IIC and OpenFog Consortium Become One for Edge Computing

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and the OpenFog Consortium have announced final details for their merger, which will combine the two largest and most influential consortia in IIoT, fog and edge computing.

The organizations will work together under the IIC name to accelerate adoption of the IIoT and encourage development and promotion of best practices and guidance for the fog and edge computing industries.

See also: IIC debuts new IoT resource hub

“This agreement brings together the two most important organizations shaping the Industrial Internet of Things. The combined organization offers greater influence to members, more clarity to the market, and a lower-risk path to the future for end users. We will be the center of gravity for the future of Industrial IoT systems across industry verticals,” said Stan Schneider, CEO of Real-Time Innovations (RTI) and Vice Chair of the IIC Steering Committee. “We welcome the experience and vision that Ron Zahavi and Mung Chiang bring to our Steering Committee.”

Meet the OpenFog Principals

The IIC also announced it has elected two OpenFog principals:

• Ron Zahavi, Chief Strategist for IoT Standards, Azure IoT, Microsoft. Zahavi focuses on IoT standards and consortia and also leads Microsoft’s Worldwide IoT Architecture Community. He brings extensive experience in all aspects of technology management and solution delivery, 18 of those related to IoT solutions. Matt Vasey, Microsoft director, AI and IoT business development, will serve as the alternate to Mr. Zahavi.
• Mung Chiang, John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering, Purdue University. Previously the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor at Princeton University, Chiang founded the Princeton EDGE Lab in 2009. The Lab bridges the theory-practice gap in edge computing/ networking research by spanning from proofs to prototypes. Dr. Chiang received the 2013 Alan T. Waterman Award for his contributions to networking R&D.

“We are excited to take the first steps toward integrating the OpenFog Working Groups, Testbeds and Use Cases with those of the IIC,” said Matt Vasey, OpenFog chairman and president, and director, AI and IoT business development, Microsoft. “Our membership is highly motivated to contribute at every level to continue the advancement of fog technology in the Industrial Internet.”