DCN June 2016 | Page 25

Big Data & IoT BEYOND THE SMOKE AND MIRRORS The human brain is a wonderful thing that works tirelessly from the day we are born until the day we die, only stopping on special occasions – like when presenting in front of large audiences. We’ve been studying the brain for many centuries, but we still know relatively little about the trillions of connections that make it work. Creating a road map of the brain is a bit like trying to map out the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IIoT is a concept that has intrigued industry for several years now, but much like the human brain, is not yet fully understood, as Martyn Williams, managing director of Copa Data UK, explains. T o gain a better understanding of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) universe, we need to look at specifics. We need to understand how hardware and software, communication protocols and the human connection come together to support a stable and flexible interaction that enhances production, control and efficiency in industrial environments. Machines-to-machines Every time you form a new memory, new connections are created in the brain, making the system even more complex than before. Similarly, IIoT relies on many-to-many applications or groups of nodes to accomplish one single task. The plural of ‘machine’ is important when discussing IIoT because it highlights the complexity of the system. 25