This document discusses the hype around big data and the internet of things. It outlines Gartner's hype cycle and argues that while the underlying technologies of big data, data science, and IoT sensors are new and useful, growth will not be exponential and these fields are not ready for widespread adoption. The document advocates learning data science skills but warns against believing hype and implementing projects before a clear business case is proven.
AllThingstalk presenting at Microsoft Innovation CenterStefaan Top
On 26 January, 2016, Tom Casaer and me were invited to present at the Microsoft Innovation Center in Kortrijk, Belgium. Tom shared some of his insights in Internet of Things (IoT) and I presented the AllThingsTalk Liato case to help elderly live a longer independent life. The crowd enjoyed the demo of our AllThingsTalk IoT platform as well.
SEE the Cloud: Nico van Dijk - Succesvolle ICT bij de overheid, het kan dus wel.TOPdesk
De afgelopen twee jaar is er bij Rijkswaterstaat hard gewerkt aan de vernieuwing van de basis infrastructuur. Met de introductie van Cloud Foundry als PaaS platform is er een verandering op gang gekomen, waarbij op een fundamenteel andere manier basisinfrastructuren worden geleverd. Samen met andere overheidsinstanties en marktpartijen heeft Rijkswaterstaat in korte tijd de stap van traditioneel beheer naar Agile innoveren gemaakt. In deze presentatie wordt ingegaan op de succesfactoren en valkuilen die tijdens deze transitie van invloed zijn geweest.
This presentation by Content Manager Alan Cairns examines what quality content means and how public data can be used to produce interesting and insightful stories.
Digital products and processes at the ustwo studioJoe Macleod
Ustwo create digital products, services and companies that make a measurable difference to the world. We champion best practices in digital product development to achieve this.
This presentation overviews the ustwo digital product development process. It touches on the history of digital product processes (waterfall, prince2) and examples some products that failed due to poor process.
It goes on to example techniques in Lean that the ustwo studio have adopted and how these have impacted product development at the studio. It also talks about the wider studio culture, people working at ustwo and the Shoreditch relationship with Start-Ups and Digital.
Dynniq & GoDataDriven - Shaping the future of traffic with IoT and AIBigDataExpo
Dynniq is a high-tech, innovative company offering smart mobility solutions and services internationally. We will present advanced IoT use cases Dynniq is working on, and share how GoDataDriven helps set up an AI capability. We will share our learnings, and show what makes data science in the mobility domain unique.
AllThingstalk presenting at Microsoft Innovation CenterStefaan Top
On 26 January, 2016, Tom Casaer and me were invited to present at the Microsoft Innovation Center in Kortrijk, Belgium. Tom shared some of his insights in Internet of Things (IoT) and I presented the AllThingsTalk Liato case to help elderly live a longer independent life. The crowd enjoyed the demo of our AllThingsTalk IoT platform as well.
SEE the Cloud: Nico van Dijk - Succesvolle ICT bij de overheid, het kan dus wel.TOPdesk
De afgelopen twee jaar is er bij Rijkswaterstaat hard gewerkt aan de vernieuwing van de basis infrastructuur. Met de introductie van Cloud Foundry als PaaS platform is er een verandering op gang gekomen, waarbij op een fundamenteel andere manier basisinfrastructuren worden geleverd. Samen met andere overheidsinstanties en marktpartijen heeft Rijkswaterstaat in korte tijd de stap van traditioneel beheer naar Agile innoveren gemaakt. In deze presentatie wordt ingegaan op de succesfactoren en valkuilen die tijdens deze transitie van invloed zijn geweest.
This presentation by Content Manager Alan Cairns examines what quality content means and how public data can be used to produce interesting and insightful stories.
Digital products and processes at the ustwo studioJoe Macleod
Ustwo create digital products, services and companies that make a measurable difference to the world. We champion best practices in digital product development to achieve this.
This presentation overviews the ustwo digital product development process. It touches on the history of digital product processes (waterfall, prince2) and examples some products that failed due to poor process.
It goes on to example techniques in Lean that the ustwo studio have adopted and how these have impacted product development at the studio. It also talks about the wider studio culture, people working at ustwo and the Shoreditch relationship with Start-Ups and Digital.
Dynniq & GoDataDriven - Shaping the future of traffic with IoT and AIBigDataExpo
Dynniq is a high-tech, innovative company offering smart mobility solutions and services internationally. We will present advanced IoT use cases Dynniq is working on, and share how GoDataDriven helps set up an AI capability. We will share our learnings, and show what makes data science in the mobility domain unique.
In order to leverage data for your business effectively though, you have to first develop a clear understanding of what data is and how you can efficiently make the most out of it. Infinit Datum has come up with this ultimate guide to data management in order to help you out.
How to start? (and excel with the elephants)Ido Green
These slides contain information on:
1. Campus TLV offering for entrepreneurs.
2. Google Cloud offering for the IoT world.
3. Tips from my experience on 'how to start' your startup.
Data Science Popup Austin: Ubiquity and Trust Lead to Adoption Domino Data Lab
Watch talk ➟ http://bit.ly/1NJOrne
In this session, we'll explore the power and importance of user experience and trust within IoT systems. We'll dive into a real-world example to discuss the bigger role IoT can play in shaping our technological expectations and interactions.
Internet of Things as a Leading Trend for 2015 - Examples for Personal UsePetr Dvorak
Couple useful examples of the Internet of Things devices for a personal use. The brief introduction to the subject is followed by over 20 real world and already purchasable examples, from wearables to personal EEGs and DIY kits.
Yes, we just quoted a popular rap song, but we thought it fit nicely with the topic of cloud computing. After all, when you move to the cloud, you eliminate a bulk of the business problems you may currently be dealing with.
Here are 10 problems you can solve simply by moving to the cloud.
Jon Epstein - LAC 2017 - Disruptive technologies: AI and the future of market...iGB Affiliate
It's never been a better or a more daunting time to be a marketer. New disruptive technologies are changing how we shop, how we sell and even how we experience our digital worlds. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, IoT and augmented reality will fundamentally change the landscape for marketers over the next 5 years. And for affiliate marketers, understanding this new landscape will spell the difference between growth and decline.
In this session, Sentient Technologies CMO Jon Epstein will look at new technologies disrupting marketing today, as well as what's on the horizon. The presentation will inform you about key trends you need to stay aware of and discuss the kinds of impacts they could have on how you work and the results you can achieve.
Key trends in marketing technologies to stay aware of
What the impact will be on affiliate marketing results in the future
Presentation covering the role of IT in the realization of Post Merger Integration synergies. Presentation delivered at the Merger Integration Management Forum, Amsterdam on 19 March 2017
How to further your workforce's productivity without compromising on their privacy, on corporate risks or on needless complexity and cost if you are a grid operator? Presentation given on 7 October 2015 at the Mobile Enterprise Canada Conference & Exhibition, Toronto.
6 trends of proptech that are revolutionizing real estateClevAir
Original post here - > https://clevair.io/blog/what-is-proptech-and-what-can-it-do/
PropTech Is disrupting the real-estate industry at a considerable pace. Let's look at some of the reasons more and more Property managers and real-estate owners are investing in it. You will also find examples of Proptech startups that can help you optimize your property and bring your management to the next level.
In his presentation at Digital Economic Forum 2017 @ Zurich, Switzerland, Daniel Müri, CEO of SafeSwissCloud gave practical examples of how companies are getting on their way to the cloud - and how they can benefit from the full potential of the technology.
Cloud is the big new lock-in game for nearly any vendor in IT. Hence developments are fast and borders between vendors are moving targets. What is wisdom if you're a diversifying grid operator and how to define the best candidates for 'cloudification'? Presentation delivered at Enterprise cloud, Amsterdam on 20 September 2016
Data Science Gravity is pulling us down! Watch this modern presentation inspired from Star Trek and the movie gravity to understand how to solve your Big Data Science problems
Lean six sigma in the age of AI
What is six-sigma?
Lean Six-Sigma In The Age Of A
THE BRAIN: INSPIRATION FOR THE NEURAL NETWORK AND DEEP LEARNING
AI and LSS
NEURAL NETWORK
The Ten Lean Six Sigma Metrics
An introductory slide for people who are just getting into the field of Data Science to gain the understanding of why data science is important and how data scientist fits in the loop of the importance of Data Science to the industry
By Todd Lavieri. ISG’s 2015 Americas SIC agenda is packed with informative, interactive sessions and plenty of opportunities for networking. We’ll set the pace with a lively discussion about how clients and service providers can ask new questions and take advantage of new opportunities.
ALPMA - Craig Rispin's Keynote & Workshop 18 Oct 2013
Australian Legal Practice Managers Association keynote presentation by Craig Rispin, CSP Business Futurist & Innovation Expert.
In order to leverage data for your business effectively though, you have to first develop a clear understanding of what data is and how you can efficiently make the most out of it. Infinit Datum has come up with this ultimate guide to data management in order to help you out.
How to start? (and excel with the elephants)Ido Green
These slides contain information on:
1. Campus TLV offering for entrepreneurs.
2. Google Cloud offering for the IoT world.
3. Tips from my experience on 'how to start' your startup.
Data Science Popup Austin: Ubiquity and Trust Lead to Adoption Domino Data Lab
Watch talk ➟ http://bit.ly/1NJOrne
In this session, we'll explore the power and importance of user experience and trust within IoT systems. We'll dive into a real-world example to discuss the bigger role IoT can play in shaping our technological expectations and interactions.
Internet of Things as a Leading Trend for 2015 - Examples for Personal UsePetr Dvorak
Couple useful examples of the Internet of Things devices for a personal use. The brief introduction to the subject is followed by over 20 real world and already purchasable examples, from wearables to personal EEGs and DIY kits.
Yes, we just quoted a popular rap song, but we thought it fit nicely with the topic of cloud computing. After all, when you move to the cloud, you eliminate a bulk of the business problems you may currently be dealing with.
Here are 10 problems you can solve simply by moving to the cloud.
Jon Epstein - LAC 2017 - Disruptive technologies: AI and the future of market...iGB Affiliate
It's never been a better or a more daunting time to be a marketer. New disruptive technologies are changing how we shop, how we sell and even how we experience our digital worlds. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, IoT and augmented reality will fundamentally change the landscape for marketers over the next 5 years. And for affiliate marketers, understanding this new landscape will spell the difference between growth and decline.
In this session, Sentient Technologies CMO Jon Epstein will look at new technologies disrupting marketing today, as well as what's on the horizon. The presentation will inform you about key trends you need to stay aware of and discuss the kinds of impacts they could have on how you work and the results you can achieve.
Key trends in marketing technologies to stay aware of
What the impact will be on affiliate marketing results in the future
Presentation covering the role of IT in the realization of Post Merger Integration synergies. Presentation delivered at the Merger Integration Management Forum, Amsterdam on 19 March 2017
How to further your workforce's productivity without compromising on their privacy, on corporate risks or on needless complexity and cost if you are a grid operator? Presentation given on 7 October 2015 at the Mobile Enterprise Canada Conference & Exhibition, Toronto.
6 trends of proptech that are revolutionizing real estateClevAir
Original post here - > https://clevair.io/blog/what-is-proptech-and-what-can-it-do/
PropTech Is disrupting the real-estate industry at a considerable pace. Let's look at some of the reasons more and more Property managers and real-estate owners are investing in it. You will also find examples of Proptech startups that can help you optimize your property and bring your management to the next level.
In his presentation at Digital Economic Forum 2017 @ Zurich, Switzerland, Daniel Müri, CEO of SafeSwissCloud gave practical examples of how companies are getting on their way to the cloud - and how they can benefit from the full potential of the technology.
Cloud is the big new lock-in game for nearly any vendor in IT. Hence developments are fast and borders between vendors are moving targets. What is wisdom if you're a diversifying grid operator and how to define the best candidates for 'cloudification'? Presentation delivered at Enterprise cloud, Amsterdam on 20 September 2016
Data Science Gravity is pulling us down! Watch this modern presentation inspired from Star Trek and the movie gravity to understand how to solve your Big Data Science problems
Lean six sigma in the age of AI
What is six-sigma?
Lean Six-Sigma In The Age Of A
THE BRAIN: INSPIRATION FOR THE NEURAL NETWORK AND DEEP LEARNING
AI and LSS
NEURAL NETWORK
The Ten Lean Six Sigma Metrics
An introductory slide for people who are just getting into the field of Data Science to gain the understanding of why data science is important and how data scientist fits in the loop of the importance of Data Science to the industry
By Todd Lavieri. ISG’s 2015 Americas SIC agenda is packed with informative, interactive sessions and plenty of opportunities for networking. We’ll set the pace with a lively discussion about how clients and service providers can ask new questions and take advantage of new opportunities.
ALPMA - Craig Rispin's Keynote & Workshop 18 Oct 2013
Australian Legal Practice Managers Association keynote presentation by Craig Rispin, CSP Business Futurist & Innovation Expert.
Big Data, Trends,opportunities and some case studies( Mahmoud Khosravi)Mahmood Khosravi
Humans have been generating data for thousands of years. More recently we have seen
an amazing progression in the amount of data produced from the advent of mainframes
to client server to ERP and now everything digital. For years the overwhelming amount
of data produced was deemed useless
Data, Interconnectedness & The Internet of Things Software AG
Innovation World 2013 presentation.
The key to deriving value from fast data is being able to access, analyze and respond to it in real-time. Robin Gilthorpe explores the deep capabilities and synergies of Real-Time Analytics (Apama) and In-Memory (Terracotta) Platforms, sharing a breadth of insights around use cases and customer successes.
Speaker:
Robin Gilthorpe
CEO, Terracotta
Grid Analytics Europe 2016: "Open for Business", April 2016OMNETRIC
Presentation by Franz Winterauer at Grid Analytics Europe 2016 for the Analytics Technology Innovation Panel – learning from the application of advanced and open-source analytics technologies and tools in the large-scale implementation of utility grid analytics programmes.
The objective of this module is to take a look into what big data can bring you in the future.
Upon completion of this module you will:
- See what are the predictions for the future of Big Data
- Take a look at some trends that are emerging
- Get an overview of possible opportunities your company can have with Big Data
- Face some of the start up challenges you might have with Big Data
Duration of the module: approximately 1 – 2 hours
Why Everything You Know About bigdata Is A LieSunil Ranka
As a big data technologist, you can bet that you have heard it all: every crazy claim, myth, and outright lie about what big data is and what it isn't that you can imagine, and probably a few that you can't.If your company has a big data initiative or is considering one, you should be aware of these false statements and the reasons why they are wrong.
In this deck from the Stanford HPC Conference, Shahin Khan from OrionX presents: Outlook on Hot Technologies.
"We will review OrionX's predictions for 2018, the technologies that are changing the world (Iot, Blockchain, Quantum Computing, AI ...) and how HPC will be the engine that drives it."
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/Qyy1NgxN4b8
Learn more: http://orionx.net
and
http://hpcadvisorycouncil.com
Sign up for our insideHPC Newsletter: http://insidehpc.com/newsletter
Many consumer guides have been written outlining how Internet of Things technologies might apply to individuals’ lives, but not much exists to give executives and project managers an overview before embarking on the business of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications.
That’s why Aeris has written an eBook that focuses on how the burgeoning IoT ecosystem impacts business. We know that to get started with IoT and M2M for your business, you’ll need a basic understanding of what makes it all work.
How often do Your Machines and People talk? Humanizing the IoT - AWS IoT Web DayAWS Germany
The Industrial IoT market cannot forget the relevance of people and processes to deliver end to end IoT applications. Decisyon supports big companies in extending IoT in the so called Internet of Everything paradigm. In the presentation will be described why we use AWS, real industrial use cases and what we learned about how to build industrial IoT applications in the cloud.
Informieren Sie sich jetzt über das kostenlose Nutzungskontingent von AWS: http://amzn.to/1Qh9stj
Data Natives Frankfurt v 11.0 | "Competitive advantages with knowledge graphs...Dataconomy Media
The challenges of increasing complexity of organizations, companies and projects are obvious and omnipresent. Everywhere there are connections and dependencies that are often not adequately managed or not considered at all because of a lack of technology or expertise to uncover and leverage the relationships in data and information. In his presentation, Axel Morgner talks about graph technology and knowledge graphs as indispensable building blocks for successful companies.
Data Natives Munich v 12.0 | "How to be more productive with Autonomous Data ...Dataconomy Media
Every day we are challenged with more data, more use cases and an ever increasing demand for analytics. In this talk Bjorn will explain how autonomous data management and machine learning help innovators to more productive and give examples how to deliver new data driven projects with less risk at lower costs.
Data Natives meets DataRobot | "Build and deploy an anti-money laundering mo...Dataconomy Media
Compliance departments within banks and other financial institutions are turning to machine learning for improving their Anti Money Laundering compliance activities. Today, the systems that aim to detect potentially suspicious activity are commonly rule-based, and suffer from ultra-high false positive rates. DataRobot will discuss how their Automated Machine Learning platform was successfully used for a real use case to reduce their false positives and to enhance their Anti-Money Laundering activities.
Data Natives Munich v 12.0 | "Political Data Science: A tale of Fake News, So...Dataconomy Media
Trump, Brexit, Cambridge Analytica... In the last few years, we have had to confront the consequences of the use and misuse of data science algorithms in manipulating public opinion through social media. The use of private data to microtarget individuals is a daily practice (and a trillion-dollar industry), which has serious side-effects when the selling product is your political ideology. How can we cope with this new scenario?
Data Natives Vienna v 7.0 | "The Ingredients of Data Innovation" - Robbert de...Dataconomy Media
When taking a deep dive into the world of data, one thing is certain: the ultimate goal is to create something new, something better, something faster. In other words, innovation should always be at the forefront of companies strategic outlook, whether their goal is to pioneer new processes, user experiences, products or services.
Data Natives Cologne v 4.0 | "The Data Lorax: Planting the Seeds of Fairness...Dataconomy Media
What does it take to build a good data product or service? Data practitioners always think about the technology, user experience and commercial viability. But rarely do they think about the implications of the systems they build. This talk will shed light on the impact of AI systems and the unintended consequences of the use of data in different products. It will also discuss our role, as data practitioners, in planting the seeds of fairness in the systems we build.
Data Natives Cologne v 4.0 | "How People Analytics Can Reveal the Hidden Aspe...Dataconomy Media
We all hear about the power of data, big data and data analysis in todays market place. But rarely feel it's touchable effects on our own business decisions and performance.
Let's dive into it and see how can people analytics increase people performance, motivation and business revenue?
Data Natives Amsterdam v 9.0 | "Ten Little Servers: A Story of no Downtime" -...Dataconomy Media
Cloud Infrastructure is a hostile environment: a power supply failure or a network outage leads to downtime and big losses. There is nothing we can trust: a single server, a server rack, even a whole datacenter can fail, and if an application is fragile by design, disruption is inevitable. We must distribute our application and diversify cloud data strategy to survive disturbances of any scale. Apache Cassandra is a cloud-native platform-agnostic database that stores data with a distributed redundancy so it easily survives any issue. What to know how Apple and Netflix handle petabytes of data, keeping it highly available? Join us and listen to a story of 10 little servers and no downtime!
Data Natives Amsterdam v 9.0 | "Point in Time Labeling at Scale" - Timothy Th...Dataconomy Media
In the data industry, having correctly labelled datasets is vital. Timothy Thatcher explains how tagging your data while considering time and location and complex hierarchical rules at scale can be handled.
Data NativesBerlin v 20.0 | "Serving A/B experimentation platform end-to-end"...Dataconomy Media
During the lifetime of an A/B test product managers and analysts in GetYourGuide require various tools and different kinds of data to plan the trial properly, control it during the run and analyze the results at the end. This talk would be about the architecture, tools and data flow for serving their needs.
Data Natives Berlin v 20.0 | "Ten Little Servers: A Story of no Downtime" - A...Dataconomy Media
Cloud Infrastructure is a hostile environment: a power supply failure or a network outage leads to downtime and big losses. There is nothing we can trust: a single server, a server rack, even a whole datacenter can fail, and if an application is fragile by design, disruption is inevitable. We must distribute our application and diversify cloud data strategy to survive disturbances of any scale. Apache Cassandra is a cloud-native platform-agnostic database that stores data with a distributed redundancy so it easily survives any issue. What to know how Apple and Netflix handle petabytes of data, keeping it highly available? Join us and listen to a story of 10 little servers and no downtime!
Big Data Frankfurt meets Thinkport | "The Cloud as a Driver of Innovation" - ...Dataconomy Media
Creativity is the mental ability to create new ideas and designs. Innovation, on the other hand, Means developing useful solutions from new ideas. Creativity can be goal-oriented, Whereas innovation is always goal-oriented. This bedeutet, dass innovation aims to achieve defined goals. The use of cloud services and technologies promises enterprise users many benefits in terms of more flexible use of IT resources and faster access to innovative solutions. That’s why we want to examine the question in this talk, of what role cloud computing plays for innovation in companies.
Thinkport meets Frankfurt | "Financial Time Series Analysis using Wavelets" -...Dataconomy Media
Presentation of Time Series Properties of Financial Instrument and Possibilities in Frequency Decomposition and Information Extraction using FT, STFT and Wavelets with Outlook in Current Research on Wavelet Neural Networks
Big Data Helsinki v 3 | "Distributed Machine and Deep Learning at Scale with ...Dataconomy Media
"With most machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) frameworks, it can take hours to move data for ETL, and hours to train models. It's also hard to scale, with data sets increasingly being larger than the capacity of any single server. The amount of the data also makes it hard to incrementally test and retrain models in near real-time.
Learn how Apache Ignite and GridGain help to address limitations like ETL costs, scaling issues and Time-To-Market for the new models and help achieve near-real-time, continuous learning.
Yuriy Babak, the head of ML/DL framework development at GridGain and Apache Ignite committer, will explain how ML/DL work with Apache Ignite, and how to get started.
Topics include:
— Overview of distributed ML/DL including architecture, implementation, usage patterns, pros and cons
— Overview of Apache Ignite ML/DL, including built-in ML/DL algorithms, and how to implement your own
— Model inference with Apache Ignite, including how to train models with other libraries, like Apache Spark, and deploy them in Ignite
— How Apache Ignite and TensorFlow can be used together to build distributed DL model training and inference"
Big Data Helsinki v 3 | "Federated Learning and Privacy-preserving AI" - Oguz...Dataconomy Media
"Machine learning algorithms require significant amounts of training data which has been centralized on one machine or in a datacenter so far. For numerous applications, such need of collecting data can be extremely privacy-invasive. Recent advancements in AI research approach this issue by a new paradigm of training AI models, i.e., Federated Learning.
In federated learning, edge devices (phones, computers, cars etc.) collaboratively learn a shared AI model while keeping all the training data on device, decoupling the ability to do machine learning from the need to store the data in the cloud. From personal data perspective, this paradigm enables a way of training a model on the device without directly inspecting users’ data on a server. This talk will pinpoint several examples of AI applications benefiting from federated learning and the likely future of privacy-aware systems."
Hi I’m Graham Mossman from EXASOL and today I’m going to talk about “The Big Data Internet of …. What ?”
I’m going to talk about Hype in general – in fact I’m going to teach you some of the tricks of the trade. Which is probably going to get me thrown out of the Magic Circle – we aren’t supposed to tell you how the tricks work.
We’re going to look at the Gartner Hype Cycle which shows how enthusiasm for a technology varies over time
We’re then going to look at where Big Data and the Internet of Things are on this cycle currently – which is incidentally, right at the peak of maximum hype craziness.
I’m then going to look at four things that the Hype merchants say about these technologies that really aren’t true and I’m going to close by looking at the future of these technologies, beyond the current hype.
By saying that Hype is everywhere, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Everyone exaggerates their good points to get a job or a mate. I’ve got to admit to using Hype myself – if everyone’s yelling, sometimes you need to raise your voice.
It’s just sometimes the Hype is a bit overwhelming and drowns out the message
And sometimes you wonder, like with Henry VIII’s codpiece, whether if under all that flattering padding there’s anything of substance at all.
The Gartner Group (as well as their famous Magic Quadrant reports) produce a report called the Hype Cycle. They have noticed that over history a promising technology will emerge from the labs and be taken up by early-adopters and an increasing amount of noise will be made about how this technology will change the world, even though it is at quite an early stage of maturity. This noise will reach a peak called the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”. Some kind of reality will then set in when it appears that the technology isn’t quite ready for prime time yet, isn’t the appropriate technology in all cases and in short, some more work is required. This is where some people stop making noise about this technology and start banging-on about something newer and hotter that has more recently emerged from the labs.
That’s not the end of the story though – the technology continues to be developed by those who are in it for the long haul and at some point the mature version of the product starts to gain admirers in a more gradual and sustainable manner, until it hits the Plateau of Productivity where it is an established technology that is as boring as wi-fi or radio or any one of thousands of technologies that were once hot new inventions but are now just taken for granted.
Last year, Big Data was at the Peak, this year it is the Internet of Things. Gartner predict both of these technologies are 5-10 years away from becoming established technologies and they also predict that the current mad hype around these technologies will lessen – in fact they say that some reality about Big Data hype has already arrived, and I think that’s a positive sign.
For example, if we look at “Virtual Reality” which sits near the bottom of what Gartner call the Trough of Disillusionment, this was a technology that was white hot a few years ago, but has been slow to made the breakthrough that once seemed imminent. At one stage it was said that there were more international conferences about Virtual Reality than there were paying customers. However, it’s now a more mature technology with a more focused set of Use Cases and so recently it has attracted increasing attention and is showing signs of a “second coming” – this time as a more mature technology with more reasonable expectations.
Here is my definition of Big Data – I’ve tried to keep it as straightforward and sensation-free as possible
And again an unsensational definition of the Internet of Things, you’ll see that it is very much like Big Data, except for the first paragraph which describes how the data is collected. Big Data and the Internet of Things have many ambitions and techniques in common.
There is no one single Nobel prize-winning discovery behind Big Data and the Internet of Things – we’ve had embedded systems in the 1960s way before the term “Internet of Things” was coined. And way before “Big Data” we had something called … “Data”
What has happened recently is that a number of incremental developments in a number of technologies have combined with cheaper hardware and software to make new techniques economically and technically viable.
It has been suggested at various points in history that a new technology has rendered the old business rules obsolete and you need to value businesses and investments in a new way. This happened in the 1920s during the explosive growth of Radio in America and in the 1840s during the British railway boom, but it happened again in recent memory during the “Dot Com” madness of the 1990s.
Investors and entrepreneurs were persuaded that you couldn’t measure the worth of a dot com by old-fashioned metrics such as do they sell stuff for more than it costs and are they going to be able to pay their staff next month. Sounds ridiculous but actually it took a long time for people to realise that “old-fashioned” business rules like that did apply even to the newest sexiest technologies.
Big Data and the Internet of Things are not exceptions to this – entrepreneurs and investors will need to pay heed to the boring and old-fashioned idea of a Business Case
Here’s a very early and rather trivial Internet of Things product, a wifi connected kettle that can have water available at the perfect temperature without you having to wait for it to boil. Can’t help noticing that you still have to fill it, but take a look at the bit I’ve outlined in red – “Saves over 2 days a year in waiting time”. Wow, get me three of those and let’s really start saving time. Two days of my time is worth more than 99.99 so it’ll pay for itself in less than a year.
Except that it doesn’t – when I’m doing something valuable, I don’t use the kettle. Then, usually when I need a break, I don’t mind waiting a minute or so for the kettle to boil. This isn’t wasted time, it’s break time. Or I’m talking to a co-worker or checking social media. The time is not wasted and shouldn’t be valued at my hourly rate.
So, in my view, the business case for the iKettle doesn’t hold water (boom boom)
I was an accountant before I became whatever I am today, so I’ve prepared some flaky business cases in my time. If you watch “Dragon’s Den” you will have seen most if not all of these tricks in play – sometimes all in the same pitch. You need to look carefully at the business cases around Big Data and the Internet of Things - astronomical amounts of money are “proven” to be “in play” but some of the assumptions are just variations on some of these tricks. I don’t have time to get into this in detail now, but invite me back sometime and I’ll do a whole 20 minutes on Bogus Business Cases for you – it’s important that you can spot when somebody is lying to you like this.
The last trick on the previous slide (“growth will be exponential for ever”) is epidemic in the field of Big Data and the Internet of Things. Here is the single most overused and abused diagram in Technology marketing. Moore’s law talks about the doubling of the number of transistors per square inch of integrated circuit. It has held for the last 40 years or so and Marketeers love this diagram because it allows them to introduce exponential function into their evaluation of what a technology will be worth in the future. But you can’t just say “Because Moore’s Law” – Moore’s Law is a very specific observation about transistors on an integrated circuit.
Some people misuse the rule by saying that “computer power doubles every two years” – this is nonsense – disk speed, clock speed and network speed don’t double every two years – computing power is more than a matter of transistors per square inch.
And once you’ve misused the rule a little – why not misuse it a lot and suggest that everything to do with a particular technology will double every two years “Because of Moore’s Law”.
And finally … just because it has held for the last 40 years, why should it definitely hold into the future ?
Air speed records start out with the Wright brothers and a bicycle-powered plane capable of 7 mph. For the next 30 years we have a linear growth before WW2 and the invention of the jet engine. Things do briefly get exponential as we break the sound barrier, but that curve doesn’t keep on going – in fact it stops dead in 1976 with the Blackbird spy-plane which continues to hold the airspeed record.
Another thought – the youngest man to walk on the moon will celebrate his 80th birthday this year. Manned Space Travel is another technology that, ironically, lost momentum.
There are a lot of reasons why growth stops being exponential and sometimes stops altogether. There is no economic case for supersonic flight – the Concorde was too expensive and we don’t need faster spy planes now that we have satellites. Google and Microsoft would be even bigger if it weren’t for the efforts of various governments preventing the creation of damaging monopolies. There is wide-spread social opposition to nuclear power in many countries which means that the early growth has not been sustained. With mobile phones, if almost everyone already has one, it’s harder to sell more. In particle physics, the American version of the Large Hadron Collider was scrapped because the American politicians thought there were better things to spend money on during the last recession. Similarly, the Wall Street Crash hampered the development of the telephone – because nobody was making the big capital investments required to sustain explosive growth.
And sometimes a technology will hit a wall. Maybe not permanently, but certainly enough to stop exponential growth. Quantum computing has threatened to be a major force for some time, but it turns out that there are unforeseen difficulties that have been harder than expected to overcome.
So all I’m trying to say here is that if someone tells you that a technology is “growing exponentially” – you need to ask yourself – “is it really ?” and “for how much longer ?” because in a finite world, nothing grows exponentially – apart from maybe Technology Hype.
Here is a slide I used at the last Dataconomy London presentation to describe what you need for a successful Big Data application. You need lots of badly –behaved data – you also need a well thought-out question, in other words, a well-defined business benefit you want to achieve. You need a Mathematical algorithm for getting some sense from the badly-behaved data, you need an IT platform capable of getting fast results (and yes, that means you should be looking at EXASOL) , and then you need statistical knowledge to be able to properly understand what the results are telling you.
There is some good news here : most businesses these days are able to gather and store large amounts of “Big Data” in an economical manner. There are Open Source platforms for data movement and storage, for example Hadoop and there are also a new generation of In-Memory databases that allow fast analysis for not all that much money (such as EXASOL). The cost of the IT hardware required to support these platforms is also dropping – I will resist the temptation to say it’s dropping exponentially because of Moore’s Law, but it certainly a fraction of what it was in the past.
There is however, some bad news - the Mathematical and Statistical skills required for a Big Data solution are in short supply. If you are a small company wanting to leverage Big Data, you will need what is called Data Science to be able to build and refine the algorithms that make a Big Data application work – and also to interpret the results you are getting. This is great news for those of us with Data Science skills, but it is a brake on the mass adoption of this technology.
In short, Big Data only works if your Business Case is so strong that you can justify the expense of buying-in Data Science skills, andso it is not something that is ready for everyone, right now.
An Internet of Things Application is even less ready for everyone, right now – as well as the shortage of Data Science skills, there are technical issues around sensors and networking and The Cloud, but also political and social issues.
I’m no expert in the technical issues that are being faced in making sensors small enough, connected enough and cheap enough to do the business. But if you are putting sensors into potentially everything on the planet and storing that information at a central point, there are certainly some sociological and political questions that need answers. And these, rather than the technical issues may be what slows down or halts the development of this technology in the future.
… but when you think you have a business case for Big Data and the Internet of Things – you should be talking to EXASOL