DCN June 2016 | Page 29

Big Data & IoT having to build new and different tools to meet the data collection needs of different domains. This could result in data being locked away in silos, which could make operations harder and result in downtime. This paired with the aforementioned weaknesses will cost the organisation time, money and its reputation. Smart data framework To handle this explosive growth, organisations need a smart data framework that can collect, enrich and integrate IoT data at scale and with context. This will allow them to make strategic decisions with confidence. But in an IoT world, how do we even measure scale and will current collection platforms scale with the enterprise when the number of IoT data points needed for analytics could double in the next year? Enterprises need a platform that does more than just provide collection – it needs a device and technology agnostic platform to enable speed at scale, removing the worries behind creating different tools. The platform needs to be able to collect any time series data from any source and type, and scale it intuitively with infrastructure growth. Some platforms out there, while effective, do not offer the flexibility and agility needed for next generation environments like IoT networks. It’s also worth noting that business analytics tools – while great at providing insights across IoT data sets – are not well equipped to handle the collection of IoT data from so many disparate sources and protocols. Organisations need to avoid only using these tools if they want their network operations to be a succinct and streamlined success. The bottom line is that data needs to be managed to provide value and enterprises need a smart framework to do it. A smart data framework, which is both product agnostic and proven to scale on demand, can deliver real time insights that will help maximise the potential of an enterprise. Not only will it monitor sensor data, it will give you visibility across all layers of the infrastructure, allowing organisations to enrich, contextualise and baseline the data. This helps assure not only the integrity of the IoT data, but the integrity of the service. Organisations should use a smart data framework to collect data and provide real time analysis. This can be paired with a business intelligence tool for more granular, business critical data to help automate and optimise the business.