My most memorable Moments in 2017

Early 2017 was the first time one of my personal posts called "Work-Life Harmony" went viral on LinkedIn. This was a good experience, as much contrarian feedback was shared by readers which I really came to appreciate and learn from.

Shortly after, I attended the opening of IBM's Global Watson IoT HQ in Munich which was truly impressive and clearly shows IBM's commitment to both AI and IoT. I very much look forward to deepening the relationship with IBM in 2018.

(right side image: with my new friend Pepper, the Robot)

In Q1 2017 we also broke our story to the public for the first time, which led to worldwide news coverage of our technology in various articles as first reported by Reuters. This was a huge motivator for myself and the entire team at UIB as we could finally talk about some of the cool stuff we were doing with world leading brands such as Bosch.

The most memorable moment of 2017 for me personally was participating in the SAP CEO Summits in Singapore and New York City (full disclosure: UIB is a member of SAP’s Startup Focus program and won an SAP HANA Innovation Award this year).

Closed to the public and the media, CEOs came together and took courage to raise their most critical concerns and answer their hardest questions about business and life, resulting in lasting friendships. Host and SAP CEO Bill McDermott exemplifies a leader who leads by the heart and the results of him and his team speak for themselves. And yes, it’s always humbling to get to meet leaders such as former U.S. President Barack Obama and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Other memorable moments included winning our first Webby Award for our online technology showcases, participating in the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, and of course signing an agreement with one of UAE’s coolest brands - telecom operator "du" - under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

I spent the last quarter of the year closing deals and signing agreements with new partners and clients from around the world which is remarkable considering we only announced our intelligent IoT messaging technology, the UnificationEngine platform towards the end of Q1 2017.

With many new clients and developments in the pipeline, I look forward to a very exciting 2018 and welcome you all to follow the story of my team in this journey of making IoT frictionless and fun!