[In the News] Flexware Innovation Sponsors Fishers’ IoT Lab

FISHERS, Ind.—2/5/2018 — Flexware Innovation is a founding sponsor of the Indiana IoT Lab, which will be opening its doors to individual and corporate members March 21, 2018 at Launch Fishers. This partnership is an exciting opportunity for the company to grow and nurture expertise in their industry and keep Fishers on the road to becoming a tech hub.

Flexware Innovation has been solving real-world device integration issues in the manufacturing industry since the company was founded. Manufacturing got its head-start on early forms of automation and big data analytics decades ago, but today, the Internet of Things (IoT) is important to every industry.

Jason Toschlog, head of Flexware Innovation’s newly-established IoT practice, also dedicated many personal volunteer hours to the networking and strategy needed to get the idea for the IoT Lab off the ground. Toschlog explained that a typical IoT lab is something like when a Starbucks meets a garage—there’s café-style common areas, but also access to tools like table saws and 3D printers needed to prototype the IoT devices that will redefine tomorrow’s economy.

These maker spaces exist all over, but our version is sort of unique since it’s state-driven and a nonprofit,” he said. “A lot of other labs are privately owned by corporations, so the opportunity they present to collaborate with other innovators is really limited. Some aren’t even open to the general public to use at all.”

Flexware Innovation’s founder, Scott Whitlock, isn’t sure what’s more exciting: the tools and space themselves, or the potential impact on the Fishers community that will use them.

Few local businesses develop edge devices or do electronic development, so people think it’s really easy,” he said. “But bringing a quality prototype of even a modestly complex device to market is not a weekend endeavor. We plan to bring market and product development experience to the IoT lab, and look forward to meeting other experts there too. It’s truly a place to create devices and other solutions that will reshape industries.”

Toschlog added that even established IoT companies like Flexware will find value in providing their engineers and computer scientists access to the lab. “We are looking forward to having a creative place where our engineers can come to be creative.” he said. “The Fishers IoT lab is where they can come to innovate and collaborate with others. Then, they can return to the office and leverage what they learned.” Whether it’s individuals looking to create, or companies looking to connect with vendors and partners, central Indiana’s tech innovators will all be welcome.

Whitlock concluded by observing that for Flexware Innovation, sponsoring the IoT Lab was an easy choice, because in the end, it represents even greater opportunity for their own long-term clients in the manufacturing industry. “There are something like 10,000 manufacturers in Indiana that will all need to continue to adopt IoT solutions and enhance their tech to stay competitive,” he said. “I’m so grateful that Mayor Fadness and Flexware share a passion for helping our manufacturers stay competitive using devices we imagined and built together, right here in Indiana.”