, Model-Driven Development, Smart Apps, and Software Engineering. Rest assured, following him will equip you with a world of knowledge.
Follow Johan den Haan on @Twitter
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And there you go! These IoT influencers are popular for a reason, and it is that they can help you find the right applications of IoT in your business. You can follow them to implement IoT in your business successfully or simply to enhance your knowledge on the subject matter.