The 10 Coolest IoT Software Companies: The 2021 Internet Of Things 50

Innovative IoT software offerings are coming from a variety of vendors, from large cloud service providers to startups. What follows are the 10 coolest IoT software companies.

Making IoT Development And Management A Breeze

The IoT software market remains hot in 2021, with research firm Research and Markets predicting global revenues will grow 28.9 percent annually to $10.6 billion in 2024.

The major growth opportunities are represented in the continuing software investments by major cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure as well as up-and-coming startups like Kloudspot and Nubix. All of them are working on novel ways to perform important IoT functions via software, from device management and connectivity to application development and deployment.

As part of CRN’s 2021 Internet Of Things 50 list, here are the 10 coolest IoT software companies of 2021 that are making big waves in the space, from platform providers to application enablement vendors.

Akamai
Tom Leighton, CEO

Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai is getting deeper into edge computing and security for IoT, thanks to a recent reorganization and its acquisition of IoT security vendor Inverse. The company’s IoT offerings include IoT Edge Connect, an IoT messaging service that uses the company’s large content delivery network to support massive deployments.

Amazon Web Services
Andy Jassy, CEO

Seattle-based AWS is making big investments in IoT with several new products, including AWS IoT SiteWise, a managed service for collecting and monitoring data from industrial equipment. The vendor’s new IoT products also include AWS Snowcone, an ultraportable edge computing device, as well as Amazon Monitron, a machine monitoring solution.

Edgeworx
Farah Papaioannou, CEO

San Jose, Calif.-based Edgeworx is taking on Kubernetes for the IoT edge with ioFog, an edge computing platform that lets developers deploy microservices to a variety of device types across different networks. From that platform, the company has developed Darcy, an AI-powered camera offering that can be used to check for fevers and mask compliance, among other use cases.

EDJX
John Cowan, CEO

Raleigh, N.C.-based EDJX is working to build the “largest edge computing network ever conceived” for IoT applications using other companies’ infrastructure. The company provides a platform that allows customers to build applications using serverless functions that run on EDJX’s network edge, which enables data to be processed as close to its source as possible.

IOTech
Keith Steele, CEO

Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.-based IOTech is embracing open-source technology to help companies scale IoT projects. The startup’s EdgeXpert platform, which is based on The Linux Foundation’s EdgeX Foundry, makes it easy to integrate disparate systems and control devices at the edge while its Edge XRT platform is designed to handle resource-constrained, time-critical systems.

Kloudspot
Guillermo Diaz, Jr., CEO

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Kloudspot is reinforcing physical spaces with its situational awareness and intelligence platform, which monitors and analyzes data from a multitude of sources. The startup recently launched a QuickStart bundle that makes it easy for organizations to monitor social distancing and mask-wearing, among other use cases.

Microsoft
Satya Nadella, CEO

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft is bringing new IoT capabilities to its Azure cloud business. Last year, the company acquired industrial IoT security startup CyberX to expand the device types that its Azure IoT security offerings can monitor. More recently, the company launched Azure Digital Twins, a new solution for creating virtual models of the real world.

Nubix
Rachel Taylor, CEO

San Francisco-based Nubix is making it easy to develop and manage applications on tiny IoT devices at the edge with its new edge-native application platform. The company said it has the only offering that supports container services for Linux-based microprocessor devices and MCU devices that run on a real-time operating system.

Pelion
Hima Mukkamala, CEO

A wholly owned subsidiary of chip designer Arm, San Jose, Calif.-based Pelion is simplifying the act of connecting and managing IoT devices with its suite of connectivity and device management software. The company also offers an edge application system that allows developers to deploy and manage applications at the edge using Kubernetes containers.

Zededa
Said Ouissal, CEO

San Jose, Calif.-based Zededa is breaking down boundaries in managing applications at the edge with its “open orchestration solution for the distributed edge,” which allows legacy applications in virtual machines to run alongside new applications in containers. Zededa said its use of the open-source EVE-OS operating system prevents customers from being locked in with one vendor.