5 IoT Companies That Should Be On A Solution Provider's Radar

Is your solution provider practice looking for a new IoT vendor to work with? As part of IoT Week, CRN highlights five emerging IoT companies that are actively looking to work with new channel partners.

These Emerging Vendors Are Looking For Partners

With Internet of Things spending expected to reach $745 billion in 2019 and double-digit growth projected for the next few years, vendors are competing and at times collaborating to get a sizable chunk of the IoT pie.

While large platform vendors like PTC and Siemens have a sizable network of channel partners to seize the growing opportunities, smaller, emerging vendors are starting to build their own programs so that they too can tap solution providers in the channel as a new growth engine.

As part of CRN's IoT Week 2019, we took a look at five of these emerging IoT vendors who are actively working with channel partners and looking to add more to their rosters. While companies like Sight Machine and Losant may not have the same level of scale as larger vendors, they are standing out with their own novel approaches to IoT, ranging from data contextualization and analytics to firmware security and edge computing.

What follows is an overview of five emerging IoT companies that should be on a solution provider's radar, along with the incentives and resources these companies are offering partners.

Sight Machine

CEO: Job Sobel

Year Founded: 2012

Customers: Nissan Motor Co., Heineken N.V.

Sight Machine aims to be the "SAP of industrial data" with its digital manufacturing platform, which the company claims is unique in its ability to create a digital twin of the entire manufacturing process. The San Francisco-based startup helps discrete and process manufacturers combine the various types of data they collect from the plant floor and then contextualizes and models those data sources for real-time analysis and visualization. The platform also lets manufacturers create customized analytics and applications for things like predictive maintenance and root cause analysis. The company, which recently raised a $29 million funding round from investors, works with strategic consulting firms and systems integrators who need help automating data preparation and structuring for their clients.

ReFirm Labs

CEO: Derick Naef

Year Founded: 2017

Customers: AT&T, Charter Communications

ReFirm Labs is tackling Internet of Things security through the monitoring and validation of firmware for connected devices. The Fulton, Md.-based company recently launched its global certified partner program for its Centrifuge Platform, which provides "automated firmware decomposition and analysis at scale," eliminating the time-consuming manual work of extracting and analyzing firmware from devices to identify vulnerabilities. The company, which raised a $1.5 million seed round in 2017 from investors, works with managed security service providers, value-added resellers and systems integrators. Partners can expect profit margins ranging from 15-40 percent, and the partner program provides extra benefits based on sales volume, including access joint demand generation campaigns, qualified leads and training.

Altizon

CEO: Vinay Nathan

Year Founded: 2013

Customers: Procter & Gamble, TVS Motor Co.

Altizon is tackling the industrial Internet of Things space with a three-pronged approach that got a recent boost, thanks to a fresh $7 million round in funding from WiPro Ventures and other investors. The startup, which has offices in Scotts Valley, Calif., and Pune, India, provides three offerings: Datonis Edge for connecting edge devices and analyzing their data, the Datonis core platform for advanced analytics and integration, and the Datonis Manufacturing Intelligence suite, which is preloaded with modules for productivity, quality, maintenance, energy profiling and traceability. The company works with systems integrators and solution providers, who receive training and marketing resources, as well as priority support.

ClearBlade

CEO: Eric Simone

Year Founded: 2007

Customers: Rheem, BNSF Railway

ClearBlade provides an edge computing platform that works across cloud, edge and on-premises servers, giving enterprises the flexibility to move workloads to where they are needed. The Austin-based company — which is closing a Series B funding round with an early investor, CEO Eric Simone told CRN — provides solutions for automated rail, smart monitoring, real-time location and connected products with pre-built modules for predictive maintenance and asset monitoring. The platform also comes with machine learning, real-time visualization and rules-based response features. ClearBlade works with systems integrators who can use the platform's pre-built modules or build their own solutions for customers. Partner resources include revenue share, free training and certification, and on-site engineering support.

Losant

CEO: Charlie Key

Year Founded: 2015

Customers: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Verizon

Losant provides cloud-based, low-code development software that makes it easy for enterprises to build user interfaces for Internet of Things applications. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based startup said its visual workflow engine, combined with other components of the Losant platform, provide give enterprises the ability to accelerate IoT application development while saving money on building custom solutions. The platform also makes it easy to create data visualizations, connect all devices, normalize and store IoT data, run workflows in gateways and run advanced analytics on historical data — all over a secure connection. The company works with solution providers who design, plan and implement IoT solutions for their customers. Partner resources include in-person training, sales and marketing assets and specialized support. Partners also have the chance to increase revenue share based on sales volume, starting with 20 percent and going up to 40 percent.