2026 IoT Platform of the Year

Submission overview

The 2026 IoT Platform of the Year recognizes an outstanding platform that helps organizations connect, manage, secure, analyze, and scale Internet of Things deployments.

Eligible platforms may provide device onboarding and lifecycle management, connectivity management, data ingestion and processing, analytics, application enablement, automation, observability, security, or integration capabilities. Entries may represent comprehensive IoT platforms or specialized platforms that solve an essential part of the deployment and management lifecycle.

Strong submissions will demonstrate production-ready performance, interoperability, usability, security, customer adoption, and measurable improvements in deployment speed, reliability, operational efficiency, or time to value.

This award is a great fit if…

• Your platform helps organizations connect, provision, monitor, manage, or update IoT devices and fleets
• Your technology simplifies data ingestion, processing, analytics, automation, or application development
• Your platform integrates with multiple devices, protocols, networks, cloud environments, edge systems, or enterprise applications
• Your solution improves deployment speed, reliability, scalability, security, manageability, or operational visibility
• You can demonstrate customer adoption, production deployments, partner integrations, or measurable platform outcomes

Entry schedule

• Entries Open: Tuesday, December 1, 2026
• Early Bird Deadline: Friday, January 15, 2027
• Final Entry Deadline: Friday, February 12, 2027
• Winners Announced: Tuesday, March 9, 2027

Entries must be completed and paid by the applicable deadline.

Entry fees

• Early Bird Entry: $395 through January 15, 2027
• Standard Entry: $495 through February 12, 2027

Each category submission is treated as a separate entry.

What to submit

Your submission should give judges a clear understanding of the platform’s capabilities, differentiation, deployment value, and real-world performance.

• Platform overview: Describe the platform, its primary users, the problems it addresses, and its role within the IoT technology stack
• Core capabilities: Explain the device management, connectivity, data, analytics, automation, application enablement, or operational capabilities provided
• Architecture and integrations: Identify supported protocols, devices, networks, cloud environments, edge systems, APIs, SDKs, and enterprise integrations
• Security and reliability: Describe identity management, access controls, encryption, monitoring, update processes, availability, and production-readiness measures
• Evidence and results: Include customer adoption, fleet size, uptime, deployment speed, cost savings, performance benchmarks, operational improvements, or other measurable outcomes
• Supporting materials: Provide relevant platform diagrams, screenshots, documentation, product pages, case studies, integration lists, technical briefs, or customer references

Optional supporting materials may include a platform demonstration, product walkthrough, architecture overview, or reference contact.

Judging criteria

• Evidence and Measurable Impact, 35%: Strength of the customer results, adoption data, deployment metrics, reliability evidence, performance benchmarks, or documented time-to-value improvements
• Innovation and Differentiation, 25%: Technical distinction, platform capabilities, architectural strengths, and advantages over existing alternatives
• Execution and Scalability, 25%: Production readiness, reliability, security, interoperability, usability, and ability to support growing deployments
• Category Fit, 10%: Clarity and strength of the case that the entry functions as an exceptional IoT platform
• Leadership and Industry Contribution, 5%: Contribution to broader IoT adoption, ecosystem development, interoperability, or platform best practices

Eligibility

• Open worldwide to companies, organizations, startups, teams, and individuals operating within the Internet of Things
• The platform must have been launched, updated, adopted, validated, or materially advanced during the 2026 calendar year
• Commercial platforms, platform-as-a-service offerings, software-as-a-service platforms, device management systems, connectivity platforms, data platforms, and edge or cloud platforms may be entered
• Entries should include credible evidence of customer adoption, technical performance, deployment outcomes, partner traction, or third-party validation
• Organizations may enter multiple categories when each submission represents a legitimate fit

Confidential materials may be summarized or redacted, provided the submission includes enough information for judges to evaluate the platform fairly.

Submission process

1. Select the IoT Platform of the Year category in the 2026 Best of IoT Awards application.
2. Complete every required field and clearly explain the platform’s capabilities, differentiation, and value.
3. Upload or link to supporting evidence and relevant platform materials.
4. Submit the application and pay the applicable entry fee before the deadline.

Multiple entries are permitted, although each platform or category submission requires a separate application and entry fee.