IoT's Impact on Big Data

IoT-connected devices generate a vast amount of data. The biggest impact of the internet of things (IoT) for businesses in the future will be how to manage big data. The future will see companies being forced to upgrade their processes, technologies, and security to align with this need.

Big data and IoT are entwined. How? Every device around us is connected to the cloud, sharing every minute bit of our data. Smart farming, e-health, smart retail, smart home, smart cities, smart environment are few applications of IoT in today’s world. A lot of data is generated from these applications that industries gather with the aim to improve their business workflows, enhance customer experience, and stay relevant in the ever-increasing competition. This means that IoT directly impacts data, making it swell in size (ergo, big data), and companies should leverage new-age technologies to draw accurate insights from the data to make informed business decisions.

Scope of IoT

Making sci-fi fantasy into reality, IoT is touching every aspect and every corner of our life. The benefits offered by the technology is beyond imagination. IoT is the new way of connecting one machine to another. In the future, we will envision automated services and systems, that will take care of our comfort as well. Hence, most of the major business leaders and even start-ups are making significant investments in this area by gathering large troves of data. The goal is to harness the power of big data that comes from sensors, actuators, and cameras and gain actionable insights by analyzing the data with big data analytics.

Impact of IoT on Big Data

• By now, we know how big data and IoT are two sides of the same coin. Let’s see how IoT impacts big data: The first and the foremost thing that comes in our mind about the IoT-connected device is the voluminous amount of data that needs storage space. Hence, to address this need, companies are having a seismic shift towards PaaS (Platform as a Service). PaaS is a cloud-based platform that helps companies store their endless data. There are several types of PaaS: private, public, and hybrid. Based on the nature of the data you collect; you can choose the right type of PaaS.
• Security and privacy aren’t new issues, of course. The IoT security breaches report is enough to prove the risks around the IoT ecosystem. Hence, companies should buck up with technologies that offer high-security to the data and the devices, both. No doubt, hackers will persistently strive hard to hack the IoT devices and data. But, your endeavor should always be to fail them in their attempt.
• The last, and probably the most significant part, is analyzing the IoT data in real-time. With no proper analysis of data, the whole process of data collection and data security will go in vain, obviously. Hence, it is essential that companies make use of the right analytics tool, that will help them gain in-depth and actionable insights on the IoT data.

Right from data acquisition to data security to data analysis, IoT has a great impact on big data. The success of any company depends on how well they harness big data generated this way with the right analytics tools.