Tech hub is goal of group

Top corporate brands want metro Atlanta to be Internet of Things.

About two dozen of the Atlanta area’s top corporate brands have joined in an initiative to sell the region as a tech capital for the Internet of Things.

On Thursday, the the Metro Atlanta Chamber announced IoT.ATL, or Internet of Things Atlanta, a task force whose mission will be to recruit startups and established companies in the field to invest in Atlanta, grow talent here and raise the region’s profile as hub for IoT and “smart cities” programs.

The idea behind IoT.ATL is based on other task forces the chamber has created to promote metro Atlanta as a capital for mobile communications and financial technology. In addition to creating jobs and recruiting venture capital, the aim is also to eventually influence policy to make the region more attractive to IoT companies.

What is IoT? It’s when complex machines and devices you use every day are all connected to the Internet and talk to each other, share data and even analyze it. A Fitbit, intelligent thermostats and smartphones might be the way most people have been introduced to IoT.

Simply put, IoT has the potential to revolutionize the way people live and work the same way computers have. Think refrigerators that order staples for you when you run out. The backbone of autonomous vehicles will be the IoT infrastructure made pos-

Georgia is a vital cog in the East Coast supply chain.

sible by sensors and mobile communications technology.

Chamber President and CEO Hala Moddelmog called IoT innovation “one of the key industry sectors emerging as the next frontier for business.”

“Because IoT — and larger digital innovations like it — will impact every part of life for every citizen and business, we’re committed to putting our resources towards driving growth in this critical sector,” she said in a news release.

The Atlanta area surely has stiff competition from Silicon Valley, Boston and other tech centers in the U.S. and around the globe.

Metro Atlanta companies and universities do a ton of IoT research and development, and the chamber and state Department of Economic Development want the world to know about it. IoT.ATL will aid that marketing message.

The launch of IoT.ATL comes as a chamber delegation and dozens of Atlanta area tech companies are in San Francisco for the influential GSMA Mobile World Congress Americas convention.

Georgia Tech has a wellknown IoT development center.

The chamber and consulting partner Accenture say the Atlanta area has its biggest advantage in smart city technology and in intelligent transportation and logistics.

Metro Atlanta is home to Fortune 500 companies such as UPS and Delta Air Lines. Georgia is also home to the world’s busiest airport and the bustling ports of Savannah and Brunswick, making the state a natural testbed for new logistics technologies.

Metro Atlanta is home to GE Digital, the digital hub of the industrial giant, and other IoT-related tech centers from such corporate giants as AT&T and Honeywell.

AT&T Smart Cities General Manager Mike Zeto will be the chairman of the group, and co-chairs include GE CIO Jim Fowler, Weather Company CEO Cameron Clayton and Jim Bailey, senior managing director of Accenture Digital.

Georgia is a vital cog in the East Coast supply chain. Major companies ship goods through the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the state’s seaports and have distribution centers here. Georgia also boasts an extensive rail and highway network.

Whether it be sensors monitoring goods in transit, or perhaps testing autonomous vehicles, Georgia has a nucleus of companies in the transportation IoT sector. Meanwhile, local communities are also piloting smart city programs to make them more efficient.