Data and the "Internet of Things"

The “Internet of Things” is an interesting concept that is slowly becoming a reality. The concept proposes that all physical objects are both able to connect to the internet and to communicate with each other.

In this post we consider what this may mean from a wider data management perspective.

It’s all in the timing…

We are all aware of the importance of timing in telling a good joke, but timing is also crucial in a business context.

If you get the timing wrong you can waste effort and potentially damage your reputation.

Computer software triage

Triage is a technique used in medical emergencies to help prioritise scarce care resources towards those most in need. Various versions of triage have been developed and refined since the concept was first developed in the First World War.

Similar concepts can be applied to the large range of software that some organisation end up owning.

“Technology Today” interview by Phil Simon

One of the good aspects of social media and social networking is the relationships you are able to form with other professionals, who you may or may not have met physically. One example of this is the relationship Phil Simon and I have developed through various on-line interactions, comments on blog posts and phone calls. Phil is a respected technology author, blogger, consultant and self-confessed Rush fan.

One result of this has been that Phil has included an interview with me as part of his Technology Today series of podcast interviews. In the interview we discuss:

• Are organizations are too eager to jump into new technologies?
• Talk to me about the relationship between data quality and technology.
• Do some organizations have “too much” technology?
• How can an organization ready itself for a massive system endeavor?

See the page on Phil’s site for more details and the interview itself.

Is computer analysis accurate?

Clearly, when computers are required to perform “straight forward” calculations they are accurate. For example, when adding up a series of values they will get the correct answer. A recent Dataspora blog post postulates that we are not far from the point where data flows around the world helping to make everything happen, but without involving humans.

I take a slightly different view based on real world experiences of data, analysis systems and human behavior. In summary, I believe that complex analysis systems are inaccurate, to a certain degree, so outputs need to be treated with caution and reviewed for suitability before being acted upon.