Dwight Bues & Kevin Jackson
This is Part 1 of a three part series that addresses the need for a systems
engineering approach to IoT and cloud network design:
The
“Internet of Things” depends on the “Cloud” for the processing and storage of data.
The Cloud’s backbone, however, is the network. This logic train reveals the
importance of professional rigor and solid System Engineering (SE) of the
network.
Imagine a sea of sensors, put out in the
field by multiple independent vendors. Complying with specifications only in an informal sense, these sensors are sending Terabytes of data to the cloud.
The availability of this data to anyone globally is impressive enough. But even
more amazing is the fact that anyone in the world can also develop an
application or a powerful API to filter out the
“nuggets” of valuable information.
This is why businesses everywhere are investing
heavily into IoT’s promise. It also drives a real expectation that IoT will
deliver cognition, an ability to acquire knowledge and understanding through “thought,
experience, and the senses” to the Cloud. Dr. Dennis Curry, of Konica/Minolta, even hinted that “Cognition” at the
IoT level is actually possible. As stated in his white paper Genius of Things, “…the real
