This week, Cisco is hosting over 70 companies and organizations for a second annual in-person Steering Committee meeting to plan the second  Internet of Things World Forum (IoTWF).   The goal of the Steering Committee is to shape the eventual Forum's agenda and ensure it addresses top market opportunities and challenges that will influence global, political and environmental issues.  

The committee itself consists of thought leaders from business, universities, and governments from across these 70 companies and groups. It is further broken out into 12 horizontal and vertical working groupswho will be meeting as a group this week and who will continue to meet at a set cadence over the next six months in lead-up to the second IoTWF.

The overall goal of the IoTWF -and why Cisco started it in the first place -is address topics that will improve the lives of citizens and businesses across manufacturing, energy, health, education, innovation, transportation, retail and job creation and also address the gaps and challenges of IoT standards, security, GTM, and architecture.The Internet of Things is happening now, but we need to ensure we bring together those who will be shaping it's evolution.

I'm excited to announce that the second annual Internet of Things World Forum will take place in Chicago, October 14-16, and is hosted once again by Cisco along with industry sponsors. This event once again will unite global business leaders, thought leaders and creators across public sector, private business and education to collaborate, network, partner, and build the industry's ecosystem together.  The Internet of Things World Forum is the one place where the entire IoT community can share the latest developments and emerging applications, all of which will be on display onsite at the event in Chicago.

Here's a special message from the Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel:

Last year's inaugural event in Barcelona was attended by a capacity crowd of 800 delegates and 16 sponsors and was headlined by more than 100 speakers, immediatelyestablishing the Internet of Things World Forum as the premier leadership forum in this rapidly emerging Internet of Things industry. Attendance is by invitation only and is limited to 1500 attendees this year in Chicago.

Over the next few days and weeks we will share highlights from the IoTWF Steering Committee meetings -and you can follow along on Twitter @Cisco_IoT and with the hashtag#IoTWF.