Mi6 Agency and the community I cofounded, Silicon Halton, are communications partners for this year’s McRock IIoT Symposium taking place May 18, 2017. This is a great Canadian IIoT event and one I enjoy attending annually. 

You may be familiar with the term IoT or Internet of Things. If you believe in the hype of IoT, everything will be connected to the Internet in the future. To some extent this is true now:

• “Smart locks” and home security systems can be controlled by your phone and maybe others as we reported in our Head Scratcher and Belly Buster post (see “Hacking and IoT: Samsung”).
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home are becoming more popular but with some unintended consequences!
• People are wearing watches that connect to apps on our smartphones so we can track our workouts and sleeping habits.
• Nest and Canadian company Ecobee offer smart, programmable and connected thermostats for your home.

[RELATED: Read my two part interview on Cisco’s blog to learn more about Canadian company Ecobee and their founder Stuart Lombard. Part 1 | Part 2 ]

What is IIoT?

IIoT is the acronym for Industrial Internet of Things where companies rely on “things” that connect in order to gather data, monitor business activities and assets, predict outcomes and ultimately digitally transform a company. Sentryo has created an Industrial Internet of Things Infographic that shows specific IIoT applications such as: The Plant of the Future, Smart Cities, Green Power and Connected Cars.

[RELATED: Read my post on the Rogers Business Forum on IoT and Fleet Management]

So, why should we care about IIoT and is potentially a fad that will fizzle away? The short answer is no and a good place to learn more about IIoT is McRock Capital’s IIoT Symposiums. The McRock team have their ears to the ground in this space and are well connected with companies, investors and subject matter experts in this industry. This annual event is ideal for entrepreneurs, the media, analysts, product managers and investors to attend to learn, network and make connections with prospective partners, investors and customers. The McRock team brings together key stakeholders, from across the Globe, to their IIoT symposiums.

Learn More About the IIoT Symposium

I chatted with Whitney Rockley, McRock Cofounder and Managing Partner last month to catch up and to ask her some questions about her firm, the IIoT market and the upcoming event.

Interview Timeline

You can fast forward/rewind by clicking on the play button and then using the > key on your keyboard .

00:28 | A bit about McRock Capital and where they invest.

01:11 | What’s the IIoT Symposium Like? We laugh a bit about the fun aspects of the event, the history of the Symposium from when it started in 2012 to now where celebrities will be at this years Symposium including William Baldwin and Chynna Philips.

05:35 | We talk a bit about key corporate partners and corporate venture funds that McRock Capital is working with. Partners include: GE, Cisco, Caterpillar, IBM and Pitney Bowes to name few. These companies are great sources for startup entrepreneurs looking for capital or to be acquired.

10:12 | Whitney and I talk about how the Symposium is bringing key stakeholders from the private and public sector together to collaborate, network and have fun.

12:19 | We talk about the opportunity for IIoT and how McRock Capital are pioneers in helping develop the market. Finally Whitney tells us the role the Symposium plays in helping corporate executives and tech entrepreneurs engage to discuss what’s happening in IIoT and where the market is heading.

Additional Resources

• My pre-event tweetstream
• Silicon Halton pre-event coverage
• McRock IIoT Symposium