Data Blending
Internet of Things (IoT) will not be able to maximize its impact if the applications and data are still operating in silos. If it’s data remained privy to only certain individuals, groups or organizations, it will not be able to reap its full potential. Machine-to-Machine applications traditionally work in silos. IOT promises better decision making, and there’s no better way to get insights unless we can get as much data as possible from various sources. For example, why flood happens? Is it because of drainage issues, the river bed swells up due to rising in silt, torrential rains or the effect of increasing in tide? It’s only when you can correlate various data that you can find the source of the problem. Thus, we need integration from multiple sources of data.
Will it be the same thing for Smart Cities? What sensitive data a city generates from IoT? Tons of data can be generated from Transportation, Health, Waste, parking, lighting, Energy and much more. It makes better sense if we can “blend” these data together. Below are some of the benefits of data blending:
Many new and innovative applications can be developed when different data are compounded. It will become a platform for application developers in generating new IoT services.
- Cost Savings – Instead of managing and connecting to several platforms, a single platform, will simplify and reduce operational costs.
- Better decision making – more data means more information and more knowledge about the city. An event happens in one application can also trigger another event in other application.
- Smart City’s Index – This can become a hub for calculating the healthiness or safeties of a city.
- Creating Innovative Applications – Sharing of various sources of data will open up limitless innovative applications. It makes better sense to monetize or fully utilize the data rather kept in someone’s database.
What are the success factors to make data blending of a city successful?