We've recently announced Anand Rau as EdgeIQ's newest technology advisor. He brings with him a ton of practical experience in the connected product economy. With deep expertise in the IoT and telematics space and his tenure as the Chief Technology Officer and SVP of Engineering at CalAmp, we thought we would interview him for his perspective on why he joined EdgeIQ and his views on the future of IoT.

Here's what he had to share:

Anand, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. With your experience and knowledge you have no shortage of options vying for your time, so what drew you to EdgeIQ?

Anand: I've been following EdgeIQ's progress for a while now and I'm really excited about the company's mission and the powerful platform they've built. In the IoT world, there are billions of connected devices generating massive amounts of data every second. At the core of managing all of these devices are two key challenges:

The first is the need to remotely manage the firmware, configurations and settings of these edge devices - downloading software updates, enabling or disabling features, adjusting settings, and so on. The second is the ability to collect and process the valuable telemetry data that these devices are generating, using that data to drive real-time insights and actions.

Rather than every IoT device manufacturer build their own proprietary device management platform, I see a huge opportunity for a neutral, cross-platform solution like EdgeIQ to serve this need. The company's device management capabilities as well as its workflow orchestration engine are really compelling to me. I believe EdgeIQ is well-positioned to become the central nervous system for IoT device management, integrating seamlessly with any edge device or cloud platform.

That's a great perspective. Can you expand a bit more on where you see the IoT market heading and how EdgeIQ fits into that evolving landscape?

Anand: The IoT landscape is evolving rapidly, and we're starting to see a shift away from the traditional cloud-centric model where all data gets funneled up to the cloud for processing. Instead, edge devices are becoming increasingly powerful and capable of processing data and making decisions locally, without needing to constantly send data up to the cloud.

I envision a future where we have a mesh network of intelligent, interconnected edge devices communicating with each other in real-time. In this world, having a platform like EdgeIQ that can manage and orchestrate workflows across this distributed mesh will be critical. EdgeIQ needs to be able to understand the relationships between all these edge nodes, monitor their health and connectivity, and dynamically route data and actions between them as needed. The company's existing cloud and edge capabilities position it well to tackle these challenges.

Additionally, as IoT devices become more sophisticated, the need for a neutral, cross-platform device management solution only grows. EdgeIQ can help organizations avoid the pitfalls of getting locked into proprietary device management platforms, instead offering a flexible solution that works seamlessly with any IoT hardware or cloud infrastructure.

Just to give you a concrete example, let's say you have a fleet of connected vehicles out on the road. In the event of an accident, the vehicle's edge device could immediately detect the crash and directly communicate with the closest emergency responder vehicle, rerouting them to the accident site rather than having to go through a centralized cloud platform. EdgeIQ would be the platform managing and orchestrating those real-time edge-to-edge interactions.

You mentioned your background at CalAmp - can you share a bit more about your experience there and how that informs your view on the IoT market?

Anand: Absolutely. During my time at CalAmp I was responsible for leading the entire engineering organization across both hardware and software. CalAmp was a pioneer in the telematics space, building connected devices that went into all kinds of vehicles - everything from passenger cars to heavy machinery and construction equipment.

As the head of engineering, I saw firsthand the massive challenge and investment required to build a robust device management platform. We had teams of engineers, product managers, and DevOps personnel dedicated to managing the firmware, configurations, and diagnostic data for hundreds of thousands of connected devices in the field. It was a never-ending battle, and we were constantly playing catch-up as new devices and requirements emerged.

That experience really crystallized for me the need for a more standardized, vendor-neutral approach to IoT device management. It didn't make sense for every OEM to be building out their own bespoke platforms when there could be a common infrastructure handling those cross-cutting concerns. That's where I see EdgeIQ fitting in - providing that centralized, interoperable solution to manage devices regardless of the underlying hardware or cloud platform.

Do you have any other insights around where you see the evolving IoT landscape moving?

I believe that as the IoT market matures, the ability to seamlessly integrate with any device or cloud platform will become table stakes. Organizations simply won't tolerate being locked into a single hardware vendor or cloud provider. They'll demand flexibility and choice, which plays directly to EdgeIQ's strengths as a neutral, cross-platform solution.

Thanks Anand, we really appreciate you taking the time to share your deep industry insights with us today. It's clear you have a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of where the IoT market is headed. We're thrilled to have you on board as a technology advisor, and the team looks forward to collaborating with you to help shape EdgeIQ's future.

Anand: The team at EdgeIQ is incredibly passionate and forward-thinking. They understand the evolving needs of the IoT market and are building a platform to address those challenges head-on. I'm eager to roll up my sleeves and collaborate with the team to help refine the company's roadmap and ensure EdgeIQ remains at the forefront of IoT device management innovation. It's an exciting time, and I'm honored to be a part of EdgeIQ's continued growth and success.

This is the first of many industry leader focused blogs, stay tuned for more in the coming weeks and months!