We know what topic dominates discussion around your office today: the Michigan Panthers’ blowout win over the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL. Remember, strange things happen when winless teams play each other. Still, you expect a team named the Maulers to put up more of a fight, right? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of fight in the newstips this week.

Amazon outlined its $1 billion Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund to rev up and support new innovations in logistics, supply chain, and customer fulfillment. For our purposes, logistics = IoT projects.

Microsoft ISV Metrikus focuses on making spaces smarter, safer, and more sustainable, using Azure IoT Hub and Azure Digital Twin for many projects.

Arm’s hot new Cortex-M microcontroller hit the news last week, with aims to help IoT projects like speech recognition solutions and cloud-native edge devices.

EnGenius Technologies released its cloud-managed 2x2:2 Wi-Fi 6 dual band wall-plate access point. First target: hospitality, like hotels.

The Cloud Security Alliance released its IoT Controls Matrix Version 3, created by the IoT Working Group.

Smart home device choice and setup has become complicated enough to push consumers to seek help from consulting services, says Parks Associates. Among broadband households, almost 30% own three or more smart home devices. One of the areas consumers need help with is home security, where DIY installation is one of the biggest trends. On the other hand, many consumers are not buying smart products for three reasons: poor perception of product value, security and privacy concerns, and a fear of technical issues. Doesn’t that loop us back around to the need for consulting services?

Smart buildings are a different market with complicated retrofit issues, so Smart Buildings Technology offers us “How to integrate smart technology into existing buildings.”

RFID Journal takes a look at a wide range of IoT-enabled machine monitoring applications used in smart factories today. Concerns exist, however, as this article reports on cyber-risks for connected lighting systems.

IoT and real-time data may be the key to fill the gaps in understaffed industries and geographic locations, according to BusinessNews Wales.

Eliminating batteries for IoT devices is the goal for many companies today. Read here about how Perovskite photovoltaics may soon evolve to power lots of IoT devices while cutting down on battery waste.

The World Economic Forum gives us its definition of Industry 4.0 and how developed countries can help undeveloped countries get in on IoT technology goodness.

We agree with TechCentral that IoT “should be top of your company’s priority list,” in South Africa and everywhere else.

For your prospects with executives who don’t read articles in tech outlets, Forbes explains edge computing.

From our friends at Hackster.io:

A Japan-based contributor addresses the needs of the 36 million plus people in the country aged 65 or over who worry about falling. Using a Blues Wireless Notecard, an intelligent device sends an SMS alert message within five seconds if the wearer falls.