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Here Are 75 Midwestern Companies Developing The Internet Of Things

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Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg

A newly released inventory of Midwest companies leading the charge in "Internet of Things" technology offers a helpful roadmap for anyone looking to ramp up their IoT game.

The list of 75 companies working in the sector might be passed off as regional boosterism, but that’s partly the point, as Chicago tech leaders look to lure engineering talent they hope will sustain the Midwest tech surge.

The report aims to “raise the visibility and awareness of the Midwest as an epicenter of IoT technology, policy and industry,” said Infobright CEO Don DeLoach. He’s co-chair of the Illinois Technology Association’s Internet of Things Council, which released the Midwest Inventory: An Index of Internet of Things Companies this week.

Among the firms singled out in the report is Uptake, which topped Forbes’ list of the hottest startups last year. Lead by CEO Brad Keywell, co-founder of Groupon , Uptake aims to be the predictive analytics back-end for big industrial players.

Also listed are BMW Technology Corporation, which located in Chicago in 2014 and is helping the automaker develop connected car technology, and GE's SmartSignal, based in suburban Chicago and developing predictive diagnostics software.

“It is our belief that Midwest is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in IoT, more so than any other platform shift of the past 20 years,” Illinois Technology Association CEO Fred Hoch said in a statement announcing the report. “With its estab­lished connections to manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, software, and analytics tools, the region has the necessary infrastructure to nurture the IoT movement into a dominant force in the tech industry.  The depth and breadth of the Inventory proves that the Midwest can take the IoT revolution far beyond consumer products to exploit the true power and scope of IoT.”

The report also maps the IoT landscape into six sectors: system integration; smart product applications, analytics; application platforms; connectivity; and device software and hardware.