The Strategy of Things is a Silicon Valley based Emerging Technology Innovation Firm

 

We help cities, communities and business enterprises become smarter, safer, more responsive and resilient. Our integrated portfolio of services – innovation lab, consulting, research and execution–deliver the outcomes that matter to you and your customers.

Smarter. Faster. With Less Risk.

Our Services

Acceleration

Innovation Ecosystem. Proven Solutions. Trusted Services.

Advisory

Strategy. Planning. Analysis. Value Realization.

Intelligence

“On The Ground” Insights. Best Practices. Innovation Scouting.

Innovation Lab

Use Cases. Pilot Design and Testing. Solutions.

Innovation Firms Get Things Done

At Strategy of Things, our responsibility is just as much as about beginning a motion as it is following it through. 

We understand that complex projects require more than advice. That's why as emerging technology innovators, we're unafraid to get our hands dirty. Our innovation firm combines the strengths of conventional consulting with boots-on-the-ground execution, experimentation, and expertise. With over 75+ years of collective partner experience and proven leadership as smart city innovators, we work passionately with your company, community, or city to realize your innovation goals from start to finish.

Strategize around problems and systems thinking, then technology
100%
Develop leading edge insights, and innovate with foresight
100%
Assume nothing, and validate everything
100%
Achieve shared goals as hands-on practitioners and partners, not consultants
100%

Disrupt Successfully

Drive customer adoption, increase revenues and productivity, while lowering costs.

Go Faster

Innovate faster and more frequently in response to market, customer and technological shifts.

Sustain Advantage

Transform organization into disruption machine for building innovative services and solutions.

Where We Can Help

Smart Cities

Today’s cities are being transformed by digital technologies to deliver old and new services in new ways, while supporting ambitious new goals.

Smart Communities

Communities (residential communities, business districts, buildings, and universities) are mini-cities, but with its own set of localized needs.

Smart Industry

Manufacturing is being transformed as connectivity, data analytics, automation and systems integration drives towards autonomous factory production.

Our Work

"Strategy of Things is a trusted partner who accelerated our smart region journey from concept to launch in eight months. They helped build our smart region strategy, developed our innovation capabilities from the ground up, recruited strategic industry partners, and launched our innovation lab. They are a critical extension of our team and a strategic capability for San Mateo County's smart region efforts."

 

Ulysses Vinson
Chief Smart Communities Officer
San Mateo County

NIST
San Mateo Emblem
SMC Labs
Onalytica

Our Team

Renil Paramel
Renil Paramel
Senior Partner
Benson Chan
Benson Chan
Senior Partner
David Duncan
David Duncan
Consultant

Latest Insights

Directional signpost with multiple arrows pointing different ways, representing the challenge mid-market companies face in choosing the right AI strategy

AI Is Everywhere. Mid-Market Impact Is Not. You May Be Following the Wrong Playbook.

Most mid-market companies are doing AI. Pilots are running, vendors are engaged, and budgets have been committed. But when you step back and look at the business as a whole, the impact is not there. The problem is not the technology. It is the playbook. This post explains why the enterprise AI playbook does not work at mid-market scale, what a different approach looks like across three critical zones, and where to start.

Aerial view of a complex highway interchange representing the challenge of AI project prioritization and building a structured AI portfolio

AI Project Prioritization: Building an AI Portfolio That Delivers

Building an AI portfolio that delivers enterprise impact requires a prioritization methodology that is significantly more rigorous than most organizations expect. This article explains what effective AI project prioritization actually requires, how to move from a ranked list to a deliberately constructed portfolio, and what separates organizations that treat prioritization as a discipline from those that treat it as a meeting.

Aerial view of a highway interchange representing the complexity of AI project prioritization and portfolio management across an enterprise.

Your AI Projects Are Competing Against Each Other. You Just Can’t See It.

AI is everywhere. Enterprise impact isn’t. The gap between the two is not a technology problem but a structural one. Most organizations manage AI as a collection of one-off projects, missing the synergies, wasting resources, and blocking their own highest-value initiatives. This post makes the case for AI project prioritization and portfolio thinking as the operating discipline that changes that.

See All

Named to Top 100 IoT Blogs and Websites for IoT Industry Professionals, April 2018

Let’s Talk!

We recognize that your needs are unique to your organization, market and customer base.
Please contact us today for a free consultation of your needs and how we can help.