We are in an era of rapid digital evolution and transformation. At the very core of all this transformation lies an immense amount of data. The rates at which data is currently being generated is touching astronomical levels.
Right now, we find ourselves formally entering the “Internet of Things (IoT)” era. While some readers may say that we are already in it, but fact of the matter is, a very important part of the overall puzzle was missing, until Cloud Computing came along to complement IoT.
In this post, we will first discuss what the Internet of Things (IoT) actually is, and how is Cloud Computing, another cutting edge digital technology, playing an instrumental role in the mainstreaming of IoT ecosystems.
How to Define the Internet of Things (IoT)?
Well, this is indeed a tough one, because the term IoT has a very broad scope and applicability. Perhaps defining the Internet itself, in the first place, would be a nice point to start with. The internet, as we know it today, is a vast network of webpages and IP addresses.
Now, all you have to do is to extend this conventional definition of the internet, as we know it, to different things or objects. However, not every object or thing around us would qualify for being declared a part of an IoT ecosystem.
So, let us now jump to the all-important pre-requisite for a device, object, or even a living being to be classified as a part of any IoT ecosystem, which is its ability to generate, transmit and receive data.
In some rare use cases, IoT devices may even have the additional capability of processing data, but there could still be some more time to get to such a high level of technological advancement.
How Does an IoT Ecosystem Work?
Some readers might be wondering why the word “ecosystem” is being used to describe IoT, time and again. Well, IoT is in fact a network, big or small, of highly interconnected devices that are constantly generating data with the help of smart sensors.
The only task of these smart sensors is to constantly generate accurate data, to the best extent possible, about the desired “parameter”. Examples of such data collection parameters could include temperature, pressure, speed, time or humidity etc.
One important thing to mention here is that the mere generation of such large amounts of data by countless IoT devices is not of much use. This is exactly the part where the role of Cloud Computing comes into the “bigger picture”.
What Augmented Capabilities Does the Cloud Offer to IoT Systems?
Data generation by various devices, within any IoT ecosystem, is just a small bit of the overall process. This entire cycle reaches its logical conclusion once useful and actionable insights have been drawn from that data. However, there are many sub-processes involved, before we can reach to the end part, i.e. the drawing of actionable business insights from this data.
Let us now discuss the unique capabilities that Cloud Computing brings to the table, and how does the Cloud amplify the significance of IoT ecosystems.
Aggregation and Storage of Data
We have already discussed that IoT ecosystems are constantly generating an “insane” amount of data. The foremost aspect where Cloud Computing infrastructures come into play is the aggregation as well as safe storage of all this vast amounts of data.
Cloud infrastructures, like the one being offered by Cloud Service Provider (CSP) dinCloud, offer a secure and cost efficient repository for storing vast amounts of data. It is an established fact that aggregated data can yield better, and much more accurate insights or findings about the subject matter at hand.
Related Posts:
- How Do Cloud Computing and Internet of Things (IoT) Add Up?
- Edge Computing and Internet of Things (IoT) – Opportunities and Challenges
- How Cloud Computing Can Propel IoT to New Heights?
- Machine Learning and Cloud Computing – Re-Shaping the IoT World
Processing Muscle of Cloud Computing
All this vast amounts of data is not being stored over the Cloud without purpose. Although the costs of cloud storage are considerably lower as compared to on-premise storage options, there still has to be a well defined purpose of aggregating and storing all this data being generated by IoT devices.
Once the data aggregation bit is over, then comes the all important phase of processing all this data, with the aim of drawing useful and actionable business insights from all this data. This capability is once again being offered by Cloud Computing infrastructures, which give seamless access to immense processing capabilities over the Cloud.
Adding ML and AI to the Mix
Even after having drawn insights from all this data, how would we know if those insights are actually any good for real world use cases? This is yet another area where the processing muscle of the Cloud can be leveraged to incorporate Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities within IoT ecosystems.
IoT ecosystems, once equipped with data driven, ML and AI based insights, will be able to truly bring about a digital revolution in the true and broad sense of the word. Till now, the capabilities of digital technologies have largely been confined to a limited scope.
Conclusion
This synergetic combination of Cloud Computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) can revolutionize our lives at a mass scale. These changes can, and will manifest themselves in the form of entire smart cities, self driving or autonomous vehicles, and much more.
Contact dinCloud, an ATSG company, for highly secure, reliable and readily scalable Cloud Computing solutions and services for your enterprise or IoT related use cases.
