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Crossing the IoT chasm | data


The sophistication level of our clients has grown exponentially over the years thanks to consumer grade IoT devices and cloud-based applications.  Along with this awareness, client expectations have risen as well. We know the assets (equipment), the devices, influencers, and how it all works together; isn't that enough?  As you prepare to embark on this IoT journey here are some things you may consider:



  • Control systems will be changing in the years to come, thank goodness. I predict we will see a hybrid solution emerge where fundamental and immediate decisions are made at a buildings "edge" device and predictive modeling outcomes will be managed in the cloud. To prepare for this look for solutions where devices are IP addressable, like an IT network today with printers and computers.
  • When thinking about IoT try not to limit your thoughts to just device-based information. A site is a living breathing mechanism which is influenced by assets, business decisions (where you are making money), and density of sites, workers, and assets.  Access to accounting, work order, asset data, skill levels of workers, etc. are all important pieces of data when focusing on holistic decisions.
  • Secure access to IoT information will be paramount as the environments grow in sophistication and reach. Individually monitoring each device and their inputs or outputs will quickly become an impossible task. Instead, focus on anomaly detection and allow the system to alert a human when interpretation is required.



These considerations are only addressing the data side of the equation, how you deal with this data (artificial intelligence) and how you take action will be the topics for subsequent posts. Your thoughts, questions, and experiences are always welcome.



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Next post:  leveraging building intelligence

See all of the "last mile worker" posts here:  http://lastmileworker.com

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