Published on 08/02/2017 | IoT Index
When it comes to the Internet of Things, we often get so swept away by all the sensors and gateways and cloud systems and lofty goals of "50 billion connected devices by 2020" that we tend to forget about the people working tirelessly to make all this a reality. This week we aim to set the record straight and put some faces to the otherwise very cold and metallic outer surface of the Industrial Internet of Things.
On the Top 100 IIoT Influencer Index, you will find individuals who are C-suite or presidents of big industrial automation and software companies such as the Ex-CEO of GE Jeff Immelt (#2), PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann (#5), SAP Exec VP(IoT) Tanja Rueckert (#14), IBM CEO Gini Rometty (#18), and ABB CDO Guido Jouret (#35).
Apart from the traditional tech heavyweights, you will also find individuals representing the vibrant and upcoming IoT startup scene and system integrators or experimenting with more niche technologies such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk (#4), 3D Robotics CEO Chris Anderson (#9), Amyx+ CEO Scott Amyx (#39) and Gongkong CEO Li XiaoYong (#50).
The Industrial IoT ecosystem is made up of more than just companies though. Another key player in this space are the numerous non-profit organizations, research institutes and academia that help to accelerate the adoption of the Industrial IoT. A few examples of people who helm such organizations include the National Academy of Science and Engineering's (acatech) President Henning Kagerman (#1), the Industrial Internet Consortium's (IIC) Exec. Director Richard Soley (#3), Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute's Professor Nick Bolstrom (#17) and the Fraunhofer Society's President Reimund Neugebauer (#22).
Last but not least, the government's involvement is definitely integral in helping to pool resources and gather support for the many Industrial IoT projects and initiatives that are taking place worldwide. Some of these individuals comprise the Communist Party of China's (CCP) V. Minister Cao Jianlin (#6), Germany's Platform I4.0's Federal Minister Johanna Wanka (#34) and the German Ministry of Education and Research's (BMBF) HOD Wolf-Dieter Lukas (#57).
