Low power, wide area network (LPWAN) connections will grow from 11 million in 2014 to 5 billion in 2022. -Strategy Analytics
The market for global Internet of Things (IoT) solutions will go from $1.9 trillion in 2013 to $7.1 trillion in 2020. -IDC
Even if you’ve heard them before, these statistics are eye-opening. And behind these incredible numbers are multitudes of people and companies who are pushing IoT forward and continuing to revolutionize the space.
We wish we could name each of these individuals, but for time’s sake, we’re sharing the names of 14 people and companies (organized alphabetically) who are making a dramatic impact on the Internet of Things with their ideas, innovations, and research. We think these Twitter accounts will both educate and inspire you.
14 IoT Thought Leaders We Follow (& You Should, Too)
1. Alicia Asín
Asín is the co-founder and CEO of Libelium—an IoT-centered company with really neat hardware (and the best infographic we’ve seen around what the Internet of Things can do). As her Twitter bio says, she is an “engineer fascinated with the next technological revolution: IoT.” In addition to being an active Twitter user, she has many interesting interviews, videos, and articles on her bio page.
2. Nestor Ayuso
Ayuso runs a blog on Scoop.it called The French Wireless Connection. He shares a lot of good information on the LoRa ecosystem on his account, so if you’re interested in LoRaWAN (or want to join in on LoRa conversation), make sure to follow him.
3. Liam Boogar
Boogar is the co-founder, CEO, and editor of Rude Baguette, a French blog that covers Parisian startups and technology. He organized the Connected Conference, which we recommend attending. Boogar truly understands the IoT space, and his Twitter account is worth keeping up with.
4. Reid Carlberg
Carlberg has more than 20 years of experience in engineering and enterprise development for Salesforce. He helped deliver introductions on the IoT Zone experience at Salesforce’s Dreamforce events in 2013 and 2014, and he has been deeply involved in the IoT space for many years. In addition to Twitter, you can learn more about him at ReidCarlberg.com, where he often talks about connected devices.
5. Alex Davies
Davies is an analyst for Rethink Research and the editor of Rethink Internet of Things, a weekly IoT newsletter. What separates him from other analysts is that he strives to understand the technology underlying all of the marketing hype, making his articles particularly interesting to read.
6. Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
Deschamps-Sonsino is the founder of IoT product strategy and prototyping platform Designswarm as well as a multitalented “interaction designer, product designer, entrepreneur, and speaker.” She comes in at number two in Onalytica’s Top 100 Internet of Things Thought Leaders and is included in Business Insider’s 100 Most Influential Tech Women on Twitter. She is a prolific tweeter and shares a lot of interesting information and material, so don’t forget to follow her.
7. Stacey Higginbotham
Higginbotham is a well-known journalist, blogger, and podcast host at IoTPodcast.com who covers data centers, computing architectures, cloud technologies, and all things IoT. She is #1 in Onalytica’s Top 100 Internet of Things Thought Leaders. Read more about Higginbotham in her bio, and make sure to join her 22,000 followers for the latest IoT news and information.
8. Rob van Kranenburg
Van Kranenburg is the co-founder of bricolabs and the founder of the Internet of Things Council, a think tank in Europe dedicated to helping its members better understand the Internet of Things. He is listed at number seven in Onalytica’s Top 100 Internet of Things Thought Leaders, and he has shown consistent thought leadership in the IoT space.
9. Machina Research
The folks at Machina Research create some of the best M2M and low power, wide-area (LPWA) analysis and forecasting available. They publish a lot of their latest research (like this white paper created in conjunction with PTC) via their Twitter account, so make sure you’re following along to stay current with M2M trends.
10. Dan McDuffie
A self-proclaimed advisor, writer, and activist, McDuffie is consistently promoting new trends in the IoT space. He is the former CEO of Wyless—an IoT management and services platform—and current CEO of This Is IoT, a compilation of musings on the Internet of Things.
11. Elon Musk
The famed founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity doesn’t require much of an introduction. But if you don’t already follow Musk on Twitter, you should. You can peruse his account to find out what is new in solar energy, the space race, and the coolest electric cars on the market.
12. Michael E. Porter
Porter isn’t strictly an IoT thought leader—he is also a well-known economist, researcher, author, speaker, and Harvard Business School professor. He made our list because he’s written a number of articles on IoT, specifically in conjunction with PTC CEO James E. Heppelmann, including this well-known article on How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition. He is a good authority on the business case behind the Internet of Things, which is a unique angle. A number of his tweets are about connected products and IoT, and he’s certainly worth following.
13. Saverio Romeo
Romeo is a principal analyst at Beecham Research, a respected IoT analyst firm. He publishes material on wearables, smart technologies, and technological entrepreneurship. Make sure you follow his account and research at Beecham to stay up-to-date on topics including connectivity, system integration, application development, distribution, and enterprise adoption of IoT and M2M.
14. WIRED Gadget Lab
The team at WIRED is always playing with the coolest technology on the planet. It often features new and upcoming IoT technologies, from virtual reality-controlled paper airplane drones to high-end wireless speaker systems. Join nearly two million others and follow the WIRED team for some major product envy.
Who are we missing?
There are many more individuals who are making big waves in the IoT space. Tweet us @LinkLabsInc to send your suggestions. The people you recommend may end up in a future article.
