IoT: More than Just a Buzzword (Sponsored by WeWork)

What the heck is the Internet of Things? Everyone's heard of it, but it seems like few have the ability to articulate what this buzz phrase actually means. Part of that is because the definition of IoT is so fractured. Everyone seems to have their own take on it.

For this event, we're talking to several panelists whose companies specialize in interconnected devices, whether they be for businesses, for the home, or wearables, and asking them the hard question: What is the Internet of Things to YOU? We'll also be talking about the future of this phenomenon.

HERE (https://www.here.com), a Nokia company, is a global leader in the mapping and location intelligence business. Rooted in almost three decades of experience in cartography, our vision is simple: offer the world's best maps and location experiences across multiple screens and operating systems. We want to help people navigate their lives with ease and confidence every day and everywhere. We believe that giving people a better and deeper sense of location will be essential to live a modern urbanized life.

Our maps can be found in four out of five factory-fit navigation systems in North America and Europe, including ten million new cars sold in 2013. We also power mobile, web and enterprise solutions. Our customers include BMW, Garmin, Toyota, Yahoo and many more.

Adam Justice (http://www.linkedin.com/in/adammjustice) is vice president and general manager of Grid Connect (http://gridconnect.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=grid%20connect&utm_campaign=Branded+-+GridConnect+-+Exact+GridConnect&mm_campaign=477cea803cb14c83d8a99b6c7d0cd349&keyword=grid%20connect&mkwid=sV43UHfTj_dc|pcrid|[masked]&gclid=CjwKEAiAxNilBRD88r2azcqB2zsSJABy2B96JJnSlQusQkD-YKDpmrzI-p0VhtVdz1QuNd_uIdDqjhoCz_Hw_wcB), a manufacturer and distributor of networking products and wireless sensors. He is responsible for developing the vision for the ConnectSense product line, a family of wireless sensors that monitor the things you care about and notify you when something goes awry.

Adam is an expert on the Internet of Things and has spoken on the topic at conferences including Dreamforce.

Adam started his career at Accenture where he was a consultant working on systems and IT projects for a number of Fortune 500 companies throughout the country. Adam left Accenture in 2009 to join Grid Connect.

Adam earned a bachelor’s degree in Informatics from Indiana University.

Harold G. Clampitt (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/harold-clampitt/0/6b0/b71) is the CEO and Founder of American RFID Solutions (http://www.americanrfidsolutions.net/web/) since 2004. Prior to starting American RFID Solutions, Mr. Clampitt held technology and leadership roles in early stage companies through Fortune 500 companies with diverse responsibilities such as General Manager, VP of Sales & Marketing, VP of Engineering, Chief Technology Officer, President, and CEO.

One of Harold’s strengths is optimizing the adoption of technology where the half life is less than 36 months and disruptive to the incumbent. He excels in areas where independent thinking and performance matter. Clampitt is a serial entrepreneur, acquiring, operating and selling several businesses .… yielding an optimum background for ventures where a paradigm shift and technology injection become game changers.

Mr. Clampitt has an Electrical Engineering degree, is a registered Licensed Professional Engineer and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago with a specialty in Finance.

Jason Kolb (http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkolb) started his career by writing a game programming book at the age of 14 which was published by MacMillan. He worked as a technology executive in the contact center industry where he became enamored with Big Data while mining phone and email contact records (before the NSA was doing it!). He's a published author and subject matter expert on Big Data, having published best-selling books and the writer of a widely-followed blog ( http://www.jasonkolb.com ) on data and data strategy. He founded a software company, Latigent, that built one of the first Web-based analytics platforms. Latigent was subsequently acquired by Cisco and Jason worked at Cisco in Boston for several years. At Cisco he worked as an architect leading the deep dive into emerging Big Data platforms and strategy. After moving back to Chicago he wrote and advised companies before joining Uptake as CTO where he leads product strategy, technology vision, architecture, and engineering.

The IoT panel will be moderated by Matt Krzus (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/matt-krzus/25/15/892) who is the founder of http://yseam.com ; a data science company that focuses on building creative research solutions into products. Most recently, that focus has been learning low and high-level feature embeddings using various neural networks with the goal of productizing outputs. He is also currently the Lead Data Scientist with Kaplan (http://www.kaplan.com/). Also, he's exceptionally fit. And really good at beer league hockey.

Thanks to this month's sponsors, Workbridge Associates (http://www.workbridgeassociates.com), Jobspring Partners (http://www.jobspringpartners.com), Webpass (http://www.webpass.net/), and this month's headline sponsor, WeWork (https://www.wework.com/locations/chicago/river-north?utm_source=event-techinmotion&utm_medium=event)!

WeWork provides small businesses, startups, and freelancers with the workspace, community, and services they need. From weekly events, personalized support, flexibility, and access to over 20,000 like-minded entrepreneurs around the world – WeWork is the perfect place to grow your business in 2015 and beyond.

WeWork is opening their first location in Chicago on May 1st. Book a tour at wework.com (https://www.wework.com/locations/chicago/river-north?utm_source=event-techinmotion&utm_medium=event) to join the community!

Webpass (https://webpass.net/) is one of Chicago’s leading Internet service providers offering residential Internet connections at 100, 200, or 500 Mbps and business Internet connections from 10 -1000 Mbps. Webpass entered the Chicago market in November 2014 with the idea of making people rethink their Internet. As the owner and operator of its Ethernet network, Webpass promises customers a simple urban Internet experience. The company recently hit 20,000 customers and distinguishes itself from competitors through the simplicity of set-up, absence of contracts, blazing fast speeds and personable customer service. The Webpass team is a group of highly dedicated individuals who share two things: a passion for problem solving, and a commitment to simplicity.

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