Ed Simnett is a Lead Analyst for Gigaom Research who brings more than eighteen years of technology and mobile experience to his role. He focuses on Mobile, IoT and Communications. After founding a messaging company (ePostings) and working in the VoIP space, he spent seven years at Microsoft, launching the first version of both Live Communications Server and Microsoft Office Communicator, and then extending the reach of the product with web and mobile clients. After that he built the product strategy for Windows Live Mobile Search (now Bing Mobile). After Microsoft, Ed moved to Nokia, where he was responsible for strategy and business development within the services group, working on new products and M&A in commerce, mobile app, address book, and social music.

Since Nokia Ed has focused on how mobile technology is impacting the real world, via innovative experiences in commerce and payments, and new interaction modes like beacons, QR codes, and NFC. Ed firmly believes IoT is not merely an extension of today’s mobile experience; by bringing the internet to every connected device, fundamentally new experiences and value are being created.

Ed tweets @simnett. Ed served as Chairman of the Pacific Telecom Council Advisory Council from 2007-9. He has degrees from Oxford and Harvard.