Much has been said about the mass migration towards cloud-based computing, known by most simply as “the cloud.” Organizations worldwide have shifted to the cloud for better security, scalability, and efficiency. However, much less is known about edge computing, another influential technology gaining traction. Edge computing is increasingly becoming the IT infrastructure of choice for enterprises that […]
A Guide to Time Series Databases
Time series databases (or TSDBs) are databases that have been optimized for processing time series data. Time series data is made up of data records that are indexed using timestamps. The timestamps provide a reference for each of the data records and show how they relate to one another in time. An example of time […]
Case Study: New Innovations in IoT Technologies for Manufacturers
Manufacturers want to save money, conserve energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s a challenge to see where and when energy use is occurring. When the utility bill arrives, a manufacturer can see how much total energy was used, but energy use is not broken down on a machine-by-machine basis. Invisible energy use hides […]
Fundamentals of Digital Twins
Digital twins can present a virtual replica of physical components, processes, or systems to enable improved understanding of the performance characteristics of such entities. With digital twins, industry operators can visualize, predict, and optimize the performance of individual components within a system or process, or the entire process from a remote location. According to Microsoft, […]
Edge Computing: An Overview
Edge computing (EC) allows data generated by the Internet of Things (IoT) to be processed near its source, rather than sending the data great distances, to data centers or a cloud. More specifically, edge computing uses a network of micro-data stations to process or store the data locally, within a range of 100 square feet. […]
A Brief History of the Internet of Things
Simply stated, the Internet of Things consists of any device with an on/off switch that is connected to the Internet. The Internet of Things (IoT) involves machines communicating information over the internet, and has not been around for very long. Machines have been providing direct communications since the telegraph (the first landline) was developed in […]
Data Fabric vs. Data Mesh
In the hyper-connected world of the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT), every computing network device is connected to another through a complex, interconnected network. This poses a serious challenge to future Data Management, as the ultimate goal of Data Management is the sharing of business data across disparate platforms and technologies. This article […]
NoSQL Databases: The Versatile Solution for Continuous Intelligence
Most businesses tend to rely on relational database management systems (RDBMS) to provide business insight, including continuous intelligence. Cloud relational databases have improved computing power they bring to the table, to handle more massive amounts of data. However, relational databases, even ones in the cloud, face two issues. They have a harder time with the […]
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a distributed database and storage devices for the database are not all connected to a common processor. “A blockchain or distributed ledger,” as Gartner describes, “is a mechanism for adding trust in an untrusted environment.” Blockchain’s special capabilities in cryptography lead to this increased trust as a medium. Each transaction has a record. […]
Industry 4.0: Make Data-Driven Decisions Immediately
What if a cyber-physical world — fueled by data — shortened production and manufacturing decisions to the time it takes to adjust a thermostat’s temperature? This just begins to describe Industry 4.0. According to a recent McKinsey article, Industry 4.0 “expects to deliver between $1.2 and $3.7 trillion in value.” Meanwhile, according to Riasat Noor, […]