Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things

Every year the world of enterprise IT delivers a new set of opportunities for industrial automation.  This year, perhaps the most exciting of these are big data and the Internet of Things (IoT). 

Part of the potential of the IoT is unleashing the data that manufacturers collect in increasingly large quantities so that it can be effectively analysed. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character, Sherlock Holmes, once said that, "It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit fact" – this seems particularly pertinent in the light of the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things creates the premise for a world where physical objects are seamlessly integrated into the information network, where they can become active participants in business processes. It creates a world in which it is possible to collect the big data needed to produce theories based, not just on, one fact but on all the facts – to perform a kind of retrograde analysis to borrow a metaphor from Chess.

IoT ultimately means a commitment to the value of data as a management tool. It can be about gathering data without knowing how it will ultimately be used. From the simplest sensors to most sophisticated applications, the IoT marks the dawn of a new era in automation, where decision making can be done using far, far more data. All that remains is for manufacturers is to free their imagination and start thinking about how the IoT can work for them – something we are already beginning to see.