Last week at the IoT Evolution Conference we caught up with Andy Asava, founder and CEO, Qualesce, a software development and systems integration company based in Dallas, Texas. Asava was part of a panel speaking on Fog and edge computing approaches, and the relationship of data processing and analytics in such a way that the information can be acted on in real time without the complications of “TMI” (too much information).
“It’s easy for people to say the true value of IoT is in the data and analytics, but without understanding how to handle the massive amount of data being generated by more and more sensors, and without understanding how to make a business difference by providing that data through applications to machines and managers, the IoT’s blue ocean opportunities will turn into a failed attempt to boil the ocean,” Asava said.
He shared an example of a fast food chain.
“Of course, the aggregated data showing how sensed equipment is performing, whether HVAC, refrigerators, fryers, grills, security cameras, locks and more is important,” Asava said, “where the near real time analytics can be most immediately helpful is at the local level.”
By empowering the franchisee, for example, with real time data created by sensors, often from different vendors, store managers and store operations teams can run their businesses more profitably.
“We are seeing models like the First Receiver approach authored by Don DeLoach, the CEO of Infobright, attracting attention as the practical application of Fog or edge computing using data approximation models which provide accurate enough data at the source – in that local big box store – without that data having to be sent to a centralized database for processing, which can be expensive, slow and overwhelming,” Asava explained.
Asava also spoke about data ownership at the local level. “We’re hearing from a lot of our clients that while they appreciate the various systems their IoT vendors are providing by way of dashboards and so forth, that they want to see a federation of these data streams so that the manager of that big box store can see a unified dashboard of all the sensor-powered applications they are using. Why should they have to switch between a dozen different applications when with some fairly straightforward?”
Asava was joined on the panel by Tristan Barnum, co-founder at Telliant and Mike Hitmar from SAS. The panel was moderated by Keith Tamboer of James Brehm & Associates.
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
