Tim Panagos Of Microshare On The Future of The Internet of Things (IoT), And How It May Improve Our Health & Our Lives
An Interview with David Leichner
The Internet of Things (IoT) is beginning to become more mainstream. Millions of people use Fitbit health trackers, Nest smart thermostats, and Ring doorbell cameras, which are early examples of IoT. These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential commercial applications of IoT. IoT has the potential to change the way cities are run, the way our healthcare is managed, the way our cars communicate, and the way our supply chains and manufacturing are utilized. But how exactly will IoT improve our lives? How can it improve our health? What are the new IoT technologies that we should expect to see around the corner? How does one create a successful career in the IoT industry? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who are incorporating IoT into their business or who are developing IoT applications, who can share stories and perspectives about the future of IoT. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tim Panagos.
Tim Panagos is Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Philadelphia-based Microshare, a leading provider of smart building data solutions to multinational corporations, governments and other institutions around the world. As CTO, he drives the strategic vision for the firm’s products and services, which rely on IoT technologies (sensors and systems). A tech executive with 20 years’ experience in enterprise software, he was previously Chief Architect of Accenture’s global Business Process Management (BPM) practice, where he led software architecture innovation.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started in the IoT industry?
When I was growing-up, my father was much older than other dads. I only ever knew him as an older man. The notion of caring for an elderly relative was never far from my mind. I had worked as a software engineer building mostly artificially intelligent banking software in the mid-90s but was increasingly concerned about how to scale elder care — particularly with the notion of “aging in place,” which is the term of art used to cover care that keeps people in their own homes rather than requiring relocation to care facilities or hospital settings. By the early 2000s, I had the opportunity to go to grad school at MIT and chose to write my master’s thesis on the technological, societal and regulatory backdrop for monitoring and managing elder wellness in their own homes. This led me quite naturally into the world of IoT.