https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Architecture
  • Engineering/Development
  • Security
ioti.com

Strategy


peshkov / iStock / Thinkstock

Making sense of the chaos has never been more important.

Can Internet of Things Data Be Trusted?

In an era of data deluge, knowing which information to trust has never been more important — or harder.
  • Written by Tom Kaneshige
  • 20th December 2016

By now, it’s clear we live in a bubble of information, an algorithmically imposed closed loop of sources and data spewing out a false narrative. And I’m not just talking about our current political climate, either. Businesses can’t make sense of their markets when they don’t know what customers are doing on the far edge. Customer satisfaction surveys, like public opinion polls, aren’t enough.

The business landscape is littered with companies that created silly products or made foolish decisions based on misleading information from market research and anecdotal evidence. New Coke comes to mind. But really, it happens all the time. We need better information, a more complete and truthful picture.

In business, a big part of the problem has been a lack of endpoints, writes Sam Ransbotham, associate professor of information systems at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, in an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Managers don’t really know the business outcomes from their decisions, as opposed to, say, sports games and political elections with clear winners and losers.

Related: Will Internet of Things Ignite “Power by the Hour”?

“As a result, based on data, managers may mistakenly continue to invest resources in activities that they shouldn’t,” Ransobotham says. “For example: One machine is taken out of service for maintenance unnecessarily while a seemingly functional machine breaks down. While a breakdown is observable, unnecessary downtime is hard to assess.”         

Enter the Internet of Things, a collection of sensors on the far edge gathering data on customer behavior or equipment use, which, in turn, feeds into an analytics engine. The big idea is to employ machine learning to detect patterns and make predictions that come close to a clear endpoint.

Done right, predictive insights gleaned from IoT data can disrupt entire industries. Some manufacturers of IoT-equipped machines, for instance, have solved the exact problem that Ransobotham posited above. In what’s called predictive maintenance, they’ve figured out maintenance lifecycles of machines to such a degree that they’ve disrupted their business models, such as renting machines instead of selling them.

Predictive maintenance can reduce downtime by as much as 50 percent, extend machine life, and lower equipment and capital investment by up to 5 percent, according to McKinsey. All tallied, companies stand to save $630 billion by 2025. Along the way, manufacturers can offer information services from aggregate equipment usage data. (For more, check out Will Internet of Things Ignite Power by the Hour?)

But IoT can work against companies, too. There’s no question it breaks open the floodgates to a data deluge. More data means higher risk of the wrong data getting into the analytics system, thus skewing results. If the analytics engine isn’t up to snuff, or personal bias has crept into the model, then the odds of getting wrong insights skyrockets.

“Gathering additional data from multiple sources may just increase volume and offer the illusion of more evidence, when instead it actually reinforces systemic error rather than enriching the story,” Ransbotham says. “Data may become less reliable as incorrect data becomes increasingly abundant and convenient.”

The end result, of course, would be another false narrative.

Tags: Article Strategy

Related


  • Skill Gaps Persist in IoT Disciplines
    From connectivity to cybersecurity to data analytics, organizations continue to confront IT skill gaps that block IoT projects.
  • FedEx CIO Attests to Data-Driven Strategies in Pandemic Times
    At Interop 2020, FedEx CIO Rob Carter outlined the company’s long-standing IT modernization project.
  • Image shows the concept of IOT technology on a blue background. The concept of connecting devices.
    IoT World Today Top IoT Trends Articles
    We round up some top stories featuring trends that will continue to mark IoT’s development this year.
  • Kudelski IoT Labs Fact Sheet
    Ensuring your product is “secure by design” right from the start is exponentially more cost effective than addressing security flaws after a product is launched. Independent evaluation of your device’s security can give you the information you need to prevent unexpected damage to revenues and reputation in the future. This fact sheet explains the end-to-end […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • Digital Business Agility Should Be Company Priority
  • Integrating Analog Controls into IIoT Systems
  • Patient Health Data Is Increasingly Democratized--Despite Data Quality Issues
  • Philadelphia Finds Its Own Lane in Smart City Initiatives

News

View all

Private LTE Market Projected to Grow to $13 Billion

12th January 2021

IoT World Announces 2021 IoT World Advisory Board

9th December 2020

White Papers

View all

Smart and Flexible Automotive and Tire Production

20th December 2020

Unlock the Potential of Digital Transformation in Oil & Gas

15th December 2020

Special Reports

View all

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

Webinars

View all

From Insights to Action: Best Practices for Implementing Connected Device Security

15th December 2020

Real Cyber Threats and Best Practices Cyber Security Strategy and Solutions for Smart Manufacturing

1st December 2020

Galleries

View all

Top IoT Trends to Watch in 2020

26th January 2020

Five of the Most Promising Digital Health Technologies

14th January 2020

Industry Perspectives

View all

IoT Spending Holds Firm — Tempered by Dose of ‘IoT Pragmatism’

1st December 2020

The Great IoT Connectivity Lockdown

11th May 2020

Events

View all

IoT at the Edge

17th March 2021

Embedded IoT World 2021

28th April 2021 - 29th April 2021

IoT World 2021

2nd November 2021 - 4th November 2021

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

#IoTsecuritytrends in 2021 will feature new threats given #remotework, #digitalhealth and #edgecomputing.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

25th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Protecting Your Network Against Ripple20 Vulnerabilities dlvr.it/RrJhpD https://t.co/Q2xe5hoy4U

25th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

The DOD turned to #kubernetes #containers for #IoTdevelopment to brace for rapid change. dlvr.it/RqzsLz https://t.co/t8W7coEdZN

20th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Food for thought: Food and Beverage Industry eBook @ROKAutomation dlvr.it/Rqz00T https://t.co/Z3y18vuozF

20th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Facility of the Future dlvr.it/Rqyzvm https://t.co/ytpsOUTtGP

20th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

A new day in automotive production #digitalmanufacturingsolutions @ROKAutomation dlvr.it/RqyrNS https://t.co/yxPFrBZGVg

20th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Unlock the potential of digital transformation in Oil & Gas @ROKAutomation dlvr.it/RqyrBV https://t.co/kzHcGjf2OK

20th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

.@Airbus’s #datdriven #digitaltransformation focused on getting its existing data in order rather than just gatheri… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

19th January 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X